RuneScape Gold Farming Guide: OSRS & RS3 Money Making (2026)
By FastWoWGold Team · Published · Last updated:
Short answer: the best RuneScape gold farming method depends on your stats. In both Old School RuneScape (OSRS) and RuneScape 3 (RS3), high-level bossing pays the most per hour, while processing, skilling, and recurring runs (herbs, birdhouses, shop runs) are how most accounts build GP before they can boss. Check live Grand Exchange prices before you commit to any method, because profits move every day.
This guide covers OSRS money making and RS3 money making separately, since the two games have their own content and their own economies. GP from one game can't be used in the other.
How RuneScape money making works
Almost every method comes down to one of four things, which is also how the OSRS Wiki and RuneScape Wiki sort their money making guides:
- Combat: killing monsters and bosses for drops, then selling them on the Grand Exchange (GE).
- Skilling: gathering or producing resources with skills such as Thieving, Hunter, or Runecraft.
- Processing: buying raw materials, turning them into something worth more, and selling the result.
- Collecting: picking up or buying items from shops and NPCs that sell for more on the GE.
Both wikis also keep a separate list of recurring methods: things you can only do once per day, week, or crop cycle, but that pay well for a few minutes of effort. Profit figures on both wikis are based on current GE prices (the OSRS guide also accounts for the GE tax), and both warn that real results can differ a lot from the listed estimates.
OSRS money making for beginners and mid-level accounts
If you are new or don't have the stats for bosses yet, these OSRS gold farming methods need little to get started:
- Processing with low requirements: tanning red dragonhide has no listed skill requirements on the OSRS Wiki, and making prayer potions needs 38 Herblore. These need some starting GP to buy materials.
- Easy combat: killing zombie pirates is a popular budget combat method (the wiki lists 60+ Attack), with drops that sell steadily.
- Collecting: buying items like monkey nuts from shops and selling them on the GE needs no skills at all, just time and travel.
- Free-to-play: F2P options include smithing rune items, High Level Alchemy on items that sell to the alchemy shop for more than they cost, crafting diamond jewellery, and mining runite ore. Many F2P players save GP for a Bond to unlock membership, which opens far more methods.
High-level OSRS gold farming: bossing and raids
At the top of the OSRS Wiki's hourly profit table are end-game PvM activities: the Fortis Colosseum, Yama, Nex, Theatre of Blood, and Duke Sucellus, among others. These need high combat stats, expensive gear, and practice, and income is spread unevenly because much of the value comes from rare drops. Over a long enough stretch they still out-earn nearly everything else, which is why most maxed players make their GP this way.
If you're working toward bossing, Slayer is a common bridge: tasks give you combat XP and drops at the same time, and higher Slayer levels unlock monsters with valuable drops.
OSRS recurring runs worth doing
Recurring methods take minutes and stack up over weeks. Common ones on the OSRS Wiki's recurring list:
- Herb runs: planting ranarr weed (32 Farming) or torstol (85 Farming) across your herb patches.
- Birdhouse runs: Hunter traps on Fossil Island that give feathers and bird nests; Magic 49 is highly recommended for digsite pendants.
- Managing Miscellania: pay into the kingdom's coffers and collect resources over time.
- Buying battlestaves from Zaff and growing magic saplings for longer-term value.
RS3 money making for newer players
RS3 money making leans more on recurring activities and skilling than OSRS does at low levels. Good starting points from the RuneScape Wiki's guides:
- Mega shop runs: buying runes, vials of water, and other stock from NPC shops daily or weekly and selling them on the GE. Some shops need quests or levels (66 Magic for the Wizards' Guild, for example).
- Herb runs: torstol needs 85 Farming. Herb runs are a steady earner for any member with the Farming level.
- Player-owned farm: the high-level version needs 92 Farming and 60 Construction, but the farm pays out on a recurring basis once it's set up.
- Processing and skilling: RS3 has plenty of skilling methods, including Thieving activities like the Asuran Arsenal, Hunter at Havenhythe, and crafting necrotic runes. Check the requirements first, since many need high levels.
High-level RS3 money making: bossing
As in OSRS, the most GP per hour in RS3 comes from bossing. The RuneScape Wiki's top methods include Amascut, Telos, Zamorak, Nex: Angel of Death, Arch-Glacor, Rasial, TzKal-Zuk, and Zemouregal & Vorkath, many of them at higher enrage or hard mode settings. These usually need perked tier 90+ gear and solid knowledge of the fight. Group skilling bosses such as Croesus are another option for skillers who don't want to do high-level combat. For steady income alongside bossing, many players also complete Soul Reaper tasks.
Grand Exchange tips for both games
- Test a processing method with a small batch before committing your bank; the OSRS Wiki notes some can turn into a loss when prices shift.
- Remember buy limits. Methods that rely on buying from the GE don't account for how long purchases take, so real profit per hour is often lower.
- Wiki profit figures can be cached and out of date. Look at the item's own price page before you start.
- Sell into demand: new content and updates often raise prices for the supplies and gear people need.
Where Bonds fit in
Bonds are Jagex's official way to swap real money and GP. You buy a Bond from Jagex and sell it on the Grand Exchange for GP, or buy one with GP to pay for membership. In RS3, Bonds can also be redeemed for RuneCoins, bank space, and other extras, and they're exempt from the GE sales tax. In both games, a Bond becomes untradeable once it's traded or sold, and making it tradeable again costs 10% of its GE value. With Bonds you usually get less GP per dollar than buying GP directly. Our guide to buying OSRS gold compares the two in detail.
Short on time?
If you don't have the hours to grind, you can buy GP instead. FastWoWGold delivers RuneScape gold by hand through an in-game trade, with real-time stock; most orders arrive within 1-30 minutes, and we refund you if we can't deliver: buy OSRS gold or buy RS3 gold. Before you order, read how we keep gold trades safe.
FAQ
- What is the best money making method in OSRS?
- At high levels, end-game bosses and raids such as the Fortis Colosseum, Nex, and Theatre of Blood sit at the top of the OSRS Wiki's money making table. For lower-level accounts, processing methods like tanning dragonhide or making prayer potions and recurring runs like birdhouses and herb runs are the usual starting points.
- Is money making in RS3 different from OSRS?
- Yes. The two games have separate economies and different content. RS3's top methods are modern bosses such as Telos, Arch-Glacor, Rasial, and Nex: Angel of Death, and recurring activities like daily shop runs and the player-owned farm are a bigger part of steady income.
- Can I make GP as a free-to-play player?
- Yes, though options are narrower. In OSRS, free-to-play players commonly smith rune items, cast High Level Alchemy on profitable items, craft diamond jewellery, or mine runite ore. Many players save up to buy a Bond with GP for membership, which opens far better methods.
- Is it safe to buy RuneScape gold instead of farming it?
- If you choose to buy, use a seller with a proper in-game trade process, never share your login, and check the seller's refund terms. The official alternative is buying a Bond and selling it on the Grand Exchange.
More guides: How to Buy OSRS Gold Safely