To increase your inventory space in Stardew Valley, buy the two backpack upgrades from Pierre’s General Store: the Large Pack costs 2,000g and takes you from 12 slots to 24, and the Deluxe Pack costs 10,000g and takes you to 36. That is the maximum backpack size in the base game, so everything past it comes down to chests and good habits.
Below we cover exactly where and how to buy each upgrade on every platform, when to buy them, every storage option that takes pressure off your bag (including the 1.6 Big Chest), and the tricks that keep your slots free.
Which Version This Covers
This guide covers Stardew Valley 1.6, the current version on PC, consoles and mobile. The backpack upgrades have not changed in years. What 1.6 changed is storage: per the official 1.6 changelog, it added the Big Chest, “which has almost double the size of a regular chest” and “can also be placed ‘onto’ a regular chest to upgrade it”. The community wiki also lists a Big Stone Chest added in 1.6.
How to Buy the Backpack Upgrades
Both upgrades are for sale from the very first day. Per the community wiki:
- Go to Pierre’s General Store in Pelican Town. The shop counter is open 9 AM to 5 PM, and Pierre closes on Wednesdays until the Community Center is restored.
- Find the backpack on the counter. The upgrade is not in Pierre’s shop menu. It sits on the right side of the counter with a “For Sale” sign.
- Interact with it using the action button: right-click on PC, A on Xbox, Cross on PlayStation, A on Switch. Confirm the purchase.
- Come back for the second one. The Large Pack (red, 24 slots, 2,000g) comes first; the Deluxe Pack (blue, 36 slots, 10,000g) replaces it on the counter afterward. When both are bought, the sign disappears.
New rows show up in the inventory menu, but only the top row is your hotbar. To use an item from a lower row, move it up in the menu, or cycle rows: Tab on PC, LB and RB on Xbox, L1 and R1 on PlayStation, L and R on Switch.
When to Buy Each Upgrade
The Large Pack is one of the best early purchases in the game. Twelve slots fill instantly once you are carrying tools, seeds, forage and ore, and every trip home to empty your bag costs time. Player guides widely recommend buying it within your first week or two of spring, as soon as your first crops sell. Our make money fast guide covers the quickest early earners.
The Deluxe Pack is worth buying before you start pushing deep into the Mines, where ore, gems, geodes and monster drops fill a bag fast. See our Mines guide for how deep that goes.
Storage That Takes Pressure Off Your Backpack
Your backpack stops at 36 slots, but storage does not.
| Storage | Slots | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | 36 | 50 Wood; you know the recipe from the start |
| Stone Chest | 36 | 50 Stone; recipe from Robin’s “Robin’s Resource Rush” Special Order |
| Big Chest (1.6) | 70 | 120 Wood and 2 Copper Bars; recipe from Robin’s shop for 5,000g |
| Big Stone Chest (1.6) | 70 | 250 Stone; recipe from the Dwarf in the Mines for 5,000g, after you have the Stone Chest recipe |
| Mini-Fridge | 36 | Robin’s shop for 3,000g after your first house upgrade, or a Special Order reward |
| Junimo Chest | 9, shared | Qi’s Walnut Room on Ginger Island, paid in Qi Gems |
Every slot in a chest holds up to 999 of the same item. Using a Big Chest or Big Stone Chest on an existing chest swaps it in place and keeps the contents, so you never have to empty a full chest to upgrade it. Junimo Chests are small, but every one of them opens the same shared storage, which makes them handy for moving a few items between the farm and faraway spots.
Tricks to Keep Your Inventory Clear
- Build a Workbench. Robin sells one for 2,000g, and per the wiki it crafts using items stored in chests on the tiles around it (Big Chests included since 1.6). Put one in your storage room and stop carrying crafting materials.
- Use “Add to existing stacks.” The button beside an open chest dumps everything in your bag that already has a stack in that chest. It is the fastest way to empty out after a Mines run.
- Leave tools at home. Once sprinklers cover your crops, the Watering Can can live in a chest, and on a mining day the Hoe and Fishing Pole can stay behind too.
- Color-code your chests. Open a chest and use the color bar at the top to give each category its own color at no cost.
- Sort with one press. The inventory menu has an auto-sort button (tools are left alone). On Switch, the wiki notes that pressing minus in the inventory also organizes it.
- Ship or process junk. Sell low-value forage and trash, or keep a Recycling Machine running, and ship crops the day you harvest them. Our Farming leveling guide covers which crops are worth planting in bulk.
- Stay fueled. Carrying one stack of good food means fewer slots lost to snacks; see our energy guide for the best options.
Going Past 36 Slots
Not in the unmodded game. On PC, mods can add bigger backpacks and storage helpers, and our best Stardew Valley mods list covers popular options. Mods are PC only, so console and mobile players are capped at 36.
For every other topic, see the Stardew Valley hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you buy a bigger backpack in Stardew Valley? At Pierre’s General Store. The upgrade sits on the right side of the counter, not in the shop menu.
How much do the backpack upgrades cost? The Large Pack is 2,000g for 24 slots and the Deluxe Pack is 10,000g for 36 slots.
What is the max inventory size in Stardew Valley? 36 slots in the base game, after both upgrades.
Is the Big Chest worth it? Yes, if you store a lot. It holds 70 item types, nearly double a regular chest, and can replace an existing chest without emptying it.
Why is Pierre’s shop closed on Wednesdays? Pierre closes on Wednesdays until the Community Center is restored or you have the Key To The Town.