XP Farming on Zwift: the Definitive Guide to Earning More XP and Leveling Up Faster

May 21, 2025

LAST UPDATED May 27, 2025

XP (experience) points are what get you to higher levels in Zwift, and higher levels mean access to more virtual equipment and roads. Our calculations show that a rider can typically expect to earn 500-700XP per hour.

But are there ways Zwifters can earn XP faster? Of course! Here’s a definitive list of strategies for boosting your XP earnings.

Ride Short Climb Portals

Climb Portals can be “gamed” to earn XP at a higher-than-normal rate because each climb is broken up into 10 equidistant sections with a powerup arch at the end of each section. That means you can receive 10 powerups during the course of completing each Portal climb.

Doing repeats of a short Portal climb like Oude Kwaremont lets you more than double your typical rate of XP earning. In fact, this method is so effective that I wrote an entire post dedicated to it! Be sure to check out that post, as it contains helpful tips to maximize your XP earning.

Ride New Routes

The first time you complete an official Zwift route, you’ll earn the badge for that route, which includes an XP bonus equal to the regular XP you earned while riding the route. That means you effectively double your XP earning rate when riding new routes, assuming you actually finish the route.

Assuming you’re riding around 35kph, that’s a bonus of 700XP per hour if you’re just riding new routes. As of May 2025, if you tally up the XP bonuses from riding every route on Zwift, you get 102,217XP. That’s a whole lotta XP – enough to move you from level 30 to 45!

Note: a small number of event-only routes tdo not include an achievement badge/XP bonus. If you’re unsure, look up the route on our master list and see if it includes an achievement badge with bonus XP.

Ride a TT Bike

If you’re on a time trial frame, you won’t receive speed-boosting powerups when you ride through arches. Instead, you’ll receive the 10XP bonus. Every time!

Combine the TT bike with a short route that includes one or more lap banners and you’ll accumulate XP faster than you would riding a typical route on a road bike in the draft. Here are some suggested routes, sorted in order from frequent banners to least:

Watopia’s Jarvis Island loop (2.9 miles, 3 banners per lap)
Watopia’s Seaside Sprint (4 miles, 2 banners per lap)
Crit City’s Bell Lap or Downtown Dolphin (event only – 1.2 miles, 1 banner per lap)
New York’s LaGuardia Loop (event only – 1.6 miles, 1 banner per lap)
Watopia’s Volcano Circuit or Volcano Circuit CCW (2.6 miles, 1 banner per lap)
Richmond’s Fan Flats (3.1 miles, 1 banner per lap)

Ride Flat Routes

XP is based purely on distance (20XP per kilometer/32XP per mile), so you’ll accumulate it faster if you keep your speed as high as possible. All other things being equal (effort level, drafting status, etc), your average speed will always be faster on flat routes than hilly ones, which means you’ll earn more XP per minute on flat routes.

Join Double XP Events and Challenges

Sometimes, Zwift holds events where riders earn double XP. That is, each kilometer you ride earns you 40XP, and if you’re using imperial measurements you’ll get 64XP for each mile.

Tour of Watopia is a popular annual event that includes double XP. Zwift has also been holding “XP Express” events awarding double XP.

Find double XP events here: zwift.com/events/tag/doublexp

There are also various in-game Challenges that Zwift holds which include XP bonuses. This includes their recent “Route of the Week” rollout, as well as short-term mini challenges like “Hell of a Route Chaser Challenge“. Working these Challenges into your workout plans can quickly add 500-1000XP to your workout.

Participate In Group Rides

As I already mentioned, the faster you go, the faster you’ll earn XP. Participate in group rides to enjoy the increased speeds of the group draft, and watch that XP add up!

Hack Your Workout

When you do a structured workout in Zwift, XP is calculated differently than the standard 20XP/km distance-based method. I’ve already written about this thoroughly here, where I share some hacks to maximize XP earnings via workouts, including changing interval length, doing workouts up the Alpe then free-riding down, and using workouts for your easy rides since you’ll likely earn more XP than free-riding.

An additional bonus related to doing workouts up the Alpe: the spinner at the top awards XP if it lands on a prize you’ve already received. You’ll get 1000XP if it lands on the Lightweight Meilenstein wheels and you already have them, or 250XP if it lands on anything else that you already have.

Enjoy the Downhills

Any cyclist worth their chamois knows you don’t end a ride at the top of the hill – you earned that descent, so enjoy it! Your route may end at the top of a hill, but go ahead and take that descent: you’ll earn XP for the distance with little or no extra work.

Earn Achievement Badges

There are lots of achievement badges in game. Many are visible under Menu>Badges, but there’s a whole list of hidden achievements as well. Every one of those achievements includes an XP bonus, so grab those badges!

Maintain Your Week Streak

Zwift rewards you with bonus XP when you ride at least once per week:

Week 1: you’ll earn 300XP just for starting your streak.
Week 2: extended your streak to 2 weeks? You’ll earn 400XP.
Week 3+: every time you extend your streak past week 2, you’ll earn a 500XP bonus.

So this one’s easy: just make sure you ride at least 2km (1.25 miles) each week. This can take place on Zwift, or outside if you have your Wahoo or Garmin account connected to Zwift (learn how to do that here).

Extend your streak long enough and you can have a Scotty in your pocket!

Get On the (Rubber)Bandwagon

“Banded” rides in Zwift keep all riders together, regardless of effort level. As long as you keep pedaling, you’ll stay with the pack!

If you’re a rider who tends to rides at lower power (say, 1.5 W/kg or less), joining banded rides should significantly increase your average speed, which in turn will increase your XP earning rate.

See upcoming banded rides at ZwiftHacks >

Combining Strategies

For the ultimate in high-XP riding, combine two or more of the strategies above. (Simple example: choose a group ride on a route you haven’t completed.)

The achievement badges for multiple Volcano Circuit laps earn a big XP boost – you get bonuses for 5, 10, and 25 laps. The 25 lap bonus is 1000XP! Why not do a ride that gets all three, along with the 100km badge. Then keep going and get the 100 mile badge while you’re at it! Do it on a TT bike and you’ll be racking up XP points each time you ride through the lap banner.