Since the release of Grand Theft Auto V over five years ago, players have been obsessing over getting money to buy the high-end items in the online shops. It's no surprise since some of the items can cost up to $10,000,000! Since its release, many DLCs have been released which give players access to multiple businesses they can own to get them out of the nonstop money grind of robbing store after store.
Heists have also been added and with a little planning and teamwork, players can make hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the heist they do. With so many good and bad ways to make money, it can be hard for new players to know where to start. So, here are some great ways to make money and some ways that you should absolutely avoid.
10 Good: Heists
Heists were added to GTA Online back in 2015 and have been a great way to make money since. Most of these missions require a team of four, but if you know what you're doing, it can be done rather quickly. If you have a friend who has a high-end apartment, you can get to work on these missions starting with the Fleeca Bank Job. As you progress through the heists, you get the potential to make tons of cash, especially with the Diamond Casino Heist which takes at least two people and can profit you each nearly a million dollars depending on what is in the vault and how you choose to run the mission. For smaller heists like the Pacific Standard Job, players can profit fast with a setup that doesn't take extremely long.
9 Bad: VIP Work
VIP work isn't all that bad. It consists of some pretty short missions that can also tend to be tedious. This work isn't terrible until you realize that it puts a target on your back. Depending on what mission you do, other CEOs will be trying to steal the glory and prevent you from completing the job you're on. This can turn VIP work into a chore that you never want to accomplish if you aren't a fan of PVP. With how fast the jobs go, it can seem like a great way to make money, but it falls short compared to other methods.
8 Good: Gunrunning
Gunrunning is something you can do thanks to the addition of bunkers and can profit you over a million dollars at a time if done correctly. After purchasing the bunker, (Or if you got one for free from the criminal enterprise pack) you can start building up your stock of guns. Keep track of your stock and supplies from the laptop, and when you have a large enough stock you can sell out for over a million dollars at once. Or you can keep it low and sell for a few hundred thousand at a time. Either way, the bunker can make your money back within a week depending on how much you play. You might need to recruit a friend or two when you go to sell, but the profit is definitely worth it.
7 Bad: Smuggling
Smuggling is another one of the businesses you can run in the expansive Los Santos world that sounds like a good idea. Most of the missions are pretty straight forward and definitely take less time with a friend or two helping you out. The downside of this business though is that it takes so long to fill the hanger that you will have spent countless hours in the game before you have enough to sell. If you decide you want to sell early and only sell one type of product that you have collected, then you won't be making that much of a profit.
6 Good: Special Cargo
Special cargo missions are something you can do if you become a CEO and purchase a warehouse. These missions can get you around 200k an hour though if you are quick enough and have a few friends to help. The missions are very simple, just grab a few crates and bring them to the warehouse. With friends around, you can grab multiple crates at once and really get your stock up fast. Once you have enough, you can sell out and reap the rewards of your labor. Your friends will also get a benefit since being a CEO will give money from SecuroServ for being your associates.
5 Bad: Arcade
The arcade is a great business for any nerd who loves the nostalgia and gives you access to the diamond casino heist. What makes this business terrible is the fact that you make very little money from the actual business. The safe can only hold a maximum of 50k and that gets filled up rather slowly. You can easily get other missions done or even complete an entirely different heist before you see a good profit from this business.
The only benefit is the master control terminal you can get which gives you access controlling every other business in the game all in one place, but you have to buy all the other businesses first. Those, along with the purchase of the master control terminal, will make you spend more money than its worth.
4 Good: Motorcycle Club
The motorcycle club takes a little while to start up. There are missions you can do to help if you are strapped for cash and need work, however they don't pay the high amount your probably looking for. Once you purchase all the businesses, (cocaine lockup, forgery business, etc) you can start running supply missions to increase your supply.
While you wait for that supply to run out, you can do other missions to help get more money, but when you return and you have some stock in each business, you can sell the stock off for a good profit. There are ways to upgrade each business as well to make the supply last longer and your stock to be worth more.
3 Bad: Robbery
Robbery is something that can be done if you are bored in the game. All you have to do is run into a store and shoot it up while you wait for the store clerk to hand you the money from the register. You could also be the one who thinks the clerk is too slow and grabs the cash yourself. Starting off, this can get you a little money to fund your criminal activities, but it is also one of the worst ways to make money. Each store will only get you around 1.5k. That is a lot of stores you will have to rob if you ever want to get the flying car you've been craving.
2 Good: Nightclubs
The nightclubs in the game are used for more than just fun times. When combined with the motorcycle club and a few illicit businesses, you can easily make around 40k per hour while doing other things. This may take a little while to set up since you will have to purchase other businesses to go with the nightclub, but once it is set up, you will be able to sell goods just like with the bunker. Through the laptop in the nightclub, you can keep track of all the goods you accrue and sell them all at once or through special missions. These missions will let you sell a little less of your stock for a higher profit which adds to the benefit.
1 Bad: PVP
PVP sounds like it would get you more money than it does. While it can offer tons of entertainment, it won't get you the millions that you are probably after. Killing another player during their VIP work will only get you around 2k which doesn't fill the piggy bank all that much. Depending on what VIP work other players are doing, it can also be extremely tedious to get that money. You are better off doing something else and leaving the PVP to when you have already made millions.