Steam Points: what they are, how to get them and what they are worth
Steam Points are a bonus Steam gives for purchases. They are spent in the Points Shop on profile items and on awards for other users. They are not money: you cannot pay for a game with points or cash them out.
How to get Steam Points
The main way is to buy things in the Steam Store. Every dollar spent brings 100 points; if your wallet is in another currency, the sum is converted to dollars. Points are given for:
- games, DLC and soundtracks;
- in-game purchases paid through Steam;
- Valve hardware such as the Steam Deck.
Points come for money spent, not for money added: while funds sit in the wallet they earn nothing. If a purchase is refunded, its points are taken back. Keys bought in other stores and activated on Steam earn no points.
The second way is awards. When another user gives an award to your review, screenshot, guide or profile, a part of the points they spent goes to you.
What Steam Points are worth
Points have no price and no exchange rate: Steam neither sells them nor turns them into money. What you can count is how many points a purchase brings — the price in dollars multiplied by 100.
To convert your currency to dollars the way Steam does, open the Steam exchange rates, pick your currency as the base and type the price — the USD row shows the number. Multiply it by 100 for the approximate amount of points.
For example, a 10-dollar purchase brings about 1,000 points, a 60-dollar one about 6,000.
Can you buy Steam Points
Not directly. Steam has no “buy points” button, and points cannot be moved from one account to another.
What third-party sellers call “buying points” is usually awards: the seller gives an award to your review or screenshot and a part of the points lands on your account. Steam does not back such deals — if the seller does not deliver, Steam will not return the money.
The reliable way is to buy what you need anyway. If the wallet is empty, you can top it up with Play Wallet: the points arrive when you spend that money in the Steam Store.
What to spend points on
- avatar frames and animated avatars;
- profile backgrounds and mini-profiles;
- emoticons, stickers and chat effects;
- awards for other users’ reviews, screenshots and profiles;
- Steam Deck keyboards and startup movies.
Points do not expire, so you can save them up.
