Best F2P money making methods
Ways to earn GP without a membership, ranked by what they realistically pay.
Free-to-play money making is constrained but not hopeless. The methods available are fewer and slower than members options, and almost all of them come down to gathering something and selling it, or buying something and converting it.
The exception is trading. The Grand Exchange works identically for free accounts — three offer slots instead of eight, and a much smaller catalogue, but the same mechanics and the same maths. For a free player with any capital at all, it is usually the highest return per hour of attention available.
14 methods
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
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
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
Ogress warriors
The best free-to-play combat money maker. Ogress warriors drop gems, runes and coins consistently.
- Est. GP/hr
- 200k–400k
- Starting GP
- 50,000
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 40 Attack
Cooking raw fish
Buy raw fish, cook it, sell it cooked. A simple processing loop that trains Cooking at the same time.
- Est. GP/hr
- 80,000–250k
- Starting GP
- 200k
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 40 Cooking
Gold ore mining
Mine and bank gold ore. A step up from iron for free players, available at Mining 40.
- Est. GP/hr
- 130k–250k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 40 Mining
Hill giants
Kill hill giants for big bones and limpwurt roots. One of the first combat methods that pays on a free account.
- Est. GP/hr
- 90,000–200k
- Starting GP
- 20,000
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 30 Attack
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
Steel bar smelting
Buy iron ore and coal, smelt steel bars, sell the bars. A simple free-to-play processing loop.
- Est. GP/hr
- 50,000–150k
- Starting GP
- 150k
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 30 Smithing
Iron ore mining
Mine and bank iron ore. Available at Mining 15 with no other requirements at all.
- Est. GP/hr
- 60,000–140k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 15 Mining
Air rune crafting
Craft air runes at the Falador altar. Available from Runecraft 1 and one of very few free-to-play Runecraft options.
- Est. GP/hr
- 40,000–120k
- Starting GP
- None
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 1 Runecraft
Gold amulet crafting
Smelt gold bars into amulets and string them. Trains Crafting from level 8 and usually turns a small profit.
- Est. GP/hr
- 50,000–120k
- Starting GP
- 100k
- Attention
- Moderate attention
- Requirements
- 8 Crafting
What to know about this category
Start with what needs no levels
Iron ore from Mining 15 and yew logs from Woodcutting 60 are the two long-standing free-to-play staples. Iron is available almost immediately; yews take a while to reach but need nothing else once you are there.
Processing beats gathering once you have capital
Buying raw fish and cooking it, or buying ores and smithing them, converts a small amount of capital into a margin without needing to gather anything. The margins move constantly, so check current prices before committing to a batch.
Trading is the ceiling
Flipping scales with money rather than levels, which makes it the one method where a free account is not structurally disadvantaged. Three offer slots is a real limitation, but the technique is identical.