How to maximize XP and level up fast in Pokémon GO

The max level in Pokémon GO is currently 80. Levels 1–70 are purely XP-gated — earn enough XP and you level up automatically. From level 71 onwards the rules change: each level requires both XP and a set of in-game achievement tasks, including earning a specific number of Platinum medals.

This guide covers how to earn XP as efficiently as possible, and what you need to know about the level 70+ achievement system.

Lucky Eggs — double everything

A Lucky Egg doubles all XP you earn for 30 minutes. It is the single most powerful XP multiplier in the game. The key is making sure you have high-XP actions lined up before you activate one — a Lucky Egg sitting idle is wasted.

Always plan what you'll do before activating a Lucky Egg. Queued evolutions, incoming Best Friends milestones, a Community Day event, or a Raid Hour are all good triggers.

Mass evolution — the classic Lucky Egg combo

Evolving a Pokémon gives 500 XP — 1,000 XP with a Lucky Egg active. Each evolution takes about 25–30 seconds, so you can fit roughly 60–70 evolutions into a single 30-minute Lucky Egg window. That's up to 70,000 XP from evolutions alone.

The best Pokémon to mass evolve are ones with cheap candy costs and a large surplus in your storage. Pidgey, Caterpie, and Weedle at 12 candy each are the gold standard — you can chain them continuously through the full egg window.

During Community Days and events with 2× Evolution XP, a Lucky Egg mass-evolution session can yield 200,000+ XP in 30 minutes.

Pidgey (12 candy)

Caterpie (12 candy)

Weedle (12 candy)

Rattata (25 candy)

Magikarp (400 candy)

Friendship bonuses — up to 300,000 XP per player

Each friendship milestone awards XP — and the highest tier, Forever Friends, gives 150,000 XP (300,000 with a Lucky Egg). If you have multiple friendships approaching the same milestone at the same time, you can time them all to tip over under a single Lucky Egg.

The trick: gift consistently every day, but hold off opening the final gift from each friend until you're ready. When you have several friendships queued up close to the same tier, activate a Lucky Egg and open them all in quick succession.

• •❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍 Good Friends — 3,000 XP on becoming friends
• •❤️❤️🤍🤍🤍 Great Friends — 10,000 XP
• •❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍 Ultra Friends — 50,000 XP
• •❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍 Best Friends — 100,000 XP — 200,000 with Lucky Egg
• •❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Forever Friends — 150,000 XP — 300,000 with Lucky Egg

Catching Pokémon — bonuses stack

Every catch gives base XP, but the bonuses on top are where it adds up fast. A new Pokédex entry gives +500 XP bonus, an Excellent throw gives +1,000 XP, and during 2× catch XP events everything doubles. With a Lucky Egg active during a Community Day, a single new entry with an Excellent throw can give 4,000–6,000 XP.

• •New Pokédex entry — +500 XP bonus on top of regular catch XP
• •Nice throw — +10 XP
• •Great throw — +50 XP
• •Excellent throw — +1,000 XP
• •Curveball bonus — +10 XP
• •7-day first catch streak — +2,500 XP

Raids — bulk XP, especially Gigantamax

Completing a 5-star raid gives around 10,000 XP — more with a Lucky Egg. Raid Hours (every Wednesday evening) and Raid Days concentrate raid activity, making them ideal Lucky Egg windows. Remote raids count identically to in-person for XP purposes.

Gigantamax raids are the single highest XP raid type in the game. They cost Raid Particles to enter rather than Raid Passes, so saving your Particles specifically for Gigantamax events is worth it. Pop a Lucky Egg before a Gigantamax session and you can stack very large XP totals quickly.

Daily Adventure Incubator egg

Every day you receive a free egg from the Daily Adventure Incubator, which hatches after 1 km of walking. Hatching an egg gives XP, and the daily egg is guaranteed — it stacks with your normal egg hatching. Make sure you always have the daily incubator slot active and walk it off each day. During events with 2× hatch XP or reduced egg distances, the daily egg is worth even more.

Research tasks

Field Research tasks give 500 XP on completion. Special Research storylines award large XP chunks at each step. The monthly Research Breakthrough (7-stamp reward) gives XP plus a rare encounter. Always have an active Field Research task — these are free passive XP.

Best event windows for XP

• •Community Days — Often include 2× or 3× catch XP — combine with Lucky Egg for maximum gain on the featured Pokémon
• •GO Fest — High spawn density, XP bonuses, and global raids — one of the best Lucky Egg windows of the year
• •Friendship Day events — Boosted friendship XP — ideal for timing multiple Best Friends milestones
• •Adventure Week / other events — Often include catch XP or buddy XP bonuses worth combining with a Lucky Egg

Levels 71–80 — medals and achievements required

From level 71 onwards, XP alone is no longer enough. Each level up to 80 requires completing a set of in-game achievement tasks alongside the XP requirement. These tasks include things like winning raids, completing research, powering up Pokémon, and — critically — earning a specific number of Platinum medals.

The number of Platinum medals required increases with each level from 71 to 80. This is where actively working on your medal collection pays off directly as a levelling strategy. See the medals guide for tips on which Platinum medals are fastest to earn and which to plan around events.

Check your specific level requirements in-game: tap your trainer avatar, then the level bar at the top. Ignoring the achievement tasks while grinding XP is the most common mistake at this stage — you can hit the XP threshold and still be stuck waiting on medals.

Quick XP tips

• •Never waste a Lucky Egg — Always have evolutions or Best Friends milestones queued before activating
• •Time Best Friends together — Hold the final gift from multiple friends until you can pop a Lucky Egg and open them all at once
• •Hatch eggs during events — Egg hatch XP doubles with Lucky Egg — use Infinite Incubator on 2km eggs for fastest hatches
• •Excellent throws during Community Day — 1,000 XP per Excellent throw adds up fast on events with 2× catch XP
• •Raid Hour with a Lucky Egg — More raids per hour = more XP — Raid Hour every Wednesday evening
• •Start working on Platinum medals early — Some medals (Dragon, Steel, Ghost, Ice) require events — don't leave them until you're stuck at level 70+
• •Save Raid Particles for Gigantamax events — Gigantamax raids give the highest XP per raid — save particles and use a Lucky Egg when they run
• •Never skip the daily Adventure Incubator egg — Free 2km egg every day — make sure it's always active and being walked