Most Profitable Crops in Stardew Valley

Farming is arguably the most crucial aspect of Stardew Valley. The game introduces you to its farming mechanic right from the start – gifting you Parsnip seeds to plant and harvest. 

As you venture further, it becomes more than apparent that the primary source of income you’ll have in Stardew Valley is farming – you are, after all, a farmer! Since your livelihood quite literally depends upon the farming mechanic, it’s essential to know both – crops that are the most profitable and the ones to steer clear of!

Lucky for you, that’s exactly what I’ll be covering today! 

What is the Most Profitable Crop in Stardew Valley?

Ancient Fruit is the most profitable crop of Stardew Valley. It nets 550g, 687g, 825g, and 1100g respectively, for its Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants. Ancient Fruit doesn’t have to be replanted, which makes it even more lucrative. 

In terms of pure profit, a single Ancient Fruit can net a total of 2,264.89g or 40.44g per day. They have 4 harvest cycles (excluding fertilizers) if planted correctly and allowed to run the entirety of their three seasons. They take 28 days to fully grow and then reproduce Ancient Fruit every 7 days!

Even though Ancient Fruit is the most profitable crop in the game – you can’t solely rely upon it since its seeds can be hard to come by. 

You’ll find a rundown of some of the most profitable crops in each season of Stardew Valley below. Note that this categorization is solely based on the purchase and sale price of the crop itself. I won’t be taking into account additional factors such as converting the crops into Artisan goods, skills that can affect price, and other opportunity costs. Additionally, I won’t be covering the Winter season since you can’t plant anything except Winter Seeds during it.

Spring

Starting off with Spring, the 3 most lucrative crops for this season include Strawberries, Coffee Beans, and Rhubarbs – in that order. 

Strawberry

You can obtain Strawberry Seeds as a unique item from the Egg Festival event. The crop itself has five harvest cycles (excluding fertilizers) if planted on the first day of the month. Every Strawberry you cultivate will net you a total of 629.73g, which translates to 22.49g per day. 

They sell for 120g, 150g, 180g, and 240g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 8 days for a Strawberry to fully grow, and its plant reproduces every 4 days afterward. 

Coffee Bean

Coffee Beans are relatively harder to get compared to other crops. They’re special seeds, so you can’t directly purchase them as you usually would. Your best bet at getting one of them is either by slaying a Dust Sprite or buying them from the Travelling Cart for 100-1,000g or 2,500g – although both of these methods depend upon chance. 

Once you collect a few of them, however, you can use a Seed Maker to obtain more. The crop itself has five harvest cycles (excluding fertilizers) if planted on the first day of the month. A Coffee Bean will give you 543.46g in total, which translates to 19.41g per day. 

They sell for 15g, 18g, 22g, and 30g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 10 days for them to fully grow, and they’ll reproduce every 2 days!

Rhubarb

Your primary source of purchasing Rhubarb Seeds will be Sandy’s Oasis shop in the Calico Desert. They can be obtained for 100g a piece here. Additionally, they’ll also be available in the Travelling Cart from time to time for 150-1,000g. Rhubarbs can give two harvests (excluding fertilizers) if planted on the first day of the month. Each Rhubarb provides 453g in profits which is 16.18g per day. 

They sell for 220g, 375g, 330g, and 440g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 13 days for a Rhubarb to fully mature and become ready for harvest. 

Summer

Moving on to the Summer season, your 3 best options for crops are Starfruits, Red Cabbages, and Pineapples.

Starfruit

Starfruit Seeds can primarily be purchased from the Oasis shop in Calico Desert for 400g a piece. They can also randomly appear in the Travelling Cart for 600-1,000g. Starfruits have two harvest cycles (excluding fertilizers) if planted on the first day of the month. You’ll get 1,544.27g in total profits for the crop, which translates to a whopping 55.15g per day. 

The crop sells for 750g, 937g, 1125g, and 1,500g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 13 days for Strafruits to become ready for harvest. 

Red Cabbage

You can find Red Cabbage Seeds at Pierre’s General Store for 100g, but they’ll only be available to you after your second year in Pelican Town! They can also sometimes appear in the Travelling Cart for 150-1,000. Lastly, Red Cabbage Seeds can be purchased during the Night Market event as well (same rate as Pierre’s).

You can extract 3 harvests (excluding fertilizers) from Red Cabbages if they’re planted on the first day of the month. They’ll net 803.05g in profits translating to 28.68g per day. The crop sells for 260g, 325g, 390g, and 520g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 9 days for a Red Cabbage to become ready for harvest. 

Pineapple

Pineapple Seeds can only be obtained by trading a Magma Cap with the Island Trader. You can, however, use a Seed Maker to replicate the crop once you have a few Pineapples. You can manage 2 harvests (excluding fertilizers) with Pineapples on your Pelican Town farm if they’re planted on the first day of the month. The crop can be grown on Ginger Island indefinitely!

Each Pineapple you plant gives a profit of 617.73g, which translates to 22.06g per day. They sell for 300g, 375g, 450g, and 600g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It’ll take 14 days for a Pineapple to fully grow, and its plant will reproduce every 7 days!

Fall

In the Fall season of Stardew Valley, the most lucrative crops to focus on are Sweet Gem Berries, Cranberries, and Pumpkins. 

Sweet Gem Berry

Sweet Gem Berries are undoubtedly the rarest and most difficult-to-obtain crops in Stardew Valley. They can only be grown from Rare Seeds, so you can’t directly purchase them from Pierre, Joja Mart, and the like. The only possible way of obtaining these seeds is to buy them from the Travelling Cart for 600-1,000g whenever they randomly spawn.

Once you’ve obtained a few of the berries, you can convert them into additional seeds using a Seed Maker. This process will quickly become your primary source of getting Rare Seeds. Sweet Gem Berries have one harvest cycle (excluding fertilizers). You’ll receive a total profit of 3,088.65g or 110.31g per day.

They sell for 3000g, 3750g, 4500g, and 6000g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 24 days for a Sweet Gem Berry to fully mature.

Cranberry

Cranberry Seeds are widely available and can be purchased at Pierre’s General Store and Joja Mart for 240g and 300g, respectively. Aside from that, you can also purchase these from the Travelling Cart and Night Market for 180-1,000g and 240g.

You’ll be able to manage 5 Cranberry harvests without using fertilizers and obtain a profit of 760.79g or 27.17g per day for the crop. They sell for 75g, 93g, 112g, and 150g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. Cranberries will take 7 days to grow and then reproduce every 5 days after that!

Pumpkin

You can purchase Pumpkin Seeds from Pierre’s General Store, Joja Mart, or the Night Market for 100g, 125g, and 100g, respectively. They can also show up in the Travelling Cart’s stock every now and then for 150-1,000g. 

Pumpkins can have 2 harvest cycles without fertilizers if you plant them on the first day of the Fall season. This leads to a profit of 658.91g or 23.53g per day from the crop. Pumpkins will sell for 320g, 400g, 480g, and 640g for their Normal, Silver, Gold, and Iridium variants, respectively. It takes 13 days for Pumpkins to become fully mature and ready for harvest.

Information Table

To make things easier for you, the following table summarizes vital information about each of the crops mentioned in this post. You can find information on additional crops on the official Stardew Valley Wiki! 

Crop Name	Season	Total Profit	Profit Per Day	Growth Time
Ancient Fruit	Spring, Summer, Fall	2,264.89g	40.44g	28 Days
Strawberry	Spring	629.73g	22.49g	8 Days
Coffee Bean	Spring	543.46g	19.41g	10 Days
Rhubarb	Spring	453g	16.18g	13 Days
Starfruit	Summer	1,544.27g	55.15g	13 Days
Red Cabbage	Summer	803.05g	28.68g	9 Days
Pineapple	Summer	617.73g	22.06g	14 Days
Sweet Gem Berry	Fall	3,088.65g	110.31g	24 Days
Cranberry	Fall	760.79g	27.17g	7 Days
Pumpkin	Fall	658.91g	23.53g	13 Days