As part of the Los Santos Drug Wars DLC released in December 2022, the Acid Lab Business was added to GTA Online. And this guide will explain how to make money with the Acid Lab Business in GTA 5 Online with details about missions, profit margins, and payouts.
How To Setup Acid Lab Business
In order to get started, players will have to first complete the "First Dose" Story missions which will be available after receiving getting the call from Ron.
Visit the "R" marked on the map and start the first mission "Welcome to the Troupe"
Upon completion, you will receive a call from Dax and you will spawn very near to the next story mission.
Keep following up the story and after the final mission, you will receive a Brickade 6x6 (for free) AND a call from Dax (again) to start the Acid Lab Equipment Setup mission.
Upon setup completion, you can go over to Mutt to purchase the Acid Lab upgrade for 750k. After that, you can upgrade your Brickade 6x6 however you like BUT it is recommended to buy the Armor upgrade.
The Armor upgrade allows the Brickade 6x6 to withstand 46-48 RPGs or Homing Missiles. Making it the most "Universally" Armored vehicle in the game. Feel free to check our Vehicle Armor Guide to understand what Universal Armor means.
However, if you haven't completed Dax's Fooligan Work Missions yet then you will have the option to purchase the "Equipment Upgrade" locked. As it says in the description, you need to complete 10 of those missions.
In order to launch these missions, you need to call Dax from your in-game phone and select "Request Work". These missions are pretty interesting and pay 50k upon successful completion (100k during bonus week).
However, there is a cooldown of 48 minutes before launching another such mission. And unfortunately, there is no way to skip the cooldown. But in case you get a mission that you do not like, simply Find a New Session and you can call Dax again to request it.
Making Money with the Acid Lab
Similar to other passive businesses like Gunrunning Bunker, Biker Coke Lockup, etc, you need to have supplies for your Acid Lab in order to make some product.
And similarly, you can either purchase the supplies from Mutt either by visiting the Acid Lab in the Brickade 6x6 or by calling him on the phone (the player needs to be in an exterior environment to make the call).
Each full batch of supplies costs 60k, while supply missions only provide you with 25% of 1 batch of supplies. So, it's simply better to buy supplies. You can definitely try the supply missions to play for the content like driving a tractor for instance but if you are only in it for the money then simply skip them and buy the supplies.
Moreover, the Brickade 6x6 can be requested from the interaction menu like any other Service vehicle, this makes it a lot easier to access this business anywhere. Plus no raids.
And you can boost your production once every IRL day to produce Acid faster. Product value stays the same but time to production reduces.
Let's jump over to some numbers.
Supplies to create the full product:
|
Without Equipment Upgrade |
With Equipment Upgrade |
|---|---|
|
3.2 batches of supplies ($192,000) |
1.6 batches of supplies ($96,000) |
Time to create the full product:
| Without Equipment Upgrade | With Equipment Upgrade | |
|---|---|---|
|
Without 1 Time Daily Boost |
6 hours | 4 hours |
| With 1 Time Daily Boost | 4.5 hours | 3 hours |
So it is definitely worth buying the upgrade as it reduces the production time a lot and halves the supply requirement.
Note: Once you start the boost effect, do not quit your game as it will reset the effect even if you come back a few minutes later. Try to stay within the same session till 50% of the product has been produced to reap the benefits.
How about Product Value & Profit Margins?
|
Without Equipment Upgrade |
With Equipment Upgrade | |
|---|---|---|
| Product Value |
$237,600 |
$335,200 |
| Supply Cost | $192,000 | $96,000 |
| Net Profit | $45,600 | $239,200 |
As you can see it's a roughly 40% increase in the value of the product. Another reason to get that Equipment upgrade as soon as possible. Your profit jumps from 45.6k to close to 240k (if supplies are bought) so definitely worth it.
As for sell missions, I have seen 3 types so far, and are pretty straightforward. The single-drop ambush sell mission can be tricky and you can simply put sticky bombs near the undercover cop cars and trucks in advance before stashing the Acid in the back of the car. And blow them up as soon as you trigger the Ambush.
GTA Online Acid Lab Money Making: Video Guide
If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback please comment down below and I will try to add/remove/edit accordingly.
