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How to Make Money in GTA Online

By: Aron Gerencser

Master Import/Export

Import/Export brought an all-new way to make cash in GTA Online, however if not done right, it's also an easy way to lose cash. Importing and exporting stolen vehicles can turn into an even better source of income than running crates if you're paying attention to what you're doing.

There are a few things to look out for when running these jobs. While having a mate or two along is useful in any situation, it's crucial here as it allows you to sell multiple vehicles in one go, greatly improving efficiency. Import/Export puts both importing vehicles and selling them on a time after each one you complete, however with multiple players along for the ride, you can sell several cars within the same cooldown cycle, saving you a lot of time.

You also need to make sure to censor what you spend time on what you won't bother with. Whenever you source a car, it's a coin toss as to whether it will be high-value, or some cheap crap selling for pocket change. Generally, abandoning a mission for a cheap car might not seem logical, since you'll just be put on cooldown with nothing to show for it, however there is a way to get around this.

This method was discovered soon after the update launched.  If you roll a cheap car for your sourcing, you can just search for a new session. Once you've loaded in again, you'll be able to source a new car without waiting for the cooldown. Do this repeatedly until you roll a high-value car. This way you'll be filling up your vehicle warehouse exclusively with valuable cargo, without wasting effort on the cheap models.

An alternative way to boost efficiency is to ensure that vehicle damage remains low when you deliver to your warehouse, thus cutting losses caused by having to repair the bloody thing. You'd think lagging out to your own lobby would help, since there are no griefers around, but the AI in the game has been tweaked to make NPCs more violent and unpredictable when you're driving a sourced car.

Your best bet is to grab a cargobob and airlift the car to safety. In this case, hostile NPC aircraft may spawn to chase you, in which case your best bet is flying low and fast to avoid most of the damage to your cargo, saving on repair costs.

Many players seem to forget about, or ignore, the collections feature of the update. These are shopping-lists of specific cars which, when delivered together to the same buyer, grant a sizeable cash bonus. Session-hopping is a great method in this case as well, as it allows you to specifically grab just the cars needed to complete the collection in significantly less time than is required when doing it manually and waiting out the cooldown.

Another thing to remember is that saving money is almost as good as making money, so remember to do the missions for the special vehicles whenever they are unlocked. Not only do these shave off large sums from the prices of these rides, but some of them - like the job associated with the amphibious technical - actually pay out well in spite of being pretty short. While farming these won't make you rich quickly, it is a great and profitable way to pass the time between two selling cooldowns.

Incorporate Gunrunning and Smuggler’s Run

Additional DLCs bringing more gameplay opportunities based on the same basic business-oriented gameplay loop have joined CEO work and Import/Export over the months. Through raw number crunching, you'll see that these just aren't as efficient as the time-tested crates+businesses+vehicle exports on their own.

However, if you incorporate either or even both into your established money-making routine, switching out one of the existing methods every now and then the losses will be negligible and the added variety will make the whole effort seem like less of a grind. If you keep an eye on weekly GTA Online events you'll see occasional double payouts on these activities when doing them is outright more profitable. If you build them into your technique by default you'll have enough practice to make the most of the double reward promotions.

Of the two, Gunrunning is minimally more profitable and gives you access to MKII weapons upgrades. These make any activity that requires combat markedly easier so investing time and money into those upgrades will have a positive effect on your in-game wallet in the long run.

Since these businesses work on the same basic principle as CEO work and Import/Export - namely acquiring the product, storing it in a warehouse, then going on a sell mission - veteran players who spent a lot of time with those two will feel right at home.

Passive Income Through The Nightclub

Nightclubs owned by the player generate income on their own, depending on upgrade state and popularity. You don't need to interact with it, complete activities or do anything, and it will make money on its own. To offset the utter convenience of that, it doesn't make a lot at all. However, over time, it adds up.

A fully upgraded nightclub at maximum popularity will generate GTA$ 10,000 every 48 minutes (real-time). Keeping popularity high is easy as the missions to do so are quick and simple. You can fit one or two in while you wait for cooldowns and the like.

Utilize Nightclub Warehouse And Technicians

Your nightclub can be of use beyond generating meager passive income. By the time After Hours was released, GTA Online was so full of various business types that keep track of them all was a challenge in and of itself. For enterprising GTA Online players who set up several businesses, the nightclub is a godsend.

Basically, from your nightclub warehouse, you can manage all businesses, store all types of product and even generate product for free. This is a massive game changer for several reasons. Firstly, the nightclub warehouse isn't just a united platform to manage your warehouses, but a separate warehouse in and of itself. This means you can conduct business as usual while adding the capacity of the nightclub warehouse to it all.

Beyond this, the technicians you hire can generate any kind of product for free which means you only need to worry about the sell missions, saving you a lot of time and money. Using the nightclub warehouse to its full extent will earn you a massive increase in profits. With the best possible configuration, the nightclub warehouse can earn you GTA$ 60,000 an hour with barely any effort on your part.

Save The World

With The Doomsday Heist, Rockstar brought the first new heists to GTA Online since... well, Heists. More difficult but also significantly more rewarding, if you replace regular heists with The Doomsday Heist on your schedule, you'll end up earning a lot more GTA$ with the same time investment. The requirements and recommendation for joining such a heist are much the same as with regular ones - don't even think of it without body armor - but you need to be prepared for harder fights.

MKII weapons wouldn't go amiss, however a recent DLC added two weapons that make the heist significantly easier. The two space-ranger laser weapons do extreme damage, have a high rate of fire and do not require reloading, so if you pack those bad boys the heist will become a breeze.

The Best Method

The absolute best, fastest money making method in GTA Online right now comes from a synthesis of Import/Export and the hybrid crates+businesses method discovered in Bikers, supported by passive income from the nightclub and the occasional Doomsday Heist run. It will take a bit of calculation, but if you line up your cooldowns and selling missions, alternating between vehicle imports, vehicles exports, stocking your businesses, selling products, buying cargo and selling cargo, your empire will run like a well-oiled machine and you'll never have a monetary worry in GTA Online again.

If you follow this guide so far and made good use of the nightclub warehouse then you can either 1) cease to worry about stocking your businesses and relying solely on that, significantly cutting back the time required or 2) add it to your loop, meaning more activities but also significantly more profit.

These are the best money making methods that will fill up your GTA Online bank account the fastest. As you can see, there are plenty of techniques beyond simply grinding Pac Stan, so there is no need for getting rich in GTA Online to turn into a boring chore. We're sure there are some other techniques out there, so feel free to share your preferred method of acquiring cash in game!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to make money as a solo beginner in GTA Online?

Making money on your own as a beginner in GTA Online can be a bit challenging at first, but it is possible. You can start by doing your daily objectives or participating in time trials and races. Additionally, there are contact missions and heists that can be done solo, which can also help you earn money. Check out our beginner guides.

How to make money with friends in GTA Online?

To make money with friends in GTA Online, try doing contact missions and heists together. Once you and your friends have enough funds, you can even work together and take turns with CEO/VIP work-related missions, which can further increase your earnings.

What to buy in GTA Online to make money?

There are several investments you can make in GTA Online to generate money and increase your earning potential. Some suggestions include getting a high-end apartment for heists, purchasing a CEO Office to become a CEO or VIP, or owning certain properties for passive income. For more detailed information, refer to the article above.

115 Comments

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  5. SevereWinner838 is my Xbox one gamer tag add me if u want to help scarce and sell a lot of goods and make a ton of money (import and export , hanger, nightclub)

    Reply

    1. If you have a heist you want to do or need a bodyguard I'm all open I'm low level but have been playing on my cousins xbox so I'm all ready very experienced with fly /driving intimidating hostages and shooting/gun fights

  14. I really need money and everything takes to long online to get money and I really hate doing them because nothing even gives you that much money and it takes days to get something that you want so can I please have some money it would greatly be appreciated

    Reply

  15. i really need money like it would be nice i have like things i can do i just dont like doing them because all them take to long so please give me money

    Reply

  18. man, yall all want money, i just want the dang flying missile bike. P.S. psn name is aqt233 if anyone wants someone to get online with or invite to heists

    Reply

  19. How's it guys I'm new in playing gta 5 online need cash to start making cash and how do you add friends on the game still getting around it I guess

    Reply

  26. It sucks that I spent over 50$ on shark cards and didn’t really get me far,like makes me not want to buy anymore,I just wish I had a lot of money if anyone can help!

    Reply

  27. My PSN user name is PapiReg, I really could use 999.999.999! The missions they give me suck ass financially!

    Reply

    1. As much as it would be nice to get that it would take around 14 to 15 years even with the act 2 heist glitch

  29. yo if anyone can hook me up with a money hack or something let me know. my Xbox One user name is Squirrelguy200

    Reply

  33. I need some money to survive I really need nothing else than 20.000.000 $ on Xbox one name:EuleLeiche 007

    Reply

  34. Thank you for this article. I think a good addition to it would be that you can do vehicle imports and exports with sightseers in between the mission and gain about $496,000 per hour. Not bad money if I do say so myself. This is the method I use personally. If I were to grind from the time I get out of school to the time I go to bed, I would gain about $3,900,000. Thank you for reading my post (If you did) and I hope you have a great day.

    PS: If you beg for money, nothing will happen.

    Reply

    1. I want thank you if u give me 1,000,000

  37. Im broke up bro, now i need some cash help, if u want i can help u later, im good mercenary, XBOX ONE: RuubenXDAnarkia need some $$$

    Reply

    2. And if you don’t earn the money then you’ll just end up mercilessly spending it all

    1. I actually try to do heist with people but they always quit any donations would definitely help me to buy a facility so I can choose the right guys anyways my account is on Xbox one username Donald Trump399

  49. I'm trying to make money but Everytime I try people blow me up or kills me and keeps me from upgrading my things is there any way u could help me out with a lil bit of money not asking for a lot just a lil bit to get my things fully upgrade

    Reply

    1. Sorry to bust your bubble but the most you can possibly have is 32 billion in gta online

  59. i need
    487454954965986854695464569456984845689596869886709740707079959794754856866932848$

    Reply

  85. Is there a more detailed walkthrough on the section about "juggle crates and businesses"? Not familiar with the stocks referenced here

    Reply

  89. I really wish they add a bigger paid out to coke buss. Cus some of the sellouts you do aren't worth the cash you get.

    Reply

  90. Recently got GTA 5 on Steam sale and this article really helped me out getting a good start in the online part

    Reply

  91. I generally eschew sites named for cheats on games for which there are no cheats.

    But after having not played gta for over a year and looking far and wide to get caught up on the new features and mechanics, I have to say this is literally the best write-up available on the internet for the aforementioned purpose.

    Seriously: well structured; well crafted; well played. ?

    Reply

    1. Agreed! Re the cheats bit I think they are referring to the story mode cheats. On this site they acknowledge there is no cheats for GTA Online.

    2. I hear ya. It just sounds clikcbaity out of hand, which any savvy Internet user should be wary of. But on closer inspection it's clearly a legit site with great info. I've shared this writeup quite a bit in the last few days.

Aron Gerencser

Posted by Aron Gerencser // Articles: 900

In the site's early beginnings, Aron was responsible for the bulk of the news posts that you'd find on GTA BOOM each and every day. He loves getting involved with the community and is an avid fan of all things Rockstar Games. Since then, Aron has become an editor across all the content that is posted on GTA BOOM. His journey with the franchise began with GTA 2 back when it was new (all the way back in 1999), and he was a gamer even before then. Graduating summa cum laude from Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi with a BA in Media Production, Aron has been a game journalist since 2014. When not writing, editing or playing, Aron is building models which you can find on Instagram and Facebook.

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