Marrying for money is a time-honored tradition, albeit one we like to think isn’t practiced that often anymore. While romancing an NPC is a major part of Stardew Valley, sometimes you just want to sit back and build up that bank account.
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Picking your spouse based on the value they bring to the farm seems cut-throat, but it’s understandable if you’re playing through Stardew Valley’s JojaMart route. Considering the expense of JojaMart’s community development projects, every bit of gold helps.
Of course, it’s also worth keeping in mind the non-monetary value of spousal gifts. Sometimes, the buffs from a crunchy stack of 
Crab Cakes are worth more than their sale price. You might make more money off not selling a gift!
So which spouse is the ideal financial partner? Let’s dive in and find out.
Although Krobus technically becomes your “roommate,” I’m treating him as a spouse in this guide because he lives on your farm and gives gifts in a similar way.
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Marriage With Benefits
Whoever you ultimately pick as the best romantic partner, the core benefits of marriage in Stardew Valley are pretty similar. Keep your spouse happy with gifts and attention, and they’ll help out around the farm and give gifts in return.
A spouse’s farm help is pretty sporadic. At times, it’s huge, but at other times it’s a letdown. For example, they might water all of your crops. This saves a bunch of time and Energy … unless all of your crops were being watered by 
Iridium Sprinklers, anyway. Thanks, Honey.
Repairing fences and watering crops is nice, but since these chores are randomized, I never rely on my spouse for labor. Their work occasionally comes in clutch, but usually, the best marriage benefit is receiving gifts.
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Gifts From Your Spouse
Each spouse offers a variety of gifts. The number of options ranges from Sam or Harvey’s 6 to a whopping 13 options from Abigail and Haley. Most of the time, your spouse gifts food to keep you going while farming. If you’re seeking profit, though, don’t be fooled—the sell price of most meals is more than an 
Amethyst gem!
All spouse gifts are at base quality. Your skills, fertilizer, etc. don’t impact the item’s value. However, perks like Rancher buff a gift’s sale price as usual.
|
Spouse |
Potential Gifts |
Cooked Food |
|---|---|---|
|
Amethyst, Bat Wing, Bomb, Cherry Bomb, Fire Quartz, Solar Essence, Void Essence |
Chowder, Crab Cakes, Lobster Bisque, Parsnip Soup, Tom Kha Soup, Trout Soup |
|
|
None! |
Baked Fish, Crispy Bass, Dish O’ The Sea, Fried Eel, Hashbrowns, Omelet, Pancakes, Survival Burger |
|
|
None! |
Baked Fish, Coffee, Chowder, Fish Stew, Fried Calimari, Wine (Winter 28 only) |
|
|
Cloth, Duck Feather, Omni Geode, Refined Quartz, Wool |
Bean Hotpot, Blueberry Tart, Chocolate Cake, Cookie, Rice Pudding |
|
|
None! |
Bean Hotpot, Blueberry Tart, Bread, Chowder, Cookie, Eggplant Parmesan, Fried Egg, Hashbrowns, Maple Bar, Omelet, Pancakes, Parsnip Soup, Poppyseed Muffin |
|
|
None! |
Carp Surprise, Complete Breakfast, Crispy Bass, Fried Eel, Salmon Dinner, Vegetable Medley |
|
|
Sea Urchin, Void Egg, Void Mayonnaise, Void Salmon |
Fried Eel, Lucky Lunch, Poppyseed Muffin, Strange Bun |
|
|
Cactus Fruit, Chanterelle, Common Mushroom, Daffodil, Dandelion, Fiddlehead Fern, Leek, Morel, Red Mushroom, Spice Berry, Sweet Pea, Wild Horseradish |
Coffee, Wine (Winter 28 only) |
|
|
Bomb, Cherry Bomb, Gate, Refined Quartz, Quality Fertilizer, Warp Totem: Farm |
Blueberry Tart, Chocolate Cake, Cookies, Crab Cakes, Fried Mushroom, Rice Pudding |
|
|
Egg, Geode, Large Milk, Mixed Seeds |
Crispy Bass, Fried Eel, Hashbrowns, Omelet, Pancakes, Salmon Dinner, Vegetable Medley |
|
|
Cactus Fruit, Coconut, Earth Crystal, Geode |
Pancakes, Pizza |
|
|
Amethyst, Bat Wing, Cave Carrot, Frozen Tear, Obsidian, Void Essence |
Coffee, Beer (Winter 28 only) |
|
|
Large Egg, Void Egg |
Beer, Omelet, Pale Ale, Pepper Poppers, Pizza |
Abigail
Alex
Elliott
Emily
Haley
Harvey
Krobus
Leah
Maru
Penny
Sam
Sebastian
Shane
When To Check For Gifts
There’s a chance your spouse will give you a gift in two circumstances:
- They’re spending the day inside the Farmhouse
- The weather is rainy
On rainy days, the type of gift depends on the time of day. You can receive a breakfast meal in the morning, or a dinner or dessert in the evening.
A “rainy day” isn’t restricted to just rain—any type of weather will do (such as snow during Winter). In addition, Krobus’ gift pattern is a bit different—he may give gifts on non-rainy days, too.
Not every spouse is an equal cook! Some only gift either breakfast or dinner meals. However, if the randomized gift is not a meal, you’ll receive it whenever you speak with them throughout the rainy day.
Consequently, in Stardew Valley, the easiest way to check for gifts from your spouse is to speak with them in mornings and evenings on rainy days. These days are more common than when your spouse stays inside—and they’re blatantly obvious, too!
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A Profitable Marriage
If you’re optimizing everything on the farm—even making the fish ponds profitable—then it’s best to consider the average value of gifts received from your spouse. I’m looking at the base value of each gift, without accounting for potential buffs to the sell price. I’m also not including gifts received only on Winter 28.
|
Spouse |
Average Gold Per Gift |
|---|---|
|
Harvey |
198.33 |
|
Emily |
196.00 |
|
Krobus |
186.88 |
|
Shane |
183.57 |
|
Elliott |
142.00 |
|
Haley |
139.62 |
|
Maru |
123.55 |
|
Penny |
118.64 |
|
Abigail |
114.62 |
|
Alex |
109.38 |
|
Sam |
109.17 |
|
Sebastian |
87.86 |
|
Leah |
84.17 |
Harvey tops the list with his small collection of high-value foods, with Emily trailing close behind thanks to the value of 
Cloth,
Duck Feathers, and 
Wool. If you take the Artisan perk, she squeaks into the top spot.
Overall, meals are the major money-maker. From a utility perspective, the Farming +2 from Harvey’s 
Complete Breakfast and Shane’s 
Pepper Poppers make those high-value spouses even more attractive.
In contrast, spouses like Maru and Abigail offer useful items (like 
Bombs), but those items just aren’t that valuable. When selecting a spouse for profit, it’s best to avoid partners who gift useful—but cheap—items.
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Stardew Valley
- Released
-
February 26, 2016
- ESRB
-
E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
-
ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
-
ConcernedApe
- Engine
-
Proprietary
