Finding Bannerlord’s best workshops has been a gamble for players since the game’s launch, with most strategies boiling down to trying different outputs until we find one that works. Still, there are ways to give yourself the best chance of making a profit using a workshop in each city. Bear in mind, however, that Bannerlord updates and your own choice of mods can affect these numbers for better or for worse.
In this list, we provide the workshops that will provide the most income from each respective city and narrow down a single workshop we think is the most consistently productive in the game.
Keep in mind that the best workshops can differ by playthrough! A town next to two or more villages producing the resources you need (so for a brewery, it would be wheat) will be very profitable.
Table of Contents
Bannerlord’s Best Workshops by Town
The following is a list of the best Bannerlord workshops that tend to make the most money in each respective town in Bannerlord. The first two columns are self-explanatory; the last defines why the workshop is ideal using two factors: the resource that supports the workshop and the number of villages supporting it. You should be able to follow the connections between the resource and the workshop–that is, a town with villages in the forests will be good for woodworking; a city with several iron mines nearby will have the best chance at a productive smithy, and so forth.
Credit to this Reddit post on best workshops.
Note that some locations are evenly divided between two resources and villages and that either resource could produce favorable results. Also note that some towns, like Razih with dates, produce a resource that is not supported by a workshop, so you’d be better off not building one there. The towns are in alphabetical order, separated according to kingdom:
Aserai
| Town | Best Workshop | Resource – No. of Villages |
| Askar | Brewery | Grain – 3 |
| Hubyar | Linen Weavery; Olive Press | Flax; Olives – 1 each |
| Husn Fulq | Pottery; Brewery | Clay; Grain – 1 each |
| Lyakis | Pottery | Clay – 1 |
| Razih | None | Dates – 2 |
| Sanala | Brewery | Grain – 3 |
| Qasira | Brewery; Olive Press | Grain; Olives – 1 each |
| Quyaz | Linen Weavery; Olive Press | Flax; Olives – 1 each |
Western Empire
| Amitatys | Brewery | Grain – 2 |
| Jalmarys | Brewery | Grain – 1 |
| Lageta | Olive Press; Wood Workshop; Brewery; Smithy | Olives; Hardwood; Grain; Iron Ore – 1 each |
| Ortysia | Olive Press | Olives – 1 |
| Rhotae | Brewery | Grain – 2 villages |
| Zeonica | Brewery | Grain – 2 villages |
Northern Empire
| Amprela | Velvet Weavery | Cotton – 2 |
| Argaron | Wood Workshop | Hardwood – 1 |
| Diathma | None | Fish – 1 |
| Epicrotea | Smithy | Iron ore – 2 |
| Myzea | Velvet Weavery | Cotton – 2 |
| Saneopa | Brewery | Grain – 2 villages |
Southern Empire
| Danustica | Pottery | Clay – 2 |
| Lycaron | Wool Weavery | Wool – 1 |
| Poros | Wool Weavery | Wool – 2 |
| Phycaon | Brewery | Grain – 2 |
| Syronea | Olive Press | Olives – 1 |
| Vostrum | Brewery | Grain – 2 |
Vlandia
| Charas | Olive Press | Olives – 2 |
| Galend | Olive Press | Olives – 2 |
| Jaculan | Olive Press | Olives -3 |
| Ocs Hall | Brewery | Grain – 2 |
| Ostican | Olive Press | Olives – 1 |
| Pravend | Olive Press | Olives – 2 |
| Rovalt | Smithy | Iron Ore – 1 |
| Sargot | Brewery | Grain – 2 |
Battania
| Car Banseth | Wood Workshop | Hardwood – 2 |
| Dunglanys | Brewery | Grain -1 |
| Marunath | Smithy | Iron Ore – 1 village |
| Pen Cannoc | Pottery Shop | Clay – 3 |
| Seonon | Wood Workshop | Hardwood – 2 villages |
Khuzait
| Akkalat | Wool Weavery | Wool – 2 |
| Baltakhand | Wool Weavery | Wool – 3 |
| Chaikand | Silversmith – Brewery | Silver – Grain – 1 each |
| Makeb | Smithy – Wood Workshop | Iron Ore – Hardwood – 1 each |
| Odokh | Pottery Shop | Clay – 2 |
| Ortongard | Wood Workshop | Hardwood – 1 |
Sturgia
| Balgard | Linen Weavery | Flax – 2 |
| Omor | Brewery | Grain – 2 |
| Revyl | Linen Weavery | Flax – 1 |
| Sibir | Tannery | Cows – 2 |
| Tyal | Wool Weavery | Wool – 2 |
| Varcheg | Linen Weavery | Flax – 1 |
| Varnovapol | Smithy | Iron Ore – 1 |
Bannerlord’s Best Workshops Overall
Recognizing that you have a limited amount of workshops to choose from, it’s a good idea to narrow your options down to three or four of the best for max profits, especially in the early game. On paper, it would seem the best option to start a workshop would be to choose the places that have at least 3 villages providing resources; the economy of Bannerlord is not so cut-and-dry, however. Factors like the town’s prosperity rating come into play, as does the loyalty of its citizens.
For example, towns with three supporting villages for grain, like Askar and Sanala, might seem an ideal place to start your brewery. However, the relative abundance of grain throughout the game world means that most of its AI traders will just find their beer closer to home, so the numbers might not add up for these places.
Marunath, a Battanian city, is often one of the most prosperous in Calradia, achieving daily outputs of over 1,000 denars in many cases, even though it has just one town supporting its smithy operation with iron. If you’re going strictly on the tried-and-true method of consistently good rather than gambling on high yields, the pottery shop in Pen Cannoc has been a go-to among players for the last few updates, though its place has been contested after version 1.7. The city’s close proximity to trade routes from other factions and its 3 supporting villages means there will never be a shortage of clay for its pottery output, and it will almost always thrive during times of peace.
What workshops make the most money Bannerlord?
The shops that make the most money in Bannerlord are in the city of Marunath. Marunath is a very prosperous city in Bannerlord with a large number of profits coming from its smithies.
How Much Money Do Workshops Make?
Workshops can make a wide range of income depending on location, prosperity, and whether bandits are intercepting the villagers before they reach the town. You can expect to make between 200-1000 gold a day from workshops depending on these factors.
Smithies and other low-competition workshops are going to be on the high end of that number.
How do you make a profitable workshop in Bannerlord?
To make a profitable workshop in Bannerlord, you need to focus on buying workshops that have the necessary resources nearby. For example, a smithy with lots of iron from nearby villages will be heavily profitable, but a smithy with only grain nearby will go bankrupt.
Make sure you don’t have two of the same type of workshop in the same town! This will make your profits go way down and hurt your overall economy. If the town you are in has two of the same workshops, swap them to a different type. That way, they don’t waste your resources.
Use the chart above to see some of the best towns to put workshops in.
I almost always go with a brewery. Idk if my playthroughs are all lucky but they make me tons of gold mid game