There is no single amount of gil every FFXIV player should keep. The right number depends on what you are buying next, what you already own, and how much cash you want left after the purchase. Build the budget around one goal, use prices from your own World, and calculate the shortfall instead of copying someone else’s “comfortable” balance.
Build Your Gil Budget
Start with the goal, not the balance. Record where each price came from and when you checked it.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Goal | House, raid prep, crafter levels, glam, mount, or another specific purchase |
| World / DC | The World used for Market Board prices |
| Price date | The date you checked those listings |
| Items | Every remaining item or fee needed for the goal |
| Quantity | How many you need |
| Already owned | Items, gear, materia, mats, or currency you already have |
| Unit price | NPC price or current MB price for the exact item |
| Current gil | Your spendable balance now |
| Reserve | Gil you choose not to spend |
| Deadline | When the purchase or raid prep needs to be ready |
Missing Gil Formula = max(0, remaining costs + reserve – current Gil).
For MB items, use the correct HQ/NQ version and a realistic current price. Do not count items you already own as if you still need to buy them.
Illustrative example, not current market prices: a Viper needs 1.2M of gear, 300k of materia, and 150k of food and potions. The player has 900k and wants to keep a 400k reserve. Missing Gil = 1.65M + 400k – 900k = 1.15M. That is the target.
How Much Gil to Keep for a House
Housing needs four separate lines: plot, construction permit, furniture, and reserve. Square Enix currently lists small plots at 3,000,000 to 3,750,000 gil, medium plots at 16,000,000 to 20,000,000, and large plots at 40,000,000 to 50,000,000. The construction permit is bought separately after the land and varies by type.
| Plot size | Official plot price | Still add |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 3,000,000 to 3,750,000 gil | Permit + furniture + reserve |
| Medium | 16,000,000 to 20,000,000 gil | Permit + furniture + reserve |
| Large | 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 gil | Permit + furniture + reserve |
A housing lottery entry requires the full plot price as a deposit. Losing returns the deposit if you claim the refund in time. Enough gil does not guarantee a house.
An apartment costs 500,000 gil. A private chamber in an FC estate costs 300,000 gil, but it requires access to that FC housing setup.
How Much Gil to Set Aside for Raid Prep
Use the job and raid you are actually preparing for. In Patch 7.56, a level 100 Viper entering AAC Heavyweight Savage can use item level 770 Courtly Lover’s crafted gear, including the Courtly Lover’s Twinfangs. Heavyweight Savage requires item level 760 for M1, 765 for M2, and 770 for M3 and M4.
Do not budget a full crafted set automatically. Patch 7.56 removed the tier’s weekly restrictions and enabled the Echo, so late-tier characters may already have better catch-up pieces. Price only missing gear, then add planned materia, current raid food, Grade 4 Gemdraught of Dexterity for Viper, and repairs.
| Raid-prep line | Budget |
|---|---|
| Gear | Only missing buyable pieces |
| Materia | Planned melds for the set you will use |
| Food | HQ food for your current gear setup |
| Potions | HQ Grade 4 Gemdraught of Dexterity for Viper |
| Repairs | Recurring prog cost |
Pentamelding can raise the bill sharply because advanced melds can fail. It is useful for some crafted setups, but it is not mandatory for every Savage player. If gear is the blocker, compare the gearing options instead of adding more gil to the budget. If the goal is the clear itself, keep that separate from the gear and consumables budget.
Gil for Leveling Crafters and Gatherers
A crafter or gatherer budget can include mats, gear, tools, melds, and working capital. Materials you gathered yourself are owned inventory, not “free” materials.
Price the next leveling band or gear breakpoint instead of buying every future set at once. If a scrip set or quest reward will replace an MB purchase quickly, account for that first. If the jobs are not leveled, check the crafter and gatherer leveling requirements. If the levels are done, compare gear and meld options before pricing a full set.
Mounts, Glam and Other Gil Sinks
Confirm how the item is obtained before adding it to the budget. A tradeable crafted glam or mount can use an MB price. An NPC item uses its vendor price. A market-prohibited duty drop does not have a legitimate MB price. Online Store purchases use real money and stay outside a gil budget.
For a mount that comes from a duty, use the mount service page instead of inventing a gil price. For duty-only glam, use the glamour page rather than putting it into the MB total.
Sprout Budget: What Do You Actually Need Gil For?
If you are still in the MSQ, ask what the next purchase actually is. Teleports and repairs are recurring costs. Glam, an apartment, or MB shopping are separate goals. Normal MSQ and gearing routes give enough gear to keep playing without buying expensive leveling sets from other players.
A sprout with 800k can cover normal MSQ costs and still be short of a housing goal.
Free Trial characters need a different budget. The trial has a 300,000 gil cap and blocks the Market Board, player trading, retainers, and Free Companies. Do not build a 500k apartment budget or an MB shopping list for a character that cannot currently use those options.
If you still need gil after the budget, start with the low-cost farming routes.
How Much Gil to Keep Before a Patch
Do not use a fixed percentage or an “always keep 10M” rule. Build the reserve from what you expect to buy. A raider buying crafted gear, materia, food, and pots has a different cash need from a player waiting for tomestone gear. A crafter stocking new recipes needs mats and working capital. A player focused on MSQ may need almost no special patch reserve.
Prices can move quickly near a raid-tier launch, so record the date of each estimate and leave room for changes if the deadline matters.
What to Spend Gil On First
| Your next task | Spend first on | Skip unless needed |
|---|---|---|
| Continue MSQ | Normal recurring costs | Expensive leveling gear |
| Enter Savage | Missing gear, melds, food and pots | A full pentamelded set |
| Housing lottery | The full plot deposit | Furniture before winning |
| Level DoH / DoL | The next mats, tool, or gear breakpoint | Every future set at once |
| Glam or mount | The exact tradeable item | A gil price for an untradeable drop |
Short on Gil? Farm the Gap or Rework the Budget
If the formula returns zero, you already have enough for the stated goal and reserve. If there is a shortfall, remove purchases you do not need, update stale MB prices, and check whether owned items already cover part of the list.
If the gap remains, use the farming guide to turn the shortfall into a real grind estimate.
For paid accounts, if you are comparing that grind with a purchase, check the current Gil options and policy information. Square Enix prohibits real-money trading, so that account-policy risk belongs in the comparison. Free Trial players should stay with in-game options.
