Best AFK money making methods
Methods that earn while you are doing something else, and an honest account of how AFK each really is.
There is no method in Old School RuneScape that earns well while you are entirely away from the keyboard, and anything claiming otherwise is describing something against the rules. What does exist is a spectrum: activities needing a click every thirty seconds, activities needing one every few minutes, and offers that work while you are logged out entirely.
The trade-off is consistent — the less attention a method needs, the less it pays per hour. What makes AFK methods worthwhile is that they occupy time you were not going to spend playing intensively anyway.
18 methods
Herb runs
Plant herb seeds across every patch you have unlocked, then return around 80 minutes later to harvest.
- Est. GP/hr
- 1m–4m
- Starting GP
- 500k
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 32 Farming
Grand Exchange flipping
Buy items below their going rate and sell them above it, taking the spread minus the 2% sale tax.
- Est. GP/hr
- 100k–3m
- Starting GP
- 100k
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- None
Bulk item investing
Hold items over days or weeks expecting a price rise, rather than trading the immediate spread.
- Est. GP/hr
- 0–2m
- Starting GP
- 20m
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- None
Kraken
The most AFK boss in the game. Kraken cannot deal meaningful damage through Protect from Magic and drops the trident and tentacle.
- Est. GP/hr
- 1.2m–2m
- Starting GP
- 1m
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 87 Slayer, 75 Magic
Brutal black dragons
Safespottable dragons in the Catacombs of Kourend, dropping bones, hides and a steady flow of alchable equipment.
- Est. GP/hr
- 900k–1.5m
- Starting GP
- 1m
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- 77 Slayer, 80 Ranged
Abyssal demons
The Slayer task most associated with the abyssal whip. Low attention, safe, and consistently paid.
- Est. GP/hr
- 900k–1.4m
- Starting GP
- 500k
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- 85 Slayer
Overnight Grand Exchange offers
Leave buy and sell offers running while you are logged out, capturing wider margins on slower-moving items.
- Est. GP/hr
- 50,000–1m
- Starting GP
- 500k
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- None
Gargoyle Slayer tasks
A safe, low-attention Slayer task with consistently valuable drops including granite mauls and alchable equipment.
- Est. GP/hr
- 600k–1m
- Starting GP
- 200k
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- 75 Slayer
Anglerfish
The most AFK profitable fishing in the game. Anglerfish heal above your maximum hitpoints, so demand is permanent.
- Est. GP/hr
- 350k–600k
- Starting GP
- 20,000
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 82 Fishing
Tree runs
Plant trees and fruit trees, then return hours later. Enormous Farming experience for a few minutes of play.
- Est. GP/hr
- 200k–600k
- Starting GP
- 300k
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 15 Farming
High Level Alchemy
Cast High Level Alchemy on items worth less than their alch value, converting them into GP while training Magic.
- Est. GP/hr
- 100k–400k
- Starting GP
- 200k
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- 55 Magic
Amethyst mining
Mine amethyst in the Mining Guild for consistent, near-AFK income.
- Est. GP/hr
- 250k–400k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 92 Mining
Redwood logs
The most AFK tree in the game. Redwoods need a click every thirty seconds or so and the logs bank well.
- Est. GP/hr
- 250k–400k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 90 Woodcutting
Cannonball smithing
Turn steel bars into cannonballs. Slow experience, steady profit and one of the most AFK activities available.
- Est. GP/hr
- 150k–300k
- Starting GP
- 500k
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 35 Smithing
Motherlode Mine
Mine pay-dirt for a mix of ores and the prospector outfit. Steady rather than spectacular, and very forgiving.
- Est. GP/hr
- 150k–300k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- 30 Mining
Birdhouse runs
Set four birdhouses on Fossil Island and collect them fifty minutes later. Passive Hunter experience and seeds.
- Est. GP/hr
- 100k–300k
- Starting GP
- 50,000
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 5 Hunter
Yew log cutting
Cut and bank yew logs. The long-standing free-to-play income route, and it costs nothing to start.
- Est. GP/hr
- 80,000–160k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Very AFK
- Requirements
- 60 Woodcutting
Lobster fishing
Catch lobsters at Karamja and bank them. The long-standing free-to-play Fishing income.
- Est. GP/hr
- 70,000–150k
- Starting GP
- 5,000
- Attention
- Low attention
- Requirements
- 40 Fishing
What to know about this category
Grand Exchange offers are the only truly passive option
Offers keep working while you are logged out. Overnight flipping is the closest thing in the game to income that requires no presence at all, though it carries market risk in exchange.
Farming runs are offline progress
Herb and tree runs grow while you are away entirely. Measured against real time the rates look poor; measured against time actually played they are among the best in the game.
Judge by attention, not by GP per hour
A method paying 250,000 GP an hour that you can run while doing something else is worth more than one paying 800,000 that demands your full focus, if the alternative was not playing at all.