Exchanging gifts with friends (how to build friendship points)
Getting startedLast checked 2026-10-31
In 3 lines
- Spinning the Photo Disc at PokéStops and gyms gets you gifts, and you can send one to each friend once a day.
- Opening a gift gives you items and sometimes a 7 km Egg, and opening gifts or raiding together builds friendship points that raise your friendship level.
- Higher friendship levels make trades cheaper and give you an attack bonus and more Premier Balls in raids.
How gifts work
- Spinning the Photo Disc at a PokéStop or gym sometimes puts a gift in your bag.
- Pick a friend from your friend list and send them a gift. You can send each friend one gift a day, and you can send the next one only after they open it.
- Opening a gift you received gives items like Poké Balls, Berries and healing items, and sometimes a 7 km Egg (if you have an empty Egg slot).
There are limits on how many gifts you can open per day and how many you can keep in your bag. In some months, a GO Pass milestone bonus raises these limits (Understanding the GO Pass).
Friendship points and friendship levels
Opening gifts or raiding and battling together builds friendship points (usually 1 a day). The level names are the official in-game names.
| Level | Points needed | Raid and gym attack bonus | Raid Premier Balls | XP for reaching the level | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good Friend | 1 | 3% | — | 3,000 | Special Trades |
| Great Friend | 7 | 5% | +1 | 10,000 | — |
| Ultra Friend | 30 | 7% | +2 | 50,000 | EX Raid invitations |
| Best Friend | 90 | 10% | +4 | 100,000 | Chance to become Lucky Friends |
| Forever Friend | 180 | 12% | +4 | 150,000 | Remote trading (after earning 90 more friendship points) |
- You get the attack bonus and Premier Balls when you're in the same raid or gym battle as that friend.
- Points go up once a day per friend, from one of these: opening a gift, trading, a Trainer Battle, raiding or battling at a gym together, or an EX Raid invitation.
- Removing a friend removes the bonuses, and if you become friends again within a set period after removing them, your level comes back.
The Stardust discounts and IV floors for trades are in a table in Trading and Lucky Pokémon.
How to get more friends
- Exchanging Trainer Codes makes you friends. People often share codes in community meetups or local group chats.
- Picking a few friends to exchange gifts with every day gets you to Best Friend quickly.
Checklist
- Spin Photo Discs to collect gifts
- Send gifts to friends every day
- Keep an Egg slot free so you can get 7 km Eggs
Sources
- Niantic Help: Friend list and friendship levels (Korean page) — levels, points, benefits
- Bulbapedia: Gift — gift rules
- Bulbapedia: Friends (GO)) — attack bonus, Premier Balls, XP, unlocked features by level and the activities that earn points
Related Pokémon & events
- Eevee
More in Getting started
- First-week guide for new players (with how GO differs from the main series)Pokémon GO has different stats, IVs, moves and type matchups from the main series, so main-series numbers give wrong answers here.
- Throwing and catch rates (Nice, Great, Excellent, Curveball)Ball, Berry, throw ring, Curveball and medal bonuses multiply together to raise your catch rate, and the smaller the ring when you hit it, the bigger the bonus.
- Types of research (Field Research, Special Research, Timed Research, Breakthrough)Research gives you rewards for finishing tasks, and it splits into Field Research, Special Research, Timed Research and more, depending on where you get it and its time limit.
- Adventure Sync (step tracking) and weekly rewardsWith Adventure Sync on, distance you walk with the game closed also counts, using the records in your phone's health app.
- How to use Party Play and Party PowerParty Play lets up to 4 Trainers at level 20 or higher form a party and adventure together.
- How to use PogoHelp tools (IV calculator, PvP, calendar subscription, My Pokédex)Enter CP, HP and the Power Up Stardust in the IV calculator, and it finds every possible IV combination.
- How to read IVs and appraisalsIVs run from 0 to 15 for each of Attack, Defense and HP, and appraisal stars are set by the sum of the three (0–45).
- Trading and Lucky PokémonYou can trade from Trainer level 10 with a friend within 100 m, and the higher your friendship level, the less Stardust it costs.
- Gyms and how to earn PokéCoinsPlace a Pokémon in a gym held by your team and you earn PokéCoins for the time it defends, up to 50 coins a day.
- How to tidy up your bag and Pokémon storageYour bag (items) and Pokémon storage have a set number of slots, and you can add 50 slots at a time with PokéCoins in the shop.
Game rules and numbers can change, so each article shows when it was last checked. Articles are rechecked once that date is 6 months old. If you spot a mistake, let us know with 'Report an error' at the bottom of the page.