Part of the series:
- How to Make Units Fast in No Man's Sky (2026): Every money method ranked — start here.
- Best Money-Making Methods Ranked by Game Stage: Find the right approach for where you are in the game.
- No Man's Sky Crafting & Refining Basics: Another reliable early-game income stream.
Quick Answer
- Every star system has an economy type (Trading, Scientific, Mining, etc.) and a wealth tier (1–3 stars) that set buy and sell price modifiers for trade commodities.
- The core loop is: buy trade items cheap in one economy type, sell them expensive in a compatible economy type one or two jumps away.
- Install an Economy Scanner in your ship to see price modifiers on the Galaxy Map before you warp.
- Planetary Trading Posts consistently offer better prices than space station terminals, both for buying and selling.
- Lower-tier trade goods (Tier 4–5) respond most to economy modifiers, making them the easiest items to flip for quick profit; higher-tier goods have higher base values but smaller percentage swings.
- Trade Surges are time-limited events flagged by the Economy Scanner where prices spike dramatically. These are the biggest short-term trading wins in the game.
- Trading alone is a solid mid-game income stream, but it scales best when combined with an Activated Indium mining base or Stasis Device crafting for passive income.
Overview
No Man's Sky's economy is a living network of star systems, each specializing in producing and consuming different goods. Prices are not fixed. They shift based on a system's economy type, its wealth tier, whether you're at a space station or a planetary outpost, and even how much of a commodity you've recently sold there.
This means a savvy trader can regularly buy items at a significant discount in one system and sell them at a meaningful markup in another. It won't make you a billionaire overnight, but it's a reliable and engaging way to fund early and mid-game goals, especially while you're exploring and haven't set up passive income yet.
Understanding Economy Types
There are seven economy types in No Man's Sky, each identified by a color icon on the Galaxy Map and in system details:
| Economy Type | Color |
|---|---|
| Trading | Green |
| Advanced Materials | Purple |
| Scientific | Navy Blue |
| Mining | Orange |
| Manufacturing / Production | Yellow |
| Technology | Light Blue |
| Power Generation | Red |
Each economy type produces certain goods cheaply and demands goods from a complementary economy type at a premium. This is the foundation of every trade route.
Beyond the economy type, each system also has a wealth tier:
- 1 star (low wealth): Limited stock, fewer high-tier goods available, and smaller price modifiers. Systems at this tier carry descriptors like Declining, Fledgling, or Struggling.
- 2 stars (medium wealth): A solid range of trade goods. Descriptors include Developing, Balanced, or Comfortable.
- 3 stars (high wealth): Best selection of high-value commodities and the strongest price modifiers. Descriptors include Affluent, Booming, Flourishing, or Prosperous.
For serious trading, target 3-star systems where possible. The price swings are larger and the stock of premium goods is more reliable.
Reading the Trade Terminal
Before you sell anything, look at the color of the price indicator next to each item at a Galactic Trade Terminal:
- Green: The item is selling at 10% or more above the galactic average. This is your cue to sell.
- White: Average pricing. Not ideal, but acceptable in a pinch.
- Red: Below the galactic average. Avoid selling here; consider buying instead.
Never sell a green item in a red or white system, and never buy a red item hoping it improves. Check the Galaxy Map first with your Economy Scanner.
The Economy Scanner: Your Most Important Tool
The Economy Scanner is a starship technology module. Its blueprint costs 150 Nanite Clusters from the Starship Upgrades Blueprint vendor on the Anomaly. You craft it with 5 Microprocessors and 1 Wiring Loom, then install it in your ship's technology slots.
Once installed, it unlocks two major features:
- Galaxy Map economy filter: You can see each system's economy type and buy/sell modifiers on the map before warping. This lets you plan routes from your captain's chair rather than warping blind.
- Trade Surge alerts, Activate the scanner from your ship to locate nearby Market Surges, temporary price spikes at specific systems. These are time-limited, so act quickly when one appears.
The Economy Scanner is genuinely essential for efficient trading. If you haven't got one yet, check the early game checklist for how to earn Nanites quickly.
Trade Routes: The Two Main Loops
Trade goods flow in natural cycles between economy types. There are two primary loops that experienced traders use:
Loop A: The Commerce Triangle
Scientific → Trading → Advanced Materials → Scientific
Buy goods in the Scientific economy, sell them in Trading. Then buy what's cheap in Trading and sell in Advanced Materials. Complete the loop back to Scientific.
Loop B: The Industrial Cycle
Mining → Manufacturing → Technology → Power Generation → Mining
Minerals and raw materials bought cheaply in Mining systems sell well in Manufacturing. The manufactured output feeds Technology systems, and so on around the loop.
You don't need to run the entire loop. Even a single hop between two complementary economies is profitable. The full loops simply extend the opportunity.
Practical Route Setup
- Open the Galaxy Map and switch to the Economy filter (requires Economy Scanner).
- Identify a 3-star system of your buy economy type with a strong buy modifier (look for the largest negative percentage. That's your discount). The maximum buy modifier is around -30%.
- Find a nearby 3-star system of the corresponding sell economy type with a strong sell modifier (the largest positive percentage). The maximum sell modifier is around +80%.
- The closer these systems are to each other, the faster each run completes.
The best setups pair a deep buy discount with a strong sell modifier in a nearby high-wealth system. Use the Economy filter to scout before you warp.
Trade Item Tiers: What to Actually Buy
Not all trade goods respond equally to economy modifiers. They are divided into five tiers by base value, and the lower-tier items see the largest percentage swings from economy modifiers:
| Tier | Base Value (approx.) | Economy Modifier Effect | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 (highest value) | ~50,000 Units | Small (~20% of modifier) | High-wealth systems only |
| Tier 2 | ~30,000 Units | Moderate | High-wealth, sometimes medium |
| Tier 3 | ~15,000 Units | Significant | Medium and high wealth |
| Tier 4 | ~6,000 Units | High (~80% of modifier) | Medium, high, and sometimes low wealth |
| Tier 5 (lowest value) | ~1,000 Units | Full effect (~100% of modifier) | All systems regardless of wealth |
For new traders: Start with Tier 4 and Tier 5 goods. They're available in more systems, they respond most dramatically to the economy modifiers, and you don't need to be in a 3-star system to find them. As your Units pile up, move into Tier 2 and Tier 3 goods in high-wealth systems for larger absolute profits per run.
Trading Posts vs. Space Stations
Among the most overlooked details in NMS trading: planetary Trading Posts and minor settlements offer noticeably better prices than the space station in the same system: for both buying and selling.
The gap is meaningful. Community testing consistently puts it at roughly 20% better in both directions at planetary outposts. The trade-off is that planetary outposts have smaller stock, and all outposts in a system share a single inventory pool. If you buy out one outpost, the others in the same system will be depleted too.
For the best results: buy at a planetary outpost in your buy system, warp, and sell at the space station or outpost in your sell system.
The Market Crash Technique
This is an intermediate-to-advanced trick that can convert a large supply of a raw material into cheap inventory. The mechanic works as follows:
- Accumulate a large quantity of a commodity (Cobalt is a common choice because it's widely available and stacks in large quantities, though any high-stack resource works).
- Sell your entire supply at a single terminal in one transaction. The price drops significantly as the local market is flooded.
- Immediately buy the same commodity back at the reduced price.
- Warp to another system and sell at normal or elevated prices.
The price reduction from selling large volumes can be substantial. You need a meaningful amount of starting capital to make the arbitrage worthwhile, and the technique works best on goods you can stack in large quantities.
This complements active trading routes rather than replacing them.
Trading Outside the Law
Outlaw stations buy and sell goods the Galactic Trade Network will not touch, and smuggling contraband past system scans carries its own risk and margin. See the piracy and outlaw systems guide.
Picking the Right System
A trade route is only as good as the systems on either end. Economy type, wealth rating, and conflict level are all readable from the galaxy map before you warp if you have the scanners fitted. The star systems, economy and conflict guide explains what each rating means.
FAQ
How do I find the economy type of a system before warping?
Install an Economy Scanner in your ship, then open the Galaxy Map and switch to the Economy filter. You'll see each system's economy type, wealth tier, and buy/sell price modifiers without needing to warp there first. This is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade for trading.
Is trading worth it compared to other money-making methods?
For mid-game players who are actively exploring and warping anyway, trading is a great supplementary income. You're warping between systems regardless, so buying and selling along the way costs little extra time. For maximum Units per hour, passive methods like the Activated Indium mining base or crafting Stasis Devices outperform active trading at end-game scale.
What are Trade Surges and how do I find them?
Trade Surges (called "Market Surges" in the in-game Economy Scanner UI) are temporary events where prices in a specific system spike dramatically above normal. To find one, get in your ship and activate the Economy Scanner. It will sweep nearby systems and point you toward any active surge. They're time-limited, so head there quickly once you spot one.
Should I buy and sell at the space station or at a planetary Trading Post?
Planetary Trading Posts and minor settlements offer better prices in both directions. You pay less when buying and receive more when selling compared to the space station in the same system, with community testing placing the advantage at roughly 20% in both directions. The downside is smaller stock and a shared inventory across all outposts in a system. For high-volume runs, the space station is more convenient; for maximum margin, seek out the planetary outpost.
Do prices recover after I sell a lot of a commodity?
Yes. Selling large quantities depresses the local price, but the market gradually recovers over time. If you want to sell more of the same commodity, warp to another system's terminal. Each system has its own independent price state.
Can I build my own Galactic Trade Terminal?
Yes. You can construct a Galactic Trade Terminal at your base using the base building menu. The blueprint can be unlocked by completing the Overseer questline (the "Expanding the Base" mission) or purchased from the Construction Research Station on the Space Anomaly. This lets you trade from home, though the prices will reflect your base's system economy. It's most useful as a convenience rather than a profit-maximizing tool. For base building details, see the NMS base building guide.
Key Takeaways
- Install the Economy Scanner first. You cannot trade efficiently without seeing economy types and price modifiers on the Galaxy Map. The blueprint costs 150 Nanites from the Starship Upgrades vendor on the Anomaly.
- Match your route to complementary economy types: buy in a system that produces your goods cheaply, sell in the system that demands them.
- 3-star (high-wealth) systems offer the biggest price swings and the most stock of high-tier goods. Look for sell modifiers approaching +80% and buy modifiers approaching -30%.
- Tier 4 and Tier 5 trade goods respond most to economy modifiers and are the easiest entry point for new traders.
- Planetary Trading Posts beat space station prices by roughly 20% in both directions, worth the extra minute to land if you're making a big transaction.
- Trade Surges are the highest short-term trading income in the game. Activate the Economy Scanner from your ship to find the current Market Surge.
- Trading pairs naturally with exploration; use it to fund your travels while you work toward passive income methods like mining bases or crafting.