OSRS Ironman money making

Early game: your first cash stack

Few early goals cost much, so do not grind coins for their own sake. Aim for enough to cover an elemental staff, runes and charter ship fares, then get back to questing.

• Stronghold of Security

  The first three floors pay 10,000 coins in total, and you can do it at any combat level. Bring food and run past the monsters.

• Pickpocketing

  Start on men and women in Lumbridge. At 55 Thieving the knights of Ardougne give 50 coins a time; full rogue equipment can double the pouches. Wealthy citizens in Civitas illa Fortis usually give 85 coins from 50 Thieving and never fail while distracted.

  Needs: 55 or 50 Thieving

• Blackjacking and stealing valuables

  Two popular early methods at 45 and 50 Thieving. Blackjacking pays more but needs constant attention; stealing valuables is calmer and gives a little Prayer XP too.

• Wintertodt

  A skilling boss that pays in coins and supplies without food or potions. The cash is modest, so stop at your target Firemaking level.

  Needs: 50 Firemaking

• Agility Pyramid

  Each pyramid top is worth 10,000 coins from Simon Templeton. It opens at 30 Agility, but you fail a lot until around 50, and failures hit for up to 10.

  Needs: 30 Agility

• Selling to the right shops

  Martin Thwait in the Rogues' Den pays full High Alchemy value, which suits bulky items. He needs 50 Agility and 50 Thieving.

  Needs: 50 Agility · 50 Thieving

High Level Alchemy: the main engine

From 55 Magic, High Level Alchemy turns items into coins anywhere. It is how most Ironmen make the bulk of their money in the mid and late game.

A cast costs five fire runes and a nature rune. Bought from shops that comes to about 200 coins, so an item is only worth alching if its alch value beats that. Alch while you walk, run farm trips, train Agility or fight, and the money costs you no extra time.

• Good alchables

  Adamant, rune and dragon equipment, elemental battlestaves, dragonhide armour, rune arrows, rune and dragon javelin tips, jewellery and yew longbows.

• Onyx bolts

  Onyx bolt tips can be fletched and enchanted into onyx bolts (e) before alching, which adds a lot of value.

• Smithing into alchables

  Bars from ore drops are worth more as weapons or platebodies, and rune swords are a common way to cash in runite ore. Keep some runite for blowpipe darts.

• Runes for coins

  Spare runes from Runecraft or Barrows can be sold to Ali Morrisane after the runes part of Rogue Trader, at prices that do not drop with overstock.

Mid and late game methods

Once you are killing bosses for gear, coins mostly arrive as a side effect. These are the sources the wiki's Ironman money making guide leans on.

• Barrows

  Runes and bolt racks on top of the armour sets. Extra runes can be sold or used.

  Needs: Priest in Peril

• Slayer

  Many tasks, especially higher-level ones, have drop tables full of high-value alchables. You collect them while working towards Slayer unlocks.

• Zulrah

  Battlestaves, runite ore, uncut onyx, dragonstone bolt tips and plenty of supplies, alongside the blowpipe and trident parts.

  Needs: Regicide

• Vorkath

  Rune and dragon equipment, bolt tips, dragonhide and coin drops, plus superior dragon bones and other banked XP. One of the best steady earners for an Ironman.

  Needs: Dragon Slayer II

• The Corrupted Gauntlet

  Supplies are made inside, so there is no upkeep, and the reward chest gives alchables and crystal shards.

  Needs: Song of the Elves

• Hallowed Sepulchre and Wilderness Agility Course

  Both reward large amounts of alchables and coins. The Wilderness course carries PvP risk, so it is not for a Hardcore.

Passive and daily options

Some popular dailies save coins rather than make them. Tears of Guthix gives XP in your lowest skill, and birdhouses give Hunter XP, feathers and bird nests. Both are worth doing, but neither adds to your stack.

• Daily battlestaves from Zaff

  With the Varrock Diary you can buy noted battlestaves from the barrel in Zaff's shop for 7,000 each, once a day: 15 at easy, 30 at medium, 60 at hard and 120 at elite. Craft them into elemental battlestaves for Crafting XP, then alch them.

  Needs: Varrock Diary

• Kingdom of Miscellania

  This is a money sink, not a money maker. Your subjects gather herbs, logs, fish or other resources each day in exchange for wages taken from the coffer. It pays back in supplies you would otherwise buy or gather.

  Needs: Throne of Miscellania

• Kittens for death runes

  After Gertrude's Cat and Plague City you can raise kittens and trade them to civilians in West Ardougne for death runes, doubled by the easy Ardougne Diary.

What Ironmen spend coins on

Knowing where the money goes helps you decide how much you need. These are the usual drains.

• Runes

  Early teleports and alchs run on shop runes. Law runes cost upwards of 240 coins each at first. Tal Teklan in Varlamore sells nature and cosmic runes without any Wilderness trips.

• Construction planks

  Sawmills charge 100 coins per plank, 250 per oak, 500 per teak and 1,500 per mahogany.

• Miscellania upkeep

  The daily wage is 10% of the coffer, capped at 50,000, or 75,000 after Royal Trouble. Keep at least 750,000 in it after Royal Trouble to get full output.

  Needs: Royal Trouble

• Death fees

  Ironmen get a 50% discount on grave and Death's Office fees. A grave caps at 1%; the office charges 2.5% on items worth over 100,000 coins once the grave expires after 15 minutes.

• Blast Furnace

  Below 60 Smithing the foreman charges 2,500 coins per 10 minutes. On Blast Furnace worlds the coffer also uses 72,000 coins an hour.

• Seeds and teleports

  Cheap seeds from the Draynor Seed Market for birdhouses and early Farming, and charges or jewellery for travel.

Questions

What is the best money maker for an early Ironman?

Thieving is the usual answer. Pickpocket your way to 55, then knights of Ardougne or wealthy citizens give a steady flow of coins while you level. Wintertodt adds a little cash and lots of supplies.

How do low-level Ironmen make money without High Alchemy?

The Stronghold of Security, pickpocketing, the Agility Pyramid and selling to shops such as Martin Thwait's Lost and Found. Once you reach 55 Magic, alching takes over.

Is the Kingdom of Miscellania worth it for an Ironman?

Yes, but as a supply source rather than an income. It costs up to 75,000 coins a day and gives herbs, logs or other resources in return.

What is the best Ironman money maker in 2026?

For most accounts it is whatever boss or Slayer task you are already doing, with every alchable cast as you go. Vorkath and Zulrah are popular for steady coins and supplies.

Should Ironmen alch everything?

Only items whose alch value is above about 200 coins, the shop cost of the runes. Keep anything you will use, such as runite ore for darts or dragonhide for Crafting.