How buying property works in GTA Online, which purchases unlock what, and how to spend in an order that pays for itself.
What counts as a property in this database?+
Safehouses, garages, businesses and special purchases across GTA 5 and GTA Online, each with its price and what it unlocks.
Which businesses actually make money?+
Income varies a lot. Each property page lists the purchase cost and what the business produces, so you can judge the payback time before buying.
Can I own property in Story Mode?+
Yes. Each of the three characters can buy specific businesses and properties, and some are locked to one character.
Where do I buy property in GTA Online?+
Through the in-game websites on your phone, mainly Dynasty 8 for homes and Maze Bank Foreclosures for businesses.
What should I buy first in GTA Online?+
A cheap high-end apartment and the Kosatka. The apartment gives you a spawn point, a 10-car garage and the heist planning room that unlocks the classic heists. The cheapest one that does all of that is listed in this database, and it is a fraction of the price of the penthouses that do the same job.
The Kosatka submarine unlocks the Cayo Perico Heist, which is the one heist you can run entirely alone. It is the standard advice for a reason: a few solo runs pay for the sub and everything else you want after it. Buy businesses after that, not before.
Do more expensive locations of the same property type do anything extra?+
No. Every bunker produces the same weapons, every nightclub holds the same goods, every arcade runs the same heist and every facility launches the same Doomsday acts. The price difference is about the location and, for a few buildings, the look of the interior.
Location still matters, because you drive to and from a property constantly. A bunker close to the city shortens every sell mission. A clubhouse near your MC businesses saves time on every supply run. A facility that is far from everything makes Doomsday setups tedious. Each property page says where the location sits and which sibling is the usual recommendation, so you can pay for convenience deliberately instead of by accident.
Which businesses make the most money?+
For a solo player, the Kosatka and the Cayo Perico Heist come first, then the Agency, then the Nightclub and the Acid Lab. The Agency's security contracts and payphone hits are steady money with no supplies to manage. The Nightclub earns passively from goods that accrue while you play, as long as you own the businesses it links to. The Acid Lab is cheap to run and delivers well for one person.
The Bunker and the Cocaine Lockup earn well too, but they need supplies and their sell missions are meant for a group. Special Cargo warehouses and the Vehicle Warehouse are older but still solid. The Document Forgery Office and the Weed Farm earn the least, and people mostly buy them to fill nightclub slots.
What does a property need before I can buy it?+
Homes and garages need nothing. Businesses come in chains. An Office lets you register as a CEO and buy Special Cargo warehouses and a Vehicle Warehouse from its computer. A Clubhouse lets you register as an MC President and buy MC businesses through The Open Road. A Bunker unlocks the Mobile Operations Center. A Facility unlocks the Avenger. A Nightclub unlocks the Terrorbyte, and the Nightclub itself needs at least one other business to fill its warehouse with anything.
Each property page in this database lists the site it is sold on and any purchase it depends on, so you can see the whole chain before you commit to the first link.
Which upgrades are worth buying?+
For any business that manufactures goods, the Equipment and Staff upgrades roughly double production and are the first thing to buy. Security upgrades reduce raids and are worth it once the business is running. Cosmetic upgrades do nothing for income.
For the Kosatka, the Sparrow helicopter is the one upgrade that changes everything about Cayo Perico setups. For the Nightclub, the extra storage floors matter only once you own several linked businesses. For the Arcade, the Master Control Terminal lets you run every business from one screen and saves a lot of driving. The property pages note which upgrades are the sensible ones.
Can I own property in Story Mode too?+
Yes, but it works differently. In Story Mode each of the three characters can buy a fixed list of businesses and properties, such as the Los Santos Golf Club, the Downtown Cab Co., the McKenzie Field Hangar or the Sonar Collections Dock. Some are locked to one character and most pay a weekly income or unlock side missions.
Those story purchases are a small set compared with GTA Online, where property is the whole economy. This database focuses on the GTA Online properties because that is where the choices, prices and dependencies are, and where a wrong purchase costs you the most.
