If you know how to make money fast in GTA Online then you'll be able to successfully fund your assorted criminal enterprises, while also supplying yourself with the latest kit so you can stay relevant in an ever-changing world. There are plenty of properties to buy and businesses to sink your capital into so you can take on fresh activities, as well as a wide selection of weapons and vehicles to keep you occupied in GTA Online. Having a decent level of funding is a must, with the latest GTA Online Project Overthrow missions requiring a £5m investment before you can get started, so if you're ready to find those lucrative revenue streams then we've got all of the details on the best ways to make money fast in GTA Online.
Obviously, you could just go out and buy a GTA Online Shark Card with your real money to bolster your in-game bank account with more GTA dollars, but you shouldn't need to spend real money if you know the best ways to earn it in-game. Players with fresh characters can also try the GTA Online Career Builder, which grants a few million dollars to get you started. Once you're out in Los Santos, there are many options available when it comes to making money fast in GTA Online. It's worth bearing in mind that some ways are considerably more lucrative and efficient than others, so try as many as you can and see which ones are best for you and your crew.
Another thing to consider is that it's now possible to complete certain tasks such as selling products in invite only sessions, making them much easier to complete – though bigger bonuses are paid for carrying out these missions in public lobbies. This means it's now up to you if you want to take the safer route, or risk confrontations with other players for greater rewards.
Heists
Potential profits: $400k per hour
If you have three friends and one of you has a high end apartment, Heists are the best way to make money (specifically the Pacific Standard Heist). You’ll need to make sure you’re all of a high enough skill level to be able to complete the missions as efficiently as possible, but if you can get things done without messing around then your bank balance will quickly increase. The Doomsday Heists are a good option if there are only two or three of you, but require a higher initial cost as you have to buy a more expensive facility to start them. Again though, you’ll make a lot of money if you get through the heists as efficiently as possible. Online guides and some friends who want the same goals as you will help you here. Remember that the latest GTA Online Cayo Perico Heist can be completed solo, if you don't have anyone to work with.
Special & Vehicle Cargo
Potential profits: $300k per hour
These two methods have the potential to net the solo player the most money per hour whilst doing other tasks in between jobs. They both require you to have an Office building and (vehicle) warehouses, which can be substantial outgoings, but if you focus on these two aspects you’ll make your investment back relatively quickly. For vehicle cargo specifically, you’ll want to source vehicles to fill your warehouse with all 10 unique standard and mid range cars with no duplicates so that every source mission you do that after that will result in a top range car. From that point on you simply continually export a top range car and source another one, ready to be exported when the timer allows.
Auto Shop Robbery Contracts
Potential profits: $300k per hour
Purchase an Auto Shop business then complete the Impounded Car setup mission, and you'll unlock a Job Board outside your office. Here you can initiate Robbery Contracts that function as mini-heists, with two setup missions followed by a finale, so they're quicker to complete and can be done solo. You're offered a random selection of three from the eight Robbery Contracts available, and the best paying one is The Union Depository Contact – grab that if you can, as it'll pay out £300k for successful completion.
Agency Security Contracts
Potential profits: $200k per hour
Purchase an Agency then access the computer in your office, and you'll be able to take on Security Contracts. These fall into various categories such as Asset Protection, Recovering Valuables, and Rescue Operations, and they generally involve taking out NPCs while protecting people or items. The difficulty level of the contract determines how much it pays, and you can net between $60-70k for those ranked at the top Specialist+ level. There's a five minute cooldown between Security Contracts, but depending on skill you can potentially rattle through three or four an hour to generate a decent income stream.
Payphone hits
Potential profits: $170k per hour
Once you've purchased an Agency and completed three Security Contracts (see above), you'll then open up GTA Online Payphone Hits as a new strand of missions. You can initiate these by answering a ringing payphone you encounter randomly, or by calling Franklin to request a hit then following the map marker to the nearest phone. Although these assassinations pay out a modest $15k, there's an extra $70k awarded if you hit the bonus criteria, which makes this a much more lucrative money-making job. There's a 20 minute cooldown after completing a hit, so you can carry out two of these per hour while filling the remaining time with other work.
VIP Work
Potential profits: $150k per hour
If you’re planning to go really hardcore with the money grinding then you’ll want to maximise your playing time. That’s where VIP Work comes in. Once you start an organisation as a VIP or CEO from the interaction menu, you can select “VIP Work” and choose from a number of free roam missions to complete. These are a great way to fill in the time between vehicle exports, for example, and will bump up your hourly earnings. They won’t give you the same profits as other methods if all you do is focus on these, but they are solid filler jobs. Headhunter, Hostile Takeover and Sightseer are notable missions to try.
Gunrunning/Motorcycle Club
Potential profits: $80k per hour
Whilst those potential profit values may not sound wonderful, the beauty of these businesses is that they make money passively. That means they’ll be producing product for you to sell at a profit while you’re making money elsewhere. Buy a Bunker for GTA Online Gunrunning or a Motorcycle Club and Cocaine business to maximise your profits with these passive methods. Buy or steal supplies for your business and it will convert those supplies into product to sell at a profit when you’re ready to do so. If you actually buy supplies (which is often the best strategy from a money vs time perspective) the only input you’ll need to do to get your profits is to sell your accumulated product via a mission when it’s ready. Be careful though, if you leave things too long your stock will grow to the point where the sell mission will require multiple people, so if you’re a solo player selling frequently is the best strategy.
Time Trials
Potential profits: $50k per hour
These free-roam races against the clock can be quite good money makers if you’re good at them. In the same vein as VIP work, each week you’ll be able to do a new time trial in between other money making activities and take home a one-off payout of $50k for a few minutes of driving. Some can be quite tricky though so looking up guides online for whichever time trial is active that week will be helpful. As soon as you start spending 10+ minutes trying to complete one of these your profit margins dip and you’d have been better off doing something else with your time.
Air Freight Cargo/Nightclubs
Potential profits: Less than other methods
Air Freight Cargo is basically a less profitable version of Special Cargo, while Nightclubs are a less profitable version of Gunrunning. You’ll be better off, from a purely money making perspective, not investing in these businesses and instead focusing on what has already been mentioned. However, if you’re finding yourself getting bored then these are some other options to try to keep things fresh. Ultimately, enjoying the game should be a priority and if making money starts feeling like more of a job then maybe it’s not worth the effort. Always be mindful of why you’re grinding for money and what enjoyment you’re taking from the process.
Other Resources
There are many other ways to make money, such as contact jobs, races, etc, but the methods listed previously are by far the most profitable. Heist groups who have a Gunrunning Bunker running while they breeze through Pacific Standard, or solo players who artfully juggle Vehicle Cargo, VIP Work, and a Gunrunning Bunker, can all earn in the region of $500k per hour. However, that requires some seriously dedicated and efficient grinding, so if you're interested in reaching those goals then follow the resources below for further reading on how to achieve them.
GTA Online Reddit Mega Guide – A great resource for those who want to make the absolute most out of their money making and time with the game. A lot of extra information.
GTA Series Videos Time Trials Guides – This shows the way to beat each time trial in GTA Online for easy money each week. Also has guides for premium races.
Making $500K per hour solo – Add the Gunrunning bunker working in the background to this method for the best way to earn money as a solo player.
How Long To Own Everything? – How many hours of pure grinding would it take to afford everything in GTA Online? That is something which is explored in this video, made by the author of this article.
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