Case 1
- Which level do you want to reach?
- 11
200XP
Open with these valuesSteam Level XP Calculator
200XP
Result: 200 XPReaching level 11 costs 200 XP, and so does level 20 — Steam charges per band of ten, not per level. Levels 1 to 10 cost 100 XP each, 11 to 20 cost 200, 21 to 30 cost 300, and so on. One crafted badge is 100 XP, so a level in the second band is two card sets.
The numbers at a glance
| Which level do you want to reach? | Result (XP) |
|---|---|
| 5 | 100 |
| 10 | 100 |
| 11Your value | 200 |
| 15 | 200 |
| 20 | 200 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- Which level do you want to reach?
- 30
300XP
Open with these valuesCase 3
- Which level do you want to reach?
- 100
1,000XP
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
XP for one level = ⌈level ÷ 10⌉ × 100
- StepEnter the level you want to reach, not the one you are on.
- StepDivide it by ten and round up — that is the band number.
- ResultMultiply the band number by 100 to get the XP for that one level.
What this number means
Bands of ten, not a curve per level
The cost steps up by 100 XP every ten levels and stays flat inside a band, so reaching level 11 and reaching level 20 both cost 200 XP. It is a staircase, not a smooth climb.
One level, not the total to get there
The result is the jump from the previous level to the one you entered. All hundred levels together come to 55,000 XP, which is 550 badge crafts.
The same badge crafts five times
A card set can be crafted into its badge up to five times, so a single game carries you 500 XP. In the second band that is two and a half levels.
Formula and bands as the cited source had them
The ten-level bands and the 100 XP per crafted badge come from the Steam guide linked below, checked on 2026-08-25. Valve can change the levelling system, so read the figures as the state of that guide.
Commonly misread
Level 20 must cost more XP than level 11.
Both sit in the second band and cost 200 XP each. The price only steps up when the band does.
The result is all the XP I need to reach that level.
It is the cost of that single level. From zero to level 100 the total is 55,000 XP.
One crafted badge is worth one level.
A badge gives 100 XP, which is a full level only in the first band. In the second band a level takes two card sets.
Reference table
| Level | Band | XP for that level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | first band, levels one to ten | 100 |
| 10 | last level of the first band | 100 |
| 11 | second band starts, levels eleven to twenty | 200 |
| 21 | third band, levels twenty-one to thirty | 300 |
| 91 | tenth band, levels ninety-one to one hundred | 1000 |
| 150 | fifteenth band | 1500 |
Questions
How does the Steam XP system work?
Each badge you craft from a full trading-card set gives 100 XP. The XP a single level costs rises in bands of ten: levels 1 to 10 need 100 XP each, 11 to 20 need 200 each, 21 to 30 need 300 each. That is why higher levels get progressively more expensive.
What is a Steam profile level?
It is the number shown on your profile that summarises your badges and your activity on the platform. You raise it by earning XP, mostly by crafting badges from trading cards. Higher levels unlock profile showcases, more friend-list slots and better booster-pack drop rates.
How much XP does it take to reach level 100 from scratch?
Adding up all hundred levels gives 55,000 XP, which is 550 badge crafts at 100 XP each. Ten levels of the first band cost 1,000 XP together, the second band 2,000, the tenth band 10,000.
What is the cheapest way to level up on Steam?
Buying complete trading-card sets for games whose cards are cheap on the Community Market, then crafting the badge. Cheap sets cost a few cents, expensive ones several times that, so the game you pick matters more than anything else. Badges from cards that dropped while you played cost nothing at all.
How does badge crafting work?
Every card-enabled game has a set of trading cards, usually five to fifteen of them. A full set can be crafted into a badge, which awards 100 XP plus a profile background, an emoticon and a coupon. The same badge can be crafted five times, so one game can carry you 500 XP.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.