Economy

Everything you buy in Moon Sweepers is paid for by launching dust into space. This page breaks down every price, multiplier and bonus so you can see exactly where your money comes from — and where it should go.

Last verified: November 2026 · Steam release build

How selling works

By hand: carry dust to the depot inside a station, deposit it (E), then press Sell Dust. The container is launched into space and you are paid. Automated: any capsule that reaches a station intake by conveyor sells on arrival — from a Packager, a robot dock, a Garage chute or a factory line. An unconnected Capsule Catcher also sells whatever lands in it.

Money is only added when capsules actually arrive. A long belt full of capsules is money in transit; it can take a while after a big dump before your balance moves.

Product values

Product	Made by	Relative value	Approx. $/kg (no bonuses)	Approx. $/kg (+28%)
Lunar dust	Sweeping, vehicles, robots	1×	≈ $1.00	≈ $1.28
Moon sand	Pressure Chamber	3×	≈ $3	≈ $3.85
Moonstone	Stone Press (1 dust + 1 sand → 2 stone)	≈ 7×	≈ $7	≈ $9

Because a press turns 2 kg of input into 2 kg of stone, and the sand itself came from dust, every kilo of dust that enters a balanced chamber + press line leaves as roughly one kilo of stone. That is the 7× multiplier in practice.

Percentage bonuses

Upgrade	Cost	Bonus	Running total
Market Contracts I	$120	+6%	+6%
Market Contracts II	$400	+6%	+12%
Market Contracts III	$1,100	+6%	+18%
Luna Exchange	$2,500	+10%	+28%

All four apply to the launch payout of every product. Supplier Network (≈ $700) does not increase income but cuts tool and container upgrade prices by 10%.

Flat rewards

Reward	Amount	Notes
Finished hex (region)	$10 / $25 / $40	Base / Region Bounty I / Region Bounty II. Paid at 99%+.
Flag untangled	$100+	195 flags, one per country.
Site surveyed	$250	26 survey sites.
Building on dust	Small	The dust under the footprint counts as cleaned.
Removing a building	100% refund	Older builds refunded 75%.

Worked example

A fully upgraded Extra Wide Broom holds about 110 kg. Sold raw with +28% that is about $140. Sent through a stone line instead it is roughly $990 — the same trip, seven times the money. And finishing the two hexes it took to fill the broom adds $80 in region bonuses on top. This is why the Pressure Chamber and Stone Press matter more than any vehicle.

Note

In the very late game the picture flips: hundreds of JONAS produce so much dust that factories cannot keep up. Selling raw dust directly then still makes millions, and the limiting factor becomes how fast you can place robots.

What things cost

Item	Price
Nail Brush / Hand Brush / Household Broom	$5 / $10 / $25
Wide Broom / Extra Wide Broom	$75 / $150
Building Tool	$50
Tool Belt Slot 2 / 3	$15 / $60
Conveyor belt	$0.50 per metre
Packager	$100
Robot Vacuum Mk1 / Mk2	$250 / $500
Large Solar Tracker	$300
Pressure Chamber	$500
Stone Press	≈ $1,000
Garage	$200
Push Sweeper / Ride-on / Crew Transport / Lunar Sweeper / Mega Rover	$300 / $1,000 / $2,000 / $2,500 / $6,000
JONAS	$20,000
Teleport between stations	$50

Money in co-op

In multiplayer the wallet is shared — every player's sales go into the same balance, and anyone can spend it. Tools are not shared: each player buys their own brooms. Plan purchases together so two people do not both buy an upgrade at the same moment. See Multiplayer.