The useful question about price is income per hour, and almost nobody states it.

Short answer

Do the setup once properly, then repeat the short loop. That ordering is where the difference sits.

  • Finish the setup before starting the loop.
  • Ignore anything that requires an external site or seller.
  • Write down what you changed, so you can undo exactly one thing if it goes sideways.

War Thunder models more of the vehicle than it tells you about, and the grind punishes guessing. Event weeks distort every comparison, and normal weeks are what you should plan around. Idle income sounds appealing and is almost always the worst rate available.

Setup cost and payback time

The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. Setup cost only matters relative to how long you intend to keep playing. Payout figures quoted without a time attached are marketing rather than information. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

A method that was patched still shows up in search results for years afterwards. The cap on a given activity matters more than its headline number. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

Methods that were nerfed

Group multipliers change the ranking of methods completely, which is why lists disagree. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first.

  • Check the patch date on any figures you are comparing.
  • Do the daily and weekly resets first — they are the best rate available.
  • Keep a save or backup from before you start — it costs nothing and occasionally saves an evening.
  • Group up where the multiplier is meaningful.
  • Calculate per hour, including setup and travel.
  • Read the whole sequence once before doing the first step.

The loop worth repeating

Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different.

If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

What it earns per hour

Everything below is framed around the current state of War Thunder rather than a launch-week impression. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration.

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep.

Solo versus group

The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of.

Where people go wrong

  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.
  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Grinding a method that was patched months ago because a thread still ranks well.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.

War Thunder FAQ

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

What is the fastest way to make money in War Thunder?

The dull repeatable one, almost always. Fast methods usually mean high variance rather than a high average.

Is the investment worth it?

If you will play more than a few dozen hours, comfortably. If not, skip it and do the free activities.

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.