Ultimate OSRS Money Making Guide

The first thing you should know about making money in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is that you must spend money to make money.

Methods involving monster killing (PVM), player-versus-player (PKing), and merchanting/flipping all require a foundation of money; with that foundation, you can earn up to millions.

The first thing we will discuss is how to build that foundation. If you don’t want to see these basic methods, just scroll down.

F2P

Killing Cows

While killing cows for cowhide may seem very nooby, it is an excellent way of making money if you are just starting out. If you are a low-level player (1-30 combat), you might need some food, armor, and weapons, but you shouldn’t need that much as cows are only level 2 combat.

• Drops to Pick Up: Cowhide, staff of air, spin ticket (optional)
• Money per Hour: (Greatly depends on combat level) Approximately 52,500 gp/hour
• Location: Northeast of Lumbridge Castle
• Nearest Bank: Lumbridge Castle

Mining Rune Essence

Requirements: completion of Rune Mysteries Quest. Another great way I made money was by mining pure essence. This can be done by going to the magic shop in Varrock and having Aubury teleport you to the mine.

• Nearest Bank: Varrock East Bank
• Money per Hour: Approximately 25,000 gp/hour

Fishing

Fishing is a very common method of making money. The higher your fishing level, the more money you will make.

• Levels 1-20: Shrimp (8,800-17,000 gp/hour)
• Levels 20-25: Trout (14,500-30,000 gp/hour)
• Levels 25-30: Pike (15,000-35,000 gp/hour)
• Levels 30-35: Salmon (18,000-37,000 gp/hour)
• Levels 35-40: Tuna (20,000-39,000 gp/hour)
• Levels 40-60: Lobster (29,000-70,000 gp/hour)
• Levels 60 and beyond: Swordfish (50,000-350,000 gp/hour)

Note: These estimates of gp/hour vary significantly on your fishing level. The higher your level, the more money you will make.

P2P

Killing Chaos Druids

Requirements: 10 Dungeoneering. Killing chaos druids can yield various great and rare drops, including herbs and runes. They are very close to a bank. Chaos Druids are level 13 combat.

• Drops to Pick Up: All herbs and runes
• Money per Hour: (Again, this greatly depends on your level of combat) 35,000-200,000 gp/hour
• Location: Edgeville Dungeon, Taverly Dungeon
• Nearest Bank: Edgeville and Yanille (depends on your location)

Mining Pure Essence

Pure essence is a member’s version of rune essence that costs much more. They have the same requirements as mining rune essence except that you must have level 30 mining.

• Nearest Bank: Varrock East Bank
• Picking Flax: Pick flax in Seers’ Village, then spin them on the spinning wheel in the second level of the nearest house to get bow strings.
• Money per Hour: 75,000-190,000 gp/hour

Now that you have some money, it’s time to explore more advanced ways of making money.

F2P/P2P

Flipping/Merchanting

This method will require at least 500,000 gp to be effective; otherwise, it will not make you a lot of cash, if any. Flipping, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to make money in OSRS. Basically, it’s buying an item for a lower price and selling it for a higher price. If done right, this method will make you a millionaire.

How to Flip:

1. Pick an item to flip (see the items list below).
2. Buy one of those items on the Grand Exchange for 10% higher than its regular price. Take note of the price.
3. Sell that item at 10% lower than the regular price. Take note of the selling price.
4. Your item should have been bought at a higher price and sold for a lower price.
5. Take the sold price and make it your new buying price. The original buying price becomes your new selling price.

Example: Bought at 300 gp and sold at 250 gp. Buy at 250 gp and sell at 300 gp.

Notes:

1. In the example, a 50 gp profit may not seem huge, but if you flip large numbers of that item, the total profit will be significant.
2. You might not often see a 50 gp margin like with swordfish, but even a 10 gp margin can add up if flipped in large quantities.
3. I recommend flipping low-cost items like fish, runes, ores, and arrows until you reach 3 million gp. Then, start flipping more expensive items like rune armor sets and weapons.
4. Be patient. Flipping requires little effort and can earn you more money per hour than regular methods.
5. If an item lacks a decent margin, move on to another.
6. For expensive items like the Armadyl Chestplate or Bandos Tassets, it’s essential to join a flipping friends chat, such as “Pcing 101,” as these items can potentially lose you a lot of money.

Items to Flip (For both F2P and P2P):

• 500,000 gp to 3 million gp (F2P and P2P):
  1. All types of fish (only flip fish that are over 100 gp as fish under that price will yield little to no profit)
  2. All types of ores (excluding the inexpensive ones but including the expensive ones like runite ore)
  3. All runes
  4. All arrows
  5. All bars
  6. Big bones and dragon bones (if you’re a member)
  7. Bolts (Diamond Bolts (e) yield great profits)
  8. Feathers
  9. Most logs (Willows, Yews, and Magic Logs are often great to flip)
• 3 million gp and beyond (F2P):
  1. Armor Sets (Rune Sets, Saradomin Sets, Zamorak Sets, Guthix Sets)
• Sorry for the Free to Play players who were expecting more items, but there is not much you can flip for profits of up to 100,000 gp in F2P.
• 3 million gp and beyond (P2P):
  1. Barrows Sets (Guthan’s, Dharok’s, Ahrim’s etc.)
  2. Infinity Gloves
  3. Infinity Robe Top
  4. Infinity Boots
  5. Dragon Boots
  6. Ahrim’s Robe Top
  7. Black Mask (Not the Charged One)
  8. Armadyl Chestplate
  9. Armadyl Helmet
  10. Armadyl Chainskirt
  11. Bandos Chestplate
  12. Bandos Tassets
  13. Spectral Spirit Shield
  14. Potion Flasks
  15. Berserker Ring
  16. Frost Dragon Bones
  17. Robin Hood Hat
  18. Abyssal Whip (One of the best items to flip EVER!)
  19. Whip Vine
  20. Warrior Ring
  21. Diamond Bolts (e)
• Slaying: Slaying is by far one of the best ways to make money in P2P OSRS. You can get extremely rare drops from monsters that you can sell to the G.E. for $$$. Remember to always wear a ring of wealth when slaying, as it will increase your chances of getting a rare drop.
  • Killing Cockroach Soldiers (Level 83 combat): Cockroach soldiers have great drops and even greater drops if you’re a member. Remember that you must be a minimum of 65 combat to kill cockroach soldiers efficiently. You will need food. I recommend lobsters or swordfish. Tunas will work if you are above level 100 combat.
    • Drops to Pick Up: Rune Scimitar, Rune Helm, Mithril Helm, ALL runes dropped, and seeds (if you are a member).
    • Money per Hour: Approximately 120,000 gp – 250,000 gp
    • Location: Stronghold of Safety (Between Barbarian Village and Edgeville)
    • Nearest Bank: Edgeville Bank
  • Killing Fungal Mages (Members only, level 120): Killing Fungal Mages can be extremely profitable as you have the potential to gain over 150,000 gp each trip. They are not nearly as strong as their combat level suggests. But food is still highly recommended. They can only be harmed by Magic because other methods will have little to no effect on these monsters. When fighting these, always stay at least one square away from them as they deal a weaker type of attack than their magical attacks when you are one square away from them.
    • Drops to Pick Up: All runes (including pure essence), rare seeds, Potato cactus (noted), snape grass (noted), Limpwurt Root (noted), Polypore spore.
    • Money per Hour: The amount you earn depends on your Magic level: 250,000 gp – 750,000 gp
    • Location: Polypore Dungeon
    • Nearest Bank: Teleport to Edgeville via the Lodestone teleport system, and then when you want to get back, use the fairy ring. (Code: BIP)
  • Killing Mature Grotworms (Members only, level 167): Mature Grotworms are a great source of spectacular drops!
    • Drops to Pick Up: All Rune and Adamant Weapons and Armors, All Runes, Rare Herbs and seeds, Flax (noted), Royal Dragon hide, Royal Bolts, Adamantite Ore (noted), Runite (noted), potential clue scrolls (optional)
    • Money per Hour: (Varies on combat level) 450,000 gp – 1,200,000 gp

Other Methods of Making Money (F2P/P2P):

• Making Bronze Bars: Buy Copper Ore for 57 gp and Tin Ore for 32 gp to make a bronze bar that sells for 165 gp (76 gp profit). Note: This sample calculation is only for demonstration, and your profit may vary because prices change daily.
• Making Steel Bars for Profit: You can make a steel bar by using 1 iron ore and 2 coal ores, which can yield a great deal of profit.
• Hunting Grenwalls for Profit (members only)
• High Alching: (55 Magic required) Casting High Alchemy is one of the best ways to make money and train Magic simultaneously. You will need 1 nature rune and 5 Fire Runes (use a Fire Staff) for one cast of High Alchemy. Use this website to find out what items give the best profit when casting High Alchemy.