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There is no single best Factorio module. Use productivity modules when an eligible recipe’s input cost is the bottleneck, speed modules when machine count or throughput is the problem, efficiency modules when electricity or pollution is constraining expansion, and quality modules in Space Age when higher-tier output is worth the slower, more expensive process. Start with the factory’s limiting resource, then verify the recipe accepts the module before you commit to a layout.
Quick answer: match the module to the bottleneck
The table below is a practical first pass. “First to test” does not mean the module will always win; recipe eligibility, machine slots, beacon plans, power capacity and the value of the output can change the result.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →| Factory constraint | First module to test | What it improves | Main cost or caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarce or expensive input materials | Productivity | Extra products from a completed productivity bar without another set of inputs | Only eligible recipes accept it; crafting is slower and electricity and pollution rise |
| Too few machines, limited floor space or a hard throughput target | Speed | More crafts per unit time from the same machine footprint | Higher energy use and pollution; Space Age quality chance is reduced |
| Power generation, fuel supply or pollution defense | Efficiency | Lower energy consumption and therefore lower pollution | No throughput increase, and reductions cannot pass the 20% floor |
| Higher-quality intermediates, machines or equipment | Quality (Space Age) | A greater chance of producing higher-quality output | Machines run more slowly, and chasing quality can consume more materials per useful item |
How modules change a machine
Modules alter a machine’s speed, energy consumption, pollution and, in Space Age, quality behavior. Factorio’s current rules document three base module types, each with three tiers. The game also enforces a lower bound: machine speed, energy consumption and pollution cannot be reduced below 20% of their original values. That floor matters when stacking efficiency effects or combining several effects that slow a machine.
Install modules only in entities that provide module slots. Before designing a production line around a module, open the recipe and machine information and confirm that the recipe permits it. Productivity restrictions are especially important: a recipe change can eject incompatible modules and stop a line that was balanced around bonus output.
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Module effects are multiplicative decisions for the whole factory, not isolated upgrades. A faster machine may require more miners, belts, trains, fuel and power upstream. A productive machine may reduce ore demand but need additional machines downstream if its output becomes the new bottleneck. Evaluate the complete chain rather than the number printed on one machine.
Productivity modules: save inputs on eligible recipes
What productivity does
A productivity module adds a second progress bar to the machine. When that bar reaches 100%, the machine creates an extra set of products without consuming another set of recipe resources. This is why productivity is usually the strongest choice when the limiting cost is iron, copper, oil, rare Space Age materials or another expensive input.
Productivity generally applies to intermediate-product recipes rather than every item in the game. The Factorio Wiki lists exceptions and special cases, including stone brick, molten-iron concrete and certain Space Age soils. Treat the recipe’s actual eligibility as a hard prerequisite; do not assume that a final product or a newly added recipe accepts productivity.
Known trade-offs
- Productivity carries a speed penalty, so the same machine produces its normal output more slowly.
- It raises energy consumption and pollution.
- Productivity modules cannot be placed in beacons, so beacon layouts cannot amplify their effect directly.
- The extra output changes downstream demand. Belts, pipes, inserters and consuming machines may need additional capacity even while the upstream input requirement falls.
A documented tier-two example
The current Factorio Wiki table gives a tier-2 productivity module as +6% productivity, −10% speed, +60% energy consumption and +7% pollution. Those figures describe that module tier in the current rules; they are not a universal multiplier for every tier or every machine. Use the in-game module tooltip for the exact version and tier you are installing.
When productivity is the right first test
- The recipe consumes a constrained material and the factory cannot obtain more of it economically.
- Mining, refining or shipping the input is more expensive than adding machine time and electricity.
- The recipe is eligible and has enough machine slots for the productivity modules you plan to use.
- You can absorb the slower cycle time with spare machines, a larger buffer or a later speed upgrade.
Productivity is not automatically best merely because it creates free products. If the input is abundant and the real problem is a missing science-per-minute target, a speed module can deliver the required output with fewer machines. Compare the cost of extra power and machines with the value of the saved input.
Speed modules: buy throughput and compactness
Tier effects
Speed modules increase crafting speed and energy consumption. The current module table lists these effects:
| Speed module tier | Speed change | Energy-consumption change | Space Age quality chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | +20% | +50% | −1% |
| Tier 2 | +30% | +60% | −1.5% |
| Tier 3 | +50% | +70% | −2.5% |
The quality penalties in the last column apply to Space Age’s quality chance. In a base-game production line, the relevant trade-off is the higher energy draw and the pollution that follows from it.
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When speed wins
- You have a fixed throughput target but insufficient machine slots or floor space.
- A single machine, recipe or transfer point is limiting the entire chain.
- Input materials are plentiful enough that saving them is less valuable than producing more per minute.
- You can supply the additional electricity, fuel, cooling and logistics capacity.
Speed is also a way to recover throughput lost to productivity. This combination can make sense when inputs are expensive but the factory still needs a high output rate. The extra power cost must be compared with the cost of building more productive machines without speed support.
Why speed can be a poor Space Age default
In a quality-focused line, speed modules reduce quality chance while increasing power demand. They can still be useful when the goal is total items per minute and input capacity is not a concern, but they work against a plan whose value comes from higher-quality output. Decide whether the line is optimized for quantity or quality before filling every slot with speed.
Efficiency modules: control power and pollution
What efficiency changes
Efficiency modules reduce energy use and, as a consequence, pollution. They do not increase crafting speed or create additional products. Their value is greatest when power generation, fuel, accumulator capacity or pollution defense is the constraint that prevents expansion.
The 20% lower-bound rule applies here: energy consumption and pollution cannot be reduced below 20% of the original value. Once a machine is near that floor, additional efficiency effects provide little or no further reduction. A line that still needs more output will eventually require more machines or speed, not another efficiency module.
Documented examples and their limits
The Factorio Wiki’s worked example says an electric furnace draws 180 kW and one basic efficiency module removes 54 kW, a 30% reduction. A separate example shows three basic efficiency modules in an electric mining drill reducing pollution from 10 to 2 units per minute. These are the wiki’s examples for those entities and module setup; they are not universal results for every machine.
Best places to start
- Electric mining drills in a pollution-sensitive early base.
- Machines running continuously when power production is close to its limit.
- Outposts where reducing fuel or power demand simplifies a remote supply chain.
- Areas where lower pollution delays defensive pressure while the factory is still developing.
Efficiency is a defensive and infrastructure choice, not a throughput upgrade. If the factory has ample power and the real shortage is copper or machine count, productivity or speed will address the cause more directly.
Quality modules in Space Age
What quality is for
Factorio: Space Age adds quality modules and five quality levels, from Normal to Legendary. The official Space Age product information describes quality modules as a way to craft higher-quality items and intermediates; each higher level provides a stronger bonus, such as faster machines or more powerful equipment.
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Quality modules change the objective from “more ordinary items per minute” to “more valuable items per minute.” A higher-quality machine, component or piece of equipment may justify slower production if its improved performance is worth the extra attempts and inputs.
Costs and interactions
- Quality modules slow machines, so each cycle takes longer than an unmodified cycle.
- They should be compared with productivity when material efficiency is the priority.
- They should be compared with speed when the priority is output per unit time.
- A quality line can consume more inputs per useful high-quality item if most attempts remain at lower quality.
Use dedicated quality production lines when the output has a clear value at higher quality. Mixing a quality objective into a line that only needs cheap, ordinary throughput can add complexity without improving the factory’s limiting metric.
Quality versus productivity and speed
The quality documentation notes that, when input capacity is not a concern and speed is the goal, players can replace productivity modules with quality modules. It also records cases where one speed module can increase normal and quality output per unit time at a higher power and input cost. Those are conditional strategies: measure whether the line is constrained by inputs, machine time or the value of the quality result before choosing.
A step-by-step method for choosing modules
- State the target. Decide whether the line must save a scarce input, hit a throughput number, stay under a power or pollution limit, or produce higher-quality output.
- Identify the measured bottleneck. Check whether machines are starved, output is backing up, power is near its limit, pollution is creating defensive problems, or quality output is insufficient.
- Verify recipe eligibility. Open the recipe in the actual machine and confirm that productivity or quality is allowed. Include any Space Age-specific exception in the design.
- Count available slots and infrastructure. Check machine slots, beacon plans, belts, pipes, inserters, train unloading and power distribution before estimating the gain.
- Install one test configuration. Compare its input consumption, output rate, energy draw and pollution with the unmodified machine under the same supply conditions.
- Fix the next bottleneck. A productive machine may move the shortage downstream; a speed module may move it to power generation; an efficiency module may leave throughput unchanged.
- Lock the layout only after the chain is balanced. Recheck module compatibility after recipe or version changes so modules are not unexpectedly ejected.
Practical progression from early base to Space Age
Early base-game stage
Efficiency modules are useful in miners and other pollution-sensitive areas when power and defense are constrained. Reducing demand can let a small generator setup support the factory while you expand mining, smelting and research. Do not expect efficiency to increase science production; its benefit is the headroom it creates.
Intermediate production stage
Once a recipe supports productivity and material cost becomes the dominant concern, productivity generally offers the strongest input-saving effect. Confirm the recipe first, then account for its slower crafting and higher energy and pollution. If the productive line cannot meet demand, add speed modules or additional machines according to whether power or floor space is cheaper.
Throughput expansion
Use speed modules when the factory has a clear machine-count or footprint problem. Their higher energy draw makes the power network part of the design. A speed upgrade that leaves the electrical grid saturated may reduce real output through brownouts rather than improve it.
Space Age specialization
Treat quality as a separate production objective. Build quality lines where the higher tier has a measurable use, and keep ordinary high-volume lines focused on productivity, speed or efficiency. The five-level quality system creates a reason to separate products by purpose instead of applying one module type everywhere.
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Recipe eligibility and module ejection
Productivity modules are not universal. The wiki describes intermediate-product rules plus exceptions such as stone brick, molten-iron concrete and certain Space Age soils. Because eligibility is part of the recipe definition, a recipe adjustment can eject modules that were valid before the change.
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- Check every recipe in the machine where it will run, not only the item’s name in a planning spreadsheet.
- Keep a spare module set available when converting a line between recipes.
- After changing a recipe, inspect the machine for an ejected module and verify that the production bonus still applies.
- Do not assume that a module accepted by one intermediate recipe will be accepted by a similar-looking item.
How to combine module types without losing the objective
Productivity plus speed
This pairing is appropriate when inputs are expensive but the factory still needs a high rate of finished output. Productivity lowers input use per useful output, while speed offsets the productivity speed penalty. The trade is a larger electricity and pollution bill, so size the power system before scaling the line.
Productivity plus efficiency
This combination prioritizes material savings while limiting the energy and pollution increase. It is useful when inputs are scarce and the power or pollution budget is also tight, but it cannot remove productivity’s speed penalty. If output is too low, add machines or reassess the bottleneck rather than expecting efficiency to provide throughput.
Speed plus efficiency
These effects pull in opposite directions on energy consumption: speed raises it and efficiency lowers it. The combination can make sense when a compact, high-throughput line is required but the power system has a strict ceiling. Check the 20% energy floor before adding enough efficiency modules to offset a large speed stack.
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Quality with other objectives
Quality modules belong where higher-tier output is valuable. If the line instead needs the maximum number of ordinary items per minute, quality’s slower cycles may be the wrong trade. If both quality and throughput matter, test a limited speed addition and measure the resulting quality output, because speed also carries a quality penalty in Space Age.
Examples of bottleneck-led decisions
An ore-starved intermediate
An eligible intermediate consumes a material that the mines cannot supply. Start with productivity modules, then verify that the slower machine still feeds the next stage. If the product rate falls below demand, recover throughput with speed or extra machines and compare the added power cost with the value of the saved ore.
A crowded factory block
A recipe has abundant inputs and power, but the available floor space cannot fit enough machines. Speed modules increase output from the existing footprint. Plan belt and inserter capacity for the higher rate; otherwise the nominal speed gain will be hidden by a full output belt or a starved input.
A pollution-limited mining area
Defensive pressure rises whenever miners run at full power. Efficiency modules reduce energy use and pollution, with the documented lower-bound rule limiting the total reduction. This is preferable to speed when the immediate goal is keeping the mining area sustainable rather than producing more ore per minute.
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The factory wants higher-quality equipment rather than the largest count of ordinary items. Use quality modules in a dedicated line, allow for slower cycles and enough input supply for repeated attempts, and evaluate the value of the resulting quality level. Do not mix this line’s success metric with a separate science line that only needs dependable normal output.
Power, pollution and logistics checks
Every module decision should include the supporting systems:
- Power: speed and productivity increase energy demand; quality slows production but may require more total attempts for a high-quality result; efficiency reduces demand until the 20% floor is reached.
- Pollution: productivity and speed increase the burden, while efficiency reduces it. A pollution improvement is valuable only if it changes the defensive or expansion constraint.
- Inputs: productivity lowers input consumption per additional output, while speed consumes inputs faster per minute.
- Outputs: extra productive output and faster cycles can saturate belts, pipes, chests, trains or downstream machines.
- Space: speed is valuable when adding machines is impossible; additional machines may be cheaper when electricity is plentiful and space is not.
- Beacons: productivity modules cannot be placed in beacons, so reserve beacon planning for effects that the game permits there.
Common mistakes and fixes
“Productivity is always best.”
Why it fails: the recipe may reject it, the speed penalty may create a new bottleneck, or the input may already be abundant. Fix: verify eligibility and compare the value of saved materials with the cost of added machine time and power.
“Speed solves every shortage.”
Why it fails: speed can exhaust power, increase pollution and overfill logistics. In Space Age it also lowers quality chance. Fix: confirm that machine footprint is the real constraint before accepting the energy and quality trade-offs.
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Why it fails: efficiency reduces energy use and pollution but does not increase crafting speed. Fix: use it for power or pollution headroom; choose speed, productivity or more machines when output is the shortage.
“Quality modules are a free upgrade.”
Why it fails: machines run more slowly and a quality-focused line may consume more inputs per useful high-quality item. Fix: reserve quality for outputs whose higher tier has a clear value and measure the result against a normal-output line.
“The planner’s module setup will remain valid.”
Why it fails: recipe eligibility can differ between items and a recipe change can eject incompatible modules. Fix: inspect the live machine after every recipe conversion or version change.
Version context
Factorio: Space Age was released on October 21, 2024, alongside the free Factorio 2.0 update. The Factorio team’s release post describes version 2.0 as including broad game changes, optimizations and improvements. Module percentages and recipe behavior should therefore be checked against the current in-game tooltips and the current Factorio Wiki page when maintaining an older save or a design created for a different version.
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- Is the recipe eligible for the module type?
- What is the single resource actually limiting the line: inputs, machine time, power, pollution, space or output quality?
- Can the factory support the module’s energy, pollution and logistics consequences?
- Will the module move the bottleneck to a downstream machine or transport link?
- For Space Age, is the objective higher quality, maximum normal throughput or a balance of both?
- Have you tested the live machine and checked for ejected modules after recipe or version changes?
Choose productivity for eligible material savings, speed for constrained throughput, efficiency for power and pollution control, and quality for a deliberate Space Age quality target. Re-evaluate whenever the factory’s bottleneck changes.
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