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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe best way to make Units in No Man’s Sky depends on your stage of play. If you are starting out, scan discoveries, sell spare finds, and take suitable missions; these need little infrastructure. With more capital, trade routes and ship salvage can pay off. Established players can invest in crop farms, crafting chains, or freighter extractors. There is no verified universal Units-per-hour ranking, so treat the 15 methods below as options rather than a guaranteed leaderboard.
Units are the currency used for purchases such as ships, storage, and trade goods. Nanites and Quicksilver are separate currencies. The No Man’s Sky Wiki’s economy guide distinguishes them; check the in-game market for current prices and payouts.
Choose a method that fits your stage of play
Early on, favor activities that use tools and opportunities you already have. Later, you can trade with more inventory space, build production infrastructure, or take on combat-heavy salvage. The community guidance emphasizes that the best approach varies by playthrough; none of these methods has a dependable, universal earnings figure.
| Stage or preference | Methods to consider | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Low capital, little setup | Scanning, selling finds, missions, asteroid mining | Accessible, but discovery income depends on what you encounter and other activities require active play. |
| Route planning and cargo space | Trade routes, Trade Surges, contraband | Returns depend on market opportunities, inventory, and travel; smuggling adds scan and combat risk. |
| Base-building and production | Crop farming, crafting, gas harvesting, Stellar Extractors | Requires setup and time; extractors supplement income rather than guaranteeing a fixed payout. |
| Combat and ship salvage | Scrapping ships, Sentinel Interceptors | Can yield salvage products, but requires access to ships and, for Interceptors, combat and acquisition effort. |
The game’s underlying mechanics are documented in Hello Games’ Atlas Rises update, Outlaws update, Synthesis update, and Endurance update. These notes establish features, not current payout guarantees.
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Low-setup ways to earn Units
1. Scan newly discovered fauna, flora, and minerals
Use the Analysis Visor as you explore and upload or sell discoveries as appropriate. Hello Games describes rewards for scanning in Atlas Rises, and current player guidance recommends scanning new life and minerals early. Scanner upgrades can improve rewards, but their exact multipliers vary with the upgrade and game state; do not assume a fixed payout for every scan. This loop is most useful while exploring, and its supply of new discoveries is finite in any given area.
2. Complete a planet’s fauna discoveries
Once you have scanned a planet’s creatures, check the discovery record to see whether fauna remain undiscovered. Completing the set can provide a completion reward in some circumstances, but the payout behavior and amount are not established consistently enough here to promise a figure. Confirm the reward shown in your current game before making a detour specifically for it.
3. Sell useful resources and travel finds
Turn surplus materials, treasures, and other saleable finds into Units at Galactic Trade Network terminals. This is a convenient way to clear inventory during ordinary play rather than a dedicated production method. Before selling, check whether an item is needed for a recipe, mission, or upgrade so you do not have to replace it later.
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4. Mine valuable planetary deposits
Use the Analysis Visor to locate deposits, then invest the time and tools needed to extract them. No Man’s Sky Resources’ money-making guide includes deposit mining among the available approaches. The method depends on finding a worthwhile deposit and spending time on extraction; it is not an instant return.
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5. Mine precious metals from asteroids
Break asteroids while traveling through space and sell the valuable materials you collect. This needs no farm, but yields vary with what you encounter, and the available evidence does not establish a fixed return per trip. Treat it as opportunistic income during travel, not a predictable rate.
6. Take station mission-board jobs
Review available tasks at a station and choose missions that suit your current equipment and intended route. A mission can make an existing trip productive, while a poorly matched objective may add travel or combat you did not want. Read the requirements and reward before accepting; mission availability and payouts vary.
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- Includes 6 years of updates*
- An entire universe to explore on the go in the palm of your hands
- For the first time ever, PlayStation 5 physical edition as well as Nintendo Switch (physical & digital)
- Please note that although this game is Region Free or Region Unlocked and will work on all systems, this is the international version and may differ from the local version in age rating, labeling or instructions.
Trade, farming, and crafting
7. Run trade routes
Trading turns market information, cargo capacity, and travel into a repeatable loop. Use an Economy Scanner to help identify economic information, then compare purchase and sale opportunities rather than buying blindly. Hello Games’ Atlas Rises notes describe buying goods in cheaper markets and selling in economically favorable systems. Keep enough free inventory space for the goods you intend to move, and account for the time and travel between systems.
8. Respond to Trade Surges when available
Players report using Trade Surge opportunities as a way to buy and sell goods around favorable market conditions. The exact current workflow and availability are not established by the official sources cited here, so check the in-game feature and its instructions before committing cargo or planning a long route. Treat this as an opportunity when it appears, not dependable income on demand.
9. Grow crops for sale or crafting
Crop farming takes setup and time, but produces materials you can sell directly or use in more valuable manufactured goods. Hello Games’ Atlas Rises update documents farming and crafting systems. A simple crop plot is less involved than a production chain; choose the scale that fits how often you want to return and harvest.
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10. Craft high-value products
Manufacturing can turn gathered and farmed ingredients into higher-value products. Hello Games documents tiered crafting, while community players cite Stasis Devices and Fusion Ignitors as late-game goals. These are ambitious chains, not quick-start recipes: check the current in-game recipe requirements, ingredient availability, and sale prices before building around one. The evidence here does not establish a universal profit for either product.
11. Harvest gases for crafting chains
Gas harvesters extract atmospheric elements used in crafting. Build them as part of a production plan when the recipes you want require those gases; harvesting is infrastructure for a crafting chain, not instant cash by itself. Setup and collection add effort before the ingredients become saleable products.
12. Sell resources from freighter Stellar Extractors
Hello Games’ Endurance update (July 2022) says Stellar Extractors automatically harvest resources from deep space based on the system’s star classification. This makes them a passive supplement once you have the relevant freighter technology. The update does not promise a fixed daily income, so treat the collected resources as an additional supply to sell or use in crafting.
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13. Scrap discovered or acquired ships
Take a ship you are willing to give up to a salvage station and scrap it for saleable products, technology, and possible inventory augmentation. Hello Games’ Synthesis update documents ship salvaging and its outputs. You need access to a ship worth scrapping; compare the cost and effort of acquiring it with the salvage you receive. No standard payout for a particular ship is established here.
14. Salvage Sentinel Interceptors
Players report hunting Sentinel Interceptors and scrapping them as an income loop. It involves finding and acquiring an eligible ship, which can mean combat and additional travel, before you can salvage it. Consider it if you enjoy that gameplay and can handle the encounter; player reports do not establish a reliable sale price or universal ranking.
15. Smuggle contraband or take outlaw missions
At an outlaw station, black-market traders sell illegal goods that can be resold in regulated space. Hello Games’ Outlaws update (April 2022) says illegal goods can sell for a large markup there. It also documents cargo scans and possible Sentinel deployment when a pilot is found carrying contraband. You can instead look for missions from outlaw Bounty Masters, but assess the combat and travel requirements before accepting. The official update does not quantify a current margin, so check prices in your game and weigh the risk before loading cargo.
How to compare the options for your playthrough
- Little capital: Begin with scanning, selling spare finds, suitable mission-board jobs, or asteroid mining; these avoid a dedicated production build.
- More cargo space: Compare trade opportunities and, if you accept the risk, contraband resale. Both require planning around travel and what you can carry.
- Time to build: Crop farms, gas harvesters, crafting chains, and freighter extractors can support ongoing production, but the payoff depends on your setup and what you do with the materials.
- Want combat or salvage: Ship scrapping and Sentinel Interceptor hunting can suit players who want acquisition and combat as part of the loop; neither has a verified universal payout.
- Want exploration income: Scans reward discovery, but rely on encountering new things; completing a planet’s fauna set is a possible extension, not a guaranteed fixed bonus.
Prices, recipes, market conditions, equipment, and game balance can affect returns. Recent community discussion includes widely differing anecdotes, not a standardized comparison. Choose based on setup, risk, and play style rather than an unsupported Units-per-hour claim.
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