The best business in GTA 5 story mode is not the one with the biggest weekly income. It is whichever one you can afford that pays back fastest, and that changes completely depending on where you are in the game. Buying the most expensive property first is the most common mistake here, because it ties up money that would earn more elsewhere.
Think in Payback, Not Income
A property that costs $10 million and returns a large weekly sum takes a very long time to pay for itself. A property that costs $200,000 and returns a modest weekly sum pays for itself far sooner and then keeps earning.
Early in the game you want fast payback. Late in the game, after The Big Score, income rate matters more because you have money sitting idle.
The specific income figures circulating on community property sites come from player testing rather than Rockstar, so treat them as approximate.
Early Game: Buy Cheap and Useful
The cheaper properties are the right first purchases. Several of them are also character-locked, so check who you are playing as. Our guide on how to buy property covers which businesses belong to which protagonist and the mission that unlocks buying at all.
Two worth singling out for what they unlock rather than what they pay:
- McKenzie Field Hangar, Trevor’s, which opens an arms-trafficking mission strand with per-run payouts.
- Sonar Collections Dock, which unlocks the submarine and the underwater collectible hunt attached to it. That matters if you are hunting spaceship parts, several of which are on the seabed.
The Harmony Los Santos Customs
This is the purchase people underrate. Buying it as Franklin makes all vehicle modification work there free, permanently.
If you intend to upgrade more than a couple of cars, it pays for itself in saved modification costs regardless of its weekly income. Our guides on how to customize a car and the best cars in the game cover what that work actually costs.
Late Game: The Expensive One
The cinema Michael can buy is the most expensive property in the game and the highest weekly earner by a wide margin. After The Big Score it is a reasonable purchase, because the money is otherwise sitting still.
Before then it is a trap, for the same reason it is a good late buy: it locks up an enormous amount of capital that the stock market would multiply faster. Our guide on how to beat the stock market covers where that money should go first.
For Completion
If you are buying purely to satisfy 100 percent, you need at least five properties across the three characters, and the cheapest qualifying set runs to a little under $800,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which business earns the most per week? The cinema Michael can buy, which is also the most expensive property in the game.
What should you buy first? Something cheap with a fast payback, or the Harmony Los Santos Customs if you upgrade cars.
How many properties do you need for 100 percent? At least five across the three characters.
Are the income figures online accurate? They come from player testing rather than Rockstar, so treat them as approximate.