In GTA Online, it’s tough to do anything without cash. Buying cars, establishing a criminal enterprise, purchasing a business or property; it all costs money. And it can be hard to get your hands on the dough without spending far too much time performing menial tasks for very little returns. There are some methods that are more efficient though which is what this guide will cover. Below are the fastest ways to make money in GTA Online in terms of time spent versus payout.
It’s important to know, however, that you should play GTA Online the way you want. If you want to spend your time only doing races and deathmatches, then that’s what you should do. These events offer money rewards, however unsubstantial, and playing your way will naturally result in some nice cash. However, if you want to speed things along, then you should employ one of the following methods:
Buy Shark Cards – GTA Online
Like any respectable live-service game, GTA Online features microtransactions. You can buy various bundles of GTA Dollars in the form of Shark Cards. They come in the following tiers:
- Red Shark Cash Card – $100,000 for $2.99 USD
- Tiger Shark Cash Card – $200,000 for $4.99 USD
- Bull Shark Cash Card – $500,000 for $9.99 USD
- Great White Shark Cash Card – $1,250,000 for $19.99 USD
The Bull Shark and Great White Shark Cards boast the best bang-for-your-buck. Most of the best high-end cars and properties cost far too much GTA bucks for the Red and Tiger Shark Cards to be worth the cost, as you’d have to buy multiples of each to get anything worthwhile.
Heists – GTA Online
If you’d prefer to keep your money making limited to in-game activities rather than spend your real-life money, then heists are definitely the best way to earn that cash. You’ll need an apartment where you can plan the mission, though and those start at around $200,000. Additionally, you’ll need to front a fee to host a heist, but trust us when we say that it’s well worth the effort. Once you’ve managed to front all the money, you’ve got yourself access to the most lucrative activity in GTA Online.
Heists are multi-step, high production value missions that require the cooperation of one to three other partners. They range in the time required, setup costs, and potential payout. As of this writing, there are nine different heists with varying difficulty and rewards. The generally agreed upon choice in terms of efficiency is the Pacific Standard heist, which requires an up-front cost of $100,000 and has the potential to $1.25 million on the hardest difficulty.
Cargo Missions
Cargo missions are fairly straightforward delivery tasks that offer a favorable time to money ratio. There are three types of Cargo missions you’ll want to consider:
- Vehicle Cargo
- Air Cargo
- Special Cargo
In order to start these, you’ll have to own an office or hangar (in the case of the Air Cargo missions), and a warehouse. In addition, you need to be the CEO of your own business.
Once you’ve got everything set up, you’ll find that Special Cargo missions offer the best returns for your time. You can increase the number of cargo crates available for delivery in any given mission. You can only carry one at a time, but travelling back and forth doesn’t detract from the overall value of these missions.
Passive Income Generators
Entrepreneurship is the name of the game in GTA Online, and owning various businesses can provide you with automatic hourly deposits into your bank account. There are several choices here:
- Own a nightclub
- Start a motorcycle club
- Establish a gunrunning operation
Businesses don’t make too much money on their own, but get a few rolling and they do add up! You do need to do some light business management via your office computer, though, like selecting which illicit activities your motorcycle club pursues. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to watch the money roll in automatically.
Premium Races – GTA Online
Premium Races are weekly challenges that require an entry fee of $20,000. Place in the top three, though, and you’ll see a positive return. Winning the race nets you $100,000, second place earns $30,000, and third place gets you your $20,000 back. Participating in a Premium Race is always a gamble, so only enter if you feel confident in your driving skills.
And those are the most efficient ways to make money in GTA Online! Which method is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section.
