Federations as a game mechanic have changed so much since Stellaris was first released. Paradox even saw fit to dedicate an entire DLC to federations, expanding the systems even further.
A federation is a group of space empires that share common values and join forces in a formal alliance. Not all of these federations are equal, and the benefits members get depends on the federation type.
Recommended Read: What Are the Best Precursors in Stellaris?
This guide will discuss which of these federation types is best, what the requirements are for forming each type, and the weaknesses of each federation type.
From best to worst, the best federation types in Stellaris are Hegemony, Trade League, Research Cooperative, Holy Covenant, Martial Alliance, and Galactic Union.
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The Best Federation Types in Stellaris
The galaxy is a dangerous place, and smart empire rulers know that they can’t face all the dangers alone. The strongest alliance you can form with one or more empires are federations.
A federation is where two or more nations get together and decide that they share similar goals. They decide to create a society of space empires, and every member has a duty to support each other from there on out.
You can think of a federation like the European Union in our own world. A group of nations has banded together to create something greater than themselves.
Members of federations enjoy unique benefits, depending on the kind of federation they are a member of.
A president is also elected, who gains unique bonuses all to themselves. Not only that, federations can level up, further enhancing benefits for everyone.
There are six federation types in the game at the moment. The kind of federation you can join or form depends on a lot of factors, including ethics, civics, traditions completed, and government authority.
The following headings rank every federation type from worst to best. Every section features a table highlighting all the benefits of each federation.
6. Galactic Union
The only federation type available to players who don’t own the Federations DLC. Unfortunately, for people who don’t own this DLC, it is also the most lackluster.
Its benefits focus on leveling up the federation faster rather than helping its members.
A high federation level means nothing if you get little for all the effort it takes. One great strength it has is that it does not have any requirements to become a member.
The only restriction is that empires with the barbaric despoiler trait cannot form a galactic union.
If your galaxy’s population has a diverse set of empires with a lot of different ethics, this is your best option for forming a super federation.
| Level 1 Perks | Level 2 Perks | Level 3 Perks | Level 4 Perks | Level 5 Perks | |
| Normal member perks | 50% Cohesion loss from ethics | Naval contribution effect +25% | +2 Unity per official | +25% Damage to crisis ships | +2 Unity per Official |
| +60 Intel cap between members | Cohesion loss from new members -50% | 10% ship speed increase in federation space | +5 Trust cap per official | ||
| 5% extra trust growth per official | Damage to crisis ships increased by 25% | ||||
| President member perks | +1 Envoy | +1 Influence | +10% Diplomatic Weight | 10% extra monthly unity |
5. Martial Alliance
These federations can be formed by empires that have any form of militarist ethic or if they have completed the unyielding tradition tree.
The formation of this kind of federation seeks to improve the military might of its members.
Martial alliance federations often produce the grandest federation fleets, further enhancing the potential firepower of this federation.
At maximum levels, members of this federation can inflict an extra 50% damage on the end-game crisis.
Where martial federations are weak, some of their bonuses are quite useless, especially the army experience buffs. It is also a bit of a one-trick pony but far from useless. This federation type does need a buff.
| Level 1 Perks | Level 2 Perks | Level 3 Perks | Level 4 Perks | Level 5 Perks | |
| Normal member perks | 100 extra Ship starting experience | +25% Naval contribution effect | +1 Admiral starting skill level | +25% Naval contribution effect | +25% Naval contribution effect |
| +100 Army starting experience | +10% Ship Speed in federation space | +10% Ship fire rate | +25% Damage to crisis ships | +25% Damage to crisis ships | |
| +25% Ship build speed | Monthly unity equal to 10% of federation fleet size | ||||
| +50 Intel cap between members | |||||
| President member perks | ?10% Claim influence cost | An extra envoy | +10% Diplomatic weight |
4. Holy Covenant
If you want to recreate the covenant from the Halo series, you should start here. To form this type of federation, you will need to be a spiritualist empire or have completed the harmony tradition tree.
Holy Covenants focuses on Unity production, either through flat bonuses or extra pop jobs. Thematically, this represents all members of the federation banding together to create one super religion.
If you can become a member of one of these federations as a non-spiritualist empire, it is a great way to supplement your unity production and get some free allies as well.
Mechanical empires can join, but they will have a bad time. They can never become president and also receive pop growth penalties at higher levels.
3. Research Cooperative
This one speaks for itself. Research is so important in Stellaris, making this research-focused federation type one of the best.
It can be formed by empires that have machine intelligence, have completed the discovery tradition, or have materialist ethics.
Those looking for a tech rush should consider forming one of these federations early. Its only weakness is that some of its high-level rewards are only active if there is a crisis.
| Level 1 Perks | Level 2 Perks | Level 3 Perks | Level 4 Perks | Level 5 Perks | |
| Normal member perks | Free Research Agreement with all members | +5% Research speed from federal Research Agreement | +5% Research speed from federal Research Agreement | +5% Research speed from federal Research Agreement | +5% Research speed from federal Research Agreement |
| +50 Intel cap between members | ×2 Rare tech discovery chance if researched by other members | +20% Research speed during a crisis | +20% Research speed during a crisis | ||
| +5% Research speed | |||||
| President member perks | +1 Research alternatives | +20% Diplomatic weight from technology | +1 Envoy | +1 Megastructure build capacity |
2. Trade League
If capitalism and creating vast wealth for your empire are your only goals, a trade league federation is the one for you. This federation has the potential to make the wealth creation process a breeze.
To form a trade league, one of the following must be true: you have the corporate dominion civic, completed the mercantile tradition tree, have the merchant guilds civic, or are a megacorporation.
Despite the presidential bonuses being quite weak until the final level, there is little to no downside to forming a trade league federation.
| Level 1 Perks | Level 2 Perks | Level 3 Perks | Level 4 Perks | Level 5 Perks | |
| Normal member perks | Trade League trade policy | +5% Trade value | +5% Trade value | +5% Trade value | +5% Trade value |
| +50 Intel cap between members | +10% Ship speed in Federation space | +5 Trade protection | +25% Naval contribution effect | +25% Damage to crisis ships | |
| President member perks | +1 Envoy | +1 Influence | +10% Diplomatic weight | +10% Trade value |
1. Hegemony
A unique form of federation is hegemony, unique in the fact that most members don’t have a choice in whether they join or not.
These federations are formed by ones that have the hegemony origin, have finished the domination tradition tree, are rogue servitor, or are some form of authoritarian empire.
This is a president-first federation, not one for beginners. If you are good at Stellaris, forcing people to join your hegemony is a free and easy way to form the galactic imperium.
Ruling over your members comes at the cost of always worrying about rebellion. This is why this is for advanced players only; if you show any weakness, your “loyal” subjects will not think twice about rebelling.
Those are the best federation types in Stellaris.
If you have any questions or suggestions for this guide, please let us know in the comments section below. As always, have fun founding the most powerful federation in Stellaris.
