Beginners Money Guide
Summary
- No upfront cost required, no previous business or property needed
- Earn $1,000,000 from missions in roughly two hours
- Unlock the Acid Lab, one of the best businesses in the GTA Online
If you are just starting out in Grand Theft Auto Online, it can feel completely overwhelming. From the moment you land, you are hit with a mountain of content: contact missions, multiple businesses, and traditional modes like racing or deathmatches.
However, if you are looking to start making serious money to gain access to new properties, vehicles, and safehouses, this guide is for you. Now if you want to play the game at your own pace and just explore the content you enjoy, that is highly encouraged. It is incredibly easy to get lost in the endless grind of Los Santos, burn out, and lose your enjoyment of the game. We have all been there!
Back in the day it was grinding Rooftop Rumble back to back, the good news is that you can maintain plenty of variety in your gameplay while still earning massive amounts of cash these days. Whether you are a brand-new player or a returning player looking for a fresh start, this guide will show you how to build a solid bank account and have fun doing it.
Early Vehicles to Consider
If you are starting out in GTA Online, there are three vehicles worth investing in and will stick with you throughout your career.
- Duke O'Death: Claimable for free from Warstock, consider this the Armoured Kuruma Lite, it can take multiple rockets, offers excellent protection from gunfire and handles well on most surfaces. The only downside is the front windows are exposed, direct gunfire from sharpshooter NPCs should be avoided. Where possible, angle your vehicle sideways when in conflict.
- Bati 801 / 801RR: For $15,000, you can get a fast and reliable motorcycle that competes with most expensive bikes out there. It is a great vehicle for navigating San Andreas until you can afford a Buzzard, Sparrow or the Oppressor MKII.
- Armoured Kuruma: This car will become your default ride for most of the heist set-ups, contract missions and general foolery. It allows you to get right into the thick of the action and stay well protected as you pick off enemies. If you can get the Trade Price of $525,000 from completing The Fleeca Job, great! If not, the added price is well worth the price of admission.
All are reliable and should be bought as soon as you can. Claim your free Duke O'Death for vehicle protection, the Bati for travelling across San Andreas, and then the Kuruma when you have the money.
The Cluckin’ Bell Raid
The fan favourite, the ol’ reliable, and one of the best pieces of content Grand Theft Auto Online has ever had. The raid itself is pretty straightforward, you complete a series of set ups before tackling the finale. The whole thing can take roughly 45 to 60 minutes. There are a variety of ways to tackle each mission, and the final itself offers an aggressive and silent approach. Unlike other heists, Cluckin’ Bell requires no prior purchase, which means you can step off the plane and get straight into it. You can start the raid from the Vespucci Police Station.
- For your efforts you’ll be rewarded $500,000.
- You can replay this Raid every 48 minutes (one in game day)
| Cluckin' Bell Raid Missions | Description |
|---|---|
| Slush Fund | Travel to either money laundering business, take out the hostiles and steal the money. Deliver the money to Vincent to wrap this one up. |
| Breaking and Entering | Head to the laptop first, find the employee and steal his laptop. Then find the Terrorbyte, eliminate the drones and steal the device. With both completed, locate the train, take out the hostiles and drive the train to the tunnels. |
| Concealed Weapons | Go to one of the three locations, steal the weapons, and deliver them to Vincent to wrap this up. You can go back and steal the remaining two weapons for additional choices, however, you will be attacked by each of the respective groups until you finish the mission. |
| Hit and Run | As with the weapons, you only need once vehicle to finish this mission. Also, you can go back and steal the remaining two vehicles. Do note that the group/s you stole the weapons from, will have an increased presence this time around. |
| Disorganized Crime | Locate and hack the van to find the location of the cartel garage. Using stealth or aggression, destroy the trucks inside, and steal the access card. Once this is done, steal the flatbed and return to Vincent. |
| Scene of the Crime (Finale) | Without spoiling too much, infiltrate the factory and steal the coke from two locations. Sneak or shoot your way out and deliver the coke to Vincent. |
First Dose
The First Dose missions are a fantastic way to earn yourself over $500,000 and easily access to one of the best businesses in Grand Theft Auto Online, the Acid Lab. The missions themselves are fun, wacky, have good variety, and can be finished in 60-90 minutes. These can be started at Liquor Ace in Sandy Shores, and no previous missions or business are required to start these missions.
- First Dose will reward you with $500,000 (On the first playthrough)
- Finishing First Dose will allow you to purchase the Brickade 6x6 for free, letting you start the Acid Lab business, a superior business opportunity that is great for solo and group players.
- If you continue with the following Last Dose missions, they will also pay roughly $500,000.
- By completing both mission strands, you will have earned $1,000,000. This will cover the cost of setting up the Acid Lab, essentially getting the business for free or a small fee.
| First Dose Missions | Description |
|---|---|
| Welcome to the Troupe | Defend Liquor Ace property against the Lost MC, then hijack Dax's custom RV, and then head to Los Santos to establish The Freakshop. |
| Designated Driver | Hijack a heavily armed commercial convoy and sabotage a localized rival hippie/altruist cult gathering. |
| Fetch Quest | Infiltrate a highly secure Humane Labs research outpost to commandeer chemical hardware while enduring a forced psychedelic trip. |
| Making a Killing | Protect the Fooliganz's distributed drug infrastructure across Los Santos from retaliatory rival gang assaults. |
| Uncontrolled Substance | Navigate an intense, high-speed hallucination through city traffic while tracking down a runaway target. |
| Off the Rails | Derail a high-security Merryweather supply train, extract the Brickade 6x6 truck from a cargo container, and deliver it safely to the Freakshop. |
For a run down on how to get the most out of the Acid Lab, including pricing and getting maximum profit, check out our Acid Lab Business Guide!
KnoWay Out
KnoWay Out is another fantastic starting point as it also requires no upfront cost or ownership of any prior businesses. Like the other options, you can hop off the plane and get straight into this one. These missions will pay slightly higher than the raid, but are a little tougher. You can finish the whole mission strand solo in about 45 to 60 minutes. Find the payphone near Suburban to begin the missions.
- Completing on normal difficulty will reward $350,000, or $400,000 with the Elite Challenge completed.
- You get $525,000 per run on hard difficulty, or $625,000 if you complete the Elite Challenge in the finale.
- There is no cooldown on this mission strand.
| KnoWay Out Missions | Description |
|---|---|
| Negative Press | Head to the KnoWay Out depot and take command of the driverless car. Using the hacked vehicle, use it to destroy KnoWay out property and cars. Once this is done, finish off the remaining vehicles, lose the police and speak to Avi. |
| Inside Job | Work with a new contact to sabotage KnoWay taxis before meeting with a FIB contact. After dealing with a suprise appearance of mercenaries, players will need to go to a data centre and locate three hard drives. Lose any hostiles and speak to Avi. |
| Tunnel Vision | Head down to the LSIA subway system and ambush a meeting within the tunnel. Steal the briefcase and escape the tunnel before returning to Avi. This mission can be frustrating, so take your time. |
| Trash Talking | Role play as sanitation workers to secretly steal sensitive documents from three locations. Once you have stolen them, take out a FIB van, lose the police and return to Avi. |
| A Clean Break | Collect the hacking device and get yourself busted. Once inside the agency building, hack their servers and escape via the rooftop. You will need to find alternative means to get back to Avi. |
Optional Money Grind
If you are looking for an early-game money grind, this is one of the best ways to get started. Completing Cluckin' Bell and the First Dose missions can earn over $1,000,000 while also unlocking the Acid Lab, one of the strongest solo businesses in GTA Online.
A simple early progression route looks like:
- Complete Cluckin' Bell Raid = $500,000
- Complete First Dose = $500,000
- Set up the Acid Lab
The "daily" grind will look something like this:
- Replay Cluckin' Bell Raid = $500,000
- Replay KnoWay = $350,000 (normal) - $625,000 (hard)
- Check, Restock or Sell the Acid Lab
- Repeat these steps for as long as your session allows.
You can continue replaying Cluckin' Bell and other activities such as KnoWay Out while your Acid Lab produces stock in the background. Feel free to work on the Dax Fooligan Jobs in between to unlock the Acid Lab's equipment upgrade. By replaying these mission strands, you create a steady stream of active and passive income that can be used to fund larger investments such as the Agency, Nightclub, Bunker, or Kosatka.
