In the world of Grand Theft Auto cash is king.

The entire point of the game is to making money, so it goes without saying the faster you earn it, the better. But just like real life, if you want to make money in Grand Theft Auto online quickly, you have to work for it. Of course, you can always go and buy a GTA Online Shark Card for real money to add more green to your bank account, but where’s the fun in that?

If you want to buy the Buzzard or an Armoured Kuruma (2 must-haves), then you’ll need some cash. The beautiful thing is that having those money-making vehicles will only make it easier for you to make even more income.

Believe it or not, there are ways you can make money fast in GTA V online without spending countless hours to raise your bank balance slowly. After a few hours, you’ll realize you need to step up your game if you ever want to move up in the world.

To help you make the most of your time and get GTA V rich, we’ve rounded up the most profitable way to make money in GTA Online so that you can make the most of your time.

Ways to Make Money in GTA 5 Online

Take Advantage of Special Events

Believe it or not, GTA Online actually wants you to be rich. Unlike other online games, GTA V doesn’t hesitate to award players with big bucks. Most of the time you can find a special event on the home screen that’s offering double money if you take part in them.

Taking part in double money events at more significant difficulties is a great way to have fun and make big money without feeling like you’re doing a chore. Sometimes you’ll be required to take part in the adversary mode, sometimes races and more.

To make things even better, double money rewards aren’t just limited to events. Sometimes you might also come across a double money week for business and money earning methods such as Vehicle Cargo sales and even heists, which are very rare but with an equally impressive reward.

Get Involved in The Stock Market

If you need to make fast cash in Grand Theft Auto V story mode, then the stock market is the place to be. If you want to make serious money, then you’ll need to understand how the stock market works in the game and have a fair amount to invest in it.

After you start getting Assassination Missions from Lester, you’ll be targeting high profile corporation NPC’s. Every time you take one out, there’s a noticeable change in the stock market. By exploiting the circumstances of the missions, you can earn some extra cash. Here’s a detailed guide you can follow to make the most to make money from the GTA V stock market.

If you’ve heard of gamers who finish story mode with a massive pile of cash (hundreds of millions of $$), this is how they did it.

Original Heists & Doomsday Heists

If you want to make fast money in GTA V online and offline, then heists are where making money is at. Heists and doomsday heists can pay up to $400k per hour, making them one of the most lucrative ways to make fast money while having fun alone or with friends. Heists offer such a high payout for a reason; they’re hard. If the potential rewards weren’t high, then the stakes wouldn’t be worth it.

If you want to complete a heist successfully, then you need to have a high enough level and equipped with guns, armor, and a whole lot of bullets.

Heists do require you to pay a high initial cost and doomsday heist even more, but if you can manage to complete a heist without messing up, then you’ll be making a lot more. Doomsday heists have a higher initial investment, but they can be done with 2 or 3 people. Make sure you have a reliable team because you’ll regret it if you’re the only person who knows what they’re doing.

Open a Nightclub

With so many high paying activities happening all the time, it can be easy to forget about the small, yet steady income nightclubs bring. What makes a nightclub such a great way to earn enough money is that it makes you money per hour without you having to do anything. There is no better way to earn cash fast than being able to earn a steady cash flow stream in the background of the game.

Just like in real life, passive income can be intoxicating in the best way possible. You’re sitting at home watching TV when you get up to check the mail and find a check with a bunch of cash. Sure beats picking up extra hours at work and breaking your back, right? We think so too.

A nightclub acts as a passive income stream that you can set up once and forget about. If you play your cards right, you can even make up to $40k per hour in passive mode, making it a more than worthwhile investment that will have long term benefits.

Running Some Crates

The Further Adventures in Finance and Felony DLC's influence can still be felt today. It seems to mark the beginning of a new era of GTA Online, and a great new way to make money fast!

The concept is easy! You run missions to acquire goods to sell, put them in a warehouse where they sit for a while, then you run missions to sell those goods.

This consisted of supplying contraband for your warehouse in Finance and Felony, filling up your gauge either by purchasing supplies or steal supplies and then finally going on a sell mission to exchange your valuable crates for cash. Sometimes you'd get Special Cargo, which are higher value crates with fantastic payouts.

To this day, players who can put together an efficient crate running schedule will make tons of cash off Finance and Felony's business (around $GTA 150K to $GTA$ 220K per hour), and a lot more than with most other methods.

Importing and Exporting Cars

Finance and Felony was the supreme income maker until December of 2016 when Import/Export was released.

It operated on the same “get thing, put in a warehouse, twiddle thumbs, sell” principle, except this time the “thing” wasn't highly illegal contraband, but stolen cars. This was the DLC that but “grand theft auto” back into Grand Theft Auto Online.

Import/Export actually does not have a better GTA$/hour than running crates did due to a bunch of cooldowns, but one sound way to get more cash is with collections. Selling specific shopping lists of cars nets you a bonus over just selling random cars together.

Motorcycle Club

As part of the appropriately named “Bikers Update,” players in GTA Online can own their own motorcycle club, also referred to as an MC club. To start their own Motorcycle Club, you will have to buy a foreclosed clubhouse.

MC Clubs can function similar to Organizations, in that you can invest and manage further illicit businesses that allow you to make cash and turn a profit over time. Here that business takes the form of small, secretive labs and manufacturing plants that deal with various illegal products, which you can set up, fill up, then distribute the contents for money.

By becoming a Motorcycle Club President, you have the potential to earn $80k per hour while running around and doing other things. Keep in mind this is passive income, so you should have this running in the background while you make active income from other methods listed. There is no monetary bonus for selling full stock, and doing so will require friends if there are multiple vehicles to be used for the sell mission.

VIP Work/BodyGuard Work

VIP exclusive jobs may require your pockets to be at least a million bucks heavy even to be accessible, but they pay accordingly. VIP work offers a new alternative for GTA Online players looking to amass a fortune, but who are bored of grinding heists over and over.

Starting a VIP job isn't a guaranteed payout either – if another organization completes the objective before you succeed, they'll take the cash as well as the credit. But don't even think about letting the others do the leg work, then you take the credit! If you do that you'll only get 70% of the goods this way.

There are also a total of 17 VIP jobs that have been added throughout Executives and Other Criminals, Further Adventures In Finance, and Felony and Import/Export. The jobs fall under the categories of Piracy Prevention, Sightseer, Hostile Takeover, Executive Search, Asset Recovery, Executive Deathmatch, and Bodyguard Work.

These missions are a great way to earn some money while waiting for cooldown timers to expire. So if you are waiting for a new car to come in at the warehouse, this is the way to go. They aren't a replacement for other money-making methods, though, as their payout isn't as high. However, they're solid filler jobs. Headhunter, Hostile Takeover, and Sightseer are notably decent missions to take on.

Get Good Behind The Wheel

You can win up to $100k per race by winning Time trials and premium races; that is if you’re good enough. For a premium race, it’ll cost you an investment of $20k, which you might end up losing if you aren’t good enough. You’ll be competing against seven other players, which means if you want to earn $100k, then you’ll need to come in the first place, but you can still profit by coming in at second or third.

Similarly, time trials will also rely on your driving skills. In GTA Online, all you have to do is get from one point to another without worrying about following any checkpoints in the shortest time there is a potential profit to earn up to 50k after completing it successfully.

Getting good at these stunt races takes time, and the best racers will know the courses and the steering dynamics of the game well. If you are the kind of gamer that LOVES racing games like Forza, Gran Turismo, F1, Dirt 4, etc., then you’ll have no excuse not to be crushing the race circuit. The best part is you’ll have pockets flush with cash so you can continue being your bad self.

Commonly Asked Questions: How to Make Money in GTA 5 Online

How do you make fast money in GTA 5?

GTA Online has a ton of options for making fast money! This includes the stock market, special events, heists, and more! Make sure to read through each section for further details.

What is the fastest way to make money in GTA 5 Online 2020?

The fastest way to make money in GTA 5 online is going to be getting involved in the stock market. If you are comfortable behind the wheel, you may also want to consider giving racing a go!

What should I buy in GTA 5 to get money?

You will definitely want to dabble in the GTA V stock market and spend money to buy some stocks. You may also want to consider buying and opening a nightclub. When purchasing items, keep in mind what will give you the best return on your money!

What business makes the most money in GTA 5?

For this, you will want to take a look at Further Adventures in Finance and Felony DLC. This DLC includes running crates, which is as easy as it sounds! You run missions to acquire goods to sell, put them in a warehouse where they sit for a while, then you run missions to sell those goods. This is a great way to earn some good money to buy that high-end apartment!

Are there any money cheat codes in GTA V Online?

No, Rockstar Games has stated there will be no cheat codes or money glitch to keep the game as it should be. You have to credit Rockstar for wanting to keep the legitimacy in the game! But there are plenty of money guides like this one to help you make a profit the fun way!

Looking for more awesome ways to enjoy GTA 5? Check out our picks for the top GTA 5 Mods.