Ironman Money Making Guide
Every GP/hr figure uses actual coins — High Alchemy values, direct drops, and NPC shop sales. Not GE prices. Updated for 2026 with Sailing methods.
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The Ironman Alch Pipeline
Ironmen cannot use the Grand Exchange. Every coin in your cash stack comes from one of three sources: High Alchemy (converting items to coins at 60% of base value), direct coin drops from monsters and thieving, or NPC shop sales.
All GP/hr figures on this page are actual coins, not GE values. This is the only ironman money guide that uses correct ironman economics.
Daily Money Loop
Passive methods you should do regularly. These take minutes per day but add up to millions over time.
| Method | Coins/Day |
|---|---|
| Battlestaves (Zaff Daily) Buy 15-120 staves from Zaff depending on diary tier. Craft into elemental battlestaves and alch for 2,300gp profit each. Hard diary (60/day) = 138k/day. Elite (120/day) = 276k/day. | 34.5k-276k |
| Birdhouse Runs Check and replace birdhouses on Fossil Island. Nests give seed and ring rewards. Alch duplicate rings and sell seeds. Main value is seeds for farming, but rings provide some direct GP. | 20k-60k (from nest alchables) |
| Herb Runs Plant and harvest herbs at 7-9 patches. Herbs are nearly worthless to shops (~30gp each) — their real value is the potions they become. Every ranarr harvested is a prayer potion you don't have to find elsewhere. | Supplies, not coins (herbs are ~30gp to shops) |
| Kingdom of Miscellania Maintain 100% approval and keep the coffer topped up. Costs up to 75k/day after Royal Trouble (capped at 50k/day with Throne of Miscellania alone) but returns herbs, seeds, coal, and resources worth significantly more. Not direct money — but essential for supply generation. | Costs 50-75k/day (returns ~2-3x in supplies) |
| Farming Contracts Complete farming contracts at the Farming Guild for seed packs. High-level contracts give tree and herb seeds. Duplicate seeds can be sold to the seed stall NPC for coins. | 30k-80k (from seed nest alchables) |
| Selling Cats to West Ardougne Raise a kitten into a cat, then sell to a West Ardougne civilian for 100 death runes (200 after the Ardougne easy diary). Use the runes for barrage or trident charges — alching them only yields 108gp each. Fully passive — just keep a kitten following you. | 100 death runes (200 with Ardougne easy diary) |
GP Sinks
What ironmen actually spend money on. Understanding your expenses helps you plan which money methods to prioritize.
Construction
29-140MThe biggest ironman money sink. Sawmill planks add up fast — oak planks cost 250gp and mahogany 1,500gp each. 83 Construction for max house costs ~29M. Full 99 costs ~140M. Most ironmen aim for 83-85.
midKingdom of Miscellania
27M/yearUp to 75,000gp/day at full approval (10% of the coffer per day — the 75k cap requires Royal Trouble; 50k with Throne of Miscellania alone). Returns herbs, seeds, coal, logs, and other supplies worth significantly more than the cost. Essential passive.
midBlast Furnace (Smithing)
30-54M72,000gp/hr to use the official BF worlds, plus ore costs. Smithing gold bars for 99 costs ~30M in ore. Runite bars for alchs require coal (free from Kingdom) and runite ore (mined or PvM).
midSailing (Ship Upgrades)
20-30MShip hull upgrades, sail upgrades, crew hiring, and voyage supplies. Higher-tier ships require significant coin investment but unlock better content and rewards.
midBoss Instances
150k-500k/sessionPrivate GWD instances cost 150,000gp, reduced by Combat Achievement tier (DKs have no paid instance). GWD instances are essentially required for ironmen to avoid competition. Adds up over hundreds of hours of PvM.
latePvM Death Fees
100k-500k per deathDying at bosses costs 100k-500k to reclaim gear from Death's Office. Learning new bosses means many deaths. Death's Coffer credit helps offset this. Budget 5-10M for learning each new boss.
lateRune Purchases (Shops)
5-15M totalBuying runes from shops for burst/barrage Slayer, charging trident, and general magic use. Nature runes (~200gp each), cosmic runes for orbs, and blood runes add up.
midNPC Services & Misc
2-5M totalIncludes charter ships (~3,600gp each for Crafting training), NPC unnoting fees, tanning leather, imbuing items at NMZ. Small individually but adds up.
earlyAlch Quick Reference
Top alchable items ironmen commonly encounter. Always check before alching — some items are worth more in Death's Coffer or have a better use.
| Item | High Alch |
|---|---|
| Dragon platelegs | 162,000gp |
| Dragon plateskirt | 162,000gp |
| Dragon chainbody | 150,000gp |
| Dragon halberd | 150,000gp |
| Dragon 2h sword | 132,000gp |
| Mystic robe top | 72,000gp |
| Mystic robe bottom | 48,000gp |
| Rune platebody | 39,000gp |
| Rune platelegs | 38,400gp |
| Rune plateskirt | 38,400gp |
| Rune 2h sword | 38,400gp |
| Mystic lava staff | 27,000gp |
| Mystic air staff | 25,500gp |