How to Choose an OSRS Money Making Method

With 40+ money making methods in OSRS, choosing the right one can feel overwhelming. This guide breaks down the decision process into clear steps so you can identify the methods that match your account stats, available capital, time constraints, and risk tolerance.

Step 1: Determine Your Account Status

🆓 Free-to-Play

Limited to F2P skills and locations. Best methods include:

Wine of Zamorak telekinetic grab
Crafting gold amulets
Mining iron ore or smithing steel bars

⭐ Members

Full access to all methods. Focus on your combat/skill levels:

Low combat (70-): Skilling and gathering
Mid combat (70-100): Slayer and mid-tier bosses
High combat (100+): End-game PvM and raids

Step 2: Assess Your Starting Capital

Starting capital determines which methods you can access. Methods require capital for supplies, gear, or tradeable inputs.

0 - 500K GP: Zero-Capital Methods

Best options: Corrupted Gauntlet, herb runs, birdhouse runs, Wintertodt

500K - 5M GP: Low-Capital Methods

Best options: Master farmers, cannonballs, barrows, green dragons

5M - 50M GP: Mid-Capital Methods

Best options: Zulrah, Blast Furnace, potion flipping

50M+ GP: High-Capital Methods

Best options: Vorkath, ToA raids, Phantom Muspah

Step 3: Match Your Available Time & Attention

😴

AFK Methods

Perfect for multitasking or passive income while working/studying.

Cannonballs (2+ min AFK)
Woodcutting redwoods
Fishing anglerfish
Ammonite crabs

⚡

Medium Intensity

Consistent clicking but forgiving of brief distractions.

Slayer tasks
Herb/birdhouse runs
Master farmers
Barrows runs

🔥

High Intensity

Requires full attention and fast reactions. Highest GP/hr.

Vorkath / Zulrah
Corrupted Gauntlet
ToA / ToB raids
Blast Furnace

Step 4: Consider Your Risk Tolerance

Some methods have guaranteed consistent profits, while others rely on rare drops or Wilderness PvP danger.

✅ Low Risk (Consistent Profit)

Herb/birdhouse runs (guaranteed returns)
Blast Furnace (predictable margins)
High alching (no RNG)
Skilling methods (steady output)

⚠️ High Risk (RNG/PvP Dependent)

Corrupted Gauntlet (1/400 enhanced seed)
ToA raids (mega-rares drive average)
Wilderness methods (PKer danger)
Rare boss pets/uniques

High-risk methods often advertise massive GP/hr by averaging rare drops over hundreds of hours. Short-term results will vary drastically.

Step 5: Choose Combat vs Skilling

⚔️ Combat Money Making

Pros: Highest GP/hr ceiling, trains combat stats, exciting gameplay

Cons: Requires gear investment, high intensity, death risk

Best for: Players who enjoy PvM and want maximum GP/hr

🛠️ Skilling Money Making

Pros: Lower risk, AFK-friendly, trains non-combat skills

Cons: Lower GP/hr than combat, can be repetitive

Best for: Players who prefer relaxed gameplay or multitasking

Quick Decision Tree

Zero GP? → Start with Corrupted Gauntlet, herb runs, or F2P methods

Low combat? → Focus on skilling (Thieving, Runecraft, Processing)

High combat? → Slayer tasks, mid-tier bosses (Zulrah, Vorkath)

Max combat + 50M+ gear? → End-game PvM and raids

Need AFK? → Cannonballs, woodcutting, fishing, ammonite crabs

Final Tips

Use the hiscores lookup: Our account matcher automatically filters methods you qualify for
Diversify methods: Rotate between high-intensity and AFK to avoid burnout
Track your actual rates: Your GP/hr will differ from estimates based on gear and skill
Consider opportunity cost: Sometimes training a skill to unlock a better method is more profitable long-term
Check prices before starting: GE margins change daily—verify profitability with our live calculators

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