I Tested GTA Online Treasure Chests. Here’s The Real Payout (2026)
- Niels Gys
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
You’re here for one thing:
Do Treasure Chests in GTA Online make good money?
Short answer:
Yes, but only as a quick daily pickup. No, absolutely not as a real grind.
Each Treasure Chest pays GTA$25,000 + 1,000 RP, and there are two per real-life day, meaning a maximum of GTA$50,000/day
Treasure Chests are cute. Tiny little gold-covered snacks pretending to be a money method. If you want actual criminal income instead of beach-side pocket change, our GTA Online Best Solo Money Methods guide separates proper robberies from activities that pay like a disappointed uncle handing you birthday money.
Quick Answer
Total payout: GTA$50,000/day
Time needed: 5 to 10 minutes if you know locations
Solo friendly: Yes
Crew friendly: Not really
Worth doing? Yes, if you're already doing Cayo Perico or want easy daily cash
Worth grinding? No. Not even remotely.
Think of Treasure Chests as the free minibar in a luxury hotel. Nice little bonus. Pleasant surprise.
But if your retirement plan depends on it, something has gone catastrophically wrong.
How Much Do Treasure Chests Pay?
Each Treasure Chest rewards:
GTA$25,000
1,000 RP
Since two spawn every day:
Daily Total
GTA$50,000 + 2,000 RP
That’s it.
No hidden multiplier.
No criminal empire scaling.
No "one weird trick Rockstar hates."
You rob two boxes. Rockstar gives you fifty grand. Everybody goes home.
Treasure Chest Hourly Profit
This is where people accidentally lie to themselves.
If you collect both chests in 5 minutes, technically your hourly rate becomes:
~GTA$600,000/hour
Which sounds spectacular.
Like you've discovered some underground cartel loophole hidden by Rockstar executives wearing suits made from shark cards.
Except...
You can only do it once per day.
So the hourly number is mathematically true but spiritually dishonest.
The real question isn't hourly profit.
It's:
"Is GTA$50,000 worth 5 to 10 minutes of my time?"
And honestly?
Yeah. Usually.
Is Treasure Chests Worth It?
YES if:
You’re already scouting Cayo Perico
You already own a Kosatka
You can finish the route in under 10 minutes
It’s a 2X, 3X or 4X reward week
You like quick low-effort cash
NO if:
You need serious money
You don’t own Cayo access
You’re spending 20 minutes searching
You could be grinding better methods
This is important:
Treasure Chests are side money.
They are not the main event.
Treating Treasure Chests as your primary GTA business is like opening a restaurant and surviving entirely on complimentary mints.
Technically food.
Financially tragic.
Solo Or Crew?
Solo Players: YES
Treasure Chests are excellent solo content.
No setup drama.
No random teammate driving into the Pacific Ocean.
No player called xXx420NoScopeMafiaxXx blowing himself up in a helicopter and somehow blaming you.
Just quick money.
You grab two chests.
You leave.
Simple.
Crew Players: Meh
Unless everyone wants the collectible, there is no real reason to drag friends along.
This is not a heist.
This is organised beachcombing.
Requirements
To collect Treasure Chests, you need access to Cayo Perico during scope-out.
Which basically means:
You Need:
A Kosatka submarine
Or a friend who owns one and drags you there.
Important reality check:
Do NOT buy a Kosatka for Treasure Chests.
Buy it for the Cayo Perico Heist.
Treasure Chests are simply the casino chips you find between the couch cushions afterward.
Rockstar changes the economy more often than a nervous cartel accountant. Join This Week in Crime, our underground briefing where we expose terrible updates, sniff out the week’s best money methods, roast bad decisions, and tell you exactly where the real GTA cash is hiding before everyone else catches on.
Daily Limit & Cooldown
Rockstar limits Treasure Chests to:
2 per real-life day
Every day:
1 land chest
1 underwater chest
After that?
Finished.
Done.
The money faucet shuts off until tomorrow.
Which means the absolute maximum standard payout is:
GTA$50,000 Per Day
And that's why this can never become a real grind.
Best Treasure Chest Strategy
Here’s the best way to actually make this worthwhile.
Step 1
Check today’s chest locations online.
Do not freestyle this.
Do not "just explore."
That path leads to twenty minutes of swimming around Cayo Perico like a confused pensioner who lost his sandals.
Step 2
Launch Cayo Perico scope-out.
Step 3
Grab the land chest first.
Step 4
Grab the underwater chest.
Step 5
Leave immediately or continue your heist prep.
Total time target:
Under 10 minutes.
If you're taking longer than that, the economics begin collapsing like a dodgy carnival ride.
Bonus Weeks Change Everything
During boosted event weeks?
Treasure Chests suddenly stop being cute and start becoming useful.
2X Week
GTA$100,000/day
3X Week
GTA$150,000/day
4X Week
GTA$200,000/day
At 3X or 4X, Treasure Chests become genuinely worth collecting every single day.
Five minutes for six figures?
Now we're talking.
That suddenly becomes "free money while making coffee" territory.
Treasure Chests vs Better Money Methods
Let’s be brutally honest.
Treasure Chests are nowhere near GTA Online’s best money.
Here’s what beats them:
Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid
Still one of the best solo activities.
~GTA$500,000 payout
No property requirement.
Actually worth grinding.
Cayo Perico Heist
If you already own the Kosatka, this is where the real money lives.
Treasure Chests are merely the appetizer.
Acid Lab
One of the strongest solo businesses in the game.
Passive.
Reliable.
Much better long-term income.
Nightclub
Once established, this thing quietly prints money while you go commit crimes elsewhere.
Treasure Chests, meanwhile, pay you like a grandmother slipping folded cash into your hand and whispering, "Don't tell your mother."
Lovely.
Not scalable.
Common Mistakes
Searching Every Spawn Location
Don't.
There are 19 possible locations.
Use a daily map.
Save yourself the suffering.
Taking Too Long
This should be quick.
If you're spending twenty minutes for GTA$50K, congratulations:
You have invented minimum wage with scuba gear.
Buying Kosatka For Chests
Absolutely not.
Buy it for Cayo Perico.
The Treasure Chests are bonus pocket money.
Final Verdict
Should You Do Treasure Chests?
Yes.
But only under the right conditions.
If you already own the Kosatka and can finish both chests in under ten minutes:
Do them daily.
If Rockstar boosts rewards to 2X, 3X or 4X:
Absolutely do them daily.
If you’re looking for a real money grind:
Skip them and go rob something that actually pays.
Treasure Chests are useful little criminal pocket money.
Not a business.
Not a strategy.
Not an empire.
Just two polite little piles of cash waiting on an island owned by a paranoid cocaine billionaire with trust issues.
And frankly, in GTA Online, that counts as refreshingly uncomplicated.
If this guide saved you from spending 27 minutes scuba-diving for the financial equivalent of loose sofa change, toss CRIMENET a coffee on Ko-fi. Then continue the criminal spiral with our Cayo Perico Heist Payout Guide, where the numbers stop being adorable and start becoming suspiciously irresponsible.
FAQ
How much do Treasure Chests pay in GTA Online?
Each Treasure Chest pays GTA$25,000 and 1,000 RP. Two spawn per day for a total of GTA$50,000.
How many Treasure Chests spawn daily?
Two per real-life day. One land chest and one underwater chest.
Are Treasure Chests worth doing solo?
Yes. They’re actually best done solo since there’s no coordination required and you keep all the payout.
Do I need a Kosatka?
Yes, or access to someone else’s Cayo Perico setup.
Can you grind Treasure Chests endlessly?
No. Rockstar caps them at 2 per day.
Are Treasure Chests better during bonus weeks?
Massively. At 3X or 4X, they become one of the best daily collectibles in the game.
What should I do after collecting Treasure Chests?
Move on immediately to better-paying activities like Cayo Perico, Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid, Acid Lab, or whatever Rockstar boosted that week.
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