A vending machine turns your base into a shop that never closes. You stock it, set your prices, and other players trade with it while you farm, raid or sleep. Done right it is one of the best scrap earners in Rust. Done wrong it is a 1,250 HP loot box sitting in your wall.
This vending machine Rust guide covers the craft cost, how to set up sell orders and broadcast your shop, how the Drone Marketplace sends buyers to you from across the map, how to power it as a fridge, where to place it so nobody can empty the back, and what it costs to raid.
How to Craft a Vending Machine in Rust
You do not need to research or unlock anything. The vending machine is one of the default blueprints every player knows from the first minute of a wipe. All it takes is a High Quality Metal supply and a few gears.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Craft cost | 20 High Quality Metal, 3 Gears |
| Workbench | Level 1 |
| Craft time | About 19 seconds (faster at a higher workbench) |
| Blueprint | Default, known by everyone |
| Health | 1,250 HP |
| Sell orders | Up to 7 |
| Recycler | 12 HQM, 2 Gears |
| Safe zone recycler | 8 HQM, 2 Gears |
| Stack size | 1 |
The gears are usually the bottleneck early in a wipe. You can loot them from crates or buy them at the Outpost for around 125 scrap each.
How to Use a Vending Machine in Rust
A vending machine has two sides. The front is the shop that buyers see. The back holds the storage and the administrator panel where you manage stock and prices.
- Place it. Put it down anywhere you have building privilege, with the front facing where buyers will stand.
- Stock it. Walk round to the back and press E to open it. Drag the items you want to sell into its storage.
- Add a sell order. Pick the item you are selling and how many per trade, then the item and amount you want back. Most shops price everything in scrap. You can run up to 7 orders on one machine.
- Broadcast. Switch on broadcasting so the machine appears on every player’s map.
A broadcasting machine shows on the map as a shopping cart. The cart is green while it has stock and turns red when everything has sold. With broadcast off the machine still works, but only players who walk past it will know it exists.
Buyers press E on the front, pick an order and pay. Their payment lands in your machine’s storage and the item drops into their inventory. You collect your earnings from the back, the same way you restock.
Drone Marketplace: Selling Across the Map
Since the Softcore update, buyers do not have to run to your base. Marketplace terminals at Outpost and Bandit Camp show every vending machine a drone can reach. The buyer picks your machine, places an order and pays a 20 scrap delivery fee. A drone flies to your machine, makes the trade and carries the item back to the terminal.
The catch is access. A drone has to fly right up to the front of the machine, so a vending machine buried under a roof or deep in a hallway will not show on the terminal. Keep the front open to the sky if you want drone sales. Delivery can take a few minutes, depending on how far your base is from the terminal.
Powered Vending Machine: Keeping Food Fresh
The Jungle Update in May 2025 added a power input to the vending machine. Feed it 5 rW and it works as a fridge, so food you have stocked stops spoiling.
That matters if you sell cooked meat, pies, teas or fish, which would otherwise rot in stock overnight. A solar panel with a small battery is plenty to run one machine.
Where to Place a Vending Machine
The item description says it plainly: if a raider gets to the rear panel, they have free rein over everything inside. Anyone standing at the back can open the admin panel and take your stock, so the whole job of placement is keeping the back sealed inside your base.
- Doorway. The classic spot is a doorframe in an outer wall, with the front facing out and the back inside your base.
- Building privilege. Keep it inside your tool cupboard range so nobody can build up against the back from outside.
- Cover the front. An auto turret on the shop front stops players camping your buyers.
- Shop front. Bigger shops put a row of machines along one wall, with an airlock so you can restock without opening the base to the outside.
Vending Machine Raid Cost
A vending machine has 1,250 HP. When it breaks, everything in its storage drops for the raider, which makes a stocked shop a tempting target. These are the raid costs for one machine.
| Explosive | Amount | Sulfur |
|---|---|---|
| Timed Explosive Charge (C4) | 3 | 6,600 |
| Satchel Charge | 15 | 7,200 |
| Explosive 5.56 Rifle Ammo | 499 | 12,475 |
| Rocket | 10 | 14,000 |
| Beancan Grenade | 139 | 16,680 |
| High Velocity Rocket | 84 | 16,800 |
| MLRS Rocket | 8 | Loot only |
Rockets are a poor choice here: 10 rockets cost more than twice the sulfur of 3 C4. Most raiders will not blow the machine at all, though. It is usually cheaper to go through the wall or door next to it and walk round to the back. Check any wall or door in our raid calculator, and see every explosive in the Rust explosives guide.
Rust Vending Machine Tips
- Price in scrap. Every player has scrap, so scrap orders sell fastest.
- Sell what people run out of. Medical syringes, ammo, building materials, fuel and components move quickly.
- Always broadcast. A shop nobody can find on the map makes nothing.
- Stay drone ready. Open sky over the front puts you on the terminal at Outpost and Bandit Camp, where most buyers shop.
- Undercut the safe zones. Price below the Outpost and Bandit Camp vending machines and buyers will come to you.
- Wall in the back. The back panel has no protection of its own, so make sure only your base touches it.
Want your shop to stand out? The vending machine has skins in the Rust Item Store, and our Rust skins guide covers how to get them.
Rust Vending Machine FAQ
How do you get a vending machine in Rust?
Craft it. The vending machine is a default blueprint, so every player can make one for 20 High Quality Metal and 3 gears at a Workbench Level 1.
How much does a vending machine cost in Rust?
20 High Quality Metal and 3 gears, crafted at a Workbench Level 1 in about 19 seconds. It recycles back into 12 HQM and 2 gears.
How do you use a vending machine in Rust?
Place it, go to the back and press E to open the administrator panel, load the items you want to sell, then add a sell order with the item, amount and price. Turn on broadcasting so it shows on the map. Buyers trade from the front.
How many sell orders can a vending machine have?
Up to 7 sell orders per vending machine. Bigger shops use several machines side by side.
How many C4 does it take to destroy a vending machine in Rust?
3 C4 (6,600 sulfur). It has 1,250 HP. The alternatives are 15 satchel charges, 10 rockets or about 499 explosive 5.56 rounds.
Can someone steal from my vending machine?
Yes, if they can reach the back. Anyone at the rear panel can open the administrator panel and take your stock, so always place the machine with its back sealed inside your base.
Why can drones not reach my vending machine?
Drones need a clear flight path to the front of the machine. If it sits under a roof or deep inside a base, it will not appear on the Drone Marketplace terminals at Outpost and Bandit Camp.
Does a vending machine need power in Rust?
No, it trades without power. Since the Jungle Update, giving it 5 rW of power makes it work as a fridge so stocked food does not spoil.
Sources and Further Reading
- Craft cost, recycle yields and raid costs: rustlabs item data
- How vending machines work: Rustafied, Vending Machines: How they work
- Drone Marketplace: Facepunch, Softcore Gamemode Update
- Powered vending machine: Facepunch, Jungle Update