Image: Rockstar Games via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross
Penned by Gibson Vasela
My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Businesses are without a doubt the best parts of late-game content in GTA Online. Not only do they make players lots of cash, but many of them are highly customizable and offer new ways to play the game. Over the years, a wide variety of businesses have been added, ranging from auto shops to arcades and everything in-between!
With so many different properties in the game to choose from, how can you decide which ones are the best? Which ones make the most money? What should you buy first if you are a new player? We’ll be answering all your burning questions and more in this ranking of the best businesses to own in GTA Online!
Best Businesses to Buy, Ranked Good to Best
7/7
Hangar
Let’s start out our list with what I could consider a must-own property for veteran players — the hangar! Added in the Smugger’s Run DLC back in August 2017, the hangar is a very popular business to own. It features several locations in both LSIA and Fort Zancoudo. If you purchase one at the military base, you’ll be given total air clearance, allowing you to fly over the base without any issues!
As for the main function of this property — the smuggling business — it works by sourcing different types of goods. You’ll have to complete a wide variety of different objectives for each run, but at the end of the mission, you’ll be collecting products to drop back off at your hangar so they can be sold later.
There is no passive income involved, and the payouts could be better, but this is still a worthwhile property for one important reason. Not only can this property be used to operate a shady smuggling business, but it doubles as a personal storage space for all of your airplanes and helicopters!
You can place several of your stored vehicles on display, while any extras will have to be hidden in a menu that can be accessed from the back of the building. In total, it can hold up to twenty various air vehicles, giving you plenty of space to store all of your toys.
6/7
Auto Shop
Next up on our list of the best businesses to own in GTA Online, we have a personal favorite of mine — the auto shop! It’s a very simple property, but you’ll find yourself wondering why it didn’t get added to the game sooner. It also features several different ways to generate money for you.
The first and most obvious one is the contracts. These are essentially small-scale heists that can be completed after two setup missions and one finale. They don’t pay nearly as much as normal heists do, but they can be completed in half the time, and be done entirely solo! This is a good pick if you are a new player short on cash, or are just looking to have a good time.
As for the other ways to earn cash, there are Exotic Exports and the repair business. Exotic Exports works by giving players a list of cars they will need to find around the map in order to retrieve for cash. If that sounds like too much work, then try the repair business.
Every so often, you’ll receive a text saying a customer has brought in a car that needs to be modified to their liking. You’ll add their requested modifications, and then either deliver it yourself or have one of your employees drop it off.
5/7
Cocaine Lockup
At spot number five is one of the most universally well-liked businesses — the Cocaine Lockup. This is the first (mostly) passive income-based business on this list. In order to purchase it, you’ll first need to buy a Clubhouse and start a motorcycle club. This is definitely a must-have property for all players! Let me explain why.
As previously mentioned, there’s very little work involved in producing products for the Cocaine Lockup. After getting the business up and running, all you’ll need to do is purchase supplies every now and then, as well as deliver the goods once they are done being produced. There’s also the occasional mission where you have to defend the business, unfortunately.
Out of the five different businesses available for Motorcycle Club presidents, this one is by far the most profitable. I recommend picking this one up first if you don’t own any of the others since it doesn’t require any upgrades to start producing lots of money.
4/7
Agency
Getting into spot number four, we have the new Agency property! This is the most recently released business to come to GTA Online. While the missions available may not change the way you play the game, they are still enjoyable to do. There are also several advantages to owning an Agency that doesn’t come with other businesses.
First up, there is the Dr. Dre Contract. This is a story-based series of missions that see players tracking down the missing phone of the musical artist Dr. Dre. Upon completion of this campaign, you’ll receive over $1,000,000! Don’t worry if that doesn’t sound like much, there are other ways to make money.
The Security Contracts are a type of fixer mission that see you traveling all around the map to complete various odd jobs. These jobs range from killing all targets, recovering stolen vehicles, to rescuing clients. The payouts vary but always pay at least $20,000. Usually, they go up to around $75,000!
What’s more, is that for every five of these contracts you complete, you will gain an additional $500 every forty-eight minutes as completely passive income! This is one of the only true sources of passive income in the game, as most require you to make the occasional purchase or supply run to keep things going.
3/7
Bunker
Taking home the bronze medal for the best businesses to own in GTA Online, we have the Bunker. This was the first business I ever owned, and I have no regrets about buying it first. Bunker’s act as workshops for the manufacturing and selling of illegal arms, and are great for both low and high-level players.
The primary business aspect of bunkers works similar to the Cocaine Lockup mentioned earlier. You can do several resupply missions (or purchase supplies directly for $75,000) to get your workers busy on producing goods.
Once these goods are ready to be sold, your partner Agent 14 will find a buyer and task you with delivering them to a drop-off location. Profits vary, but they can reach over a million dollars for a full bunker! Additionally, you will gain a bonus for each player that is in the lobby.
Interestingly, there is a second aspect to the Bunker business that everyone should know about. At any time, you can have your employees focus on “Research” instead of producing goods. Researching new technologies allows you to unlock new vehicle mods and liveries, as well as special gun upgrades! These can include hollow point, anti-armor, and explosive rounds!
2/7
Nightclub
Coming in at spot number two on this ranking is the nightclub! This is a fun business to own that not only makes you good money but lets you have fun while you do it! I only recommend players buy this one after they’ve purchased most of the other properties in the game.
This is because of the way money-making works with nightclubs. Essentially, it acts as a “hub” for all of your other businesses. You can hire technicians to manage each of your other properties (such as the hangar, bunker, cocaine lockup, etc). This will allow them to accumulate excess products over time that you can sell for big cash payouts. You can even sell goods entirely solo!
There is also a passive income to this business, as well. If you do popularity missions, you can keep your club stocked with young people looking for a night on the town. They will generate extra revenue for you, which you can pick up in your safe every time you come to visit. This isn’t all that much compared to other properties, but it’s still there for those interested.
Money-making aside, the nightclub is just a really cool property to own. You can hire a DJ, customize the light set up, and even pick the name to create your very own one-of-a-kind nightclub! Once you’ve done all the hard work, why not stop by the bar for a drink or go hit the dance floor? You’ve earned it!
1/7
Arcade
And for the last and arguably most important business on this list, we have the arcade! Let’s be real here, who wouldn’t want to purchase their own personal arcade? Even if you ignore the benefits of this property, the appeal of it alone is enough to warrant a purchase. But let’s be honest, most of you are here for the money-making aspects, so let’s jump right into those!
Added during The Diamond Casino Heist DLC of late 2019, the arcade acts as a base of operations for you to plan your high-stakes robbery on the Diamond Casino & Resort. This is my personal favorite heist in the game.
Even though it doesn’t pay as much as Cayo Perico, it is arguably one of the most fun heists in the whole game! There are plenty of different ways to tackle your main objective of robbing the vault, and each of these ways is (mostly) viable when compared to one another.
Additionally, you can earn some passive income on the side through the property’s legitimate front. You can purchase arcade cabinets through the computer in your office, which allows you to generate up to $5000 dollars in cash every forty-eight minutes!
Since the recent Contract DLC, the maximum compacity for this safe has been doubled to $100,000. This means you don’t need to visit it nearly as often in order to collect your earnings, allowing you to do other missions in the meantime.
If all of that wasn’t enough, with the arcade you can purchase the Master Control Terminal. This allows you to manage every other property you own in the game. You can order supplies, buy upgrades, and even launch sale missions from one location!
Join the High Ground
What did you think of our ranking of the best businesses to own in GTA Online? Do you agree with our choices? What’s your favorite business to own in GTA?
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