High Alchemy Profit Guide

What is High Alchemy?

High Level Alchemy (commonly called "high alch" or just "alching") is a level 55 Magic spell that converts an item into gold coins. The amount of gold you receive equals the item's high alch value, which is a fixed property of every item in the game. Each cast requires 1 nature rune and 5 fire runes (or a fire staff to eliminate the fire rune cost).

The spell gives 65 Magic experience per cast and has a cooldown of about 3 seconds (5 game ticks). This makes it a useful Magic training method that can actually make you money instead of costing you money, unlike most Magic training methods.

The profit formula is simple: Profit = High Alch Value - Item Buy Price - Nature Rune Cost. If the result is positive, you make money on every cast. If it is negative, you are paying for Magic XP.

How to Find Profitable Items

Finding items that are profitable to alch requires comparing three values: the item's high alch value (fixed), its current GE buy price (changes constantly), and the current price of nature runes. The best approach is to use our High Alchemy Calculator, which automatically compares live GE prices against alch values for every item in the game.

When searching manually, look for items where the GE price is significantly below the high alch value. A good rule of thumb: if the GE price is at least 10% below the alch value minus nature rune cost, the item is likely a reliable alch target.

Important Considerations

• Buy limits matter: An item with 500 GP alch profit is great, but if the buy limit is only 8 per 4 hours, it is not practical for sustained alching. Focus on items with buy limits of 70 or higher.
• Volume matters: Items with very low trading volume may show high profits in a calculator, but you will struggle to actually buy them. Stick to items that trade at least a few hundred times per day.
• Prices fluctuate: An item that is profitable to alch right now might not be profitable in an hour. Always check prices right before buying a large batch.

Nature Rune Cost

The nature rune is the primary cost of each high alchemy cast (assuming you use a fire staff to negate fire rune costs). Nature rune prices fluctuate on the Grand Exchange, typically ranging between 100-200 GP each. At 1,200 casts per hour, even small changes in nature rune price significantly impact your hourly profit.

For example, if nature runes cost 150 GP each, your hourly nature rune cost is 180,000 GP (1,200 casts x 150 GP). If the price rises to 180 GP each, your cost jumps to 216,000 GP per hour — a 36,000 GP difference. Always buy nature runes in bulk when prices are low. You can purchase up to 13,000 nature runes every 4 hours on the GE, so stock up during off-peak times.

Check current nature rune prices in our Item Database to calculate your actual alch costs.

Best Items to High Alch

While specific profitable items change with market conditions, certain categories consistently offer good alch profits. Check our High Alchemy Calculator for the latest profitable items using live prices.

Rune Equipment

Rune items are among the most popular alch targets. Rune platelegs, rune plateskirts, rune kiteshields, and rune 2h swords frequently have positive alch margins. These items have high alch values of 38,400-39,000 GP and often trade below their alch value on the GE. They also have reasonable buy limits (70-125), allowing you to buy decent quantities.

Dragon Equipment

Some dragon items, particularly dragon longswords and dragon daggers, can be profitable to alch. Dragon longswords alch for 60,000 GP and sometimes dip below that price on the GE. These are less consistent than rune items but can offer higher per-item profit when margins align.

Enchanted Jewelry

Certain enchanted jewelry pieces have alch values that exceed their GE prices. Items like ruby rings, diamond rings, and dragonstone jewelry can be profitable depending on gem and gold bar prices. This category is more volatile but worth checking regularly.

Crafted Items

Green, blue, red, and black dragonhide bodies can sometimes be profitable to alch, especially if dragonhide prices are low. Yew longbows and magic longbows (both strung and unstrung) are also common alch items, though they tend to have thinner margins. Check the Fletching Calculator to see if crafting and alching bows is profitable.

GP/Hr and XP/Hr

High Level Alchemy can be cast approximately 1,200 times per hour. Each cast gives 65 Magic XP, resulting in 78,000 Magic XP per hour. This is decent Magic XP — not the fastest method, but one of the few that can make money.

Your GP/hr depends entirely on the items you are alching. If your average profit per item is 200 GP, you earn 240,000 GP per hour (1,200 x 200). If your average profit is 500 GP, you earn 600,000 GP per hour. Some high-profit items can yield over 800,000 GP per hour, though these often have low buy limits that make sustained alching difficult.

Realistically, expect anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 GP/hr profit depending on the items chosen and current market conditions. The real value of alching is that you earn Magic XP for free (or even at a profit), whereas other Magic training methods cost millions.

Tips for Efficient Alching

• Alch while doing other activities: High Alchemy is one of the best multitask spells. You can alch while training Agility on rooftop courses, doing Slayer tasks, or even during some quests. This effectively makes your Magic training free since you would be doing the other activity anyway.
• Buy nature runes in bulk: Purchase nature runes during off-peak hours when prices tend to be slightly lower. Stock up to your buy limit (13,000 per 4 hours) so you always have enough on hand.
• Use a fire staff: Always equip a fire staff (or tome of fire) to eliminate the fire rune cost. This saves 5 fire runes per cast, which is 6,000 fire runes saved per hour.
• Buy multiple items: Do not rely on a single item. Buy 3-5 different profitable alch items so that when one runs out or becomes unprofitable, you have alternatives ready.
• Use our calculator: Check the High Alchemy Calculator before every session. Prices change constantly, and what was profitable yesterday might not be profitable today.
• Track your profits: Log your alching sessions with our Profit Tracker to see your actual returns over time. This helps you identify the most consistently profitable items.
• Set price alerts: Use Price Alerts on your favorite alch items to get notified when they drop below the profitable threshold, so you can buy in bulk at the right time.