How to make money in Star Citizen
Choose an activity, understand its costs and check your actual alpha wallet. RSI currency definitions
By Domux. Updated 2026-10-18.
Alpha earnings are aUEC. Start with a contract your available ship and equipment can handle, check its stated payment and risk, and keep enough reserve to recover from a loss.
Choose the activity before the ship
- Cargo contracts: move the goods named in the contract. Check cargo size, handling and delivery terms before accepting.
- Commodity trading: buy stock with your own aUEC. A lost load or changed sale price can cost your capital.
- Mining: the extraction method, equipment, refining and sale determine the workflow. A general starter is not automatically a mining vessel.
- Salvage: check access to suitable salvage equipment and how collected material reaches a buyer.
- Bounty hunting: read the target, location and combat requirements. Do not judge a contract by payout alone.
A manageable first earning session
Use the ship you already have access to, inspect the current contract terms and complete a small task before committing your whole wallet. Equipment costs, travel, reputation and interruptions affect net earnings. This guide does not claim measured hourly profits or a risk-free beginner route.
What the referral can and cannot fund
A valid referral adds the standard 50,000 account UEC benefit. Add the code at registration or within 24 hours on an unlinked new account. Game access needs a Game Package outside public trials. The recruiter’s separate $40 eligible fresh-money spending rule is not a second player-bonus threshold. RSI referral rules.
Account UEC, package UEC and temporary alpha aUEC are different balances. If no previous alpha balance carries over, RSI uses the patch starting amount plus account UEC outside a Game Package; package UEC is excluded. Check your actual wallet before buying equipment. RSI currency rules.
The current 4.10.2 notes list 20,000 starting aUEC and preserved long-term persistence. Those build facts are not a promise of the same wallet for every player. Do not budget a first cargo purchase against an assumed 50,000-credit deposit.
Keep the real-money decision small
A Game Package provides initial access. An optional specialist pledge is a separate purchase; try the activity and check in-game availability before considering it.
Sources and updates
By Domux. Public RSI profile, enlisted 3 January 2016.
Edited 18 October 2026. Source checks have their own timestamps.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make money in Star Citizen?
Alpha contracts and activities pay temporary aUEC. Cargo, trading, mining, salvage and combat have different equipment, capital and loss risks. Read the current contract before accepting.
What should a beginner do first?
Choose a small contract compatible with the ship and equipment already available. Check payment, destination and cargo or combat requirements, and retain a reserve.
Is the referral bonus guaranteed starting trade capital?
No fixed alpha-wallet total is guaranteed. Account UEC, package UEC and alpha aUEC follow different rules, including carryover and the current patch starting amount.
Ready to claim the 50,000 UEC?
The signup link pre-fills STAR-JTV7-FXLR. RSI advertises the bonus after buying a Game Package. The $40 fresh-money threshold determines the referrer's Recruitment Point. RSI referral conditions
Enlist with code STAR-JTV7-FXLR ✓ Verified referral code · Today: 23 October 2026Add the code at signup or within 24 hours of creating your account. That is not a deadline to buy. A free account can join public Free Fly events during their announced windows. Special event rewards have separate rules. RSI rules