Key Takeaways
- Gold is crucial in Skyrim for buying equipment, homes, followers, and more. Have a hoard for unlimited fun.
- Earn gold by questing, growing Blisterwort, joining Thieves Guild, and selling firewood or dragon bones.
- Improve Speech, craft potions, transmute iron, restore the Crown of Barenziah, enchant, marry, or hunt treasure for wealth.
Gold is essential to survival in Skyrim. Players need gold to buy vital equipment such as spells, potions, and crafting materials, and it is also used to purchase player homes, hire certain followers, and get past speech checks with a bribe. So, having a vast hoard of gold is important if players want to have a ton of fun in this game and not worry about any monetary constraints.
Getting rich can be difficult, especially in the early stages of a Skyrim playthrough, but it can be done quite easily enough by exploiting glitches. However, those who don’t enjoy using glitches (or who use mods to remove them) will need to find other ways to make money in Skyrim. Fortunately, there are plenty of things players can do to start raking in a decent income.
Updated September 25, 2024, by Gerardo Molina: Unfortunately, Skyrim works very much like the real world, and without money, almost everything is more difficult. Players who’ve never played the game before should not try any of these methods, as building wealth and struggling when gold is scarce is part of the first-time experience. Veteran players, on the other hand, have already tasted the bitterness of poverty in the game and should now feel free to exploit these efficient get-rich-quick schemes.
Having tons of gold from the beginning will allow players to buy the best possible armor, weapons, and other useful things to make their journey easier. There’s really nothing quite like being chased by guards for stealing something and knowing that paying the fine won’t be a problem.
1 Clear Giant Camps
Mammoth Tusks Can Be Sold For 150 Gold
There are few times in Skyrim when a gargantuan effort isn’t rewarded with great loot or an amazing skill, which is why raiding and clearing giant camps is one great way to both get rich and level up quickly. Typically, giant camps have a few mammoth tusks and pelts that are not only very useful, but can also be sold for considerable amounts of gold.
To put this into numbers, a single mammoth tusk can be sold for 150 gold, which is great considering it’s just one item. That said, clearing giant camps is a very difficult task, so players should be ready to take on a challenge before disrupting the peace of Skyrim‘s largest humanoids.
2 Loot Nordic Tombs
A Dangerous Endeavor, But It’s Justly Rewarded
Most Nordic tombs spread throughout Skyrim are not only enormous and creepy, but also filled with invaluable treasure waiting to be discovered and looted. Inside these Draugr-infested places, players can find lots of gold, gems, and enchanted items, including weapons with additional elemental damage.
Tombs like Ustengrav and Bleak Falls Barrow are great starting points, as the enemies there aren’t as tough and players will have an easier time progressing through the area. Raiding other tombs from the get-go is also an option, but players are likely to encounter much tougher enemies that will kill them with a single hit.
3 Become A Bard
Make A Living Singing In Taverns
For players who’ve always dreamed of making a living from their music, this is their chance to make that dream come true—at least in-game. By completing the Bard’s College questline in Solitude and graduating from the prestigious institution, players will unlock the ability to approach innkeepers and tell them they want to perform for their patrons.
Now, cards on the table, the tips players will receive for entertaining audiences will be minimal, ranging from 15-25 gold coins depending on several factors, including their performance. While this isn’t exactly a get-rich-quick method, it’s a great way to make money while enjoying the various epic musical pieces in Skyrim.
4 Grow And Sell Blisterwort Fungus
One Of The More Valuable Herbs In The Game
Most people would consider the act of growing herbs to be a complete waste of time, especially if they have better things to do. While this is an understandable train of thought, some ingredients sell for a great sum and net players a lot of gold with minimal effort. Blisterwort Fungus is one such plant that’s relatively slow to grow and nets a lot of gold as long as players have a good thing going with a merchant.
Of course, to grow plants, players must amass enough money to own a home in the first place. Once players achieve this milestone, they can build a greenhouse that they can use to grow whatever herbs they want. With enough Blisterwort Fungus growing in numerous greenhouses, players can enjoy a great and pain-free way to earn cash in no time.
5 Complete As Many Quests As Possible
A Nice, Immersive Way To Earn Money
While this may seem like an obvious point to bring up, there’s no denying that Skyrim is jam-packed with quests that give players a reward upon completion. It’s impossible to go from point A to point B without accepting a ton of quests on the way, with most of the conditions for completion being as easy as they come. Given how much fun it is to engage in questing, it’s easy to see why players won’t even be averse to this mode of earning money.
To make things better, some quests send players to locations that can be looted for gold and valuables that can be sold for a tidy sum. This is essentially killing two birds with one stone and is a great way to ensure that players can enjoy Skyrim‘s strengths while also getting loaded in the process.
6 Join The Thieves Guild
The Fences And Valuable Quests Let Players Earn A Lot Of Money
The Thieves Guild is one of the many guilds that players can join to initiate a series of quests that starts with players being a lowly member of said guild before ascending the ranks and becoming one of the most respected members in the faction. The Thieves Guild is present all across the world of Skyrim, giving players access to quests with a high payout and unlocking the services of fences.
Given how much players can steal in the game, it’s important to find a fence that can take these goods from a Dragonborn who is on the verge of being encumbered. To make things even better, most fences come with impressive piles of gold, meaning that players can enjoy an excellent haul with just one trip across a city where they steal everything in sight that isn’t bolted to a surface.
7 Steal Everything In Sight
Can Be Sold For A Tidy Sum To A Fence
Players can’t be faulted for turning into kleptomaniacs whenever they start a new game in Skyrim. After all, they barely have anything to their name early on, and everything in the game looks so appealing that players simply have to loot everything in sight.
While the Dragonborn is discouraged from taking items that belong to someone else, there’s no reason not to do this as long as players are smart about their immoral activities. Of course, it’s important to secure the services of a fence beforehand, since players will just get overcumbered if they steal otherwise.
8 Pickpocket Everyone
Some NPCs Carry Rare Valuables And A Lot Of Gold
Many people don’t invest too many points into pickpocketing in Skyrim, since it’s pretty boring to sneak around and loot everyone in sight without being caught. Unless players have a ton of skill points in this department, pickpocketing is a surefire way to attract the law who will jail the player at a moment’s notice.
However, with enough points in this skill, players can amass a fortune in no time at all! Going to places populated by well-off NPCs is a great way to get a lot of goodies and gold that will help the Dragonborn quite a bit in their adventure.
9 Chop And Sell Firewood
A Simple Way To Get A Bit Of Gold
Most players don’t really bother to chop wood in the game, given how menial this task is. However, if players don’t mind engaging in a facet of Skyrim‘s gameplay that is generally ignored, then they’ll find firewood to be a decent money-earner in the game.
Firewood can be sold for 2 gold to most merchants, but mill workers and innkeepers will buy them at 5 gold apiece. It may be a boring way to earn gold but it’s something that players can endure early on before more lucrative options become accessible to the player.
10 Hunt Down Dragons And Sell Their Bones
Dragon Bones Are Extremely Profitable
Dragons are easily one of Skyrim‘s biggest draws. Fighting against one of these flying monstrosities makes for a great time as players hack and slash their way to victory in the first few encounters with these beasts.
While dragons become easier to manage in the later stages of Skyrim, most people would argue that this doesn’t take away from their allure in the slightest. Players who make it a point to kill most of the dragons they find in the game will be rewarded with spoils in the form of Dragon Bones, which sell for a pretty penny as long as players have space in their inventory to grab a few of them.
11 Repeat Radiant Quests
Slightly Arduous But A Decent Way To Earn Money
When Skyrim was announced, Todd Howard made it a point to highlight the Radiant Quest system and how it would allow players to go on limitless adventures. In reality, this system didn’t have a lot of depth, with the vast majority of these being boring fetch quests that don’t really add anything to a player’s experience.
Still, players who don’t mind completing these quests will earn a pretty penny for their efforts. It’s not the most efficient way to earn money in the game, but it’s still better than just ignoring this part of Skyrim altogether.
12 Raise Speech Level
Bartering To Increase Sale Price And Get Discounts On Goods Is Pretty Useful
One of the most important steps players must take if they want to get rich is to improve their Speech skills. Speech determines the buy/sell price in shops, so a high Speech skill means buying items for cheap and selling them for heaps.
Speech is commonly improved by buying and selling items, but it can also be increased by reading certain skill books, completing certain quests, or purchasing Speech training (although this costs precious gold), and it can be fortified with enchantments and potions. Nords and Bretons also start with an extra five levels in Speech.
13 Pray To Zenithar
Prices Are Improved In The Player’s Favor By 10%
The Nine Divines in Skyrim provide players with useful blessings whenever they pray at their shrines, lasting for eight hours. By praying at a Shrine of Zenithar, players will then enjoy 10% better prices.
There is an easily accessible Shrine of Zenithar in Solitude’s Temple of the Divines, so using that city as a home base would be a good strategy. A shrine can also be built once the player has purchased a Hearthfire home.
14 Craft Potions
High-Level Alchemy Lets Players Craft Valuable Potions
One of the fastest ways to make money is by crafting potions and poisons—and then selling them. Skyrim has a wealth of alchemy ingredients available to the player, and while many of these can be purchased cheaply, they can also be found in abundance all over the wilderness.
A short walk outside the city will yield a full inventory worth of ingredients, which can then be turned into potions. The selling price of these potions is determined by their rarity and potency, and players can even craft Fortify Speechcraft potions to further enhance the money made from the others.
15 Turn Iron Into Gold
Transmutation Is A Great Way To Gain Valuable Materials As Long As Players Have The Magicka To Spare
Once players have exhausted all the alchemy ingredients in the vicinity, the next method is to transmute iron ore into gold. To do this, players must first acquire the Alteration spell tome for Transmute, which can be found in Halted Stream Camp or Ansilvund Burial Chambers (the former is easier to get to).
After learning the spell, simply mine or purchase iron ore, and transmute it. Iron ore has a value of 2 Septims, but by transmuting it into gold players increase the value to 50. Selling gold ore in bulk while the Speech skill is buffed by potions, enchantments, and Zenithar’s blessing will yield optimal profits. There’s no need to smelt the ore for this.
16 Restore The Crown Of Barenziah
Nets Players A Buff That Lets Them Accumulate Gems In No Time At All
Throughout the player’s journey in Skyrim, they may collect Unusual Gems. Taking one of these gems to the Thieves Guild reveals that they are in fact stones from the Crown of Barenziah and that twenty-four of them need to be gathered to restore the crown.
It takes a while, but completing the No Stone Unturned quest rewards players with a buff that makes gems incredibly common. Players will end up with more gems than they know what to do with, providing a seemingly endless source of wealth.
17 Craft Jewelry
The Sale Value Of These Jewels Is Immense
If players wish to further increase the value of the gems, gold, and silver they find (or make), they can use the Smithing skill to turn it into jewelry. Silver, and especially gold, necklaces are the easiest way to turn a profit from those metals, but combining them with certain gems can further increase their value.
However, not every jewelry piece turns a profit. Sometimes using a gem with jewelry can decrease its value. Jewelry pieces that do turn a profit include gold diamond necklaces, gold ruby necklaces and circlets, and silver emerald circlets. If none of these gems are on hand, however, the best strategy is to transmute iron into gold and craft gold necklaces.
18 Capture Souls
Soul Gems Are Extremely Valuable
Perhaps not the most ethical way to generate an income, but filling empty soul gems and selling them can turn into quite a lucrative business indeed. Filling a soul gem multiplies its value, so players with a high Speech level can purchase empty ones for cheap and then turn a profit once they’re filled.
Petty soul gems are the best to use with this strategy. They are the cheapest, are common, and there is an abundance of creatures with petty souls. Furthermore, their value is quadrupled when filled. As they become more available at higher levels black soul gems are also effective for this strategy—but keep in mind that using them means trafficking in human souls.
19 Enchant Weapons & Armor
Special Weapons Sell For A Tidy Sum
Players may prefer to use their soul gems to increase the value of weapons and armor by enchanting them, which can often prove more lucrative than simply selling the souls on their own. If a ready source of cheap weapons is available, enchanting them can be quite profitable.
The stronger the enchantment (and the weapon/armor piece), the higher the value. Enchantments can also be applied to crafted jewelry pieces to make them even more valuable.
20 Get Married
Spouses Share Gold And The Lover’s Comfort Bonus Can Indirectly Increase Their Reservoir Of Wealth
Getting married might not seem like a good way to get rich, but it has its benefits. Spouses in Skyrim share 100 gold with the Dragonborn each day from their own job, and although it isn’t a lot, players don’t need to do anything to generate it.
Furthermore, sleeping in the same building as one’s spouse grants the Lover’s Comfort bonus, which makes all skills improve 15% faster — an excellent boon for improving Speech. Finding a spouse is easy, so marriage is worth it if the goal is to get rich.
