Similar to real life, money rules everything in Old School Runescape. From using it to trade to unlocking new methods of transportation, everybody will find a use for money. This is why an OSRS making money guide is so important.
Making Money with a Brand New Account
When you first start your account you will only have 25 coins once you leave Tutorial Island. Obviously, this won’t do as you will need more Runescape gold to succeed at most activities in the game. Fortunately, you can quickly gain ten thousand gold within minutes of arriving in Lumbridge.
From Lumbridge Castle, head south to a character called Count Check. By talking to him you can teleport directly to the Stronghold of Security. By answering questions inside of the Stronghold you will get ten thousand gold by the time you reach the 4th level.
Money Making Methods
After you get your first ten thousand OSRS gold and maybe have a few quests under your belt, you will inevitably need more money. This is where the rest of the OSRS money making guide comes in. Peruse the extensive list below and find a method that suits your goals and your abilities. The rates are obviously just estimations with efficient setups, but they provide a guideline for how profitable each method is.
Bossing
Killing bosses, or bossing, is one of the best ways to make RS gold in Old School Runescape. The game has dozens of bosses, but here I will list just a few of them and the money you can expect to make in this money making guide.
- The Nightmare
- Profit: 4.3 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- One of the newest bosses to the game, the Nightmare is one of the most unique bosses in the game. Unlike other bosses, it does not offer many resources or consistent income, but it makes up for it with the absurdly good unique drops it has. One of these drops could net you over 800 million gold.
- Theatre of Blood
- Profit: 3.2 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- Raids 2, otherwise known as the Theatre of Blood, is an incredible way to make money. Some of the drops from the Theatre include the Scythe of Vitur and other best-in-slot items. Unfortunately due to the time it takes to finish one raid, in addition to requiring an entire team, it is a heavily gated moneymaking method.
- Vorkath
- Profit: 3 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- Unlike other methods on this list, Vorkath requires the completion of many of the highest leveled quests in the game, in addition to strong combat gear. Killing Vorkath won’t net you many best in slot items like the previous two bosses. However, he consistently drops valuable resources that make him an excellent boss to kill.
- Bandos God Wars Dungeon
- Profit: 2.2 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- The God Wars Dungeon is home to some of the strongest bosses in the game. The Bandos Boss, General Graador, drops excellent strength-boosting melee armor. This makes him an excellent choice to kill due to the constant demand for this armor.
- Zamorak God Wars Dungeon
- Profit: 1.9 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- K’ril Tsutsaroth is the representative of Zamorak in the God Wars Dungeon. Although K’ril has less popular drops than General Graador, he is also less popular. Thus it is significantly easier to find a world to kill and increases your profit potential significantly.
- Saradomin God Wars Dungeon
- Profit: 1.1 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- Commander Zilyana is a popular boss to kill due to her dropping a Saradomin Godsword Hilt. It is a critical component to making the Saradomin Godsword, one of the best weapons in the game for healing. Unfortunately, other drops from Zilyana are not as good compared to other God Wars Dungeon bosses, reducing the profit per hour.
- Armadyl God Wars Dungeon
- Profit: 1.5 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- Kree’arra is not the best boss to kill in the God Wars Dungeon, but they are definitely not the worst. He drops Armadyl Armor, some of the best ranged armor in the game as well as the Armadyl Godsword Hilt. However, he can only be killed with ranged and magic attacks, limiting opportunities to fight him.
- The Gauntlet
- Profit: 1.8 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- The Gauntlet is more of a minigame than a boss fight. It requires a little bit of luck and a decent amount of knowledge to complete. Once you figure out how to do it, it can be a consistent source of income for you. You will require high combat stats and many quests done before you unlock it, however.
- The Corrupted Gauntlet
- Profit: 4.1 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- The Corrupted Gauntlet is the hard mode version of The Gauntlet. All of the principles are the same, but more skill is needed to complete each attempt.
- Thermonuclear Smoke Devil
- Profit: 1 million per hour
- Requirements: High
- While this powerful smoke devil has high requirements, it does not generate a ton of money. Many choose to not do this boss and instead purchase its unique drops from other players. However, if you are an ironman you will likely end up killing this boss as its unique drop is very powerful for mage users.
- Callisto
- Profit: 1.3 million per hour
- Requirements: Medium
- Callisto has lower requirements to kill and generates a decent chunk of change, so why isn’t it killed more often? That’s because Callisto is only found in the Wilderness, the only PvP section of the game. Many players are unwilling to take the risk of being killed by another player while fighting a boss, limiting the people that hunt Callisto.
- Zulrah
- Profit: 1.2 million per hour
- Requirements: Medium-High
- Zulrah, otherwise known as the “money snake,” is one of the most popular bosses in the game. It is reasonably accessible, has high-value drops and resource drops, and can be started at relatively low levels. Unfortunately, it is a technical boss to learn so you will die while you learn to fight it. In addition to this, its unique drops have plummeted in value due to the many bots that kill Zulrah.
- Kalphite Queen
- Profit: 800 thousand per hour
- Requirements: Medium
- Once the strongest monster in the game, the Kalphite Queen has declined in both power and popularity. She does not offer strong unique drops and her resource drops are weaker than those of other bosses. Many players still kill the boss for nostalgia despite the reduced profit.
- Giant Mole
- Profit: 850 thousand per hour
- Requirements: Low
- Widely considered the weakest boss in the game, the Giant Mole is an excellent kill to learn the basics of killing a boss. You won’t make incredible money killing the Giant Mole but you will get your feet wet in the bossing scene.
- Barrows
- Profit: 600 thousand per hour
- Requirements: Low
- The Barrows Brothers are a very popular and accessible boss to kill. You have to rely on luck to make a significant amount of money here. If you’re lucky you will be in great shape to fund your other adventures throughout Gielinor.
Slayer
Slayer is one of the most popular skills in the game, and for good reason. The skill consists of being assigned monsters to kill and then fulfilling these tasks. Increasing your slayer skill can bring a wide variety of benefits in Old School Runescape, but below I will list some of the best slayer monsters to kill to increase your cash stack. The level listed below will be the slayer level but it is important to keep in mind that good combat stats and gear will be necessary.
- Demonic Gorillas
- Profit: 1.9 million per hour
- Level: 69
- Demonic gorillas are known for their rare drop Zenyte Shards. Zenyte shards are needed to make some of the best jewelry in the game, so they hold spectacular value. To unlock this money maker you will have to do quite a few quests, including Money Madness II.
- Abyssal Demons
- Profit: 900 thousand per hour
- Level: 85
- These demons from the abyss bring with them the Abyssal Whip, one of the most coveted weapons in the game. They also drop the Abyssal Dagger, which is less useful but still valuable due to its rarity.
- Gargoyles
- Profit: 329 thousand per hour
- Level: 75
- Gargoyles lack any incredible unique items but they have some of the best drop tables of any slayer monster. They consistently drop metal resources which will be the primary way you’ll make money from these.
- Skeletal Wyverns
- Profit: 700 thousand per hour
- Level: 72
- Wyverns are incredibly difficult to kill, an elemental shield from the Elemental Workshop quests is recommended. High prayer will also come in handy against them due to how long they take to kill.
- Brutal Black Dragons
- Profit: 1.1 million per hour
- Level: 77
- While black dragons are fearsome on their own, brutal black dragons inspire a whole new level of fear. They are very strong and very profitable. Similar to the wyverns, you will want to be well prepared before you fight them.
- Hydras
- Profit: 773 thousand per hour
- Level: 95
- Hydras are strong dragonkin monsters. Although they are less profitable than the hydra boss, you can kill these at any time without needing a slayer task.
- Spiritual Mages
- Profit: 429 thousand per hour
- Level: 83
- Spiritual mages are located in the God Wars Dungeon, so you will need access to it to kill them. High prayer is a big bonus due to them only utilizing one attack style. Otherwise, you can prayer flick to conserve prayer and make trips longer. In addition to this, you will want to wear items correlating to the gods in the dungeon to avoid needless damage.
Skilling
For those who prefer to be pacifist, you will be skilling to make money. Everybody in the game will skill at some point, even those who only desire to boss. Skilling is necessary to fulfill many quest requirements, and it is a major way to acquire raw resources in the game.
Thieving
One of the easiest skills to earn experience in, thieving is an excellent moneymaker for many. It offers excellent rewards at higher levels and it is possible to train with minimal effort.
With all thieving methods before doing them, your goal should be to get a rogues outfit assuming you are 50 thieving. This will improve your increase your efficiency and improve your money per hour.
- Pickpocket Vyres
- Profit: 2.7 million per hour
- Level: 82
- Vyres require a significant number of quests to reach and high levels in other skills in addition to thieving. Once you reach this point you will be able to practically afk as you make the best money in the thieving skill.
- Pickpocket Elves
- Profit: 2.2 million per hour
- Level: 87
- Elves are very similar to vyres however they require a higher thieving level and give less money.
- Pickpocket H.A.M Members
- Profit: 1.2 million per hour
- Level: 15
- To reach the H.A.M hideout all you will need is a lockpick to break in. Pickpocketing H.A.M members is useful beyond money, as you can get scrapped swords, H.A.M outfits, and clues.
- Pickpocket Master Farmers
- Profit: 1 million per hour
- Level: 38
- If you have an ironman account you have most likely already pickpocketed master farmers. Master farmers are incredible for those looking to increase their farming level due to the impressive variety of seed drops. They are located in low-level locations, including Draynor Village and Lumbridge.
Runecrafting
Many despise runecrafting due to its inconvenient training methods and slow experience rates. While these are valid rates it also makes runecrafting an incredible moneymaker. If you can get past the inconveniences of training runecrafting, you can make some money with these uncommon moneymakers. The higher your runecrafting level, the more runes you craft per rune essence. The levels listed will be the most optimal levels for these runes compared to the initial level when you unlock them.
In addition to the runecrafting level, you will need other requirements to reach the rates listed. Some of these requirements include mining levels and a large rune pouch depending on the method you are doing. Teleport availability is also a major factor in reaching the rates below. Depending on all of these factors you may make more or less money from the methods below.
- Mud Runes
- Profit: 568 thousand per hour
- Level: 13
- Cosmic Runes
- Profit: 613 thousand per hour
- Level: 75
- Blood Runes
- Profit: 641 thousand per hour
- Level: 77
- Astral Runes
- Profit: 1 million
- Level: 82
- Wrath Runes
- Profit: 1.3 million per hour
- Level: 95
Cooking
An easy and cheap skill, at higher levels you can profit from cooking others raw food. Although the money is minimal and requires an upfront investment, it requires little attention to do. The best places to cook is anywhere there is a cooking range with a bank nearby. A major benefit of leveling your cooking is that you will not burn as much food the higher your level is, meaning that the more you do these methods the more you will make.
- Cooking Tuna
- Profit: 72 thousand per hour
- Level: 30
- Cooking Karambwan
- Profit: 204 thousand per hour
- Level: 30
- You will have to complete several quests to be able to prepare Karambwan.
- Cooking Plain Pizza
- Profit: 1110 thousand per hour
- Level: 35
- Cooking PineapplePizza
- Profit: 608 thousand per hour
- Level: 65
Fishing
Fishing requires virtually no investment and is very easy to train. Once you get to the high levels you can fish popular food that sells very well. Alternatively, you can make more money by cooking the fish before selling it, assuming you have the cooking level.
- Catching Monkfish
- Profit: 104 thousand per hour
- Level: 62
- Catching Shark
- Profit: 109 thousand per hour
- Level: 76
- Catching Minnows
- Profit: 256 thousand per hour
- Level: 82
- Catching Dark Crabs
- Profit: 315 thousand per hour
- Level: 85
- The Dark Crabs are located in the wilderness, making this method dangerous.
Fletching
While fletching requires a pretty significant investment upfront, making longbows is a pretty consistent and easy money maker. It is one of the best ways to make money on a new account. It is best to fletch at the Grand Exchange, as you can quickly sell longbows and buy new materials.
- String Maple Longbows
- Profit: 252 thousand per hour
- Level: 55
- String Yew Longbows
- Profit: 302 thousand per hour
- Level: 70
- String Magic Longbows
- Profit: 377 thousand per hour
- Level: 85
Herblore
Commonly known to be an incredibly expensive skill to train, you can profit off of people’s greed by buying dirty herbs and then cleaning them. While this offers almost no experience, it can be very profitable depending on the herb. There is no risk of failure doing this, so if the margins are correct you will always be making money with this method.
- Cleaning Harralander
- Profit: 255 thousand per hour
- Level: 20
- Cleaning Ranarr weed
- Profit: 255 thousand per hour
- Level: 25
- Cleaning Snapdragon
- Profit: 400 thousand per hour
- Level: 59
- Cleaning Cadantine
- Profit: 680 thousand per hour
- Level: 65
- Cleaning Torstol
- Profit: 785 thousand per hour
- Level: 75
Hunting
Chinchompas can only be gained with the hunting skill and are very popular to use for ranged training. By leveling your hunting you will be able to do the methods below to sell chinchompas at a hefty price.
- Hunting Chinchompas
- Profit: 149 thousand per hour
- Level: 53
- Hunting Carnivorous Chinchompas
- Profit: 501 thousand per hour
- Level: 63
- Hunting Black Chinchompas
- Profit: 1 million per hour
- Level: 80
- This method is at a common player-killing spot due to the value of black chinchompas. While this method is dangerous, there is little risk associated since you can quickly release all of the chinchompas you’ve caught before you die.
Mining
Finally, we have mining, one of the most tedious skills in the game. Once you reach high levels of mining you will be able to acquire rare ores which sell for a premium to players wanting to quickly level smithing. The higher your mining level the faster you will mine and the faster you will make money.
- Mining Volcanic Ash
- Profit: 164 thousand per hour
- Level: 22
- You have to complete a quest and unlock Fossil Island to use this method.
- Mining Gemstones
- Profit: 379 thousand per hour
- Level: 40
- Gemstones are locked behind a series of high-level tasks and a quest on the island of Karamja.
- Mining Clay
- Profit: 119 thousand per hour
- Level: 1
- Mining Runite
- Profit: 729 thousand per hour
- Level: 85
- Runite ore takes a very long time to respawn, so the best methods include hopping between worlds to find ores instead of waiting for them to respawn.
- Blast Mining
- Profit: 678 thousand per hour
- Level: 43
- Blast mining is completely different than normal mining. You will have to complete quests and achieve 100% favor with the Lovakengj.
FAQ
Question: Do Ironmen need money in Old School Runescape?
Answer:Â Ironman absolutely needs money! Money can be used to unlock account upgrades and buy items at stores, both of which Ironmen have access to.
Question: What is the best way to make money in OSRS?
Answer:Â While there is no one best way to make money, some of the highest paying methods include the Nightmare, Theatre of Blood, and Vorkath.
Question: Can you make money without combat in OSRS?
Answer:Â Absolutely! Pure skiller accounts can make plenty of money in Runescape!
Research:
All information found is from the OSRS Wiki, old school.Runescape.wiki
Also, be sure to check out our RS3 gold guide!
This article was updated on 11/03/2022 by the Rune Fanatics editorial team. Our goal at Rune Fanatics is to provide the most up-to-date relevant quest information, walkthroughs, and tips. We updated some of the article text to give you better, more relevant information.
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