The two kinds of Fletching profit
Fletching money splits cleanly in two. Bolts and arrows are made in sets of 10 or 15 at a time, so the xp and the profit per hour look huge, but you burn through a whole buy limit in minutes. Bows and bolt tips are slower, one item per action, but you can keep going for hours. Which one is "best" depends on whether you want a big quick session or something to run all evening.
| Method | Fletching level | Pace | What limits it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tipping gem bolts (ruby, diamond) | 63, 65 | Very fast, low effort | Adamant bolt limit of 11,000 |
| Tipping dragon bolts | 84 | Very fast, low effort | Dragon bolt limit of 11,000; capital |
| Cutting bolt tips | 63, 65 | Slow, very AFK | Gem prices; tips flood the market |
| Stringing longbows (yew, magic) | 70, 85 | About 2,400 an hour | 10,000 unstrung bow limit; alch floor |
| Ogre and brutal arrows | 5+, 62+ | Steady | Quest unlocks; small market |
| Headless arrows and arrow shafts | 1, 45 | Very AFK | Tiny margins |
Bolts: big numbers, short sessions
Attaching ruby or diamond tips to adamant bolts is one of the highest hourly figures in the skill, at 63 and 65 Fletching. The catch is the hourly figure assumes you keep going for an hour, and adamant bolts are capped at 11,000 every four hours. At the pace bolts are made, one limit lasts well under an hour. Dragon bolts (84 Fletching) behave the same way, but each bolt is worth far more, so the profit per limit is higher and so is the cash you need up front.
If you want to go further, enchant what you fletch. The enchanted bolts list shows whether turning diamond bolts into diamond bolts (e) adds anything on top today.
Longbows: the alchemy floor
Stringing yew longbows (70) and magic longbows (85) is the classic steady earner. About 2,400 bows an hour, 14 per inventory, with a bow string limit of 13,000 and an unstrung bow limit of 10,000, so you can run it for several hours before limits bite.
The interesting part is why the margin exists. Strung longbows are bought by players who high alch them, so their price sits close to the alch value minus the cost of a nature rune. That gives the finished bow a reasonably firm floor while unstrung bows and strings float around underneath it. When the margin goes negative, it is usually because nature runes have moved. The high alchemy profit list shows the same effect from the alcher's side.
Quest-locked arrows
Ogre arrow shafts and flighted ogre arrows need Big Chompy Bird Hunting to be started, and brutal arrows need Zogre Flesh Eaters. Few people bother with them, which keeps the margin alive at low Fletching levels, but the market is small. Check the 24 hour volume before you make thousands.
What loses money
Broad bolts, sunlight antler bolts and amethyst broad bolts sit near the bottom of the table most days. Broad bolts are a fast xp method once you buy the Slayer unlock, but you pay for that speed. The Fletching calculator shows cost per xp for every item, which is the better tool if levels are what you are after. For a full route that mixes profit with speed, see the Fletching training guide.
Reading the numbers
Each row prices inputs and outputs at the current mid price, with Grand Exchange tax taken off the outputs, multiplied by a realistic number of actions per hour. Bolt rows count individual bolts, so a margin of a few coins each still adds up. Before you buy, look up the item on the OSRS Grand Exchange list and check its price history: if a margin appeared overnight, it can disappear just as quickly.