War Thunder Nation Economy: Which Lines Cost More

Every nation in War Thunder has its own tech tree, its own vehicles, and its own price tags. The result is that “which nation is cheapest” has no permanent answer — the balance of repair bills and vehicle prices shifts with updates, and the numbers vary wildly between ranks. What does not shift is the method: compare nations on three dimensions, using in-game values, and ignore anyone quoting figures from memory.

The three dimensions

Dimension	What to compare	Where to see it
Vehicle prices	Purchase cost of vehicles at the rank you care about	Tech tree, in-game
Repair costs	The repair bill at the Battle Rating the vehicle fights at	Vehicle stat card, in-game
Modification costs	Total Silver Lions to fully upgrade key vehicles	Modification tree, in-game

Two nations can look identical on one dimension and opposite on another. A nation with cheap vehicles can still be expensive to run if its repair bills are high, and vice versa.

How to run the comparison yourself

Pick the rank bracket you are entering and compare two or three nations you are considering:

1. Open each nation’s tree at the same rank.
2. Note the purchase price of the vehicles in your intended lineup.
3. Note each vehicle’s repair cost at the Battle Rating it will realistically fight at — remember, your lineup determines the room, per the Battle Rating mechanics.
4. Sum the modification costs for the three or four modifications you would actually buy.
5. Total all three. The cheapest nation at that bracket is your answer, for that bracket.

Repeat when you move up a rank. The answer at rank III tells you nothing about rank V.

What the comparison usually shows

Patterns worth expecting, stated as tendencies rather than promises:

• Low ranks are cheap everywhere. The divergence between nations grows as repair costs and vehicle prices climb in the mid and high ranks.
• Repair cost is the dimension that hurts most. Purchase prices are one-off; repair bills are paid every match. A slightly pricier vehicle with a cheaper bill usually wins over a season of play.
• Popular nations are not automatically expensive. Player count says nothing about repair costs; check the stat cards.

Using this before you commit

If you are choosing your first nation, this framework feeds the nation selection decision, where new-player friendliness and lineup depth matter alongside raw cost. If you already have a nation and are wondering whether the grass is cheaper elsewhere, run the numbers above before you spend a single research point — the sunk cost of leaving a half-finished tree is covered in starting a new nation.

One honest warning: all three dimensions shift with updates. Treat any comparison as a snapshot with a short shelf life, and re-check the in-game values before every major spending decision.