Is the Cayo Perico Heist still the quickest way to make money in GTA Online after the Los Santos Tuners update?

More than half a year after the release of the Cayo Perico update, GTA Online finally has some new content in the form of the Los Santos Tuners update. While the previous update focused on the Cayo Perico Heist and a few cars, the update didn't have much in terms of new streams of income. The Los Santos Tuners update, on the other hand, features a bunch of new money-making avenues like exotic exports, contract missions and new races. This begs the question whether or not the Cayo Perico Heist is still the most effective way to make money in GTA Online.

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Cayo Perico vs Los Santos Tuners GTA Online income comparison

The Cayo Perico Heist

The Cayo Perico Heist was an absolute boon for solo players, being the first heist that Rockstar Games let players complete alone. With a relatively short setup phase of about five missions in total (minus optional setups), players were ready to hit Mr. Rubio's island within an hour to an hour and a half.

After an investment of under $3 million toward the Kosatka submarine, players had unlocked the gateway to raking in anywhere between GTA $1.1 - 1.9 million per solo heist. Soon, the Cayo Perico Heist became the most efficient and effective way to grind for cash in GTA Online.

The Los Santos Tuners update

Unlike the Cayo Perico update, the Los Santos Tuners patch focused on diversifying and establishing new sources of income and entertainment versus a high payout single event. Packed with content like the LS Car Meet, new races, cars, properties and contract missions, the Los Santos Tuners update has a lot more ways of making money, but is it more efficient?

The short answer is no, while the Los Santos Tuners update does offer great payouts for contract missions at around GTA $170,000 each, the per-hour profit of the Cayo Perico update is much higher.

The Los Santos Tuners update does succeed in not being stale though, as players can mix it up with the Exotic Exports list to make a quick GTA $250,000 to prevent monotony. The new races too can be profitable but only to the tune of around $20,000 per win in a stacked lobby.

In terms of efficiency, the Cayo Perico Heist is still king and players who are simply looking to make cash should stick to robbing El Rubio and dabbling in the Los Santos Tuners update for a break.

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