Money-making is a central part of OSRS for any non-Ironman — if you want to be able to get your hands on the best items available for your level, you'll have to get your hands on a ton of gold in order to purchase those items at the Grand Exchange. This guide is designed to assist you with these endeavors and will focus on maximizing your earnings. Some of the listed methods will have higher requirements than others, so be sure to pick an appropriate money-making method with regard to your character's stats and capabilities. We'll cover both F2P and Member methods for money-making — as well as flipping to finish this guide off — so be sure to read to the end!
This guide assumes an audience unfamiliar with OSRS money-making, as you would not have clicked on this article if you were already familiar with it. Because of this, we won't be including the absolute highest money-making methods in the game, since they tend to already require obscene amounts of cash in terms of gear and loadout. These methods include killing Yama and taking on Theatre of Blood. If you’re interested in those, be sure to check our other guides.
The focus will be on money-making methods that don’t require extensive knowledge on the part of the player, as well as those with a relatively low amount of money in their bank. The guide will also distinguish between Free-to-Play (F2P) methods and those available to Members (P2P), as well as subdivide each into methods that don’t require skills and those that do.
📌Note: The methods and figures presented come from the time of writing this article and may not be consistent with future changes to the Runescape economy. Therefore, several methods will be presented, allowing you to choose the most suitable one for your time spent playing.
ACQUIRING YOUR FIRST 10K
As the old saying goes, It takes money to make money. We'll therefore begin by guiding you, if you're on a fresh account, to your first 10k. This can be done by completing the Stronghold of Security in Barbarian Village, west of Varrock. The Dungeon has 4 levels with monsters ranging from lower levels, all the way up to level 159 — possibly one-shotting you. If you're on a fresh account, it's highly recommended to carry food with you, which can either be bought or picked up by fishers (Trout or Salmon) just east of the Dungeon.
📌Note: Disabling “Auto-Retaliation” is highly recommended; it stops your character from automatically re-engaging monsters, thereby reducing the risk of death and saving valuable time in challenging, higher-level levels.
Free-to-Play Methods
No Skill Requirements (F2P)
Grabbing Ruby Rings
To obtain the Ruby Rings, we'll first need access to the vault at Varrock West Bank, which requires completion of Crack the Clue III — a tedious clue-seeker event. Once completed, you are given access to enter the Varrock West Bank basement (by performing a series of Emotes), where the Ruby Ring is located. You can expect an earning of 260k per hour for this method. This is another method to add to your repertoire in case some of the other methods falter or in case you can’t acquire some processing materials in the Grand Exchange. The nature of “gathering” means you don’t need to rely on purchasing and processing something, so this method will always be available.
📌Note: Due to its spawn time, as with most items, it is highly recommended to world hop in order to make the most of your time, in terms of earnings per hour. It is therefore advised to use the RuneLite client, giving you access to world hopping through the client’s plugin.
Grinding Chocolate Bars
Grinding chocolate bars is an easy, no-requirement moneymaker that can yield over 300k coins every hour. With the price of a Chocolate Bar being 48 coins and the resulting Chocolate Dust being 86 coins, you're nearly doubling your money with every single batch. With this method, you are able to grind 9000 Chocolate Bars an hour if you are working as fast as possible, but even if you don’t have the required 144k coins to purchase a batch of 9000 in one go — you can still work incrementally, which is why this is such a solid choice for low requirement money-making. The only tool you need is a Knife, and that’s it — start grinding away!
Making Pie Shells
Another relatively easy way to make money in free-to-play OSRS is to make pie shells. The profits per hour are likely to be relatively similar to those of the chocolate method. However, due to market fluctuations, it may be a good idea to be familiar with several methods in case one of them lags behind. The estimated profits at the time of writing this are around 330k coins per hour. All you need to do is purchase Pastry Dough and Pie Dishes at the Grand Exchange and then combine them to create Pie Shells, which you can then sell at the Grand Exchange. You will be able to make 2450 pie shells per hour with optimal play.
Making Dyes
Yet another easy way to make about 300k coins per hour is to make dyes through Aggie at Draynor Village. However, be aware that this method requires a lot of running back and forth, so stocking up on Energy Potions will be a good idea.
When making dyes, it's essential to be aware of the three options available to you. Those are the following: Red Dye, which requires three Redberries to make; Blue Dye, which requires two Woad Leaves; and Yellow Dye, which requires two Onions. These are not all made equal, and in some cases, one will be better to prioritize than the others. Right now, out of the three, Yellow Dye stands no chance, as it simply doesn’t sell for as much as the other two and doesn’t produce as much either. Red Dye has an overall higher profit margin than Blue Dye, but since it requires three ingredients for each, it entails A LOT more running back and forth, wasting much more time. Ultimately, this results in Blue Dye being the most profitable of the three.
📌Note: This was all taken into account when the article was written, so things may change — but these dyes in particular have had a rather proportionate change in prices, so no dye will change much more drastically than the others.
Selling Archery Supplies
This method is tedious, but it is also by far the most lucrative option available to free-to-play players. With a potential earning of 700k coins per hour, this method is unmatched on Free-to-Play worlds.
You will begin by purchasing a stack of items in the Grand Exchange. Items such as Willow Longbows, Maple Shortbows, Adamant Arrows, and Maple Longbows are the ones you should be looking for. With all your money spent, you should head over to Rimmington and visit Brian’s Archery Supplies. This is where you'll sell what you’ve bought and earn a profit.
🌟IMPORTANT: When trading with NPC traders, the value of an item is directly correlated with the amount of that item (supply) in their stock — higher stock indicates a lower value, vice versa. Therefore, you should sell a limited amount of supplies before hopping worlds. This will put you in a world with a fresh new ‘Brian’ and a lower stock than the world you were just in, maintaining the value of the items you’re selling. Selling about 10 of each item per ‘Shop’ before switching worlds should be your optimum. This also applies to items sold in bulk, so don’t try to just sell thousands of arrows at once, expecting them to all sell for the same price. In the end, this all leads to a tedious, yet lucrative process of hopping worlds and selling bows and arrows. If you’re willing to go through with all this, then you can expect to earn more than any other Free-to-Play player.
Skills Required (F2P)
High Alching Valuable Items
Moving away from the no-requirement moneymakers, we arrive at High Alchemy — a long staple in money-making has always been this level 55 Magic spell that allows you to turn items into Gold. Let’s just say there’s a reason you see so many people casting this at the Grand Exchange over and over again. With High Alchemy, you can expect to make about 500k coins per hour with optimal casting, though you can’t go around alching just any old item if you want optimal profit, so you will be provided with a list below of the good ones. They are ordered from most profitable per cast to least profitable per cast, with the profit on the right.
This page is very useful for finding items to use High Alchemy on — via the table settings, it is possible to filter for the kinds of items you want to alch. Just remember to set the minimum daily volume to something like 1000; otherwise, you might be shown extremely rare items that you won’t be able to get many of.
📌Note: The cost of Nature Runes is accounted for when profit is concerned, so you won’t have to worry about that — this does not go for fire runes, though, but we will assume that you are using a Staff of Fire to overcome that cost.
As you can see, a lot of these items are on the highest end of free-to-play Runescape, so you will need to have a sizable amount of cash to begin; thus, it is not guaranteed to be as fast to start or incremental as the “Grinding Chocolate Bars” method. However, if you can afford the cost and have 55 Magic, then this method is recommended. And due to its high profits, you also get to level your magic on the go, neat!
Membership Methods
No Skill Requirements (Membership)
Crushing Bird Nests
You might be surprised to hear just how valuable Crushed Nests are without the context that they are used for the creation of Saradomin brews. As such, they are a highly sought-after consumable, making them the perfect item for generating income through processing. You can purchase Bird’s Nests for about 5500 coins at the Grand Exchange, then simply crush them with a Pestle and Mortar. You’ll have Crushed Nests that sell for about 250 more than you bought them for — which doesn’t sound like much — but over the course of one hour, you’ll gain over 600k coins in profit, making this a solid no-requirements processing method.
Poisoning Ammunition
It is exceptional for no-requirement methods to make even one million coins per hour, but poisoning ammunition is one of them. Purchase items such as Dragon Arrows, Amethyst Arrows, Rune Arrows, Dragon Darts, Rune Darts, Dragon Knives, and Dragon Javelins. It’s a huge laundry list of items, but that’s better since you’ve got more options to play with — if any of them seem to be faltering in profit, simply swap over to another.
What’s most important about this method is which kind of poison you use. There are three different kinds, regular poison, poison+, and poison++ — out of all these, poison+ is by far the most profitable, with the other two not even coming close. The reason behind this is that regular poison is considered bad, and players don’t want to use it, naturally resulting in a low price for weapons with regular poisoning. Pair this with the fact that each vial of poison++ is incredibly expensive compared to the other two, and you can see why poison+ is the way to go.
Once you’ve picked out some ammunition and gotten yourself some poison+, simply apply it to create poison+ ammunition and sell it on the Grand Exchange. This strategy will earn you about 2 million coins per hour — considering it has no requirements, this method is no joke at all.
Skills Required (Membership)
Buying Coal or Iron from Ordan
A nice and relaxing money-making method you can rely on without too many requirements is to purchase Coal or Iron Ore from an NPC named Ordan in Keldagrim — this, of course, necessitates the completion of the quest The Giant Dwarf, but since the requirements for completion are not too high, you will be able to easily complete this quest. All you have to do is run downstairs in the Blast Furnace Factory, and you’ll find Ordan, paired with an incredibly convenient bank, very close. The only thing you need to bring with you is money, so 27 coal/iron per run is standard — then just run to your bank and deposit it. When you feel like you’re done, just pop over to the ‘Grand Exchange’ and sell what you’ve bought. With this easy, low-requirement method, you will be able to make well over 700k coins per hour, maybe stretching into 800k if the market wills it.
As of the time of writing, purchasing Coal is actually marginally better than purchasing Iron Ore, contrary to some other online sources, such as the OSRS wiki. So, go for it, but remember to always check the prices of these kinds of money-making methods, as prices are subject to change.
Brewing Cadantine
Onto the first money-maker to make about 1 million in profit per hour is brewing Cadantine. With a moderate to high Herblore requirement of 66, it can be a passive way to make a substantial amount of cash very quickly. Simply make sure that you have 66 Herblore and a large sum of money, then simply buy as many Vials of Water and Cadantine as possible — make sure that they are equal in amount, then, take out 14 of both from the bank and add the cadantine to the water. You will now have created Unfinished Cadantine Potions that will sell for profit. As stated previously, with optimal clicks, you can earn approximately 1 million coins per hour.
Lapping the Wilderness Agility Course
Another popular way to make money is to use the agility course in the most north-western part of the Wilderness — this agility course is unique in that it rewards you with loot for every lap completed. However, you will first need to pay an upfront cost of 150k coins in order to access the dispenser and gather the loot from completed laps — but with a requirement of only 52 agility paired with an earning potential of 2 million coins per hour, this fee is well worth it.
You will, however, have to worry about PK:ers, as this method does take place in the Wilderness; so, being killed by other players is always a possibility. They can even attack you while you’re locked in an animation and clearing an obstacle. As such, it’s recommended to bring some cheap food and armour you don’t mind losing so you can run for safety if this occurs.
One more thing to be wary of is the Skeletons present in the Agility Course. They will remain aggressive no matter how much time you spend there, but they’re only level 18, so they shouldn’t cause you too much trouble.
📌Note: Whilst some obstacles are skippable, you will not be rewarded unless you complete all five obstacles in a single lap — so don’t try to cheat the system, it won’t work and you’ll simply be wasting your time.
Pickpocketing Elves in Prifddinas
Possibly the highest intensity activity present in this guide, pickpocketing elves also has the highest prerequisites out of anything here — not only do you need high stats, such as 85 Thieving, but you also need to complete the ‘Song of the Elves’ quest and meet all the stat requirements that entail. However, if you have managed to complete the quest, then we can assure you it has not been in vain — with the potential to make over 4 million coins per hour, this strategy blows a lot of the rest from this guide out of the water.
Whilst initially not seeming too complex, it is actually possible to increase the efficacy of this strategy. By wearing a Dodgy Necklace and casting the spell Shadow Veil from the Arceuus spellbook, you can strongly decrease the chances of getting caught and stunned. Also, be sure to complete the Hard Ardougne Diary to gain the passive bonus for pickpocketing, increasing your chances of success.
Combat Based
Killing Revenants
Beyond P2P membership, which is a fundamental prerequisite for accessing the Revenant Caves, a mandatory 100,000 GP fee is required for entry. It is crucial to note that this entry fee is forfeited upon death within the caves, which is a risk in itself, as the caves are in the Wilderness, adding to the inherent risk of each trip. Some preparations to make in case of PK:ers are to be ready with world hopping, enabling quick logout, or carrying a Phoenix Necklace, which provides an emergency heal and potentially prevents death in critical situations. Even a teleport option, such as Royal Seed Pod or a charged dragonstone jewellery, such as an Amulet of Glory, for a quick teleport to Edgeville can make your trips safer.
When choosing between optimal setups for the most amount of Revenant kills per hour, consider using Magic, specifically Air spells. This is because all revenants within the Caves (with the sole exception of Maledictus) have a 30% weakness to Air, paired with a relatively low Magic Defense. If it’s not something you want to go for, or if you have a low Magic level, then you shouldn’t worry; Ranged also works fine for the Caves, and is capable of putting out decent damage. The only strategy not recommended is Melee, since it tends to be slower; hence, it will slow down the profits as well. One last important detail to mention regarding your setup is that wearing a Salve Amulet will give you an edge within these Caves, as it grants a 16.67% increase to your Attack and Strength when battling ‘Undead’ monsters.
📌Note: You must usually be under level 20 Wilderness in order to teleport, but with an Amulet of Glory, you’ll be able to teleport out until level 30 Wilderness.
Another important note is that all of the Revenants within the Cave are capable of using Melee, Ranged, and Magic attacks, and will react to your Protection Prayers — so be wary of that.
Within the Revenant Caves, lots of Monsters are located, ranging from lower level Revenant Imps, all the way to Revenant Dragon and, upon special occasions, Revenant Maledictus. All of these monsters have the capability to react to your protection prayers, and also have the ability to heal themselves when reduced to 50% and 25% HP. For this guide, however, we will focus on the lower levels, aiming for Revenant Imp, Revenant Hobgoblin, and Revenant Orc. These monsters are also located under level 30 Wilderness, offering safety in terms of escape and teleport.
The Imps are the lowest level of revenants inside the Caves, sporting only a combat level of 7. They're the first Revenant you'll encounter. Killing them will yield a profit of over 800k coins per hour — impressive considering the low threat of the monsters. Keep in mind that just north of Imps, Orcs are located, and most of the time, other players leave loot behind, which can be highly beneficial, as most items dropped are stackable.
For our next tier of Revenant are the Hobgoblins; they sit at a combat level of 60 and will require more effort to kill than the Imps, though it will be well worth it, considering the rewards. Killing hobgoblins for one hour yields around 1,4 million coins per hour, almost double that of the imps, while still being a decently low combat level that most semi-experienced players can easily farm.
Our last mention is the Orc. They will be very similar to fighting a lot of the other Revenants — so there isn’t much to say about the mechanics. Slaying Orcs in the Caves for one hour should result in an average profit of circa 3 million coins. As expected, the higher-level 105 Orcs are more lucrative but more risky than their Imp and Hobgoblin counterparts.
If you feel comfortable within the Caves, then you can, of course, stray from this guide and do what you want. Just beware the fact that the Caves stretch into and beyond level 30 wilderness, so always pay attention to whether you can teleport out or not when faced with a PK:er.
Why Flipping is Recommended as a Passive Money-Making Method
So, with all of the active moneymakers in this guide out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about flipping. Flipping simply entails purchasing items at the ‘Grand Exchange’ to then sell them at a higher price in order to produce profit. This strategy is absolutely recommended for all players as long as it’s done in a passive way — if you instead prefer to play the game through questing or skilling, then flipping is a great passive way of making money. You’ll be able to play the game as normal while the trades you’ve set are happening in the background, demanding no attention until the trade is complete. This, however, might leave you a little lost. After all, how should you spend your money on flipping, and what margins should you aim for? This portion of the guide is here to help with that as well — so you can begin your flipper journey.
Something that is absolutely recommended when it comes to flipping is to look up the price of an item beforehand — it is never recommended to blindly flip an item in the Grand Exchange without looking anything up. For this, we will be using the handy GE tracker, a free-to-use website available to everyone — simply put the name of an item in the search bar at the top, and you’ll be able to get all the information you need to understand if and how you should flip it.
A Short Guide Through Flipping
For the purposes of this guide, as well as to help you understand how to interpret the information on your screen, we will review one item and provide tips on what to look out for when using the ge-tracker. For the sake of inclusivity, the item in question will be affordable and available to both members and non-members alike, so that anyone can flip it. The item is the Mithril Axe. Let’s go on ge-tracker and take a look at its page.
(Image 1)
It should look something like this. Now, take note of all the information highlighted inside the red oval, then realize that it is useless and proceed to ignore it. We will instead scroll down and look at the graph.
(Image 2)
There are lots of important things to consider in the image above. The first thing to consider is the margin — you can estimate it by referring to the numbers on the right side of the graph, highlighted within the purple rectangle. Upon examination, we can see that the lowest price tends to hover around 100 coins, while the higher price is proportionally greater, sitting at around 600 coins. Ultimately, it is the proportional difference that matters, not the absolute difference. Remember that. Given the high proportional difference, we will continue to consider this item.
Apart from that, the most notable feature is, of course, the graph itself, with its orange and blue lines, both representing the average sell and buy price, respectively. If you mouse over the lines, you will be given the price of the item at the particular time it was sold/bought. The most important part of the graph is to examine and note the lowest consistent sell price and the highest consistent buy price.
Consider the two images below.
(Image 3)
We can see in image 3 that the current sell price for that week was 158 coins. By examining the rest of the orange line, we can also see that it tends to hover around that price level consistently. This refers to the term “lowest consistent selling price.” This is the price you want to pay to purchase an item, as it is the price other players are willing to pay for it.
(Image 4)
Now, in image 4, we can see a peak at a buy price of 270 coins. We can also see that the blue line peaks in numerous places in the graph and that it’s not the only peak to reach such a high level. This refers to the term highest consistent buy price. It is the price you will be selling it for, as it is the price other players are willing to pay to get their hands on this item. So remember, <span class=">buy for the lowest consistent selling price and sell for the highest consistent buying price. This principle is core for successful flipping in OSRS.
Lastly, you may have noticed a pink highlight in image 3, below the purple one — this highlight is the volume of the item; the numbers represent the number of items being traded at a time. In the highlight, we can see the volume go up to several hundred. This means that if you can afford to buy and flip thousands, then it’s probably just a better idea to find and flip a more expensive item, as you’ve reached the limit for what you can earn off of flipping the humble Mithril Axe.
Thank you for reading this guide. We hope it has been of great aid in your money-making endeavors, and we wish you good luck with any future plans in OSRS!
