GTA Online Short Trips Money Guide: Payouts, Bonuses, 2x Weeks and the Only Smart Way to Grind (2026)

TL;DR Short Trips (Money Verdict)

• Co-op only, no solo: you need 2 players, always

• Base payout: $50,000 (Normal), $62,500 (Hard) per mission

• Payout is time-scaled: aim for 12–15 minutes, don’t speedrun

• One-time bonus is the real prize:

  • 3 missions × 2 characters = 6 completions

  • Total payout ≈ $900,000

• After bonuses:

  • With randoms: ~$170k/hour

  • With a good partner: ~$250k/hour

• During 2x money weeks:

  • ~$340k–500k/hour, actually worth doing

• Best setup:

  • Hard difficulty

  • No deaths, no hero plays

  • Replay immediately, chain missions

• Final verdict:

  • Do the bonuses once

  • Only grind during 2x weeks

  • Not a long-term money method

You’re about to spend hours babysitting another human being for $62,500 a pop.

At least look like someone who planned this.

👉 Fire Extinguisher 1kg - because GTA teaches terrible habits and real life occasionally sets things on fire. Amazon sells it. Of course they do.

Two Men, Three Missions, and Rockstar Counting Your Minutes Like a Parking Meter

Welcome back to GTA Online Short Trips. Three missions. Two players. One very small pile of money that Rockstar guards like it’s nuclear material.

You play as Franklin and Lamar. This does not mean you get protagonist money. This means you get contact mission money wearing a nice jacket.

We are here to extract cash, not admire the dialogue.

The Base Payouts (Reality Check, Helmet Recommended)

On Hard difficulty, Short Trips pay:

• $62,500 per mission

• $50,000 on Normal

That’s it. That’s the headline figure. Anyone telling you it’s more is either confused or counting bonuses from another life.

And yes, this payout is time-scaled, because Rockstar believes efficiency should be punished like a crime.

Time Scaling: Why Speedrunning Makes You Poor

Finish a mission too fast and Rockstar goes:

“Ah, impressive. Here’s less money.”

The payout ramps up as time passes, maxing out at the upper time brackets (around 15 minutes). So the goal is clean, controlled runs, not Olympic sprints followed by repeated deaths.

Fast but sloppy = bad money

Slightly slower but flawless = best money

This is capitalism with a stopwatch.

The One-Time Bonus (The Only Moment This Mode Shines)

This is the only reason Short Trips deserve your attention.

Each mission must be completed:

• once as Franklin

• once as Lamar

That’s 6 total completions.

The math (pay attention)

• 6 missions × $50,000 base = $300,000

• First-time completion bonuses stack to roughly $600,000

• Total: about $900,000

Yes, actually decent. No, it doesn’t repeat.

This is Rockstar being generous once, like a loan shark offering tea before kneecapping you.

Short Trips pay better if you don’t rush, which means waiting around like a villain counting seconds.

Lean into it.👉 Digital Kitchen Timer with Loud Alarm – for timing that perfect 12–15 minute payout window like a deranged accountant. Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s ridiculous. Yes, it works.

Or skip the amateur hour and read our GTA Online Weekly Grind, where we explain which money methods actually respect your time and which ones deserve to be buried behind the studio.

Money Per Hour (No Delusions, Just Arithmetic)

Let’s assume reality, not YouTube fantasy.

Scenario 1: Competent Duo, No Idiots

• Average mission time including loading: 15 minutes

• Hard payout: $62,500

That’s:

• 4 missions/hour × $62,500 = $250,000/hour

Acceptable. Not exciting. Respectable.

Scenario 2: Matchmaking Roulette

• Average time balloons to 22 minutes

• Same payout

Now you’re looking at:

• ~2.7 missions/hour

• $170,000/hour

That’s not a grind. That’s a hobby.

2x Money Weeks (When This Stops Being Embarrassing)

During 2x GTA$ weeks, the numbers finally stretch their legs.

• Hard payout becomes $125,000 per mission

• With good pacing, you can hit $450,000 to $500,000 per hour

• During special promo weeks, Rockstar has even stacked flat bonuses on top

This is the window. Miss it and you’re working overtime for pocket change.

Mission Breakdown (Where Money Goes to Die)

Seed Capital

Safest money. If you mess this up, uninstall or reconsider your life choices.

Fire It Up

This is where ego kills profit. Every death is wasted time, and wasted time is stolen money.

OG Kush

Slow down. Clear rooms. Stop trying to be cinematic. Cinema does not pay hourly.

Solo Players: A Statistical Disadvantage

Short Trips cannot be played solo.

So “solo grinding” here means:

• relying on strangers

• absorbing their mistakes

• watching your hourly rate collapse in real time

If you find a good partner, lock it in and chain runs. If not, understand that every random death is Rockstar reaching into your wallet.

The Final Numbers Verdict

Let’s be brutally honest:

• One-time bonus: worth it, do it immediately

• Normal weeks: mediocre money, high friction

• 2x weeks: genuinely viable

• Long-term grind: absolutely not

Short Trips are a bonus extraction activity, not an income stream.

CRIMENET Sentence

Short Trips are guilty of:

• Paying $62,500 while demanding teamwork

• Pretending nostalgia pays rent

• Monetising your patience

Sentence:

• One efficient bonus run

• Occasional use during 2x weeks

• Permanent exclusion from “best money methods” lists

Do the math. Do the bonuses. Then move on.

Rockstar already has enough of your time.

If you’re grinding co-op missions with randoms, you need two things: patience and silence.

Mostly silence.👉 Over-Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones (budget ANC model) - block out Lamar, your partner’s heavy breathing, and your own regret. Amazon has dozens. Pick one and reclaim your sanity.

And when you’re done pretending Short Trips are a lifestyle choice, dive into our Odd Jobs Hub and find side hustles that don’t rely on another human being staying alive.

FAQ: Short Trips, Money, and Other Regrettable Life Choices

Are Short Trips actually good for making money in GTA Online? Yes, once. The first-time bonuses are excellent and land you around $900,000 total if you complete all three missions as both Franklin and Lamar. After that, they drop to mediocre unless Rockstar flips the 2x money switch. Without multipliers, they’re a financial jog, not a sprint.

How much does a single Short Trip mission pay? On a normal week you’re looking at $50,000 on Normal and $62,500 on Hard, assuming you don’t finish too fast and anger the payout gods. Finish cleanly in the higher time brackets and you get the full amount. Speedrun it and Rockstar quietly removes coins from your pocket.

Can I grind Short Trips solo? No. They are co-op only, which means your income is permanently tied to another human being’s competence, attention span, and tendency to sprint into gunfire. Solo players can still do them via matchmaking, but your hourly rate will suffer accordingly.

What’s the realistic money per hour? With a competent partner and smooth runs, expect around $250,000 per hour on Hard during a normal week. With random matchmaking, that drops closer to $170,000 per hour. During 2x money weeks, those numbers jump to roughly $340,000–500,000 per hour, which is the only time they feel properly worthwhile.

What’s the best way to run them for maximum payout? Play on Hard, avoid deaths, don’t rush like you’re late for a bus, and aim for clean 12–15 minute completions. Do all six runs for the bonuses first, then ignore Short Trips entirely until a multiplier week rolls around and Rockstar briefly remembers generosity exists.

Are Short Trips worth repeating long-term? No. Once the bonuses are gone, Short Trips become a “nice change of pace” activity rather than a serious income source. They’re something you dip into when boosted, not something you build an empire on. Anyone doing otherwise has either too much nostalgia or not enough math.