PDF download Download Article
Adjust earnings and increase difficulty in Stardew Valley with Profit Margins
PDF download Download Article

The Profit Margin system was first introduced in Stardew Valley's Version 1.3 update. This system allows players to adjust their farm's earnings from crops, fish, animal products, and more.[1] If you want a greater challenge, lowering your Profit Margin is a great way to increase Stardew Valley's difficulty. As long you're playing the most up-to-date version of the game, you can easily change the profit margin on your Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and in the mobile app. This wikiHow will explain the Profit Margin in Stardew Valley, including when and how to change it.

Things You Should Know

  • By default, you'll have 100% Profit Margin. Lowering your Profit Margin will decrease the Gold you can earn by selling items.
  • Only lower your Profit Margin if you want to increase the game's difficulty.
  • Create a new game, then click the wrench icon. Click the "Profit Margin" drop-down menu and select 75%, 50%, or 25%. [2]
Section 1 of 3:

What does Profit Margin mean?

PDF download Download Article
  1. In Stardew Valley, most of your Gold comes from growing and selling crops. By lowering the Profit Margin, you are lowering the amount you receive with each of your sales. This includes the creatures you capture via fishing in Stardew.
    • Stardew Valley offers set Profit Margins of 100% (Normal), 75%, 50%, and 25%.
    • If you have your Profit Margins set to 50%, an item worth 60 Gold will now be worth 30 Gold when sold. If you have your Profit Margins set to 25%, an item worth 60 Gold will now be worth 15 Gold, and so on. [3]
  2. Advertisement
Section 2 of 3:

When should I change the Profit Margin?

PDF download Download Article
  1. If you're a veteran player or even a new player who enjoys a harder difficulty, you can adjust your Profit Margin at the beginning of a new save file. This will essentially double the amount of time needed to reach any monetary goals.
    • While lowering the Profit Margin will also lower the expenses of seeds, other unlockable items such as the Stable and Inventory expansions will remain the same. It will take you longer to obtain these features as opposed to a normal 100% Profit Margin game.[4]
    • In most cases, save files with normal Profit Margins see growth in Year 2, but lower Profit Margins may take longer.
    • You can only change your Profit Margin when you start a new save file. You'll be unable to officially change it with an existing save file.[5]
Section 3 of 3:

Lowering the Profit Margin

PDF download Download Article
  1. Stardew Valley is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, as well as the consoles: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.[6]
  2. You can't change the profit margin for an existing game. You'll need to start a new save file.
  3. This will be near the bottom-left of the character creation window.
  4. You may need to scroll to find this option. It will be underneath the checkbox for Spawn monsters on the farm.
  5. By default, it will be at 100%. Choose 75%, 50%, or 25%.
    • The lower your Profit Margin, the less you will earn when selling items.
  6. This will save your choices.
  7. You'll need to create your character, fill in the required fields, and select a farm layout before you can proceed.[7]
  8. Your new save file will begin. You can now play Stardew Valley with your selected Profit Margin.
    • Some aspects will remain unaffected, such as the unlocking of the sewer key.
  9. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement

Video

Tips

Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

You Might Also Like

Advertisement

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about stardew valley, check out our in-depth interview with BlaDe.

About This Article

BlaDe
Co-authored by:
Stardew Valley Expert
This article was co-authored by BlaDe and by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly. BlaDe is a Stardew Valley Expert based in New Zealand. He has been playing Stardew for several years, and manages both a YouTube channel and Twitch account dedicated to the game. He has over 60K subscribers on YouTube, and has over 11K followers on Twitch. He is known for speedruns and challenge runs, with a focus on predicting RNG. He is also lauded in the Stardew community for his extensive knowledge of the game’s code. BlaDe has been a lifelong gamer, enjoying all types of games. Outside of his Stardew pursuits, he works full time as a computer programmer. This article has been viewed 50,861 times.
6 votes - 97%
Co-authors: 5
Updated: February 3, 2025
Views: 50,861
Categories: Multi Platform Games
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 50,861 times.

Did this article help you?

Advertisement