Construction calculator
What each plank method costs per experience point, at today's plank prices.
Construction is the most expensive skill in the game and produces nothing you can sell, so every GP spent is genuinely gone. That makes the cost per experience point the only number that matters.
The gap between oak and mahogany is enormous. Oak is roughly a tenth of the cost per experience point; mahogany is roughly ten times faster. Which is right depends entirely on whether you have more time or more GP.
Construction levels
1 to 99
Must be higher than current
Methods
5 methods| Method | Level | XP each | XP/hr | Actions | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak chair | 19 | 120 | 168K | 108,621 | 78h |
| Oak larder | 33 | 480 | 528K | 27,156 | 25h |
| Mahogany table | 52 | 840 | 924K | 15,518 | 14h |
| Teak garden bench | 66 | 540 | 594K | 24,138 | 22h |
| Oak dungeon door | 74 | 600 | 660K | 21,725 | 20h |
Actions and hours assume you use one method the whole way, which almost nobody does. Rates are for steady play with the usual setup; treat them as a planning figure rather than a promise. Methods above your current level are dimmed.
How this is calculated
Experience per action and the level each method unlocks at are game data. Everything else is arithmetic on the experience table:
experience needed = xp at target level − xp at current level
actions = experience needed ÷ experience per action
hours = experience needed ÷ (experience per action × actions per hour)Actions per hour is the one estimate in there. It assumes steady play with the setup people normally use for the method, and it is the number to be sceptical of — a rate quoted for someone with perfect banking is not the rate you will hit on a first attempt.
What this does not account for
- Cost. This site no longer reads live Grand Exchange prices, so nothing here is ranked by what it costs. For most skills the cheapest method and the fastest are different, and this tool only answers the second.
- Failure rates. Where a method can fail or burn, every attempt is counted as a success. The notes flag the methods where that matters most.
- Switching methods. The actions and hours columns assume you use one method for the whole range, which almost nobody does. Read them as a per-method comparison rather than a plan.
About training Construction
- Nothing built is sellable, so unlike every other calculator here the cost shown is the full cost. There is no resale value to offset it.
- A servant is effectively required for the faster methods. The butler costs GP per trip and is not included in the figures below.
- Making your own planks with the Plank Make spell or the sawmill is cheaper than buying them, at the cost of your time.
Worth knowing
Recipes, levels and experience values are game data. If you spot one that is wrong, please tell us — accuracy is the only thing that makes a calculator worth using.
Actions per hour assume steady play with the usual setup. Your first hour at a new method will be slower than the figure here.