GTA 5 Online is packed with missions, raids, businesses, and activities, some of which can net you outrageous sums of money. This online playground also offers plenty of ways to spend that cash, including the elaborate setups for the game’s most thrilling heists. That said, money can be hard to come by during the nascent stage of your criminal empire. To get the ball rolling, it’s best to focus on specific activities that are simple and yet rewarding. Want to know what they are? Keep reading to find out the best ways to make money in GTA Online.
8. The Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid
The fan-favorite GTA 5 Online Raid takes inspiration from Breaking Bad’s Los Pollos Hermanos. It features a fried-chicken joint turned drug trafficking operation, which the cartel operates behind the fast food facade.
What makes this raid stand out is that it requires no financial investment from the player. All you need to do is wait for a call from Vincent Effenburger, and then follow the LSPD recruit’s instructions. The character will ask you to steal a variety of items to finance the heist, and then you’ll be raiding the titular farm. Completing the raid will net you a nifty sum of $500,000, which is more than enough to blow on a few supercars or finance your next criminal endeavor.
7. Running a Nightclub
Setting up a nightclub in Los Santos is far from easy. It requires a sizable capital investment, and then you also need to choose the right location to attract significant foot traffic. After this, you’ll need to take care of other essential aspects such as hiring the best staff, recruiting a popular DJ, and going on a promotion spree. But all this effort is certainly worth it since these clubs are an excellent source of passive income.
While you’re busy robbing banks and trying your luck at the casino, the nightclub will continue to generate income in the background. You can also set up drug manufacturing facilities inside the club to boost its revenue. With proper management, a nightclub can easily generate around $50,000 every hour. For a comprehensive overview of this business, be sure to check out our GTA Online nightclub guide right here.
6. Garment Factory
A textile business might not seem like the most lucrative of investments at first, but it’s your gateway to the FIB Files. These are clandestine operations that unfold like a robbery and offer massive payouts for a successful execution. The factory itself can be purchased for $2,350,000 – a hefty sum, but one that can be recovered within a matter of days.
After getting the facility, you can access the FIB Files app using the computer located inside. The app features four different operations, each requiring the player to set up a meticulous mini-heist, which sees them steal objects from secure areas. However, their efforts are rewarded handsomely as each operation lasts for about 30 minutes and has a payout of around $150,000.
In addition, one of the four operations is marked as a priority mission each week, offering a payout of $300,000. Completing side objectives during these activities can boost your payout even further, making them one of the best ways to get money in GTA Online.
5. Acid Lab
Introduced in the Los Santos Drug Wars update, the Acid Lab is a mobile narcotics manufacturing facility housed in the back of a 6×6 van. It’s pretty easy to set up, and more importantly, it requires no intervention from players once everything is up and running. To get started, head towards the ‘R‘ symbol on your map to meet Ron Jakowski.
He’ll introduce you to a character named Dax, whom you’ll need to complete six missions for, starting with ‘First Dose.’ Once these are wrapped up, players will have to commit $750,000 to their narcotics lab and complete the Fooligan mission to gather supplies. Doing so will unlock an equipment upgrade for the Acid Lab, making production easier in the long term.
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After gathering the supplies, the product will start flowing out of the mobile facility, and profits will start coming in. In terms of revenue, the lab provides around $240,000 every four hours, and all of it is passive. The only thing you’ll need to do is check back occasionally to repurchase supplies. But aside from that, it’s easy money.
4. Salvage Yard
Salvage Yard robberies can give players a quick cash injection while requiring minimal effort. The first step to getting started is purchasing the yard itself, which gives you access to five Salvage Yard heists. These missions are all about stealing exotic vehicles to either scrap them for parts or sell them off to Yusuf Amir at the docks. When faced with this decision, always choose the sell option, as it will net you between $200,000 and $400,000, depending on the car.
Besides this, you can also purchase a tow truck from the Salvage Yard computer to unlock Towing missions. These are brief activities that require players to pick up abandoned cars using the truck and then bring them back to the yard. Each towing job will earn you around $30,000, which is well worth it given how straightforward the activity is.
3. Autoshop
Autoshop contracts blend car customization with the potential for hefty profits, making for an enjoyable activity that’s also a great way to make money. To get started, head to an LS Car Meet, which will trigger a cutscene featuring the group’s leader, Mimi. Once it wraps up, you can purchase an Auto Shop on the Maze Bank Foreclosures app.
The activities linked to the Autoshop include customization requests in which players will need to modify a car according to the customer’s needs. They can then choose to deliver the vehicle themselves or delegate it to one of their employees. Regardless of the selected option, completing a contract takes around 40 minutes and has a reward of $30,000.
The real money in the Autoshop business is linked to Contracts, which are essentially a collection of eight different heists with payouts of up to $300,000. These involve a couple of set-up missions before the main robbery itself, but shouldn’t take more than 40 minutes of your time. Given the possibilities for passive income and the big money heists, the Autoshop is an excellent investment.
2. The Hangar
Setting up a Cargo Smuggling operation can be notoriously expensive, but it also means that the money-making potential is off the charts. The Hangar business has also become solo-friendly thanks to a series of updates, which is why it makes it onto the list.
To get started, you’ll need to purchase a hangar using the Maze Bank Foreclosures app, with the best options being any of the three locations near Fort Zancudo. After meeting the base requirement, you can start sourcing the cargo of your choice. While selecting the type of cargo, you’ll see a pop-up dialog box with options for air missions and land missions. If you value your sanity, always pick the land missions since they’re significantly faster and easier. It’s also worth noting that the cargo types with the best profit are Medicine, Narcotics, and Chemical.
Gathering crates of any cargo type can take plenty of time, but the payout for doing so ranges from $300,000 to $700,000 per hour. Combining different cargo types before delivery can boost these figures even further, so the profit ceiling in the Hanger business is quite remarkable.
1. Cayo Perico Heist
Not only is the Cayo Perico Heist packed with thrilling sequences, but it can also be completed by solo players, meaning you can keep the entire haul all to yourself. While players might think the heist was nerfed, it’s still widely regarded as the best way to make money in GTA Online. For starters, the setup missions are relatively simple and can be completed within 30 minutes. As for the main escapades on the island, you can easily run through the entire heist in 10 minutes.
Your compensation for around an hour of stress-free work falls in the range of $1,100,000 to as high as $1,900,000 during the Panther Statue event. To ensure your payout is always above the $1.5 million mark, make sure to include your secondary targets.
And that wraps up our list of the best ways to make money in GTA 5 Online. If you try out any of these methods, let us know about your profit in the comments below.