The federation type is probably the most important choice you will make as the founder of a federation in Stellaris, since it sets the perks every member gets at each of the five federation levels and which laws you can pass later on.

Right now, the Trade League is the best type for any empire that can found it, because it gives every member free Commercial Pacts from level 1. If you are going to lead a federation of your own vassals, the Hegemony will serve you better, while spiritualists should go for the Holy Covenant and warmongers for the Martial Alliance. The Research Cooperative lost a good part of its appeal in 4.5, since every other type can now pass a law for free Research Agreements once it reaches level 5 (level 4 for a Galactic Union). The free Galactic Union will mostly make sense for players without the Federations DLC or for coalitions with very mixed ethics.

This guide aims to rank all six federation types on the PC version of Stellaris, patch 4.5.2 ‘Cygnus’, the free Galactic Union included, and to show you what each of them gives at every level and who should found it. Every perk value below is taken from the 4.5.2 federation files. The 4.5.3 patch that came out on 4 November 2026 did not touch federations.

Contents

• Stellaris federation types ranked (4.5)
• What 4.5 changed for federations
• Trade League
• Hegemony
• Holy Covenant
• Martial Alliance
• Research Cooperative
• Galactic Union
• Which federation type fits your empire
• How federations level up
• Federation questions
• Conclusion

Stellaris federation types ranked (4.5)

I rated each type on four things: the perks every member gets, the perks that only go to the president, how early the good perks arrive and who is able to found the type in the first place. No type makes S tier overall, because each of them is built around one kind of empire, and several of them will move up or down depending on what you play.

Only a couple of player rankings have come out since 4.0, and none since the 4.5 federation changes. This ranking therefore rests on the 4.5.2 perk numbers plus those few rankings.

What 4.5 changed for federations

Stellaris 4.5 added two new federation law categories, Commercial Pacts and Research Agreements. If you set one of them to Enabled, every member will get free, automatic pacts of that kind, and with Nomads the Commercial Pacts law adds Wayline Pacts as well. You will need the Federations DLC for both categories.

These laws are a late-game tool, though. They need Very High centralization, or High for a Galactic Union, which means your federation has to reach level 5 (level 4 for a Galactic Union) before you can even put them to a vote. Passing one will cost you 5 cohesion, and like every other federation law, it will put that category on a 10-year cooldown. A Trade League cannot pass the Commercial Pacts law and a Research Cooperative cannot pass the Research Agreements law, because their level 1 perk already gives them that pact.

The Trade League got the biggest boost out of this. It now hands out free Commercial Pacts between all members from level 1 (plus Wayline Pacts with Nomads), and since 4.5 the Trade you earn from Commercial Pacts and Branch Offices also runs through your Trade Policy. Every other type has to wait for level 5 (level 4 for a Galactic Union) to get the same pacts by law.

The Research Cooperative is the type that lost the most. Its free Research Agreements used to be the main reason to found one, and now any other type can pass them by law later in the game. It still gets them from level 1, plus a research sharing bonus that the law does not copy, which is why it keeps its place in B tier.

Two smaller changes are good to know as well. The Federation Code technology now reduces Diplomacy Influence upkeep by 25%, and federation members can sign Commercial Pacts with each other the same way they sign Research Agreements.

Trade League

The Trade League is A tier overall and S tier for MegaCorp and trade builds. It is the only type that gives every member free Commercial Pacts from the moment you found it, and with Nomads enabled you will get free Wayline Pacts as well.

Each Commercial Pact adds 10% of the partner’s trade to your economy, and a Trade League signs one between every pair of members. A large Trade League can therefore reach very high Trade late in the game.

To found a Trade League, you will need one of these:

• the Corporate authority (a Megacorporation)
• the Merchant Guilds civic
• the Commerce tradition finisher

Without the MegaCorp DLC, the first two routes are gone, and the Corporate Dominion civic or the Commerce finisher will get you there instead. The only DLC the type itself needs is Federations. Our civics tier list goes through Merchant Guilds and Corporate Dominion, and our tradition tier list rates Commerce together with the four other trees whose finisher unlocks a federation type.

Once the federation forms, every member will switch to the Trade League trade policy, which turns half of your Trade into Energy, Consumer Goods and Unity. Per 100 Trade, that is 15 Energy, 15 Consumer Goods and 7.5 Unity instead of the 50 Energy you would get from Wealth Creation. You will get less raw output, but part of it arrives as Consumer Goods and Unity. Wealth Creation is still in the policy list if Energy is what you are short on.

The level perks then simply add more Trade. Four perks between level 2 and level 5 each give every member +5% Monthly Trade, +20% in total, and Spacelane Security will add +5% Trade from Jobs at level 3.

The president’s best perk is Center of Trade at level 5, another +10% Monthly Trade for the president alone. The remaining perks are a little bit of filler for a trade federation, apart from +25% damage against endgame crises at level 5.

Gestalt members are the weak spot, and for them the Trade League drops to C tier. Gestalt empires cannot found a Trade League at all, since Logistics has no federation unlock and they cannot take Commerce, Megacorporation, Merchant Guilds or Corporate Dominion.

They can still join one, but gestalts have no Trade Policy. A Hive Mind or Machine member will keep the free Commercial Pacts and the Trade bonuses, while the Trade League policy never applies to it.

If you play a MegaCorp, a Merchant Guilds empire or any other trade build, I would found a Trade League before anything else. It is a poor fit for war, though, as it has little for combat beyond the shared crisis bonus, and its Fleet Contribution High law will only become available at level 5.

Hegemony

The Hegemony is the federation type for an empire that wants to lead and keep leading. It is A tier overall, S tier as an overlord whose members are your vassals and B tier as a non-president member.

You can found one as an Authoritarian empire of any degree, with the Rogue Servitor civic or after finishing the Domination traditions. The Hegemon origin will skip that step and start you as the president of a Hegemony, which our origins tier list covers.

As a Hegemony member, you will get +5% Resources from Jobs at levels 2, 3 and 4 (Strength through Unity, Greater Purpose and Universal Service), +15% in total. The president gets nothing out of those three perks, because each of them also gives the president -5%. What the president gets instead is control:

• Levy Exemption at level 2, which lets the president add its share to the federation fleet capacity while keeping its own Naval Capacity untouched
• Join or Die at level 3, a casus belli with the Establish Hegemony war goal against any empire outside the federation
• Hegemonic Privilege at level 5, which moves 10% of every member’s Diplomatic Weight to the president

Winning a Join or Die war will force the loser to join the Hegemony as a full member, and a status quo peace turns the systems you occupy into a new member empire. It cannot target the Galactic Custodian or the Emperor, and the enemy has to fight it out, since the AI will not simply surrender to it.

The default laws suit a leader as well. The presidency goes to the strongest member by Diplomatic Weight, and a new president only takes over once another member surpasses the current one by 25%. Hegemonic Privilege will therefore help you stay in office, and the president alone decides on invites and kicks. War declarations start on Majority Vote, though, and the president cannot declare war alone by default.

At level 4, Political Overseers removes the Influence upkeep of Research Agreements and Migration Pacts between members. Mind that this is all the Hegemony does for pacts, and free Commercial Pacts will only come through the level 5 law.

The Hegemony does not turn anyone into a vassal. It reaches S tier when the members already are your vassals, because the +15% from jobs then goes to your own subjects and every president-only perk lands with you. Subjects can only sit in their overlord’s federation, and with the Federations DLC the members can vote Can Subjects Join to Yes, which brings every member’s subjects in.

As a non-president member, it is only B tier: you will get the best flat economy bonus of any type, but you cannot leave freely and, by default, have no say in invites, kicks or who leads.

Holy Covenant

The Holy Covenant is A tier, S tier for spiritualist ascension and psionic builds and C tier for machine or robot-heavy members. Only a Spiritualist empire or one that finished the Harmony traditions can found a Holy Covenant, which means Hive Minds and Machine Intelligences cannot found one.

Its level 1 perk will give every member +10% Monthly Unity from the day you found it, which is one of the better starting perks of any type. At level 2, Proselytizing Representatives makes your Officials give 50% more cohesion and raises Spiritualist attraction in your empire while you have an Official assigned, and Promotion of Culture makes Civilians produce extra Unity. The president gets +25% voting strength on Divinity of Life resolutions in the Galactic Community.

Level 3 is where it gets interesting for an ascension build. Heavenly Accord gives every member +20% Colony Ascension Effects, the president will pay 20% less for Colony Ascension through In Pursuit of Ascension, and Ecclesiastical Funding unlocks the Holy Covenant trade policy. That policy turns 100 Trade into 18.75 Unity, which is half again as much Unity as Marketplace of Ideas would give you.

At level 4, Empowerment of the Priestly Class adds Bureaucrat jobs to every planet, habitat and arkship with the Unification or Ecclesiastical designation, and in a spiritualist empire those jobs show up as Priests. Saintly Hierarchy only adds Politician jobs to the Administrative Complex, which spiritualist empires replace with the Sacred Nexus. It will probably do little for a spiritualist empire and mainly helps your non-spiritualist members.

Level 5 is a mixed bag. A Union of Faith gives every member +15% Pop Growth Speed and spiritualist members +1 Unity per 100 Priests, but it will also slow robot assembly by 30% for every member and swap the bureaucratic buildings of non-spiritualist members for temples.

Zro Catalysis unlocks an edict that spends Zro for +10% Job Efficiency on Psionic Pops, and the president gets +20% Edict Fund. That edict is a big part of why the Covenant fits the psionic path so well, and our ascension perks guide will help you plan the perks that go with it.

The robot penalty is also why the type drops to C tier for machine or robot-heavy members. They will feel the 30% slower assembly, while the faster growth only helps organic pops. The Holy Covenant has no bonus against endgame crises either. If you are spiritualist, plan to ascend your planets and want Unity from day one, it is one of the easiest picks in this list, and for a trade empire that cannot found a Trade League but qualifies for this one, its trade policy makes it the runner-up.

Martial Alliance

The Martial Alliance is B tier overall and A tier for warmongers and multiplayer co-op wars. Any Militarist empire can found one, and so can anyone who finished the Fortification traditions. Supremacy does not unlock it. Additionally, Fortification itself needs Apocalypse or Overlord and is closed to nomads, which makes the tradition route depend on your DLC.

What you will get is combat power for every member from level 1: +25% Ship Build Speed and +100 starting experience for every new ship and army. At level 3, Offensive Spirit adds +10% Ship Fire Rate and Naval Tradition gives +1 Commander Starting Skill Level. Stronger Together and Galactic Peacekeepers will then add +25% damage against endgame crises at level 4 and again at level 5, +50% in total.

Its three fleet perks (Officer Exchange at level 2, Logistical Standardization at level 4 and Interstellar Signal Corps at level 5) each raise every member’s federation fleet contribution by 25%. The Martial Alliance is also one of the two types that start with a federation fleet already switched on, and it has the cheapest fleet laws of any type, with Fleet Contribution High available from Medium centralization, which you can pass at federation level 3. Unifying Might at level 4 adds monthly Unity equal to 10% of the federation fleet’s size.

The weak spot is the economy, as the Martial Alliance has no economy perks apart from the Unity from Unifying Might. The president gets -10% Claim Influence Cost at level 2, an extra envoy at level 3 and +10% Diplomatic Weight at level 5, but that is it. It is a good pick if you are actually going to fight, and in multiplayer it works well for friends who want to wage their wars together, because every combat perk lands on every member.

Research Cooperative

The Research Cooperative is B tier, A tier for a member that trails its partners in tech and C tier for the galaxy’s tech leader. You can found one as a Materialist empire of any degree, as a Machine Intelligence or after finishing the Discovery traditions, which is also the way in for Hive Minds.

Its level 1 perk gives free Research Agreements between all members, while other types only get them from the 4.5 law at level 5 (level 4 for a Galactic Union). You will also get Federation Research Sharing, +25% at level 1 and +5% more at each later level, up to +45% at level 5.

Research Sharing speeds up technologies that another member already has, and that is what makes the type so uneven. If your partners are ahead of you, it will help you catch up. If you are the one in the lead, there will be little for them to share with you.

The other perks are fairly modest. Real Time Peer Review gives every member +5% research speed at level 2, and Scientific Inspiration at level 3 doubles the draw weight of rare technologies that another member already has. Members will get +10% research at level 4 and again at level 5, but only during an endgame crisis. The president gets an extra technology option at level 2, +20% Diplomatic Weight from technology at level 3 and +1 Megastructure Build Capacity at level 5 through Strategic Construction Initiative.

Like the Holy Covenant, it can never pass Fleet Contribution High, which caps its federation fleet at 2,000 Naval Capacity. For a tall research empire, it is still the best fit of the six, mostly because of the level 1 Research Agreements and the extra technology option. That being said, if you are going to be far ahead of your partners anyway, the sharing bonus will rarely have anything to work with.

Galactic Union

The Galactic Union is the federation type that comes with the base game, and it is the only one you can found without the Federations DLC. It is C tier overall and B tier without the Federations DLC or for mixed-ethics coalitions. It has no founding requirement of its own, although Barbaric Despoilers cannot found one.

Its level 1 perk halves the cohesion penalty from mixed ethics, which makes it the easiest type to hold together when your members disagree on most things. Federal Attachés at level 3 and Federal Unity at level 5 each give +2 Unity for every Official assigned to the federation by any member, plus +5% Trust Growth and +5 Trust Cap respectively.

Stronger Together at level 4 and Galactic Peacekeepers at level 5 stack to +50% damage against the Prethoryn, Unbidden, Contingency, Nanites, Cetana, the other extradimensional crises and Crisis-Seeking Civilizations. The president will pick up an extra envoy, +1 Federation Influence Gain, +10% Diplomatic Weight and, at level 5, +10% Monthly Unity.

With the Federations DLC, the Galactic Union also gets both pact laws one level earlier than the other types, at level 4. Without it, you will not have those laws at all, nor most of the stronger options such as Majority Vote on wars and invites, Free Migration or Can Subjects Join. That is the setting where it moves up to B tier, simply because it is your only option. Our DLC tier list explains what else the Federations DLC adds if you are thinking of buying it.

Which federation type fits your empire

Most of the time, your ethics, civics and finished traditions will make the choice for you, because they decide which types you can found in the first place. If your empire qualifies for more than one, pick by what it is built to do.

Gestalt empires can found a Galactic Union, a Research Cooperative (Machine Intelligences directly, Hive Minds through Discovery), a Hegemony (Rogue Servitors directly, everyone else through Domination) and a Martial Alliance through Fortification. They cannot found a Trade League or a Holy Covenant, but they can join both, even though they get less out of them.

In multiplayer co-op, the Trade League is the best pick for a shared economy and the Martial Alliance for shared wars, since both give most of their perks to every member and start with a rotating presidency. I would avoid the Hegemony unless one player is happy to lead for the whole game.

How federations level up

Founding a federation

To found a federation, you need Federation Code, a tier 1 Society (Statecraft) technology that follows Colonial Centralization and needs no DLC. It can appear once you know an empire you could federate with, or earlier if you adopt Diplomacy, and The Federation tradition adds 25% progress toward it. Joining someone else’s federation does not need the tech.

To invite an empire, both of you have to be at peace, and you will need at least 30 Trust or a Good opinion, plus an Embassy or the Diplomatic Networking tradition. Some empires will never join you: Devouring Swarms, Inward Perfection empires and Endbringers cannot be in a federation at all. The Common Ground and Hegemon origins start you with 600 federation experience, half of the 1,200 needed for level 2, and 100 cohesion.

Cohesion

In 4.5, the representative you send to a federation is an Official, and Envoys no longer fill that role. Every assigned Official raises the federation’s monthly cohesion, higher-level Officials raise it more, and that cohesion is what earns federation experience. Officials with the Camaraderie trait also add a little monthly federation experience, and Joint Exercise Officials enlarge the federation fleet.

Cohesion runs from -100 to +100. It drops by 0.25 a month for every member, by 0.15 for each different ethic beyond the first three and by 0.5 for each pair of opposing ethics, and higher Centralization or a federation fleet law costs more every month. A new member (after the first two) or a member leaving costs 100 cohesion at once, most law changes cost 5 (10 for Centralization) and a failed vote costs 10. Officials are the main way to raise it, the Galactic Union halves the ethics penalty, and below zero the federation loses experience every month and can drop a level.

Federation experience

Federation experience comes mostly from cohesion: every month the federation gains XP equal to a tenth of its cohesion, so +10 XP at 100 cohesion, and it loses XP while cohesion is below zero. Level 2 needs 1,200 XP, and each later level needs twice as much again as the one before (2,400, 4,800 and 9,600 more). Flat bonuses such as +2 from finishing the Diplomacy tree and the Camaraderie trait on Officials stack on top.

If the federation’s experience falls below what its current level needs, it has three months to earn it back before it loses that level’s perks. After level 5, it keeps banking some extra experience as a buffer.

Centralization

Centralization is the law that opens up most other federation laws. Each step needs a federation level, with Low at level 2, Medium at level 3, High at level 4 and Very High at level 5. A higher step will cost you more cohesion every month and 10 cohesion when you pass it, and it does nothing for your experience or for the strength of your perks. Its main job is to make stronger laws available, such as the free pact laws at Very High, or at High for a Galactic Union.

The federation fleet

The Fleet Contribution law sets how much of each member’s Naval Capacity goes to the federation fleet: 10% at Low, 20% at Medium and 30% at High, and the federation fleet cannot grow much past 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 Naval Capacity at those levels. Perks such as Officer Exchange (+25%) and the Diplomacy tradition Entente Coordination make each member’s share count for more. Only the Martial Alliance and the Hegemony start with a federation fleet, and the other types start at None.

Federation ships cost no upkeep, but you and every other member give up part of your own Naval Capacity to the federation fleet, and your own navy will reach the cap sooner because of it. The president commands the federation fleet, and its designs can use any technology that any member has. The Federation Ship Designer covers every hull from corvette to titan, but not the Juggernaut, which you can only build for your own empire.

Membership costs

Being in a federation will cost you 1 Influence a month, and it counts as diplomacy upkeep, which means the Diplomacy tradition and the Federation Code tech make it cheaper. The Federation, a pick in the Diplomacy tree, adds +1 monthly federation cohesion, and finishing the Diplomacy tree adds +2 monthly federation experience.

Leaving needs peace, costs the federation 100 cohesion and will sour your relations with the remaining members.

Kicking a member takes a vote under the Kick Members law (Majority Vote by default, the president alone in a Hegemony), both sides must be at peace and the federation needs at least three members. The kicked empire takes a big opinion penalty toward you, and losing a member costs cohesion just like a member leaving. You can invite the same empire again later, but it rejoins as a new member and costs cohesion again.

President

Every type except the Hegemony starts with Rotation succession and 20-year terms, which means the presidency is going to move from member to member. The president commands the federation fleet, collects the president-only perks of each level and, depending on the laws, decides on invites, kicks or wars. Random and Challenge succession need the Federations DLC (Challenge also needs Low centralization), while Strongest, which hands the presidency to the most powerful member, needs High centralization. Make sure to set this up in peacetime, since the succession laws cannot change while any member is at war.

War votes

Offensive wars go to a federation vote under the War Declaration law, and the same vote decides peace offers. Every type starts on Unanimous Vote except the Hegemony, which starts on Majority Vote. With the Federations DLC, you can switch to Majority Vote at Low centralization or let the President Decide at High centralization. Since 4.5, these votes also apply when members join or leave a war that is already running.

Federation questions

What is the best federation type in Stellaris?

In 4.5, the Trade League is the best federation type for any empire that can found it, thanks to free Commercial Pacts from level 1 and +20% Monthly Trade by level 5. If you cannot found one, go for the Hegemony as an overlord with vassal members, the Holy Covenant as a spiritualist and the Martial Alliance if you plan to wage war.

Can you be in more than one federation?

You cannot. An empire can only be in one federation at a time, and joining another one means leaving the first. An outsider can take Association Status with a federation instead, which works like a non-aggression pact with every member.

Can you change your federation type?

You can change federation type, but only the president can propose it, every member has to vote yes, and the federation drops back to level 1 and takes a cohesion penalty for each member. The new type also resets the federation laws to its own defaults. As such, it is best to pick the type you want when you found the federation.

Can gestalts join or found a federation?

Yes. Gestalt empires can join federations too, except Devouring Swarms, and they can found a Galactic Union, a Research Cooperative, a Hegemony or a Martial Alliance through the routes listed above, but never a Trade League or a Holy Covenant.

Does the Hegemony turn members into vassals?

No. Hegemony members stay independent empires. The president’s Join or Die perk at level 3 gives the Establish Hegemony war goal, which forces the loser of the war to join as a full member, and nothing in the Hegemony makes them your subjects. If you want a Hegemony full of vassals, you will have to bring vassals you already have into it.

Can a Hegemony member leave?

A Hegemony member cannot just walk out, because it has to ask the president for permission to leave. If the president refuses, the member cannot ask again for 10 years and gets the Secession casus belli instead, which lets it fight its way out. If it loses that war, it is forced back in and cannot ask again for 20 years.

What happens to federations under the Galactic Imperium?

Proclaiming the Galactic Imperium breaks up the federations inside it. The new Emperor leaves its own federation, every Galactic Community member has to leave theirs a few days later, and members of the Imperium cannot form, join or associate with a federation while the Emperor rules. Empires outside the Galactic Community keep their federations, and being Galactic Custodian does not stop you from leading one.

Is there a console command for federation experience?

The console command federation_add_experience adds federation experience, and federation_add_cohesion adds cohesion. Use them in a non-Ironman test save.

Conclusion

If your empire can found a Trade League, I would go with it in 4.5 and only look at the other types when your ethics, your vassals or your wars clearly point somewhere else. Whichever type you choose, pick it at the start, since changing it later will send the federation back to level 1.