Pokémon GO trading Stardust costs — full table
One of the most important things to understand about trading in Pokémon GO is the Stardust cost system. The cost depends on two things: your friendship level with the other player, and what type of trade it is.
There are three trade tiers — standard, new Pokédex entry, and special (shiny/legendary). Building friendship before a trade can save you millions of Stardust.
Standard trade — Pokémon already in both Pokédexes, no shiny or legendary
If the Pokémon is already registered in both players' Pokédexes and isn't shiny or legendary, the cost is a flat 100 Stardust — no matter your friendship level.
- •❤️🤍🤍🤍 Good Friends — 100 Stardust
- •❤️❤️🤍🤍 Great Friends — 100 Stardust
- •❤️❤️❤️🤍 Ultra Friends — 100 Stardust
- •❤️❤️❤️❤️ Best Friends — 100 Stardust
New Pokédex entry — not registered in both Pokédexes, no shiny or legendary
If one player doesn't have the Pokémon registered yet (and it isn't shiny or legendary), the cost scales down significantly with friendship level.
- •❤️🤍🤍🤍 Good Friends — 20,000 Stardust
- •❤️❤️🤍🤍 Great Friends — 16,000 Stardust
- •❤️❤️❤️🤍 Ultra Friends — 1,600 Stardust
- •❤️❤️❤️❤️ Best Friends — 800 Stardust
Special trade — any shiny or legendary Pokémon
Any trade involving a shiny or legendary counts as a Special Trade regardless of whether it's in the Pokédex. Special trades are limited to one per day and cost significantly more Stardust.
- •❤️🤍🤍🤍 Good Friends — 1,000,000 Stardust
- •❤️❤️🤍🤍 Great Friends — 800,000 Stardust
- •❤️❤️❤️🤍 Ultra Friends — 80,000 Stardust
- •❤️❤️❤️❤️ Best Friends — 40,000 Stardust
How to reduce trading costs
- •Build friendship before special trades — Going from Ultra to Best Friends cuts the shiny/legendary cost from 80,000 to 40,000
- •Trade at events — Some events temporarily reduce Stardust costs for trading
- •Plan special trades carefully — You only get one Special Trade per day — don't waste it
When do event discounts apply?
Niantic periodically reduces trading Stardust costs by 50% or more during events like GO Fest. These are the best windows to do expensive special trades. Keep an eye on event announcements from LeekDuck or the official Pokémon GO blog.