GTA Online: Best Money Making Methods After Kortz Center Heist 2026

Thirteen years after the release of GTA V and with GTA VI looming for the end of the year, GTA Online keeps running at full speed on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Rockstar has just rolled out its big summer update, The Kortz Center Heist, which adds a new heist in Los Santos and reshuffles the in-game economy. Between the arrival of this heist, the overhaul of the Weekly Update and content that has never been so vast, the question comes up with every new player or every return from holiday: where should you start to earn the most GTA$ per hour?

Here's our 2026 ranking of the ten most profitable activities per hour of play, calibrated for the post-Kortz Center window. We've separated solo grinds (Cayo Perico, Acid Lab) from passive businesses (Bunker, nightclub) and quick missions to do with a couple of friends. Up-to-date figures, cooldowns, prerequisites: it's all here, with a summary table at the end of the article.

1. The Cayo Perico heist solo: the benchmark six years on

Released in late 2020, the Cayo Perico heist remains, six years later, the best $/time ratio in the game when played solo. You access the island from the Kosatka submarine (starting at 2.2M GTA$), launch the scouting missions, choose your primary target, then work through the prep missions from the planning room. The finale takes between 15 and 30 minutes once you've mastered the mechanics, for a payout ranging from 1.1M GTA$ (Tequila) to 1.9M GTA$ for Madrazo's Panther Statue, the best target. Expect a flexible 90-minute cooldown after a failure, and 2h30 after a successful solo finale (48 minutes with a crew). At cruising speed, an experienced player pulls in 1.2 to 1.5M GTA$ per hour — the absolute floor for serious grinding.

2. The Kortz Center Heist: the summer newcomer worth trying

Rolled out last week by Rockstar, The Kortz Center Heist is a total change of scenery. You have to infiltrate the contemporary art museum overlooking Pacific Bluffs, steal the centerpiece of the late Albert Crisp's collection, swap in a forgery made in your villa's new art studio, then smuggle the original out to European buyers via the submarine or La Fuente Blanca airport. The heist is launched from the Kortz villa, purchasable from 2.4M GTA$ depending on location, with four art studios available to finish the forgery. Early reports put the payout at around 1.7 to 2.2M GTA$ solo on hard mode, pending rebalancing by Rockstar. First-week bonus: +50% GTA$ and RP on the finale, plus a free livery for the new getaway car, the Vapid Talos SS.

3. Auto Shop Contracts and Salvage Yard Robberies: the weekly duo

The Auto Shop (Los Santos Tuners update, 2021) and the Salvage Yard (Bottom Dollar Bounties, December 2023) form a formidable weekly duo. On the Auto Shop side, eight contracts can be replayed on a loop — from the Union Depository Contract to the Data Contract, via the Superdollar Deal — with payouts of 150,000 to 350,000 GTA$ each for 25 to 40 minutes solo. Add in the Exotic Exports (up to ten vehicles per day at 20,000 GTA$ each) for 200,000 GTA$ in daily passive income. The Salvage Yard, meanwhile, unlocks three Robberies per week (Cargo Ship, Duggan Shipment, and Podium Robbery) for roughly 400,000 to 500,000 GTA$ each, plus the weekly resale of the three delivered vehicles for an additional 250,000 to 300,000 GTA$. Overall profitability: 450,000 to 600,000 GTA$ per hour combined.

4. Franklin and Dr. Dre's The Contract: the solo safe bet

Introduced in late 2021, The Contract sees Franklin Clinton build up The Agency from an office in Rockford Hills. You start by retrieving Dr. Dre's lost smartphone, then unlock the Security Contracts (short missions worth 35,000 - 70,000 GTA$, perfect between two big grinds), the Payphone Hits (up to 85,000 GTA$ with a 20,000 GTA$ bonus if you follow the requested execution method), and finally the main campaign, which culminates in a finale worth roughly 1M GTA$ solo. This is THE safe bet for grinding without a heavy setup: expect 500,000 to 700,000 GTA$ per hour once the Agency is purchased (around 2M GTA$), with a short cooldown between each mission allowing for smooth chaining.

5. The classic trio: Bunker, motorcycle club, and nightclub

The game's classic passive trio still stands the test of time. The Bunker (2017) produces weapons in the background: a full stock worth 1M GTA$ every 2 hours 20 minutes of production, resupplied either via missions or for 75,000 GTA$. The Motorcycle Club (Cocaine Lockup, Meth Lab, Weed Farm, Counterfeit Cash Factory, Document Forgery Office) generates variable income, with cocaine remaining the most profitable solo. Finally, the nightclub crowns it all: it automatically absorbs the stock from your other businesses, pays out up to 50,000 GTA$ per in-game hour in dividends depending on popularity, and allows for a weekly resale via the Terrorbyte truck that can exceed 1.5M GTA$. Combined, this trio delivers 500,000 to 700,000 GTA$ per hour with active management, all while running in the background while you do something else.

6. Acid Lab, Bail Office, and small businesses: the ideal complement

Released in late 2022 with Los Santos Drug Wars, the Acid Lab is by far the best small business in the game. You buy it from Mutt at the Freakshop for around $750,000 GTA, upgrade it for an additional one million, then collect batches worth $335,000 GTA (Los Santos resale) or up to $423,000 GTA (solo Blaine County bonus) every 3h40 of production, with no mandatory setup. The Bail Office (Bottom Dollar Bounties, June 2024) turns your character into a bounty hunter for Maude Eccles: $20,000 to $40,000 GTA per target brought in alive, with a daily Most Wanted worth $150,000 GTA. Add the Garment Factory (Money Fronts update, 2025) to launder funds through the clothing store, and you get an almost permanent passive income stream running alongside your other activities.

7. VIP and CEO Work: Sightseer and Headhunter on repeat

Unlike businesses that require hours of setup, VIP and CEO missions launch in three seconds from the SecuroServ menu and pay out immediately. Sightseer sends you to fetch four randomly placed briefcases on the map for around $40,000 GTA in 5 to 10 minutes. Headhunter requires eliminating four VIP targets scattered across Los Santos for $50,000 GTA in 10 to 15 minutes. On rotation, with a CEO office ($1M GTA) and a good bike or helicopter, expect $250,000 to $350,000 GTA per hour of active grinding, including the 20-minute cooldown per mission. It's the ideal solution for a short 45-minute session after work, with no heavy prerequisites.

8. Los Santos Tuners Contracts: the quick heist between friends

The Los Santos Car Meet introduced eight race and heist contracts in 2021, unlocked via Sessanta and KDJ after purchasing an Auto Shop. These contracts — Union Depository Contract, Prison Contract, ECU Job, Data Contract, Superdollar Deal, Lost Contract, Bank Contract, Agency Deal — can be launched with up to four players and pay each participant $150,000 to $350,000 GTA depending on difficulty. At a steady pace with two or three players, you can reach $400,000 to $600,000 GTA per hour, with speed or stealth bonuses adding an extra 15% to the loot. It's the smoothest co-op activity in the game, without the lengthy preparations of a classic heist.

9. Special Cargo (CEO warehouses): the grind, plain and simple

This is the historic CEO grind from 2016: you buy a warehouse (starting at $250,000 GTA for a Small, up to $3.6M GTA for a Large holding 111 crates), source crates in batches of 1, 2, or 3, and sell a full stock for up to $2.2M GTA in Los Santos. The hourly yield is lower than Cayo Perico — expect $300,000 to $500,000 GTA per hour — but the activity can be done blind in a public session from SecuroServ, and stacks very well with Bunker production running in the background. Ideal for long afternoons when you don't want to deal with scripted missions: a podcast, an MP3 player, and you quietly fill up your warehouse.

10. Weekly Update bonuses: watch for them every Thursday

Every Thursday, Rockstar releases a new rotation of events and bonuses in the Weekly Update. This is where the week's earnings are decided: 2x GTA$ and RP on the Kortz Center Heist, 3x on Payphone Hits, a 50% discount on the Terrorbyte, a production boost on the Acid Lab, doubled bounties at the Bail Office… The list is published on the Rockstar Newswire and covered every week on playnews.gg. Our advice: before starting a long grind, always check which business or heist is getting the bonus that week. It's not uncommon to double your hourly earnings just by switching your priority activity — the math adds up quickly when a 1.7M GTA$ finale becomes 3.4M GTA$ for seven days.

The recap: ranking by $/hour and ease

Figures recorded at the end of July 2026, excluding Weekly Update bonuses. Add +50% to +100% during the week your activity is featured by Rockstar.

In summary

In 2026, GTA Online rewards players who know how to alternate between active grinding (solo Cayo Perico, Auto Shop) and passive income (Bunker, Nightclub, Acid Lab). The release of the Kortz Center Heist shakes things up, but six years on, Cayo Perico remains the ultimate pillar of solo grinding, while the Bunker + MC + Nightclub trio remains the best long-term cash flow to fund a 2.4M GTA$ Kortz Villa or a Salvage Yard. Our advice for a player who's new or returning after a long break: Cayo Perico first to quickly build up capital, Acid Lab second for near-free passive income, then diversify with Auto Shop and a Nightclub. GTA VI arrives at the end of the year, but until then, Los Santos has never been so profitable.