Best Role for Money in Red Dead Online
The best role for money in Red Dead Online is the Moonshiner: a strong batch of the best flavour sells for $247.50 after an hour of distilling, 48 minutes once the role reaches rank 15. The catch is the entry price, 25 Gold Bars on top of the Trader role at rank 5. For a new player, the Trader is the better first buy: 15 Gold Bars, and $625 for a full wagon delivered far away.
| # | Role | Best fixed payout | Time to produce it | Unlock cost | What else you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moonshiner | $247.50 strong batch, 3-star flavour | 60 min of distilling, 48 min at role rank 15 | 25 Gold Bars | Trader rank 5 first, a Moonshine Shack from Maggie Fike, and the $825 and $875 still upgrades for stronger batches |
| 2 | Trader | $625 large wagon, distant delivery | 200 min of production for 100 goods, plus $20 per 25-goods resupply | 15 Gold Bars | The Butcher's Table from Cripps; $500 for a local delivery |
| 3 | Collector | $540 complete Coins set | No fixed time: you find the items | 15 Gold Bars | Collector's Bag from Madam Nazar; the set values are fixed |
| 4 | Naturalist | $2910 Animal Field Guide rewards, once each | One-off rewards, not a repeatable income | 25 Gold Bars | Sample Kit from Harriet Davenport |
| 5 | Bounty Hunter | Varies no fixed rate | Pay rises every 3 minutes of a bounty, up to 30 minutes | 15 Gold Bars | Bounty Hunter License; live targets pay more |
Payouts, times and costs exclude weekly bonuses. The distant Trader delivery pays $625. The guides that quote dollars per hour disagree with each other, so this ranking uses fixed payouts and production times.
Why the Moonshiner Comes First
It turns the shortest wait into the biggest repeatable sale. A 3-star strong batch pays $247.50 for 60 minutes of distilling, roughly $247 per hour of production, and about $309 once distilling drops to 48 minutes at rank 15. The Trader's large wagon takes 200 minutes to fill, which works out at $150 to $188 per hour of production depending on the delivery.
The Trader: The First Role to Buy
Cripps turns carcasses into goods at two minutes per good, and a full large wagon of 100 goods sells for $500 nearby or $625 far away. Supplies cost $20 per order of 25 goods. The Moonshiner cannot be bought until the Trader reaches rank 5, so the Trader is the first step towards the best-paying role anyway.
Collector Sets Ranked by Value
Madam Nazar pays a fixed price for each complete set. The Coins set is worth the most, the American Wild Flowers the least.
| # | Collection set | Full set value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coins | $540 |
| 2 | Lost Jewelry Rings | $378 |
| 3 | Lost Jewelry Earrings | $364.50 |
| 4 | Lost Jewelry Necklaces | $335 |
| 5 | Megafauna Fossils | $321 |
| 6 | Family Heirlooms | $292.50 |
| 7 | Arrowheads | $289 |
| 8 | Oceanic Fossils | $288.50 |
| 9 | Suit of Pentacles Tarot Cards | $287 |
| 9 | Suit of Swords Tarot Cards | $287 |
| 11 | Lost Jewelry Bracelets | $271.50 |
| 12 | Suit of Cups Tarot Cards | $240.50 |
| 13 | Suit of Wands Tarot Cards | $239 |
| 14 | Coastal Fossils | $217 |
| 15 | Bird Eggs | $182.50 |
| 16 | Antique Alcohol Bottles | $160.50 |
| 17 | American Wild Flowers | $155.50 |
Bounty Hunter and Naturalist
Neither has a fixed payout table. Bounty pay grows every three minutes you spend on a bounty, up to thirty, and a target brought in alive pays more. The Naturalist's Animal Field Guide pays $2910 in all, from $60 to $700 per completed category, but each reward is paid once.
Unlocking the Roles
Each role has 20 ranks, 30 for the Bounty Hunter with the Prestigious license, and every rank gives two Role Tokens. The Trader, Bounty Hunter and Collector arrived in Frontier Pursuits in September 2019, the Moonshiner in December 2019 and the Naturalist in July 2020. Each role also unlocks its own horse breed, ranked on the Red Dead Online horses page.