Pokémon GO Incense is one of the easiest ways to see more wild Pokémon, but plenty of trainers are unsure how it works, where it comes from, or when it is worth using. This guide covers what Incense does, how the two types differ, where the free ones come from, and what to do on days when you cannot get out for a walk.
What Is Pokémon GO Incense?
Incense is an item that makes wild Pokémon appear near you. Only you can see these Pokémon. Other players do not.
While Incense is active, a cloud of colored gas swirls around your avatar, and the Pokémon it spawns carry the same glow on the map, which makes them easy to pick out. Pokémon drawn in by Daily Adventure Incense are also tagged with a small Incense icon during the encounter itself.
How Does Incense in Pokémon GO Work?
A regular Incense lasts 60 minutes, and longer during some events. Community Day Incense runs for three hours. While it is active, it adds extra spawns to your map, and the rate depends on what you do.
According to Bulbapedia, one Incense spawns about one Pokémon every five minutes if you stand still. If you walk, it spawns about one per minute. Do the math. That is roughly 12 Pokémon for a full hour of standing, and up to 60 for a full hour of walking. Walking gives you about five times more.
Incense-spawned Pokémon tend to be more aggressive. They dodge and attack sooner than normal ones.
One more rule matters: you can only run one Incense type at a time. The official Help Center states that two different types cannot be active together, and the same applies to the Mystery Box and the Coin Bag.
Types of Incense: Regular and Daily Adventure
There are two main types of Incense in Pokémon GO.
Regular Incense: It has a green icon. During some events, the icon turns orange. That means it will mostly attract event Pokémon.
Daily Adventure Incense: This is the free one. It shows a blue cloud and lasts 15 minutes, and it only works while you move. The official announcement describes it as a way to encounter Pokémon you do not often see in the wild.
What makes it worth using is the spawn pool. Along with Pokémon you rarely see in the wild, it can turn up species that normally come from Eggs or raids, and in rare cases one of the Galarian legendary birds.
Regular Incense vs. Daily Adventure Incense
The two differ in almost every way that matters:
That table leaves out the trade-off, which is the part most guides skip. Daily Adventure Incense spawns about twice as fast as a walking regular Incense. But it lasts only a quarter as long. In 15 minutes, the best case is about 30 spawns. In practice you will get fewer, because you need to catch each Pokémon before the next one appears.
How Do I Get Incense in Pokémon GO?
Here is how to get Incense in Pokémon GO. There are three ways.
1. Free Incense from Research, Level-Ups & Events
You do not need to spend Coins to get started.
- New accounts: Trainers get two Incense as part of their starting items.
- Level-ups: Incense is a level-up reward at Trainer levels 5, 20, 30, 40, 44, 50, 54, 60, 64, 70, and 80. The amounts go up as you climb: one at levels 5 and 20, two at levels 30 and 40, three at level 50, four at level 60, six at level 70, and seven at level 80.
- Research and events: Field Research, Special Research, and event rewards often include Incense. Check the event page when a new one starts.
2. Daily Adventure Incense: The Free Daily Option
Daily Adventure Incense unlocks once you finish the Special Research called A Mysterious Incense Part 1. After that, one lands in your Bag every day just after midnight, local time, but only if you used the previous one. Leftover Incense means no new one the next day.
A few rules are worth knowing:
- You can only carry one at a time.
- It has to be used before midnight, or you miss the next day’s Incense.
- Starting it by 11:44 p.m. leaves room for the full 15 minutes. It cannot be activated between 11:45 p.m. and midnight.
There is also a small bonus. If you hold 30 or fewer Poké Balls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls combined, activating it grants you 30 free Poké Balls, as long as your Bag has room for them. That helps, because the Pokémon keep coming.
3. Buying Incense from the Shop
You can also buy Incense with Coins. The price is 40 Coins for one, or 250 Coins for a bundle of eight. Prices can change, so check the Shop before you buy.
The bundle works out to about 31 Coins each, roughly 22% less than buying singles. Since each Incense covers an hour, you are paying about 31 Coins per hour of spawns, which is worth it only if you will actually use all eight.
How Do I Use Incense in Pokémon GO?
Using Incense takes under a minute. Here is how to use an Incense in Pokémon GO.
How to Activate Incense (Step-by-Step)
- Open Pokémon GO and stay on the map screen.
- Tap the Poké Ball button at the bottom, then open your Bag.
- Find the Incense you want and tap it.
- Tap Use.
- Look for the cloud around your avatar. Pink means regular Incense. Blue means Daily Adventure Incense.
The Daily Adventure Incense Pokémon GO gives you each day works the same way. If another Incense is active, you must wait until it ends.
Tips for Using Incense Effectively
A few small habits can get you much more from each Incense.
💡Tip 1: Walk in a Straight Line at a Steady Pace
Movement is the biggest lever you have. Regular Incense spawns faster when you walk. Daily Adventure Incense does nothing if you stand still.
Try to keep moving in one direction. One player’s testing suggests the game checks roughly every 30 seconds and wants you about 50 meters from the last spawn. That is a community finding rather than an official rule, but it matches what you would expect: pacing in circles brings fewer new spawns than a steady line.
Keep your speed in the walking range as well. Pokémon that appear during Daily Adventure Incense can flee, including the rare ones, so give yourself enough time to throw.
💡Tip 2: Save Premium Incense for Boosted-Spawn Events
Regular Incense pays off most when the game is already boosting certain Pokémon. Community Days, Spotlight Hours, and most events widen the spawn pool, and an orange event Incense pulls mainly from that event’s species.
So do not spend a paid Incense on a quiet Tuesday. Check the Today View first and use it when the spawn pool is in your favor.
💡Tip 3: Stack Multiple Incense to Extend Duration
You can activate more than one regular Incense at a time. The Help Center says the effects stack for up to 24 hours. That means you do not need to tap a new one every hour.
This works best for long outings. Stacking is for regular Incense only, since Daily Adventure Incense cannot run alongside another type.
✅Learn More: Pokémon GO Incense Not Working? Fix It Right Now!
How to Get More Spawns from Your Incense Without Walking🔥
Regular Incense still works if you stay put, just slowly. Daily Adventure Incense is the opposite: stand still and it does almost nothing. That leaves anyone who cannot get out for a walk holding an item they cannot really use.
This is where a GPS tool can help. iToolab AnyGo is a location changer for Pokémon GO. It moves your phone’s GPS along a route you draw on the map, so the game registers walking while you stay where you are. Run it alongside an Incense and the spawns keep arriving at the walking rate.
- Teleport to high-spawn locations with just one click.
- Simulate GPS movement with Two-Spot Mode, customize route & speed for steady Incense spawns.
- Newly released Native Mode: spoof iOS location without modded apps for all LBS apps safely.
- Auto catch Pokémon and spin PokéStops using Go Catcher.
- Support Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom and other location-based apps.
- Run seamlessly on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
How to Use AnyGo to Keep Your Incense Spawning
Here is how to use an incense in Pokémon GO together with AnyGo’s Two-Spot Mode.
Step 1 Download and install iToolab AnyGo on your Windows or Mac computer. Launch AnyGo and select General Mode.
Step 2 Connect your iPhone or Android phone to your computer with a USB cable.
Step 3 Choose Two-Spot Mode, tap a destination on the map, and check the distance in the pop-up. For a 15-minute Daily Adventure Incense at walking speed, make it at least 1.5 km.
Step 4 Set the speed to a walking pace, and turn on Realistic Mode if you want the speed to vary rather than stay fixed. Start the walk, then open Pokémon GO and use your Incense from the Bag while the route runs. Pause AnyGo whenever you need a moment to catch something.
Summary
Incense adds extra spawns to your map, and movement is what turns a trickle into a stream. Regular Incense runs for an hour and keeps working if you stay put. The free Daily Adventure Incense gives you 15 minutes and asks for movement the whole way through.
If getting out for a walk is not an option, AnyGo Location Changer can move your GPS along a route while you stay where you are. Pick a route long enough for the Incense you are using, keep the speed in walking range, and check the Today View before spending one on a quiet day.