What Are Steam Points? How You Earn Them and What They're Worth Spending On
October 5, 2026
Every Steam purchase quietly earns Steam Points, and most people never spend them. Here is what they are, how you earn them, and what is actually worth buying with them.
The basics
Steam Points are Steam's loyalty currency. You earn 100 points for every $1 you spend on the Steam store (or the equivalent in your local currency). Buying a $20 game gets you about 2,000 points.
They are spent in the Points Shop (store.steampowered.com/points), which sells only cosmetic items: things that change how your profile, chat or Steam Deck looks.
What Steam Points cannot do
This causes a lot of confusion, so here it is plainly:
- They cannot buy games.
- They cannot be turned into Steam Wallet funds.
- They cannot be traded, sold or transferred to another account.
- They have no cash value.
If a website offers to "convert your Steam Points to wallet money" or sells Steam Points, it is a scam. Steam has no such feature. Our guide to common Steam account scams covers the ones that use this lure.
How you earn them
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Buying a game, DLC or software on Steam | 100 per $1 |
| In-game purchases made through Steam's checkout | 100 per $1 |
| Steam Deck and other hardware bought from Steam | 100 per $1 |
| Steam Community Market purchases | None |
| Adding money to your wallet | None (you earn when you spend it) |
Two details people miss:
- Paying with wallet funds still earns points. It does not matter if the money came from a card, a gift card or market sales. You earn points when you buy something in the store. A Steam gift card from a rewards site earns the same points as cash.
- Refunds take the points back. If you refund a game, the points you earned from it are removed. See our Steam refund policy guide.
What the Points Shop sells
Prices change and items rotate, but roughly:
- Chat stickers and chat effects: small animated items for Steam chat, usually from around 1,000 points.
- Emoticons and profile backgrounds: cheap, and often themed to a specific game.
- Animated avatars and avatar frames: a few thousand points each.
- Mini-profile backgrounds and full profile themes: the more expensive items.
- Steam Deck keyboards and startup movies: cosmetic changes for the Deck.
- Seasonal badges: during big sales, a sale-themed badge you level up with points, which also raises your Steam level.
- Community awards: reactions you give to other people's reviews, guides and screenshots, starting from 100 points.
The best ways to spend them
1. Seasonal sale items. During the big seasonal sales, Steam often gives away a free sticker or item every day in the Points Shop. These cost nothing, so claim them. Our Steam sale calendar shows when they happen.
2. Steam level. If you care about your Steam level (it unlocks more friend slots and profile showcase spaces), seasonal badges are the cheapest route there.
3. Awards for people who helped you. A good review or guide that saved you from a bad purchase is worth 100 to 300 points as a thank-you.
4. One animated avatar or frame you actually like. It is the most visible thing you can buy.
The worst ways to spend them
- Buying many backgrounds for games you don't play. They are rarely displayed.
- Saving them for something "valuable" later. Nothing in the shop is worth much more than anything else. Points do not gain value, so spending them on something you like now is fine.
Steam Points vs rewards-site points
Steam Points are a loyalty perk: you get them as a by-product of spending money. Rewards-site points work the other way. You earn them by doing tasks, and they redeem for something with real value, such as gift cards.
On XPReward, for example, points come from offers, surveys and Gaming Hub contributions, and they redeem for Steam, PSN or Xbox gift cards at 144 points per $1 of face value, starting at a $25 card. Those cards can buy games. Steam Points cannot. Our reward points value explainer compares point systems in more detail.
FAQ
Do Steam Points expire?
Steam does not publish an expiry for points in your balance. Some limited-time shop items disappear after their event, though.
Do free-to-play games earn Steam Points?
Only in-game purchases made through Steam's checkout earn points. Playing does not.
Can I give Steam Points to a friend?
Not directly. You can spend points on an award for their review or profile, but you cannot transfer a balance.
Why do I have points I never earned?
Points Shop events and sale promotions sometimes grant small amounts or free items.