The turnip price is an important mechanic in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Just like a good week can multiply your Bells, a bad one will cost you everything you’ve spent.
Every Sunday morning, Daisy Mae visits your island, selling turnips for about 90 to 110 Bells each, in bundles of ten. The logic here is simple: you buy them, then sell them later in the week at a higher price, hoping to turn a profit.
However, to turn that profit, you need to sell at the right time, as the price changes every day, twice a day. Not to mention, turnips spoil on Sunday, so you can’t wait forever.
The good news: every week’s turnip price follows one of four patterns – once you know these patterns, you’ll know when to sell.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- The four turnip price patterns
- How to spot each turnip price pattern
- The best time to sell in each one
- What to do in a week with no turnip price spike
Animal Crossing turnip strategy in a nutshell
- You buy turnips on Sunday and sell them from Monday to Saturday.
- The turnip price changes twice a day, and each week follows one of four patterns.
- Large spike: sell the moment the turnip price passes 200% of your buy price.
- Small spike: sell at the peak, three turnip price changes after the first jump.
- Random: sell at any peak above your buy price.
- Decreasing: sell on a friend’s island, because your own island never beats your buy price.
- Sell everything by Saturday. Unsold turnips spoil on Sunday at 5 AM.
How the turnip price mechanic works
Once you buy the turnips, your next stop is Nook’s Cranny. Timmy and Tommy run the shop, and they buy turnips from Monday to Saturday. Before you sell, ask them for the current turnip price.
The price changes twice a day:
- Once in the morning
- Once in the afternoon
So, in total, you get 12 different prices a week – an important mechanic to track.
Each price depends on what you paid Daisy Mae.
- Say you paid 90 Bells. 200% of your buy price is then 180 Bells.
- If you paid 110 Bells, the same 200% is 220 Bells.
NOTE: Your island is not the only market. Your friends’ islands have prices too, and theirs differ from yours. If a friend’s price beats yours, you can visit their island and sell there.
Whichever island you choose, be sure to sell everything by Saturday. By 5 AM on Sunday, unsold turnips spoil 💀.
The four turnip price patterns
We know that the deadline for selling is Saturday. But which day exactly should you sell? The answer depends on your week’s pattern. It’s an important mechanic that tells you when to sell.
Each week’s turnip price follows one of four patterns. Refer to the table below to see what each one is like:
| Pattern | What the price does | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Decreasing | Starts at 85% to 90% on Monday morning and keeps falling | – |
| 2. Random | Rises and falls, with two or three peaks | Never above 140% |
| 3. Small spike | Falls → climbs to a single peak → drops again | 140% to 200% |
| 4. Large spike | Falls → jumps to a huge peak → drops fast | 200% to 600% |
*The peaks are the percentage of your buy price.
Three of these patterns can pay off on your own island. However, the decreasing one cannot. If you want to turn profit that week, you should go to your friend’s island to turn a profit.
So, how do you spot each turnip price pattern? Let’s explore exactly that in the next section.
Decreasing turnip price pattern
The decreasing turnip price pattern is the worst one – this is when you want to avoid selling. On Monday morning, the turnip price opens at 85% to 90% of your buy price – you start the week at a loss. From then on, the price keeps falling until Saturday.
It may take some patience until you spot the pattern. Spike weeks also begin with falling prices, so a decreasing week looks like a spike week at first. If the price still falls on Thursday afternoon, chances are, you have the decreasing pattern.
If your price climbs before Thursday, you have one of the other three patterns. The random pattern is the easiest to mistake for the rest.
During the decreasing week, no turnip price will beat what you paid on your own island. Selling on a friend’s island is an important mechanic for a decreasing week. Ask your friends whether anyone has a spike, then visit and sell your turnips there.
Is that the lowest possible turnip price?
Random turnip price pattern
A random week is easy to mistake for a spike week. In this pattern, the turnip price rises and falls with no clear trend. You get two or three peaks, and none climbs above 140% of your buy price – the best you can earn is a 40% gain.
If the turnip price climbs early in the week, you are likely in a random week. Sell at any peak that beats your buy price. You are guaranteed at least two peaks, so you can pass on a weak first one.
For a bigger payout, wait for a spike week. In the next section, we’ll explain how to spot one.
Turnip price spike #1 (smaller)
The smaller spike happens first. This week, the turnip price starts between 40% and 90% of your buy price, then falls. However, the fall ends quickly, and the price jumps between 90% and 140%.
That 90% and 140% jump is your signal. You should count three price periods from the first jump – the third one will be the highest, somewhere between 140% and 200% of your buy price.
After that, the price drops again.
Here’s a specific example: say the price first jumps on Tuesday afternoon. If you count to three – Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday morning – the Thursday morning one will be your peak.
The jump can arrive as early as Monday morning, so be sure to check the price every period. A small dip can follow the jump, in the first or second period – don’t sell in a panic.
If you sell at the first peak, you can double your money. Though that beats a random week, a large spike will pay much more – we’ll now show how to spot it.
Turnip price spike #2 (largest)
Holding for the peak is an important mechanic of a large spike week. A large turnip price spike week starts like a decreasing week. On Monday morning, the turnip price opens at 85% to 90% of your buy price, then falls.
Afterward, the turnip price spike begins, as early as Monday afternoon or as late as Thursday afternoon.
The rising turnip prices are as follows:
- 90% to 140%
- 140% to 200%
- 200% to 600%
*Each percentage is measured against your buy price. If you paid 90 Bells per turnip, 200% means 180 Bells.
But how do you know that the turnip price peak is coming?
If the second rising price is above 140%, the turnip price peak comes next. You should hold your turnips for one more price change and sell the moment the turnip price passes 200%.
However, large turnip price spikes don’t come every week. In the next section, we’ll explain how to guess whether one is imminent.
How to know if this week will have a large turnip price spike
Last week’s pattern is an important mechanic that sets this week’s odds. The game uses last week’s pattern to set the odds for this week’s turnip price. See the table for the specifics:
| Last week’s turnip price pattern | Chance of a large turnip price spike this week |
|---|---|
| Decreasing | 45% |
| Random | 30% |
| Small spike | 25% |
| Large spike | 5% |
As you can see, a decreasing week = your best odds, a large-spike week = your worst
What to do in a week with no price turnip spike
If you’re in a week with no turnip price spike, the best course scenario is trying to sell on another island. It’s not guaranteed, so be sure to ask your friends beforehand. If no one has a turnip price spike, try Turnip.Exchange – a site where players list their island’s price and open their gates to sellers.
Here’s how to enter the site:
- Get a Dodo Code from the host: it works like a password.
- Go to your airport, choose to visit another island, and enter the code.
- Sell at the host’s Nook’s Cranny, then leave through the airport.
NOTE: Expect a queue. Some hosts also ask for a tip or an item.
NOTE#2: Can’t find an island with a better price? Sell early. In a decreasing week, each price falls below the last.
In a random week, skip the trip and sell at any peak above your buy price.
Skip the grind with Eldorado.gg
If the turnip mathematics isn’t your thing, you can get millions of Bells on Eldorado.gg for a few bucks.
Eldorado.gg protects you during and after purchase:
- Community proof: Check reviews and community feedback before buying.
- Verified sellers: Use secure chat and meet the seller in-game to receive your items.
- Secure marketplace: TradeShield™ keeps your money safe until you confirm delivery.
- Buyer protection: Release payment only after a successful trade, or get your money back.
- 24/7 support: If anything goes wrong, we’ve got your back.
NOTE: Check our discount codes.
