How to Make Money in Old-School Runescape

For mobile gamers who want a nostalgic MMO experience, the recently released Old School RuneScape developed by Jagex. Like with any MMORPG, money is vital to make it through the early levels of the game.

Before diving into this guide, there are a few things new players should be aware of. This guide is made for free-to-players, which means having less access to skills, quests and other content available to those who pay for a subscription.

Along with less content due to using a free account, Jagex limited access to the Grand Exchange, a marketplace that is the source of making money for most of these methods. Free players will need to have their account active for 24 hours or receive seven quest points (that players receive after completing tasks given by NPCs) in order to access the Grand Exchange.

One last thing to note is that some resources will be crowded with gold farmers, causing competition resulting in less or slower gains overall.

Let’s go chopping!

It just doesn’t get as easy as chopping wood.

After completing the tutorial head to the Grand Exchange, which is north of Lumbridge, in the northwest of the city of Varrock. At the Grand Exchange, purchase an iron axe for approximately 25 gold or keep your bronze axe from the tutorial. Then head anywhere and get to chopping.

Each log can sell for 50 gold, but what’s important is to level up the Woodcutting level. Cutting down trees will net some experience points for the skill and as you level up, more axes and different types of trees become available.

Getting to level 15 allows players to use the Mithril axe that lets you chop faster and cut down oak trees. Chopping down an oak tree will result in more than one log that can help make even more money. At level 41, the rune axe becomes available, which is the fastest axe available. Keep chopping and keep selling in order to get the gold rolling in. 

A mine is a terrible thing to waste

Like Woodcutting, Mining is another skill available at low levels that can produce a lot of gold without any danger.

South of Varrock is a mine where players can develop their Mining skill. Like Woodcutting, keep improving your pickaxe and continue to level up. The goal is to reach level 15 when iron ore become available to mine. Each iron ore sells for approximately 138 gold and can translate into big money.

Mooooo-ve in for the kill

If you want to satisfy your bloodlust in Old School RuneScape then this is the tactic for you. Cows are only level two and do a minimal amount of damage. They are also just north of where you start in Lumbridge. Each cow you kill will drop a cowhide.

Take a nice stack of a couple hundred cowhides to Al Kharid, which is east of Lumbridge and can be reached by paying a gate toll or complete the Prince Ali rescue quest. Find Ellis the tanner, and turn those cowhides into hard leather for just three gold each.

Hard leather can then sell for approximately 138 gold.

Start flipping out

A tradition of any MMORPG with a marketplace is flipping items, which is buying an item for one price and then selling it at the Grand Exchange for a higher price.

There are online databases showing the current prices in Old School RuneScape such as GE Tracker. To make money on flipping requires a little bit of homework, some money to start off with, and a bit of trial and error. Once you find the right items, gold will flow in.

There are other ways to make gold, but these methods have little risk and are not a huge timesink. These are the perfect gold making methods for newcomers to OSRS.