How to Make Money Fast Solo in GTA Online (2026)

To make money fast solo in GTA Online: per Rockstar, the Career Builder gives new PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC Enhanced characters a GTA$4,000,000 start-up budget, at most GTA$1,000,000 kept as cash. Per the GTA Wiki: First Dose awards $300,000 to $400,000 once, a first Cayo run $1,100,000, Dr. Dre’s Contract $900,000, Payphone Hits $45,000, Security Contracts $31,000 to $70,000, a full Acid Lab sale $237,600 to $335,200.

This page is the overview. Each money source below has its own guide on our site with the full payout tables, so here you get the buy-in, what it pays, whether one player can run it, and a sensible order to buy things in. The Career Builder figures come from Rockstar’s own support article. Rockstar does not publish payout tables for missions and businesses, so every other price and reward here comes from the community-run GTA Wiki, checked on September 30, 2026.

We have no side-by-side test of money per hour across all of these, so this guide does not rank anything as “the fastest”. Where we say best-documented, we mean the payout is written down in a reliable source, not that it beats everything else.

GTA Online solo money sources at a glance

The one-time sources (the Career Builder, the First Dose awards and the fee-free first Cayo run) are where a new character’s first million comes from. Everything else, including Dr. Dre’s Contract, can be repeated.

GTA V Money - PC (Enhanced)If you'd rather not grind it yourself: the table's buy-ins run from a $750,000 Acid Lab conversion to a $2,200,000 Kosatka.From $15.90View offer

Start here: the Career Builder’s GTA$4,000,000

According to Rockstar, a new character on PS5, Xbox Series X|S or PC Enhanced picks one of four careers (Biker, Executive, Gunrunner or Nightclub Owner) and receives GTA$4,000,000 to put toward start-up properties, vehicles and weapons. It is a purchase budget, not a cash payment: once your choices are made, at most GTA$1,000,000 of it comes with you into the game as cash. It can only be used once: Rockstar says deleting a character that has already used it does not give you a second run.

The GTA Wiki lists what each path can buy. The Gunrunner list includes seven bunkers from $1,165,000 (Paleto Forest) to $2,205,000 (Smoke Tree Road), and the Nightclub Owner list includes all ten clubs from $1,080,000 to $1,700,000. The practical difference for a solo player is what each business needs to earn:

• A GTA Online bunker produces stock on its own once it has supplies. A full stock sells for $500,000 in Blaine County without upgrades, up to $1,050,000 in Los Santos with both upgrades.
• A GTA Online nightclub warehouse only produces goods for businesses you already own, such as a bunker or an MC business. As a first and only business it earns much less.

That is why, as our own reading of the wiki figures rather than a measured test, a self-contained business is the easier first buy. On PC Legacy the Career Builder is not available, so you start without the GTA$4,000,000.

Your first $1 million solo: First Dose and the Acid Lab

The First Dose missions start with a phone call from Ron and are played from Ace Liquor in Sandy Shores, for 1 to 4 players. The GTA Wiki lists a $50,000 award for completing each of the six as leader, and another $100,000 for completing all of them as a member of an Organization or Motorcycle Club. That is $300,000 to $400,000 of one-time money, on top of the mission pay itself, which the wiki does not list.

The last mission, Off the Rails, gets you the Brickade 6×6 truck. Paying Mutt $750,000 at The Freakshop turns it into an Acid Lab. The wiki says you can also skip the missions and buy the truck at Warstock for $1,450,000, which is almost double.

These Acid Lab figures come from the GTA Wiki’s Acid Product page:

• A full lab holds 160 units. Without upgrades a full sale is worth $237,600 and takes 6 hours of active play to fill.
• The $250,000 Equipment Upgrade unlocks after 10 Fooligan Jobs. It raises a full sale to $335,200 and cuts the fill time to 4 hours.
• Naming your product adds about 5% to the sale value.
• Bought supplies cost $600 per unit, up to $60,000 for a full bar. Stolen supplies are free but take a mission per quarter bar.
• Production only runs while you are in a session, and sell missions are ridden on the lab’s own delivery bike.

Cayo Perico solo: the Kosatka and the first $1.1 million run

The Cayo Perico Heist needs one purchase: the Kosatka submarine at $2,200,000. As our Kosatka cost and upgrades guide explains, the base sub already has the planning screen, so none of the $6.9 million in extra modules is needed to start.

Your first run starts paying the sub back: its $1,100,000 covers about half the $2,200,000 base cost. The primary target is the Madrazo Files at $1,100,000, the $100,000 set-up fee is waived, and Pavel’s 2% and the fence’s 10% are not taken. After that, the normal targets run from Sinsimito Tequila at $400,000 to the Pink Diamond at $910,000, with the event-only Panther Statue above that. Our Cayo Perico payouts breakdown has the full table and the fees.

Two solo limits matter. The gold is behind a door that needs two players with keycards, so a solo run fills its bags with cocaine and weed from the island lock-ups instead. And the wiki’s finale page says the heist can be replayed after 3 in-game days (144 real minutes) solo, versus 1 in-game day (48 minutes) in a group. The timer keeps running if you leave the game, so you can fill that gap with other money sources.

Agency money solo: Security Contracts, Payphone Hits and Dr. Dre

An Agency costs $2,010,000 in Little Seoul up to $2,830,000 in Hawick, per the GTA Wiki. It opens three kinds of work, all of which one player can do.

• Security Contracts pay $31,000 to $42,000 at Professional difficulty, $44,000 to $56,000 at Specialist and $60,000 to $70,000 at Specialist+. There is a 5-minute wait between them. Each 5 completed adds $100 to the Agency’s daily safe income, capped at $20,000 after 201 contracts.
• Payphone Hits unlock after 3 Security Contracts. The leader gets $15,000, plus $30,000 for using the bonus method, so $45,000 per hit. The wiki notes the bonus was cut from $70,000 on April 1, 2024, so older guides quoting $85,000 per hit are out of date. You can request another hit 10 minutes after the last one.
• The Contract: Dr. Dre unlocks after one Security Contract. The wiki lists $900,000 for the leader. It is not a one-off: the wiki says that after you complete it the first time, the Contract can be started again from the Agency, and its opening set-ups (On Course and Data Recovery) become optional, replayable from the Agency computer’s Archive. The wiki gives no separate payout or cooldown for repeat runs. Only the awards for its parts are one-time: they add another $800,000 by our count of the wiki’s award table, including $100,000 that needs you to be in an Organization or MC.

Passive and repeatable income: nightclub, bunker, Vehicle Cargo and Bail Office

Once the one-time money is spent, these are the businesses that pay again and again. Each has its own guide with the full numbers:

• Bunker: produces weapons stock from supplies, $500,000 to $1,050,000 per full stock. Large sales can need several vehicles, so solo players sell in smaller batches.
• Nightclub: technicians accrue goods for businesses you own, up to $1,931,500 of stock across five storage floors before Tony’s 10% cut.
• Vehicle Cargo: steal a car, then export it for $15,000 to $80,000, depending on the car’s range and the buyer. Repair bills can reach $34,000, so clean driving matters. Our Vehicle Cargo payouts guide has the full table.
• Bail Office: bounty missions you play yourself, $52,500 to $60,000 per Standard target alive and $180,000 to $190,000 for the daily Most Wanted, on figures the wiki raised in May 2026 that we could not confirm with Rockstar. Details in our Bail Office payouts guide.

A sensible order for a new solo player

This order is our suggestion, built from the buy-in and payout figures above, not a tested ranking. The idea is simple: take the free and one-time money first, then buy the business with the lowest documented buy-in and the clearest immediate payout.

1. Career Builder (if your version has it): buy one business that earns on its own, and keep up to $1,000,000.
2. First Dose: $300,000 to $400,000 in one-time awards, then the $750,000 Acid Lab conversion. Start filling it right away, since it only produces while you play.
3. Kosatka at $2,200,000: the first Cayo run’s $1,100,000 covers about half of it, and later runs cover the rest.
4. Agency from $2,010,000: Security Contracts, then Payphone Hits in between Cayo cooldowns, and Dr. Dre’s Contract at $900,000 per completion as leader, which can be replayed.
5. Add passive businesses (bunker, nightclub, Bail Office, Vehicle Cargo) as the cash allows.

How Rockstar’s weekly bonuses change GTA Online payouts

Every figure on this page is a base payout. Rockstar runs weekly events that double or triple specific activities, cut property prices, and sometimes give a property away. In its September 3, 2026 Business Rivalries post, for example, Rockstar gave away a different business property each week of September and paid 10X the usual prize for completing Weekly Challenges. A 2X week on one of the sources above can make it worth doing first that week, regardless of the order in the previous section.

Bonuses change every Thursday, so check what is running before you plan a session. Our GTA Online weekly update page lists the current bonuses, discounts and free items each week.

GTA Online money and rank services

If you would rather skip the grind to the first Kosatka or Agency, our GTA 5 Money service covers each platform, and GTA 5 boosting covers rank and unlocks. To level up yourself, our guide on how to rank up fast in GTA Online lists every RP source.

GTA V Money - PS5GTA$ on PS5, for a $2,200,000 Kosatka or an Agency from $2,010,000.From $79.90View offer GTA V Money - Xbox Series X/SGTA$ on Xbox Series X|S, if you'd rather not grind toward the Acid Lab and Kosatka buy-ins yourself.From $79.90View offer GTA V Money - PC (Legacy)GTA$ on PC Legacy, where the Career Builder's GTA$4,000,000 start is not available.From $8.90View offer

Frequently asked questions

How can I make money fast solo in GTA Online as a new player?

Start with the one-time money: the Career Builder’s GTA$4,000,000 start-up budget on PS5, Xbox Series X|S or PC Enhanced (at most GTA$1,000,000 kept as cash), the First Dose awards, and your first Cayo Perico run at $1,100,000. We have no comparative test that ranks one method as fastest.

Can you do the Cayo Perico Heist solo?

Yes. The heist allows 1 to 4 players, but a solo player cannot open the gold room and waits 144 minutes between runs instead of 48.

How much does a Payphone Hit pay in 2026?

The GTA Wiki lists $15,000 plus a $30,000 bonus for the leader, $45,000 in total. The bonus was cut from $70,000 on April 1, 2024.

Can I get the Career Builder money twice?

No. Rockstar says it can only be experienced once, and deleting a character that already used it does not reset it.

Do weekly bonuses change which method pays most?

Yes. Rockstar’s weekly events often double specific activities, so the order can change from week to week. Check the current week’s bonuses before you plan a session.

Sources and update history

• Rockstar Games Customer Support, GTA Online Career Builder Overview, last updated April 29, 2024 (GTA$4,000,000, $1,000,000 carry-over, once only, platforms)
• Rockstar Newswire, Compete Across Entrepreneurial Endeavors in the GTA Online Business Rivalries, September 3, 2026 (weekly free properties, GTA$1,000,000 Weekly Challenges)
• GTA Wiki, Career Builder (bunker and nightclub price lists by path)
• GTA Wiki, First Dose (six $50,000 awards, $100,000 Back It Up award, 1 to 4 players)
• GTA Wiki, Acid Lab and Acid Product ($750,000 conversion, $1,450,000 Warstock price, $250,000 upgrade, production and sale values, supply costs)
• GTA Wiki, The Cayo Perico Heist/Finale (144-minute solo and 48-minute group cooldown)
• GTA Wiki, Agencies ($2,010,000 to $2,830,000)
• GTA Wiki, Security Contracts (payouts by difficulty, 5-minute wait, safe income)
• GTA Wiki, Payphone Hits ($15,000 + $30,000, April 1, 2024 change, 10-minute cooldown, 3 Security Contracts to unlock)
• GTA Wiki, The Contract: Dr. Dre ($900,000 leader payout, replay from the Agency and Archive after the first completion, award table)
• Kosatka, Cayo Perico target values, bunker, nightclub, Vehicle Cargo and Bail Office figures: as sourced in the linked PandaPlay guides, each from the GTA Wiki and Rockstar Newswire

Update history: Published September 30, 2026. Facts last checked September 30, 2026 against the sources above.