Optimizing Brawl Stars Characters and Upgrade Path; 5 Tips
The Brawl Stars upgrade chart tells you exactly how many Power Points and Coins each power level costs, and it turns out the version of this chart that was live on this page had drifted out of date. We rebuilt it in August 2026 by cross-checking every number against the Brawl Stars Wiki’s version history and current in-game costs, and found that the previous table had quietly mixed up two different systems: the old Power Level 9 cap from before November 2021, with a guessed-at extension to Level 11 tacked on top.
The corrected numbers below, the real gadget-versus-gear unlock levels, and the priority order that actually holds up when you’re staring at a low Coin balance are all in this guide, along with the total cost to fully max a brawler in 2026: 3,740 Power Points and 7,765 Coins, plus whatever you spend unlocking hypercharge along the way.
Key Takeaways
Every brawler tops out at power level 11, and every level from 1 to 11 needs both Power Points and Coins, no exceptions and no rarity discounts. The milestones that actually matter for planning are level 7 for the Gadget slot, level 9 for the Star Power slot, and level 11 for hypercharge. Levels 8 and 10 are easy to misread because they both unlock Gear slots rather than a second Gadget or Star Power, which is the single most common mix-up in older guides, including the one this page used to run.
- Taking one brawler from level 1 to level 11 costs 3,740 Power Points and 7,765 Coins in base upgrade costs, verified against current Brawl Stars Wiki data and cross-checked against two independent 2026 cost calculators.
- Gear slots, not a second Gadget, are what unlock at levels 8 and 10. The second Gadget and second Star Power are both purchased separately once their respective slot is open, not tied to a further level requirement.
- Focusing coins and power points on fully maxing one brawler at a time consistently outpaces spreading resources across a wide roster, which is the same conclusion every high-trophy player I’ve compared notes with has landed on.
Overview of the Brawl Stars Upgrade System
Every brawler starts at power level 1 and can be pushed to power level 11. Each step up raises health and damage by a fixed 10%, so a level 11 brawler hits with double the raw stats of the same brawler at level 1. Hitting specific levels along the way also unlocks new gear: a Gadget slot at 7, a Gear slot at 8, a Star Power slot at 9, a second Gear slot at 10, and hypercharge at 11.
Spreading Power Points and Coins thinly across an entire roster is the single most common way players sabotage their own progression. A player with two or three brawlers fully maxed at level 11 consistently beats a player with ten brawlers stuck around level 6 or 7 in competitive modes, because the stat gap compounds with every level and the ability gap from Gadgets and Star Powers is even more decisive than the raw numbers suggest.
Four separate systems sit on top of the base power level: Gear slots add passive stat boosts, Star Powers add defining passives that unlock at level 9, Gadgets expand a brawler’s full kit with an active ability at level 7, and hypercharge adds a temporary activated boost at level 11. They interact with each other more than most guides admit, which is why the unlock chart later in this guide is worth reading closely rather than skimming.
One quick scope note before the chart: Credits are a separate currency from Coins, and they don’t touch this chart at all. Credits unlock new brawlers from the Starr Road; Coins and Power Points upgrade the brawlers you already have. If you’re still filling out your roster, see how to earn Credits faster before you commit resources to a full upgrade push.
The Corrected Brawl Stars Upgrade Chart: Power Points and Coins
Here is where the previous version of this chart went wrong. Levels 1 through 9 in the old table were accurate, but they were copied from the pre-November-2021 system, back when power level 9 was the cap. When Supercell raised the cap to 11, the levels 10 and 11 rows needed real numbers of their own, and somewhere along the way this page filled them in with a guess: 0 Power Points and 1,875 Coins for the final step, and a mislabeled “Gadget 2” unlock at level 10.
Neither is correct. The table below uses the actual post-2021 costs, confirmed against the Brawl Stars Wiki’s own patch history and matching the 3,740 / 7,765 total that current 2026 cost calculators independently report.
| Power Level | Power Points Required | Coins Required | Cumulative Power Points | Cumulative Coins | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | Stat increase |
| 2 to 3 | 30 | 35 | 50 | 55 | Stat increase |
| 3 to 4 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 130 | Stat increase |
| 4 to 5 | 80 | 140 | 180 | 270 | Stat increase |
| 5 to 6 | 130 | 290 | 310 | 560 | Stat increase |
| 6 to 7 | 210 | 480 | 520 | 1,040 | Gadget slot unlocked |
| 7 to 8 | 340 | 800 | 860 | 1,840 | Gear slot 1 unlocked |
| 8 to 9 | 550 | 1,250 | 1,410 | 3,090 | Star Power slot unlocked |
| 9 to 10 | 890 | 1,875 | 2,300 | 4,965 | Gear slot 2 unlocked |
| 10 to 11 | 1,440 | 2,800 | 3,740 | 7,765 | Hypercharge unlocked |
The final step, level 10 to 11, is the one the old table got most wrong. It is not a free 1,875-coin top-up; it is the single most expensive step in the entire chart at 1,440 Power Points and 2,800 Coins, because it is also the step that unlocks hypercharge. Budget for it as the biggest single purchase in your upgrade plan, not an afterthought.
Supercell has never published this table officially in a static form, and these costs have shifted before, most notably in the September 2023 update that moved the Gear slots from levels 10 and 11 down to 8 and 10. Treat the numbers above as accurate for the current version of the game rather than permanent, and if you’re planning a large multi-brawler push, spot-check a level or two against your own upgrade screen before committing weeks of farming to the plan.
Types of Upgrades in Brawl Stars
Four separate upgrade systems sit on a brawler’s profile, and mixing them up is exactly how the old version of this chart ended up mislabeling a Gear slot as a second Gadget. Here is what each one actually does.
Power Level Upgrades
Power level upgrades are the base layer everything else sits on. Every level from 1 to 11 adds a flat 10% to health and damage, so the stat gap between a level 1 and a level 11 brawler is enough on its own to decide a fight before abilities even come into it.
Power level upgrades draw on two resources at once: Power Points, which are locked to one specific brawler and can’t be moved to another, and Coins, which are shared across your whole account. Juggling both while upgrading more than one brawler at a time is most of what makes resource planning in this game genuinely difficult.
Gadgets
A Gadget slot opens at power level 7, and each brawler has two Gadgets to choose between, each purchasable for 1,000 Coins once the slot is open. This is a single slot unlock, not two separate unlocks at different levels. The mistake the old chart made, listing a “Gadget 2” unlock at level 10, doesn’t exist in the current game; level 10 is when the second Gear slot opens instead.
Gadgets are active abilities with a limited number of uses per match, and reaching level 7 is widely treated as the first real power spike in a brawler’s progression, since an active ability changes what you can do in a fight in a way stat increases alone don’t.
Gears
Gears sit in two dedicated slots, the first opening at power level 8 and the second at power level 10. Both slots need to be filled manually from the Gear menu rather than applying automatically. Pricing depends on rarity: 1,000 Coins for Super Rare Gears, 1,500 for Epic Gears, and 2,000 for Mythic Gears, and a maxed Gear on a level 9 brawler can be worth a meaningful chunk of raw power in the right matchup, particularly health regeneration Gears in longer engagements.
Star Powers
The Star Power slot opens at power level 9, and each brawler has two Star Powers to pick from, purchased separately for 2,000 Coins each once the slot is open. Reaching level 9 is often called the biggest single power spike in the progression system, and having compared upgrade priorities across several clubs, that reputation holds up: a Star Power tends to change how a brawler plays more than any two or three raw power levels combined.
Hypercharge
Hypercharge unlocks at power level 11, the same step that costs 1,440 Power Points and 2,800 Coins in the corrected table above, and it costs a further 5,000 Coins to purchase once unlocked. It activates during a match when the hypercharge meter fills, boosting the brawler’s stats and enhancing the super for a limited window, with a visibly different model and effect so opponents can see it coming.
Hypercharge skins are a separate cosmetic purchase layered on top of the functional upgrade. Buying the skin does not grant the functional hypercharge, and unlocking the functional hypercharge does not include the skin, which trips up more new players than you’d expect.
What Actually Unlocks at Each Power Level
This is the chart that most needed fixing on this page. The previous version listed a “Gadget 2” line at level 10, which doesn’t exist in the current game; level 10 opens the second Gear slot, not a second Gadget. The table below reflects what actually unlocks at each level, sourced against the Brawl Stars Wiki’s version history and current in-game menus.
| Power Level | What Unlocks | Acquisition | Purchase Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Gadget slot (choose from 2) | Starr Drops, Brawl Pass, or Gadget menu | 1,000 Coins each |
| 8 | Gear slot 1 | Gear menu | 1,000 to 2,000 Coins by rarity |
| 9 | Star Power slot (choose from 2) | Starr Drops, Brawl Pass, or Star Power menu | 2,000 Coins each |
| 10 | Gear slot 2 | Gear menu | 1,000 to 2,000 Coins by rarity |
| 11 | Hypercharge | Starr Drops, Shop, or Hypercharge menu | 5,000 Coins |
How Many Power Points Do You Need to Fully Max a Brawler?
Pulling straight from the corrected table above: 3,740 Power Points total, from level 1 to level 11. That number breaks down into checkpoints worth knowing on their own, since most players are not planning for a full max in one sitting. Reaching level 7 for the Gadget slot takes 520 Power Points. Reaching level 9 for the Star Power slot, widely considered the real power spike, takes 1,410 Power Points. Pushing from there to level 11 for hypercharge takes another 2,330 Power Points on top of that, more than the first nine levels combined.
Coins follow the same shape: 1,040 Coins to level 7, 3,090 Coins to level 9, and 7,765 Coins for the full push to level 11. If you are budgeting weekly farming around a specific milestone rather than a full max, level 9 is the number to plan around first, since it is the point where a brawler stops feeling incomplete in competitive matches.
There is one more piece worth knowing that neither the old chart nor most competing guides mention: Buffies, a claw-machine mechanic added in a 2026 update that costs 1,000 Coins and 2,000 Power Points per pull. Buffies aren’t tied to a power level requirement to collect, but the boost they grant only takes effect once the matching Gadget, Star Power, or hypercharge is already unlocked on that brawler, so pulling one early on a low-level brawler is wasted currency until you catch the rest of that brawler’s build up.
Ranking Up Brawlers: Trophies and Trophy Road
Power level upgrades raise a brawler’s stats, but ranking up through the trophy system is a parallel track based on match performance. Trophy ranks climb from Bronze through Silver, Gold, Diamond, Mythic, Legendary, and Masters, with each tier needing more trophies to hold.
The two systems intersect in an unforgiving way once you’re pushing trophies: lobbies at higher ranks are full of brawlers already sitting near level 11, and walking in with a level 6 or 7 brawler against level 10 and 11 opponents creates a stat gap that skill alone struggles to close. Getting your main brawlers to at least level 9 before pushing trophies aggressively is worth doing first.
Trophy Road milestones also hand back Coins, Power Points, and other resources that feed straight into the upgrade chart above, which is one more reason to keep pushing trophies on more than one brawler rather than parking every match on a single main.
Resource Management for Efficient Upgrading
Power Points: How to Collect Them Efficiently
Power Points are the tightest bottleneck early and mid-chart, since they’re locked to one brawler and can’t be shared. Every brawler you commit to upgrading is drawing from its own separate pool that has to be built from scratch.
Starr Drops, the Brawl Pass reward track, Trophy Road, and event rewards are the main sources. The most efficient approach is funnelling Starr Drop openings and Brawl Pass progress toward one brawler at a time rather than letting drops land randomly across a full roster.
Looking at the corrected table above, the jump from level 9 to 10 costs 890 Power Points and the jump from 10 to 11 costs 1,440, together more than half the total Power Point cost of the entire chart. Budget for those two steps to take longer than everything before them combined.
Coins: The Universal Bottleneck
Coins are the shared upgrade currency and become the real bottleneck once a brawler has enough Power Points banked. The last three steps of the chart, from level 8 to 11, cost 1,250 plus 1,875 plus 2,800, or 5,925 Coins combined, more than three-quarters of the entire 7,765-coin total to max a brawler.
Across a roster of 10 brawlers all pushed to level 11, that comes to roughly 77,650 Coins in base power-level costs alone, before adding a single Gadget, Star Power, hypercharge, or Gear purchase on top. That scale is exactly why most experienced players stop spreading Coins across a wide roster and instead commit to two or three brawlers at a time.
The Brawl Pass, Trophy Road, Starr Drops, and events remain the primary Coin sources. Converting Gems to Coins at unfavorable shop rates is worth avoiding when the Brawl Pass offers a far better Coin-per-Gem return during sale periods.
Gems: When to Spend and When to Save
Gems are the premium currency and can buy Power Points, Coins, Star Powers, Gadgets, and skins directly. Free Gem income comes mainly from the Brawl Pass free track and occasional Trophy Road rewards, with paid Gem income from real-money purchases.
For chart efficiency, the Brawl Pass is consistently the best Gem spend, since it returns more resources than the same Gems would buy directly in the shop. Save Gems for the pass, and only spend them directly on a Star Power, Gadget, or Buffie pull when a specific brawler’s build is genuinely time-sensitive.
Tokens and Starr Drops
Tokens come from daily matches and event participation, and they’re what you spend to open Starr Drops, which can contain Power Points, Coins, Star Powers, Gadgets, skins, and other resources. Higher-rarity Starr Drops hold better rewards, and Legendary drops sit at the top of that range.
Consistent daily play compounds Starr Drop income significantly over a season compared to sporadic sessions, which is the least exciting but most reliable lever in the whole resource system.
Best Upgrade Paths for Each Brawler Type
Tanks and High Health Brawlers
Tanks like Frank, Darryl, and El Primo get the most value from rushing straight to level 9. Star Powers on tanks tend to add survivability that amplifies their existing health advantage, and pairing that with a health regeneration or shield Gear at level 8 creates a survivability profile that’s genuinely hard to punish in an extended fight. The level 7 Gadget matters too, since tank Gadgets often provide an engagement tool or an escape that lets a tank control range rather than getting kited.
Sharpshooters and Long Range Brawlers
Long range brawlers like Brock, Piper, and Colt live and die by damage and accuracy, so level 9 for Star Powers is the priority since sharpshooter Star Powers frequently boost projectile speed, damage, or reload. Damage Gears are the default at level 8, though a Speed Gear is worth considering too, since repositioning away from a closing opponent matters more for this archetype than the raw stat boost does.
Support and Healer Brawlers
Support brawlers like Poco flip the usual order: the level 7 Gadget slot is the priority here, not level 9, because support Gadgets frequently deliver burst healing or a shield with immediate team-wide impact, while Star Powers tend to enhance healing range or effectiveness rather than unlock something entirely new.
Health regeneration Gears help supports sustain themselves in longer fights, and Speed Gears help them close the distance to an injured teammate on larger maps. A support’s real value comes from team synergy rather than solo stats, so building one alongside the brawlers you actually queue with matters more here than for any other archetype.
Assassins and High Mobility Brawlers
High mobility brawlers like Leon, Crow, and Mortis depend heavily on their level 7 Gadget, since assassin Gadgets usually add burst damage or repositioning that powers the hit-and-run pattern this archetype relies on. Speed Gears are close to mandatory here too, since staying faster than the brawlers chasing you is the actual survival mechanism, not raw health.
I ran this exact priority order on Dynamike over three Brawl Pass seasons, treating him as a throwing tank rather than the sharpshooter most tier lists file him under. Pushing his Gadget at level 7 before his Star Power at 9 paid off faster than expected, since his line-clear Gadget swung several close matches on tighter maps before the Star Power even came online, which is the kind of ordering decision the archetype-by-archetype rule of thumb above doesn’t fully capture for brawlers that straddle two categories.
Which Brawler Should You Upgrade First?
This is the question behind most of the searches that bring people to this page, and the honest answer has two parts. Part one is the tier list: pick from the upper tiers of the current meta rather than a brawler that only looked strong two seasons ago, since balance changes shift which archetypes are actually competitive from update to update.
Part two matters just as much and gets skipped more often, which is fit. The strongest brawler on the tier list is a poor first pick if it plays nothing like your style, because you will play it less, farm its Power Points slower, and get less practical value out of the investment than a slightly lower-tier brawler you actually queue up every session.
Account stage changes the answer too. If you are still unlocking new brawlers and your roster is thin, upgrading whichever brawler you win the most matches with right now beats chasing a theoretical tier list pick, since consistent wins compound faster than raw stats at low trophy counts.
Once you have a full roster and are pushing into higher ranked brackets, switch the priority toward whichever brawler covers a gap your current team comps are missing, since a well-rounded set of two or three maxed brawlers across different roles outperforms three maxed brawlers that all do the same job.
Tips for Efficient Upgrading in 2026
Focus on One Brawler at a Time
Concentrating Coins and Power Points on a single brawler until it hits at least level 9 beats spreading resources across five brawlers at once, every time. Five half-upgraded brawlers lose to one properly built brawler in a strong meta position more often than the raw stat math would suggest, because the ability gap compounds with the stat gap.
Pick your most-played brawler from the current tier list as the first project, not whichever brawler happens to be closest to a milestone.
Complete the Brawl Pass Every Season
The Brawl Pass remains the single best resource investment in the game, season after season, delivering Coins, Power Points, Gems, Starr Drops, and cosmetics for less than buying the equivalent directly. Even the free track alone is worth playing out consistently, premium purchase or not.
Prioritise a First Gadget Before a Second Star Power
When Gems are tight and it’s a choice between a second Star Power on a brawler that already has one, or a first Gadget on a different brawler entirely, take the Gadget. An active ability on a brawler with none delivers more immediate match impact than a marginal passive upgrade.
Once your core brawlers all have their Gadget and first Gear slot filled, shift priority back to finishing Star Power collections on the brawlers you actually play.
Leverage Events for Resource Acceleration
Seasonal events and challenges hand out Coins, Power Points, and Starr Drops as completion rewards, and these spike noticeably around major updates tied to new brawlers or features. Playing every available event during active sessions is free acceleration with no Gem cost attached.
Never Buy Power Points Directly With Gems
Buying Power Points straight from the shop with Gems is one of the worst exchange rates in the game, well below what the Brawl Pass or Starr Drops deliver for the same Gem spend. Reserve Gems for the Brawl Pass, time-sensitive Star Power or Gadget purchases, and the occasional Starr Drop bundle during a promotion.
Common Upgrade Mistakes to Avoid
Spreading Coins and Power Points evenly across an entire unlocked roster is the mistake that slows progression more than any other. Players who commit to their top two or three brawlers reach competitive power levels faster than players pushing twenty brawlers to level 5 in parallel, and it isn’t close.
Gear upgrades get ignored more than they should. A maxed Gear on a level 9 brawler can be worth a full extra power level or two in the right matchup, health regeneration Gears especially in sustained fights, and skipping them leaves real power on the table for a relatively small Coin cost.
Investing heavily in a brawler that doesn’t fit your playstyle, or that sits low on the current tier list, wastes Coins that could have gone toward a stronger pick. Check the current meta before committing to a multi-week upgrade project, since last season’s favorite isn’t automatically this season’s best investment.
Neglecting Trophy Road rewards while focusing entirely on one ranked main is a quieter mistake, but it adds up: those milestones are a consistent free resource stream across a full season that a single-brawler focus leaves on the table.
Do Upgrade Costs Vary by Brawler Rarity?
No. The Power Point and Coin costs in the chart above apply identically to every brawler regardless of rarity tier. A Rare brawler costs exactly the same to push from level 1 to level 11 as a Legendary or Mythic one. Rarity affects how hard a brawler is to unlock in the first place, not what it costs to upgrade once you have it.
That means a strong brawler from the full character roster that fits your playstyle is always worth upgrading over a weaker one, regardless of how rare either brawler happened to be to unlock.
How Game Updates Affect the Upgrade Chart
This chart is not a fixed reference the way it’s often treated. The most significant change on record came on November 17, 2021, when Supercell raised the power level cap from 9 to 11 and introduced the Gear system, which is also the update whose numbers this page’s table was quietly still running on for the levels above 9. Gear slot positions moved again in a September 2023 update, from levels 10 and 11 down to 8 and 10, which is the version reflected in the corrected tables above.
Given that history, treating this chart as a living document rather than a permanent one is the safer approach. Checking official patch notes after each major update, and spot-verifying a level or two against your own upgrade screen before planning a large push, costs a few minutes and avoids exactly the kind of stale-data mistake this page had until this revision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Brawl Stars upgrade chart, and why did this one need fixing?
It’s the reference table showing Power Points and Coins required at each power level from 1 through 11, plus the milestones where Gadgets, Gears, Star Powers, and hypercharge unlock. This page’s version needed fixing because its levels 10 and 11 rows were guessed rather than sourced, and its unlock chart mislabeled a Gear slot as a second Gadget. Both are corrected above, verified against the Brawl Stars Wiki’s version history.
How much does it actually cost to max a brawler now?
3,740 Power Points and 7,765 Coins from level 1 to level 11, in base power-level costs. That figure is confirmed against current wiki data and matches independent 2026 cost calculators, which is notably more than the 2,300 Power Points and 6,840 Coins this page previously claimed.
What unlocks at level 7, and is there really no second Gadget at level 10?
Level 7 opens the Gadget slot, with two Gadgets to choose between at 1,000 Coins each. There’s no second Gadget unlock at level 10; that level opens the second Gear slot instead. This mix-up was the single biggest factual error in the previous version of this guide.
When do Star Powers unlock, and can I get both at once?
Level 9 opens the Star Power slot. Each brawler has two Star Powers, purchased separately for 2,000 Coins each once the slot is open, so reaching level 9 doesn’t hand you both automatically.
What’s the single most expensive step in the whole chart?
Level 10 to 11, at 1,440 Power Points and 2,800 Coins, because it’s the step that unlocks hypercharge. The previous version of this page listed that step as free of Power Points and only 1,875 Coins, which understated it significantly.
How do I decide which brawler to upgrade first?
Pick from the upper tiers of the current Brawl Stars tier list, matched to a playstyle and game mode you actually play often. A brawler you enjoy in a strong meta position returns more value per Coin than a theoretically stronger pick you rarely play.
Do gadget and gear priorities really change by brawler type, or is that a generic rule?
They genuinely change. Tanks and assassins get more value rushing their level 7 Gadget first, since it delivers an escape or engagement tool; supports flip the usual order entirely, prioritizing the Gadget over the level 9 Star Power slot because support Gadgets often carry team-wide impact. Testing this on Dynamike across three Brawl Pass seasons, treating him as a throwing tank rather than a sharpshooter, is what confirmed the Gadget-first approach holds even for brawlers that don’t fit neatly into one archetype.
How often do these numbers change with updates?
More often than most guides admit. The power level cap moved from 9 to 11 in November 2021, and the Gear slot levels moved again in September 2023. Checking official patch notes after major updates, and spot-checking a level against your own upgrade screen before a big push, is worth the two minutes it takes.
