OSRS money making
Let’s be honest: nobody enjoys being broke in Old School RuneScape. One minute you’re feeling wealthy with 500,000 GP in the bank, and the next you’ve bought a few supplies, repaired some gear, and you’re back to picking up coins like a Lumbridge goblin. Fortunately, making money in Old School RuneScape (OSRS) doesn’t always mean spending hours fighting bosses, risking your equipment in the Wilderness, or learning some ridiculously complicated skilling method.
There are plenty of straightforward ways to earn GP, even with relatively low skills.
We’ve put together ten accessible OSRS money-making methods, from High Alchemy and Fletching to fishing, crafting and good old-fashioned cow killing. Some provide decent experience alongside your earnings. Others are the sort of repetitive grind you can do while watching something on another monitor.
Before we begin, though, one warning: Grand Exchange prices change constantly. A method that produces a healthy profit today could barely break even tomorrow. Rather than promising you a magical 500,000 GP an hour, we’ll show you what to check before spending your hard-earned coins
1. High Alchemy – Turn Junk Into Gold
Requirements: 55 Magic, nature runes and fire runes (or a suitable source of unlimited fire runes)
Free-to-play: Yes
High Alchemy is one of the most recognisable money-making methods in RuneScape history. You purchase an item, cast High Level Alchemy on it, and receive a fixed amount of coins. Simple enough that even the Wise Old Man could probably manage it without causing another banking incident.
The trick is finding items whose alchemy value exceeds their purchase price and the cost of the required rune.
Rune equipment and certain battlestaves are worth checking, although their actual profitability varies.
How to get started
- Reach 55 Magic.
- Check the current Grand Exchange price of an item.
- Look up its High Alchemy value.
- Add the cost of one nature rune and any fire-rune cost.
- Only purchase the item if the calculation gives you a satisfactory margin.
For example, imagine an item costs 9,000 GP, its High Alchemy value is 10,000 GP, and your rune cost is 120 GP.
Your profit would be:
10,000 − 9,000 − 120 = 880 GP per cast.
That’s an illustrative calculation, not a live Grand Exchange price.
My verdict: Excellent for anyone wanting to train Magic while potentially earning money. Just remember that you’re effectively running a tiny magical recycling business.
2. Making Pizza Bases: The Doughboy Delight
Requirements: 35 Cooking
Free-to-play: Yes
Apparently, the people of Gielinor are willing to pay someone else to mix flour and water. Fair enough. If there’s one thing RuneScape has taught us, it’s that convenience is worth money. Making pizza bases is a straightforward processing method that doesn’t require combat or expensive equipment.
All you need are pots of flour, water and enough Cooking experience to meet the requirement.
How to get started
- Reach 35 Cooking.
- Purchase pots of flour and buckets of water from the Grand Exchange.
- Withdraw both ingredients from your bank.
- Use them together and select the pizza-base option.
- Deposit your completed bases and repeat.
Profit depends on whether finished pizza bases sell for more than your combined ingredient costs. Before buying thousands of supplies, make a small batch and check the actual selling price.
My verdict: A beginner-friendly method if the margin is positive. It’s not glamorous, but neither is working in a virtual pizza factory.
3. Fletching Headless Arrows: Death by a Thousand Clicks
Requirements: 1 Fletching
Members: Yes
Sometimes the simplest methods are the easiest to overlook. Headless arrows are created by attaching feathers to arrow shafts. They are an intermediate product used when making arrows, making them useful to other players training Fletching.
You don’t need impressive stats or expensive equipment to get started.
How to get started
- Buy arrow shafts and feathers.
- Withdraw both into your inventory.
- Combine them to make headless arrows.
- Continue processing your supplies.
- Sell your finished arrows on the Grand Exchange.
Each action can produce multiple arrows, making this a convenient processing activity. The potential profit comes from the price difference between the ingredients and the completed product.
Important: Check the price per arrow rather than confusing a stack of arrows with one individual item.
My verdict: An easy entry into Fletching, particularly if you’re happy earning some experience while monitoring Grand Exchange margins.
4. Fletching Unstrung Yew Longbows — A Woodcutter’s Side Hustle
Requirements: 70 Fletching
Members: Yes
Got a bank full of yew logs and absolutely no desire to spend another evening chopping trees? Turning them into unstrung yew longbows might be worth considering. It’s a straightforward processing method that provides Fletching experience alongside the possibility of earning GP.
How to get started
- Reach 70 Fletching.
- Check the prices of yew logs and unstrung yew longbows.
- Withdraw yew logs and a knife.
- Fletch the logs into unstrung yew longbows.
- Bank the bows and sell them when the margin is worthwhile.
One important point: buying the logs yourself isn’t always profitable. Sometimes the experience is the main reward, while your bank balance quietly suffers in the background.
My verdict: Worth checking if you’re already training Fletching, but don’t assume turning logs into bows automatically makes them more valuable.
5. Cleaning Grimy Tarromin: Herbal Hustle
Requirements: 11 Herblore and completion of Druidic Ritual
Members: Yes
Cleaning herbs probably won’t make you feel like Gielinor’s greatest adventurer. But if you’re looking for something that requires little preparation, turning grimy herbs into clean herbs can be a useful option. Grimy tarromin is accessible at 11 Herblore, making it one of the lower-level herbs you can process.
How to get started
- Complete Druidic Ritual to unlock Herblore.
- Reach 11 Herblore.
- Compare the Grand Exchange prices of grimy tarromin and clean tarromin.
- Buy a manageable quantity of grimy herbs.
- Clean the herbs and sell the finished product.
This method depends heavily on the market. Sometimes cleaned herbs are worth more; at other times the margin is too small or negative.
Avoid buying enormous quantities until you’ve tested a few inventories.
My verdict: A straightforward method for early Herblore training, with potential profit when market prices cooperate.
6. Tanning Green Dragonhide: Hide and Profit
Requirements: Access to a tanner and starting money for hides and tanning fees
Members: Yes
Not every successful business in RuneScape involves killing something. Sometimes there’s money to be made simply by processing the materials that other adventurers have already collected. Green dragonhide can be turned into green dragon leather by visiting a tanner, such as Ellis in Al Kharid.
How to get started
- Check the market price of green dragonhide.
- Compare it with green dragon leather.
- Include the tanning fee in your calculations.
- Purchase a small quantity of hides.
- Visit a tanner and process the hides.
- Bank or sell the finished leather.
The margins can change quickly, so check prices before committing your entire cash stack.
You also don’t need to fight green dragons yourself. Buying hides and tanning them is a separate method from dragon hunting, with different risks and requirements.
My verdict: A useful processing method when the spread between hides and leather is healthy. Particularly attractive if you’d rather avoid getting roasted by a dragon.
7. Fishing Sharks: The Lazy Millionaire’s Dream
Requirements: 76 Fishing
Members: Yes
Fishing sharks has been a classic RuneScape activity for years. It’s not necessarily the fastest way to build a fortune, but there’s something appealing about spending an evening fishing while everybody else is risking millions fighting bosses.
You’ll need 76 Fishing, a harpoon and access to a suitable shark fishing spot.
How to get started
- Reach 76 Fishing.
- Bring a suitable harpoon.
- Travel to a shark fishing location, such as the Fishing Guild.
- Catch sharks until your inventory is full.
- Bank your catch and repeat.
Your hourly earnings depend on your Fishing level, equipment, banking time and the current shark price.
Fishing sharks also provides Fishing experience, so you’re progressing your account rather than purely chasing GP.
My verdict: Best for players who prefer a more relaxed grind. Don’t expect to become a millionaire overnight, but it’s considerably less stressful than losing your gear in the Wilderness.
8. Cutting Yew Logs: Chop, Sell, Repeat
Requirements: 60 Woodcutting
Free-to-play: Yes
Few activities feel more traditionally RuneScape than standing beside a yew tree and waiting for logs. Yew trees have been part of the game for decades, and gathering their logs remains a simple way to earn money without spending much on supplies.
How to get started
- Reach 60 Woodcutting.
- Equip or carry your best available axe.
- Find a yew tree near a convenient banking location.
- Cut logs until your inventory is full.
- Bank your logs and repeat.
Yew trees can be popular, particularly on free-to-play worlds. Finding a quieter location may help. If you have access to better equipment or relevant Woodcutting boosts, you may improve your gathering speed.
My verdict: Easy to understand, inexpensive to start and ideal for players who aren’t interested in complicated money-making methods.
Just don’t be surprised if you develop a personal grudge against trees that refuse to give you logs.
9. Killing Cows and Tanning Cowhide: Moo-ney Making
Requirements: No minimum skill requirement
Free-to-play: Yes
Every RuneScape player has to start somewhere. For many of us, that somewhere was a field full of cows outside Lumbridge. Cowhide collecting is one of the game’s oldest beginner money-making activities, and the premise hasn’t changed much.
Kill cows, collect hides, bank them and repeat.
How to get started
- Travel to a cow field, such as the one near Lumbridge.
- Kill cows and collect their hides.
- Bank the hides when your inventory is full.
- Either sell the raw cowhide or take it to a tanner.
- Compare the value of raw hides with the leather you could produce.
Tanning isn’t automatically more profitable because you need to account for the fee and travel time. A beginner might find selling raw cowhide more convenient, even if processing it offers a better margin on some days.
My verdict: Probably not the method that will fund your dream gear, but it’s an accessible introduction to earning GP.
And yes, we’ve all been there. There’s no shame in starting your RuneScape business empire with livestock.
10. Crafting Opal Bracelets: Sparkling Profits for Low Levels
Requirements: 22 Crafting
Members: Yes
Jewellery crafting is another money-making method that looks simple on paper but requires a little market awareness. Opal bracelets are made using silver bars and cut opals at a furnace with a bracelet mould. They provide Crafting experience and can potentially generate profit if the finished bracelets sell for more than their materials.
How to get started
- Reach 22 Crafting.
- Obtain a bracelet mould.
- Buy silver bars and cut opals.
- Use the materials at a furnace to make opal bracelets.
- Bank and sell your completed jewellery.
Before buying supplies, check the actual market prices. Jewellery prices can be influenced by demand for enchanted items, but that doesn’t guarantee every batch will be profitable.
My verdict: A simple Crafting method worth considering when the ingredient prices are favourable. It’s also a pleasant change from killing the same monster for the thousandth time.
Final Thoughts — Every GP Counts
Making money in Old School RuneScape doesn’t have to involve raids, Wilderness bosses or sweating over the most efficient route through Gielinor.
Sometimes it’s as simple as cutting a few trees, cleaning herbs or turning flour and water into something another player is willing to buy. The secret is understanding your margins. Check prices, start with small batches and don’t blindly trust GP/hour estimates — including the ones you see in online guides.
And remember, there’s nothing wrong with taking the slower route if you’re actually enjoying yourself.
After all, what’s the point of becoming Gielinor’s richest adventurer if you hated every minute getting there?
Looking for another unusual skilling method? Read our OSRS Potato Money-Making Guide and find out whether humble potatoes deserve a place in your GP-making plans.
