SimCash vs Simoleons in SimCity BuildIt
SimCash vs Simoleons in SimCity BuildIt
SimCash vs Simoleons is the first money question every new mayor asks, because the two currencies look similar and behave very differently. Simoleons are your everyday money: you earn them constantly and spend them constantly. SimCash is the premium currency: you earn it slowly, you start with only a little of it, and spending it badly is the easiest way to stall your city. This guide explains what each currency buys, how to earn both, and which one to spend first.
SimCash vs Simoleons: what each one is
Simoleons are the main currency in the game. You earn them in many ways — taxes from citizens, selling goods in the Trade Depot, completing shipments and advisor deals, upgrading homes — and you spend them on buildings, services, road upgrades and buying items from other mayors. SimCash is the premium currency. According to EA’s beginner guide, SimCash can speed up production, increase store slots, and open warehouse or expansion slots, and it can also be bought in the Web Store. Golden Keys are a third currency, and EA notes they cannot be bought with either Simoleons or SimCash — they can only be earned. The game starts you with 25,000 Simoleons and 50 SimCash, according to the wiki, which tells you everything about their relative value: Simoleons are for spending, SimCash is for saving.
How to earn Simoleons
Simoleons come from playing the city well. Collect taxes from happy citizens regularly — happiness raises tax income, so services and parks are really money buildings in disguise. Upgrade homes, because upgrades pay Simoleons as well as population. Sell surplus factory and shop goods in the Trade Depot at maximum price, and take advisor deals that pay well for items you can spare. Complete cargo shipments for rewards, and buy low from Daniel and sell high in the Global Trade HQ. The loop is simple and repeatable: happy citizens pay tax, factories make goods, goods sell for Simoleons, Simoleons buy services, services keep citizens happy. When Simoleons run short, the fix is almost always more happiness, more production, or more selling — not more SimCash.
How to earn SimCash
SimCash is deliberately scarce. The official ways to earn it are slow: complete City Achievements, which pay SimCash bonuses, level up your city, open your daily chest (community guides report the seventh daily chest is a Golden Chest that can contain SimCash), collect gift bubbles in other cities, earn Contest of Mayors and Mayor’s Pass rewards, and take occasional video offers when the game shows them. Availability of video offers varies by region and day, so do not build a plan around them. There is no fast, free, unlimited way to earn SimCash in the official game, and any site or tool that promises one should be treated with caution. The honest rate is slow and steady — a few SimCash a day from daily play, with larger amounts only from contests and achievements.
Which currency to spend first
Spend Simoleons first, always. If something can be bought with Simoleons, pay Simoleons. Save SimCash for the things only SimCash can buy, or for the moments when SimCash unblocks real progress. Community guides agree on the best SimCash purchases: City Storage slots, Trade Depot slots, extra production slots in shops, and land-expansion items when you are one item short of an expansion you have already planned. Those purchases permanently improve your city. The worst SimCash purchases are the ones that vanish in minutes: skipping a short production timer, or converting SimCash to Simoleons. EA notes you can convert SimCash directly to Simoleons, but community reviews describe the exchange as poor value — you would spend a lot of premium currency for a small amount of everyday money that taxes and selling would have earned anyway.
A simple rule for both currencies
Keep a Simoleon reserve equal to your next known service purchase plus a little extra, so a new service never catches you broke — community guides suggest roughly a 20% buffer on top of the known cost. Keep a SimCash reserve too, and do not spend it the moment you earn it: hold it until a storage slot, a depot slot or a missing expansion item is the one thing standing between you and your next upgrade. Check the Mayor’s Mansion for unclaimed achievement rewards before you spend anything, because unclaimed SimCash is the most common reason mayors think they are poorer than they are. And remember the order: Simoleons do the everyday work, SimCash opens the doors that Simoleons cannot.
FAQ
What is the difference between SimCash and Simoleons?
Simoleons are the everyday currency for buildings, services and trading. SimCash is the premium currency for speeding up production, extra slots and expansion slots. Golden Keys cannot be bought with either.
How much SimCash do you start with?
50 SimCash and 25,000 Simoleons, according to the wiki.
How do I earn SimCash for free?
Achievements, levelling up, daily and Golden chests, gift bubbles, Contest of Mayors, Mayor’s Pass and occasional video offers. All of them are slow.
Should I convert SimCash to Simoleons?
Usually no. Community reviews describe the exchange as poor value. Earn Simoleons through taxes and selling instead, and save SimCash for storage and depot slots.
What is the best thing to spend SimCash on?
City Storage slots, Trade Depot slots, extra production slots and land-expansion items — purchases that permanently improve your city.
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