# How XP and levels work

> What each finished task and habit check-in is worth in XP, how the daily limit works, and how much XP each level and rank takes.

Source: https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/xp-and-levels/
Last updated: 2026-11-05

In Game mode, finishing work earns XP, and XP raises your level. The server counts XP, so every device shows the same total. Prior shows the gain at once on your screen and corrects it at the next sync if needed.

## What a task is worth

A task's value comes from its priority and its due date, the same rule as the [Eisenhower matrix](https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/eisenhower-matrix/): P1 and P2 are important, and a task is urgent when it is overdue or due within 2 days of the day you complete it.

| Task when you complete it | XP | If done on or before its due date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Focus: important and urgent | 30 | 36 |
| Plan: important, not urgent | 25 | 30 |
| Quick: urgent, not important | 10 | 12 |
| Later: neither | 5 | 6 |

Plan tasks pay almost as much as Focus on purpose: important work done before it turns urgent is the work people put off. The on-time bonus is +20% and only applies to tasks that have a due date.

## Habits, kudos and achievements

- **Habit check-in**: 10 XP, plus 1 for each consecutive day checked in before it, up to 20 XP. Only check-ins for today and yesterday earn XP.
- **Kudos** from a teammate: 5 XP each, at most 5 a day. See [Leaderboards, usernames and kudos](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/leaderboards-and-kudos/).
- **Achievements**: a one-time bonus of 25, 75, 200 or 500 XP by rarity. See [Achievements](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/achievements/).

## The daily limit

Task XP slows down during the day, so steady days beat marathons:

- full value until you have earned 300 XP from tasks that day,
- half value until 600 XP,
- a fifth of the value after that,
- nothing once the day reaches 800 XP.

Every completion still earns at least 1 XP until that last limit. The day follows your time zone. Habit check-ins are not part of this limit.

**Progress → Overview** shows your task XP for today out of 800.

## Fair play

- A task awards XP once. If you mark it open again, you lose that XP, and completing it again gives back the same amount, never more. Level-up chests are given once per level, so toggling a task cannot farm them.
- A task completed less than a minute after you created it earns 1 XP and does not count toward achievements.
- In a shared project, the member who completed the task gets the XP.

## Levels and ranks

The curve has no cap. Reaching level L takes a total of `30 × (L − 1) ^ 1.9` XP, rounded down:

| Level | Total XP |
| --- | --- |
| 2 | 30 |
| 5 | 417 |
| 10 | 1,950 |
| 20 | 8,067 |
| 50 | 48,808 |
| 100 | 185,706 |

Every 10 levels you move up a rank: Spark, Ember, Flame, Blaze, Nova, Comet, Star, Nebula, Galaxy, Infinity. Spark covers levels 1 to 9, Ember 10 to 19, and so on up to Infinity from level 90.

Each new level gives a [chest](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/chests-and-items/). Levels also open the name effects that style your username, from Copper at level 5 to Mythic at level 100.

## Good to know

- Tasks completed through an AI assistant earn XP too. When you open Prior again, a **Done while you were away** message adds them up, and **Collect** plays the celebration.
- In Calm mode, XP keeps counting silently. See [Choose Calm or Game](https://priortasks.com/docs/game-mode/calm-or-game/).
- XP is earned, never bought. Paid plans do not change it.