What's the Best Way to Make Money in 'GTA Online?' Use These Tips

Heists are the pinnacle of cooperative jobs in GTA Online, allowing skilled crews to take down massive scores. The "Doomsday" and "Diamond Casino Heists" offer the biggest payouts, with the potential to earn up to $400k per hour or more when executed efficiently. To maximize profits, assemble a communicative team with defined roles, invest time into gathering intel and prep work, and optimize your approach and execution.

The team leader should focus on hacking skills, demolition, and getaway drivers to shave off seconds from your mission completion time. Inside team members need combat, stealth, and hacking expertise. While heists require a significant initial investment in a facility or arcade, the monster payouts make them incredibly lucrative. If your crew has the skill and patience to tackle these complex multi-stage missions, heisting is the ultimate way to earn big bucks fast in GTA Online. The hourly rate of cash derived from this activity is most certainly the best way to make money in GTA.

One of the best ways to rake in a lot of cash in GTA Online is to take advantage of special weekly events that offer double payouts on certain activities. These double money bonuses usually rotate between different businesses, modes, and missions each week. During an active double money event, dedicated players can earn up to $350k per hour by focusing on that specific activity.

For example, during "Bunker Bonus Weeks," gunrunning sales can pay out over $400k per hour. Other frequent double money activities include "MC Businesses," "Special Cargo," "Client Jobs," and "Premium Races." Keep an eye on the "Rockstar Newswire" and the GTA Online loading screens for alerts on the latest double money opportunities. Try to hop on during these events and prioritize the bonus activity to bring in big profits with minimal effort. Double money events are a fantastic way to boost your income so that you can quickly purchase new toys and properties.

Import/Export is one of the most profitable solo money makers in GTA Online. By sourcing high-end vehicles and selling them for top dollar, you can make $80k in profits every 20 minutes, or $240k per hour. To optimize profits, make sure to only source and sell expensive cars, and avoid damage during the sourcing mission. With practice, you can reliably source cars, complete VIP work like "Headhunter" during mission cooldowns, and sell for maximum profits. Import/Export takes an upfront investment, but quickly allows dedicated players to grind out serious cash. If you love cars and don't mind a little grand theft auto, Import/Export is a great way to get rich fast.

Like Jax Teller of Sons of Anarchy fame, becoming a motorcycle club president allows you to run illicit businesses like document forgery, weed farms, meth labs, cocaine lockups, and counterfeit cash creation. After starting an "MC," you'll need to set up your business in a property, assign staff, equip upgrades, and purchase supplies to begin passive production. Keep in mind that producing weed and document forgery is less profitable than creating meth, coke, and counterfeit cash.

If you combine sales with "MC Contracts" and challenges, you can expect to earn an income of up to $180k per hour. However, you should be aware that MC businesses are susceptible to police raids and rival attacks. That's why you'll want to purchase security upgrades to help defend your stock. While MC businesses require big investments, their passive production combined with active grinding makes for great criminal income streams.

Purchase a "Terrorbyte" with a specialized nerve center to gain access to highly profitable "Client Jobs." These rapid missions pay $30-50k each and can be chained back-to-back. Combine Client Jobs with "VIP Work" like Headhunter, "Sightseer," and "Hostile Takeover" to earn the most, and try alternating between the two efficiently to minimize cooldowns. "Payphone Hits" and "Diamond Shopping," for example, are excellent choices for quick payouts. While the individual payouts are smaller, chaining these rapid missions allows you to stack cash quickly, earning up to $150k per hour or more with practice.

Purchase an "Agency" property to gain access to highly profitable contracts from Franklin Clinton and his associates. These include "Security Contracts," "Payphone Hits," and "VIP Contracts" with large payouts. Security Contracts task you with disrupting rival agencies through missions like recovering data or sabotaging equipment while Payphone Hits have you assassinate targets designated by mysterious callers. Finally, VIP Contracts are major crimes for high-profile targets.

By churning through these rapid missions back-to-back, you can easily earn $150k per hour or more. While the upfront investment for the Agency is significant, the lucrative contracts quickly pay for themselves. You also benefit from passive income through the Agency's daily fees. If you want big payouts for quick cooperative action, having an Agency Business and performing Agency Contracts are very profitable.

Becoming an underground arms dealer is one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in GTA Online. Invest in a weaponized bunker to start manufacturing and selling heavy military hardware for massive profits. While the initial buy-in is steep, purchasing supplies and letting your staff produce stock delivers excellent passive income over time. A full bunker sale can net over $135k, excluding costs. Make sure to upgrade equipment and staff to optimize production speed and value per unit.

For optimal profits, focus research first to unlock powerful weapon and vehicle upgrades before transitioning your bunker into a profit machine. Gunrunning requires patience but prints money once your operation is in full swing. Just be ready to defend your stockpiles when rivals look to steal your supplies. When it comes to figuring out the best way to make money in GTA, this one stands out as one of the more exciting methods possible.

"Special Cargo" lets players become underground contraband kingpins in GTA Online. Invest in warehouses to accumulate stolen goods and sell them for the most money possible. Carefully source crates to fill up your warehouse inventory. The key is patience —  only sell when you've stockpiled a full warehouse, as this can net a massive $4.4 million payday.

To get the most money possible, alternate between sourcing and VIP work to optimize profits up to $130k per hour. You can also customize your warehouse with accommodations and garages to increase efficiency. While slowly building cargo stock takes time, the huge payouts from full warehouse sales make Special Cargo one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises and can allow you from going from simply stealing contraband to moving major weight in no time.

"Premium Races" are special stunt races that offer huge payouts. These races rotate weekly and take place on challenging tracks with supers cars. Wagers start at $20k but scale up based on skill. Skilled racers can consistently win $50k+ per race, earning up to $100k per hour with relative ease. Premium Race wagers are taken from your bank balance, not wallet cash so you'll need to make sure to have enough funds when betting big.

Podium placement matters too  — you must finish 1st to get the maximum payout. Premium Races test driving abilities against highly competitive players for big rewards. They are the ultimate race club for adrenaline junkies and drivers looking to make serious bank. Ruling the roads of San Andreas is another one of the most exhilarating methods centered on the best way to make money in GTA.

Purchase an "Auto Shop" property to gain access to robbery and theft missions paying $20k-$50k each. These "Auto Shop Contracts" task you with stealing rare vehicles, raiding warehouses, robbing cash transports, and more. Payouts scale based on difficulty, with higher rewards at greater risk. With an optimized team, you can complete these rapid-fire missions in quick succession to stack profits over $100k per hour. The Auto Shop also provides free vehicle mods and repairs, saving you money on customs. While the Auto Shop carries a significant upfront cost, its high-paying contracts combined with discounted mods make it a solid investment for gearheads and crews looking to build criminal portfolios.