Are you tired of counting every Septim? Do you want to buy Proudspire Manor but your pockets are empty? You are in the right place. This guide covers the best way to earn money in Skyrim. Whether you are a Level 1 prisoner or a Level 80 Dragonborn, you can become the richest person in Tamriel.
You do not need to loot every bandit you kill. You do not need to pick up every heavy iron axe. There are smarter ways to get rich. Follow these steps, and you will never worry about gold again.
Alchemy: The Ultimate Money Maker
Alchemy is the best way to earn money in Skyrim, hands down. It is faster than dungeon diving and safer than stealing. You can turn cheap flowers into potions worth thousands of gold.
The Most Valuable Potion Recipe
If you have the Hearthfire DLC or Anniversary Edition, you can make a potion that breaks the economy.
Ingredients:
- Salmon Roe (Catch jumping salmon at waterfalls)
- Nordic Barnacle (Found on shipwrecks and rocks in water)
- Garlic (Found in kitchens)
Mix these three together. You will create a Potion of Waterbreathing. It is not just for swimming. It has a massive gold value because it applies multiple high-value effects. A single potion can sell for over 2,000 gold even at low levels.
The Farmable Money Potion
Salmon Roe is hard to farm in bulk. For a steady supply, you should plant these crops in your garden:
- Mora Tapinella (Fungus on tree stumps)
- Scaly Pholiota (Fungus on birch trees)
- Creep Cluster (Red root in volcanic tundra)
Plant these in a greenhouse or garden. Harvest them and mix all three. This creates a high-value potion that you can mass-produce.
Selling Your Potions
Your potions will be worth more than merchants can pay. You need the Merchant perk in the Speech skill tree. This lets you sell potions to blacksmiths and general merchants. If you do not have the perk, travel between alchemy shops in Whiterun, Solitude, and Riften to sell your stock.
Goldenhills Plantation: The Passive Gold Mine
If you are playing the Skyrim Anniversary Edition, you have access to the Goldenhills Plantation. This is the best passive income source in the game. You do not have to craft anything. You just wait.
How to Unlock It
Travel east of Rorikstead. You will find an abandoned farm. Complete the short quest "The Unquiet Dead" by fighting a few ghosts. Once the quest is done, the farm is yours.
The Blisterwort Strategy
To make the most money without working, follow these steps:
- Hire a Steward (bring a follower like Faendal and ask them to be steward).
- Plant Blisterwort in every soil plot.
- Blisterwort has a high base value. The farm generates profits based on the value of crops planted.
- Return to your steward every few days.
- Collect your profit.
You can earn 1,000+ gold per day automatically. This is free money. You can sleep for 24 hours over and over to stack up cash.
The Transmute Mineral Ore Spell
This method is great for early-game mages. You turn worthless iron into expensive gold.
Where to Find the Spell
Go to Halted Stream Camp, north of Whiterun. Inside the mine, look for a spell tome on a table near the boss. Learn the spell Transmute Mineral Ore.
The Process
- Buy Iron Ore from blacksmiths. It is very cheap.
- Cast the Transmute spell.
- First cast turns Silver Ore to Gold Ore.
- Second cast turns Iron Ore to Silver Ore.
- Smelt the Gold Ore into Gold Ingots.
- Forge Gold Rings (2 rings per ingot).
- Enchant the rings (optional) and sell them.
This levels up your Alteration, Smithing, and Speech skills all at once.
Enchanting for Profit
Enchanting turns cheap weapons into expensive magical artifacts. The specific enchantment you use matters.
The Banish Enchantment
The Banish enchantment is the most valuable weapon enchantment in the game.
- Find it: Check blacksmiths at Level 22+. Buy a weapon with "Banish Daedra". Disenchant it.
- Craft it: Buy cheap Iron Daggers and Petty Soul Gems (filled).
- Enchant: Apply Banish to the daggers.
An iron dagger costs about 10 gold. A Banish Iron Dagger sells for 1,000 to 2,000 gold.
The Paralyze Enchantment
If you cannot find Banish, look for Paralyze. It is the second-best option. It appears on weapons at Level 22+. Enchanting bows with Paralyze yields a massive profit margin.
Prowler's Profit and Gem Looting
Do you want to find diamonds in every urn? You need the Prowler's Profit effect. This is a reward for a long quest, but it is worth it.
No Stone Unturned
You must join the Thieves Guild in Riften. Talk to Vex about the "Unusual Gem". You must find all 24 Stones of Barenziah scattered across Skyrim.
The Reward
Once you turn in all 24 stones and retrieve the Crown of Barenziah, you get the passive ability Prowler's Profit.
- Effect: Drastically increases the chance of finding gems in chests, urns, and burial jars.
- Result: You will find Flawless Diamonds, Emeralds, and Rubies in almost every container.
One dungeon run can net you 50,000+ gold in gems alone. It is the best method for late-game players who love exploring.
The Dark Brotherhood Contracts
If you prefer assassination over farming, the Dark Brotherhood pays well.
The Questline Payout
Join the Brotherhood by talking to Aventus Aretino in Windhelm. Complete the main questline. The final quest, "Hail Sithis!", rewards you with 20,000 Gold.
The Radiant Quests
After the main quest, you can visit the Night Mother. She gives you infinite contracts. Each target pays up to 1,200 gold. The targets are weak and easy to kill. It is steady, bloody income.
Thieves Guild and Fences
Stealing is profitable, but only if you can sell the goods. Normal merchants do not buy stolen items. You need a Fence.
Unlock Fences
Join the Thieves Guild in Riften. As you complete "City Influence" quests for Delvin and Vex, new Fences will open up in:
- Solitude
- Windhelm
- Markarth
- Whiterun
The Guild Master's Tribute
Once you restore the Guild to its former glory, each Fence will have 4,000 gold to trade with. Tonilia in the Ragged Flagon usually has the most cash. This is the best way to sell expensive stolen jewelry and weapons.
Marriage and Spouse Income
Marriage in Skyrim comes with financial benefits. Your spouse opens a shop and shares the profits with you.
How to Marry
- Speak to Maramal in Riften.
- Buy an Amulet of Mara.
- Wear it and talk to an eligible NPC (like Ysolda in Whiterun or Camilla in Riverwood).
Collecting the Money
Once married, ask your spouse, "Has the store made any money?" They generate 100 gold per day. It stacks up indefinitely. If you go adventuring for 30 days, you can come home and collect 3,000 gold instantly. It is not a fortune, but it covers your daily expenses.
Wood Chopping and Honest Work
This is the best method for Level 1 players who have zero skills and zero gold. It is slow but 100% safe.
Find a Wood Chopping Block
Look for a stump with a woodcutter's axe (Riverwood or Whiterun).
- Pick up the axe.
- Activate the block.
- Your character will chop wood automatically.
Sell to Innkeepers
Sell the firewood to the local innkeeper or mill owner (like Hod in Riverwood). They pay 5 gold per piece. It adds up. You can make enough to buy your first set of armor or spell tomes without fighting a single wolf.
The Hidden Chests (Glitch Method)
Note: This is considered an exploit. Use it if you want quick cash without effort.
Skyrim has invisible merchant chests hidden under the map. You can loot them without stealing.
The Dawnstar Chest
- Travel to Dawnstar.
- Look for the Iron-Breaker Mine.
- To the left of the mine entrance, there are some rocks and a small bush.
- Crouch and look at the ground near the rocks.
- You will see a prompt to "Search Chest".
This chest belongs to the Khajiit Caravan. It is full of gold, filled soul gems, and enchanted gear. Take it all. Wait 48 hours for the caravan to return, and the chest will refill.
Conclusion
You now know the best way to earn money in Skyrim.
For the absolute highest profit, use Alchemy. Mixing Salmon Roe, Nordic Barnacle, and Garlic will make you a millionaire. If you want passive income, unlock Goldenhills Plantation and plant Blisterwort. For explorers, Prowler's Profit turns every dungeon into a treasure trove.
Stop collecting rusty iron swords. Start brewing, farming, and enchanting. Your days of poverty in Tamriel are over.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the fastest way to get 100,000 gold in Skyrim?
The fastest way is Alchemy. Use the "Restoration Loop" or craft high-value potions like Salmon Roe + Garlic + Nordic Barnacle. Sell these potions to every merchant you find. You can hit 100,000 gold in a few hours of gameplay.
2. Does the Goldenhills Plantation work in vanilla Skyrim?
No. Goldenhills Plantation is part of the Creation Club content included in the Anniversary Edition. If you play the original 2011 version or standard Special Edition without the upgrade, you cannot find this farm.
3. Where do I sell expensive potions if merchants run out of gold?
You should unlock the Merchant perk (Speech Level 50). This lets you sell potions to blacksmiths and clothing merchants. Also, you can "save, punch the merchant, and reload" to reset their inventory and gold instantly (a common glitch), or just fast travel between Riften, Solitude, and Windhelm.