Strategy Pod Box
Pod Box Orders and Upgrades: Coins, Keeper Levels and Helpers
Make coins in Pod Box with buyer orders, climb Keeper Levels to unlock species, and buy tubs and helpers like the Auto Feeder and Auto Mister in order.
Once your isopod colony grows, Pod Box turns into a small business. Frass pays a little, buyers pay a lot, and coins buy bigger tubs and helpers like the Auto Scoop, Auto Feeder and Auto Mister. This guide covers where coins come from, how Keeper Levels unlock new species, and which upgrades to buy in which order. New to the game? Read the beginner's guide first.
Where coins come from
| Source | Pays | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Frass | 1 coin per pellet | Compost in batches of 5. Steady, small, never runs out |
| Selling one isopod | Base price × stage × markings | Adults 100%, subadults 75%, mancae 40%. You can't sell your last one |
| Buyer orders | About 1.8 × base price, plus 30 | The biggest payouts in the game, plus Keeper XP |
A healthy adult drops a pellet about every 9 seconds at normal speed when the box is thriving. Thirsty, hungry or stressed isopods drop fewer, and babies drop less than adults. Frass carries the early game. Orders carry everything after.
How buyer orders work
The Orders tab always shows three orders. Each comes from one of seven buyers: the Bioactive Shop, a Local Collector, the Research Centre, a Terrarium Café, a Reptile Keeper, a School Project and the Botanic Gardens. There are two kinds:
- Morph orders ask for a number of one morph you already keep, for example "Wants 4 × Dairy Cow". Rare morphs are asked for in ones and twos.
- Any-isopod orders ask for 3 to 6 grown isopods of any kind. They pay 16 coins each plus 24.
- Mancae never count. Subadults and adults do.
- Fulfil takes your least valuable animals that match. It never takes a brooding female and always leaves at least one isopod in the box.
- Reroll · 10c swaps one order for a new one. A filled order is replaced straight away.
| Example order | Order pays | Selling them one by one |
|---|---|---|
| 4 × Dairy Cow | 88 coins | about 32 coins |
| 5 × any isopod | 104 coins | depends on what you give |
| 2 × Papaya | 462 coins | about 240 coins |
| 1 × High Yellow Zebra | 372 coins | about 190 coins |
| 1 × Rubber Ducky | 966 coins | about 520 coins |
Keeper Levels and species unlocks
Almost everything you do pays Keeper XP. Levels unlock new species in the shop, up to level 40.
| Action | XP |
|---|---|
| Compost a batch of 5 frass | 1 |
| Sell an isopod | 2 |
| Buy an isopod | 3 |
| A brood emerges | 5 + number of babies |
| Buy an upgrade | 15 |
| Upgrade the tub | 30 |
| Fill an any-isopod order | 8 + 2 per isopod |
| Fill a morph order | 12 + 4 × isopods × rarity (1 Common to 5 Legendary) |
| Discover a new morph | 60 / 80 / 100 / 140 by rarity |
| Keeper Level | Total XP to reach it | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 115 | Porcellionides pruinosus (Powder Orange, 44 coins) |
| 6 | 695 | Armadillidium maculatum (Zebra, 145 coins) |
| 11 | 2,993 | Cubaris sp. (Rubber Ducky, 980 coins) |
Discoveries and orders are the big XP jumps. Breeding Orange Laevis, Oreo Crumble and Papaya out of Daisy's line is worth 240 XP by itself, a good part of the way to level 6. The breeding guide shows how.
Every upgrade and helper
| Upgrade | Cost | Needs | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frass Vacuum | 90 | nothing | One click clears every pellet in a wide circle |
| Feeding Dish | 150 | nothing | Food rots half as fast |
| Auto Scoop | 340 | Frass Vacuum | Collects every pellet in the tub every 4 seconds |
| Auto Feeder | 430 | Feeding Dish | Puts food out from your stock, best food first, about one pile per 7 isopods |
| Auto Composter | 520 | Auto Scoop | Turns frass straight into coins |
| Auto Mister | 600 | nothing | Every 5 seconds tops the mossy corner up to properly wet |
| Tub | Cost | Recommended isopods | How fast it dries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5L Shoebox | start | 14 | normal |
| 10L Keeper Box | 140 | 26 | about a quarter slower |
| 20L Ventilated | 520 | 42 | a little slower than the Shoebox, faster than the 10L |
| Bioactive Bin | 1,600 | 64 | the slowest of all |
A tub upgrade makes the enclosure physically bigger and keeps the damp corner you built. The recommended number is a soft limit. Above it the Space bar drops, the box never fully calms down, leaves break down faster, and auto-breeding slows and then stops.
A spending plan, in order of value
- 1
Frass Vacuum (90)
Cheap, saves hundreds of clicks, and unlocks the Auto Scoop.
- 2
10L Keeper Box (140)
Almost doubles the room and dries slower. Your first broods will need the space.
- 3
Feeding Dish (150)
Halves food rot. It pays for itself once the colony grows.
- 4
Auto Scoop (340)
No more pellet hunting. You still press Compost yourself.
- 5
Auto Composter (520)
Frass becomes coins with no clicks at all.
- 6
Auto Feeder (430)
Keep food stock in the shop and it feeds them for you. Buy Pod Mix in bulk.
- 7
Auto Mister (600)
Keeps the wet zone topped up. The far side still dries, so the gradient stays.
- 8
Bigger tubs (520, then 1,600)
When orders and broods keep you over the recommended number.
If you enjoy misting by hand, skip the Auto Mister until late. If you enjoy the clicking, skip the scoop. Pod Box is happy either way. Helpers work in silence, so the journal stays calm.
What is the fastest way to make coins in Pod Box?
Fill buyer orders. They pay about 1.8 times the base price plus 30 coins, far more than selling the same isopods one by one.
When do I unlock Rubber Ducky?
At Keeper Level 11, about 2,993 XP in total. A Rubber Ducky then costs 980 coins in the shop.
Will an order take my best isopod?
No. Orders always take the least valuable matching animals, never a brooding female, and they never empty the box.
Is the Auto Mister worth it?
Later on, yes. It only wets the mossy corner, so your dry side stays dry. Early coins do more in the Vacuum, a bigger tub and the Feeding Dish.
What does Reroll do?
For 10 coins it swaps one order for a new random one. It helps when an order asks for more than you have.
Ready?
Put it into practice
Raise a colony of tiny isopods and breed new colours.
