Sulfur Farming Calculator
You know the raid’s sulfur price. Now find out how long the grind takes: enter the sulfur total and your farming rate, and get the ETA, the number of sulfur nodes and the charcoal you’ll burn through.
Your grind
Loads your saved raid plan automatically. Example: 2 sheet doors + 1 stone wall = 7,550 sulfur.
Sulfur per minute of actual farming - check yourself over a normal session.
Nodes per hour (1 node = 300 sulfur). Editing either field updates the other.
Illustrative starting points, not measured averages - tune to your own farm.
How the farming ETA is calculated
The ETA is a straight division - sulfur needed ÷ sulfur per minute - plus three conversions every raider cares about:
- Nodes: sulfur ÷ 300. One sulfur-rich node yields 300 ore, and ore smelts 1:1 into sulfur.
- Charcoal: sulfur × 1.5. Gunpowder costs 30 charcoal per 20 sulfur, and almost every raid explosive burns gunpowder.
- Sessions: ETA ÷ 1 hour, so a “19 hours” grind reads as the ~20 evening sessions it actually is.
Rates are yours to enter because they vary wildly with tool, map, server population and how often you get chased off your node. We deliberately don’t publish a “standard” rate - the presets above are clearly-labeled example starting points.
Limitations
- The ETA counts farming time only - smelting, crafting and hauling are on you.
- Node respawn rates and map sulfur density are not modeled; enter your sustained rate and they’re already priced in.
- Low-grade fuel for explosives (rockets and C4 need it) is a separate hunt.
Node yield per Rust Wiki - Sulfur Ore · snapshot 2026-10-11 · full sources on the methodology page.
What common raids cost in farming time
At an example 150 sulfur/min (≈ 1 node every 2 minutes), a focused solo session:
| Raid | Sulfur (cheapest) | Nodes | Farming time @150/min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open 1 sheet metal door | 1,575 | 6 | 11 min |
| 10-satchel stone wall raid | 4,800 | 16 | 32 min |
| 2 sheet doors + 1 stone wall + TC | 7,550 | 26 | 50 min |
| Armored door + 2 stone walls | 15,850 | 53 | 106 min |
| Armored wall punch-through | 8,800 | 30 | 59 min |
Cheapest-route sulfur from the solver’s ranking on 2026-10-11 data. Your rate is the variable - that’s what the calculator above is for.
Frequently asked questions
How much sulfur does one node give in Rust?
A sulfur-rich node yields 300 sulfur ore, which smelts 1:1 into 300 sulfur - that’s the number this calculator uses (per the Rust Wiki). Small ground collectibles give 50 ore each.
How many nodes for a stone wall raid?
A 10-satchel stone-wall raid costs 4,800 sulfur ≈ 16 sulfur nodes. The 2-C4 route (4,400 sulfur) is about 15 nodes. Type your own plan’s sulfur total above and the calculator converts it instantly.
How much charcoal do I need?
Gunpowder mixes 30 charcoal with 20 sulfur, so raid-crafting consumes roughly 1.5 charcoal per sulfur. A 10,000-sulfur raid wants about 15,000 charcoal - the calculator shows this estimate alongside the ETA.
What farming rate should I enter?
Whatever you actually sustain: check your nodes-per-hour over a normal session, or time a few nodes and convert (a 300-sulfur node in 30 seconds ≈ 600 sulfur/min at peak - you won’t sustain that between respawns, so enter your honest average). The preset chips are labeled examples, not measured guarantees.
Do sulfur quarries change the math?
No - quarries just change your sulfur-per-minute. Enter the quarry’s output as your rate (watch its fuel) and the ETA holds. The node estimate still tells you what the equivalent hand-farming looks like.
Related tools & guides
Cheapest Raid Solver
Shrink the grind: rank every explosive option by sulfur before you farm.
Cut the cost →Raid Cost Calculator
Pick targets and quantities to get the sulfur total in the first place.
Price a raid →Rust Raid Chart
The complete explosive table, printable for your team’s Discord.
Open the chart →Soft Side vs Hard Side
Cut ammo counts nearly in half by hitting the right face.
Learn the trick →