Cookie Clickeris a deceptively simple game. On the surface, it’s nothing but a mindless idle game, but it’s actually much more complex thanks to new mechanics added over the years and a near-endless progression system that continues to feel rewarding. It’s a lot more than watching numbers go up – and the new version of the game onSteam adds even more.
The upgrading system present in the game is based on the number of a certain cookie generator that the player owns. For example, the Prune Juice upgrade for Grandmas requires that players own 50 Grandmas. While some upgrades might take a while to build up to, they tend to be very worthwhile for thepatient (or AFK)Cookie Clickerplayer.
Updated July 05, 2025 by Erik Petrovich: Cookie Clicker is somewhat infamous for its neverending gameplay loop, constantly giving players new ways to increase their incoming Cookies and make small number become big number. The best way to do this is to get temporary and permanent upgrades, and the best Cookie Clicker upgrades can require quite a lot of time to acquire – especially when one considers that some of the best Cookie Clicker perks are locked behind the Prestige system, which requires restarting your game. This guide to the best Cookie Clicker upgrades has been updated to include more details on how to get each Perk, including prerequisite upgrades, level and cookie requirements, and other things you need to do to unlock each of the best upgrades in Cookie Clicker.
“Legacy” perk purchased, which allows Ascension
Maintains one upgrade’s benefits throughout multiple playthroughs
Cookie ClickerPermanent Upgrade Slots are powerful upgrades thatlet players keep the benefits of an upgrade through multiple playthroughs(and multiple Prestige levels). The first Permanent Upgrade Slot costs a paltry 100 Heavenly Chips in the Ascension screen, but the cost escalates quickly to 20,000 for the second Upgrade Slot, three million for the third, 400 million for the fourth, and 50 billion for the fifth. These Upgrade Slots can be slotted with any normal Upgrade purchased inCookie Clicker.
Best Cookie Clicker Permanent Upgrades
TheCookie Clickerbest permanent upgrades to slot are those that give the largest boost to production through a playthrough, like Trillion Fingers which increases Cursor production massively even from thevery beginning of a new playthrough. As time goes on and players unlock the other three slots, consider adding one upgrade to boost Kitten Cookie production, one that increases the chance for Golden Cookies to spawn, and one that increases the CPS for specific buildings.
All of these Upgrade Slots should be filled with the highest-ranking version of these upgrades possible – don’t put in Thousand Fingers instead of Trillion Fingers, for example, or Kitten Helpers instead of Kitten Strategists.
Multiples research rate by 10 times in future playthroughs
The Persistent Memory upgrade is a Prestige option that players can earn relatively early into a long-termCookie Clickerplaythrough. For 500 Heavenly Chips the Persistent Memory upgrademakes all research in all future playthroughs 10 times faster.
This rapidly increases the rate players are able to purchase new Cookie generators not normally available from the outset of the game. It might seem like a useless investment of valuable Heavenly Chips, but the benefits last a long time, and can be felt as soon as players re-start.
How To Unlock The Persistent Memory Perk In Cookie Clicker
To upgrade Persistent Memory players have to have Legacy purchased. This occurs the first time the player Ascends and spends their first Heavenly Chip, so it’s not so much a pre-requisite as it is a normal part of Ascension.
Must have purchased at least 25 Cursors in one playthrough
Adds 0.1 Cookies for each Auto-Clicker for each non-Cursor object
There are severalCookie Clickerupgrades pertaining to Auto-Clickers that might not seem powerful at first glance. The Auto-Clicker is, of course, the weakest cookie generator inCookie Clicker, but it’s also the cheapest and players tend to amass them faster than other generators.
Thousand Fingers adds 0.1 cookies generated by Auto-Clickersfor each non-cursor object owned. There are a variety of upgrades between Thousand Fingers and Trillion Fingers that increase this number, but Trillion Fingers offers thelargest jump in powerwith a 20 times multiplier added to Thousand Fingers. Despite being one of the lowest-performing cookie generators inCookie Clicker, Auto-Clickers are a huge deal towards the beginning of the game, especially if you can nab one of these upgrades early on.
How To Unlock The Thousand Fingers Perk In Cookie Clicker
To unlock the Thousand Fingers perk,Cookie Clickerplayers have to first purchase 25 Cursors, then spend 100,000 Cookies on the perk. Further upgrades to this perk cost exponentially more Cookies.
Just One Grandma must be purchased to begin upgrade path
Makes Grandmas twice as efficient
Grandmas are the second-cheapest cookie generator in the game and one that players tend to build lots of at the start. They lose their luster over time, but with certain upgrades, they become powerhouses in their own right.
The upgrades thatmake Grandmas twice as efficientare all unlocked at certain milestones.This adds up significantlyover time, and Grandmas have the potential to be game-breakingly good when used to their maximum potential – and when synergies are used between Grandmas and other Cookie generators.
How To Double Granny Cookie Production
Forwards from Grandma requires one owned Grandma, while Double-Thick Glasses (an upgraded version of the perk) requires the player to own 100 Grandmas.
Upgrade Effect
55,000 Cookies
Must have purchased 15 Farms and one Grandma in a playthrough
Doubles Grandma’s efficiency, and adds 1 CPS for Farms (or later, other associated items)
.SeveralCookie Clickerupgrades to the Grandmas are only unlocked when the player has at least 15 of another type of generator. As a few examples, Farmer Grandmas require 15 Farms, Worker Grandmas require 15 Factories, and AntiGrandmas require 15 Antimatter Condensers.
Each of these upgradesis twofold.Grandmas become twice as efficient and the associated other item gains +1 Cookies Per Second (CPS)for a certain number of Grandmas.Farmer Grandmas increase Farm CpS by 1%for every Grandma owned, whileAntiGrandmas increase Antimatter Machine CpS by 1% for every 11 Grandmas owned.
How To Unlock Farmer Grandmas In Cookie Clicker
To unlock Farmer Grandmas inCookie Clicker, you must own 15 farms. The Farm Grandmas upgrade is the first one that players can unlock for Grandmas. Later synergistic upgrades can do a lot to give players a noticeable power boost, even if it does require a ton of cookies to buy the pre-requisite generators
Player must have 13 Achievements, or 52% Milk
Increases CPS based on current Milk (0.1% of total Milk)
It unlocks the ability toincrease CpS across the board depending on how much Milk a player has. Milk is earned every time the player has earned an achievement at a 4% increase each.
The Kitten Helpers upgrade only increases CpS by 0.1% of the total Milk, but as Milk increases so too does cookie production for every single owned object (and, of course, for every click). Players have to unlock specific Prestige-related upgrades to fully unlock the potential of their Milk bonuses.
The achievements will flow in at first, but as players get to the really, really long-game, they’re much more sparse, so it’s not a bad idea to get this one sooner than later to ramp up cookie generation more quickly.
How To Unlock The Kitten Helpers Perk In Cookie Clicker
The Kitten Helpers upgrade is unlocked once the player has earned at least 13 total achievements inCookie Clicker.
Increases CPS based on current Prestige level
When a player goes into Ascension and gains Prestige ranks, the game restarts. However, their Prestige stays the same between playthroughs and so do the permanent upgrades unlocked through the game’s skill tree. When restarting, the player gains CpS based on their current Prestige – but it’s not available at first.
Players have to buy special upgrades like the Heavenly Chip Secret to unlock a certain amount of their Prestige levels. If a player is at Prestige 100, for example, they will only have a5% increase to CpS with the Heavenly Chip Secret unlock.
As more of these upgrades are unlocked, such as Heavenly Cookie Stand and Heavenly Bakery, the full Prestige potential isgiven to the player. These upgrades are relatively small, compared to some of the bigger power spikes available inCookie Clicker. But over time, they’re worth picking up for the flat, unrestricted bonus, even if it is marginal.
How To Unlock Heavenly Chip Cookie Clicker Upgrade
To get the Heavenly Chip upgrade, you must reach Prestige and spend 11 Cookies on the upgrade. You must first purchase “Legacy”, too.
777,777 Cookies
Player must have collected a total of 7 Golden Cookies, increases with higher ranks
Golden Cookies appear faster and last longer
There are three Golden Cookie-relatedCookie Clickerupgrades – Lucky Day, Serendipity, and Get Lucky. Each upgrade makes Golden Cookiesappear twice as often and stick around for double the time. At the start of the game, Golden Cookies only stay for a few seconds, but with these upgrades, the benefits and buffs can last for minutes.
ensure to detour off your desired path for these, because the bonuses granted by Golden Cookies can make it easier to purchase the best upgradesCookie Clickerhas to offer in just a few minutes.
How To Get Lucky Day Golden Cookie Upgrades in Cookie Clicker
To get the Lucky Golden Cookie upgrades, you will need to simply have clicked a certain number of cookies. Lucky Day requires 7 cookies to have been clicked and costs 777 Million cookies, Serendipity requires 27 and costs 77 Billion cookies, and Get Lucky requires 77 Golden Cookies clicked and costs 77 Trillion cookies.
9 Heavenly Chips
Adds a Dragon Whelp players must take care of, which offers rewards consistently
A Crumbly Egg is an upgrade that first requires players to purchase the Prestige level 9 Ascension upgrade titled “How To Bake Your Dragon”.Once A Crumbly Egg is unlocked for 25 cookies, a Dragon Egg will appear on screen, giving players a side objective to complete: taking care of the young whelpling.
As the player earns more cookies the dragon egg hatches and turns into Krumblor, a Cookie Dragon. Krumblor will give the playernew upgrades and unique gameplaychanges, like reduced upgrade cost, increased Golden Cookie chance, and even the game-wide cookie multiplier.
How To Get The Dragon Egg in Cookie Clicker
To get the Dragon Egg and unlock the How To Bake Your Dragon upgrade, you must reach Prestige, unlock the “Legacy” perk, then purchase this perk with 9 Heavenly Chips.
Anywhere from 66 trillion Cookies to 2.4 decillion Cookies
“Synergies” Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 Upgrades purchased, must own a certain amount of each Cookie Producer
Varies
There are several Synergy upgrades inCookie Clickerthat only unlock when two conditions are met. The first is that the “Synergies Vol. 1” or “Synergies Vol. 2” upgrades must be unlocked. The second is thatthe player must owna certain number of each of the two associated objects for each synergy upgrade.
Seismic Magic, for example, requires “Synergies Vol. 1” unlocked as well as 15 Mines and 15 Wizard Towers purchased. For this, Mines gain 5% CpS for every Wizard Tower, while Wizard Towers gain 0.1% CpS for every Mine. The Synergy upgrades are oftenCookie Clicker’s best upgrades for players who only plan to focus on a select few cookie producers.
