Per-cast alchemy finance ledger

OSRS Alch Profit Calculator

Compare high and low alchemy side by side with your current rune costs, chosen mode, and target Magic XP to see profitable item thresholds.

Set alchemy assumptions

Alchemy outputs

-580 GP / cast

Break-even item price (high): 420 GP

XP per cast: 65

Total profit to target level: -116,307,400 GP

Casts to target: 200,530

Hours to target at entered speed: 167.11

GP / hour: -696,000 GP

XP / hour: 78,000

Reference table

Values in this row are user-entered. No Grand Exchange price is hard-coded.

Item valueHigh-alch coinsLow-alch coinsHigh break-even buyLow break-even buy
1,000600400300180
5,0003,0002,0002,7001,780
10,0006,0004,0005,7003,780
25,00015,00010,00014,7009,780
50,00030,00020,00029,70019,780
100,00060,00040,00059,70039,780
250,000150,000100,000149,70099,780

How it works

Alchemy is a cast economy, so this ledger has four practical layers: market conversion, rune cost, rate, and target progress. The tool updates whenever any field changes, including the target level and your current Magic XP.

First, choose mode. High Alchemy uses 65 XP per cast and returns 60% of the item value as alchemy coins. Low Alchemy uses 31 XP per cast and returns 40% of value. The calculator applies one of those modes to every cast in your path.

Second, enter your item buy price and rune costs per cast. The rune inputs are split into nature-only or nature-plus-fire to match fire staff availability. In this calculator a fire staff removes fire rune cost completely.

Third, enter current XP and target level. The tool computes required casts from the official XP table and then multiplies by your per-cast result, giving total profit and an estimated rate from your entered casts/hour value.

Fourth, read the reference rows. Every row is a fixed item-value tier and shows high-alch coins, low-alch coins, and both break-even buy prices under your chosen rune costs. The break-even number answers the only economic question: at this price, can you clear zero profit?

The reference row uses your inputs only, so you can copy the URL after tuning costs and immediately reload the same scenario. The result is especially useful when you are deciding between two markets with different stack depths and taxes.

Interpretation notes: cast counts are math from XP targets, not actual real-session rates. A run with movement, missed casts, bank trips, multi-tasking, and AFK variance can deliver fewer casts than your entered number. Re-measure with your real session pace and re-enter that casts/hour.

Source notes are public and reviewed on 2026-09-05: High/Low Alchemy output percentages and rune amounts are from the Old School RuneScape alchemy references; XP progression uses the global level table.

per-cast profit=alchCoins(item value,mode)item buy pricerune costtotal profit=per-cast profit×casts to targetgp/hour=casts/hour×per-cast profit\begin{aligned} \text{per-cast profit} &= \text{alchCoins}(\text{item value}, \text{mode}) - \text{item buy price} - \text{rune cost} \\ \text{total profit} &= \text{per-cast profit} \times \text{casts to target} \\ \text{gp/hour} &= \text{casts/hour} \times \text{per-cast profit} \end{aligned}
Inputs are kept at full precision. Discrete counts round up when a partial action cannot complete the goal; probabilities and rates keep their fractional meaning.

Worked example

An item with a 1,500 gp value returns ⌊0.6 × 1,500⌋ = 900 coins on a high alchemy cast. With 100 gp nature runes and a fire staff, the break-even buy price is 900 − 100 = 800 gp, so buying at 700 gp clears 100 gp per cast: 120,000 gp and 78,000 Magic XP over 1,200 casts in an hour.

Interpreting the result

Start by checking that each field describes the same scenario as the result: levels are visible base levels, bonuses are entered separately, costs are per unit, and a one-in-X rate means one divided by X on each eligible roll. The calculator updates immediately and writes the complete input state into the address bar. “Copy link” preserves those assumptions; “Copy result” copies a short summary rather than the entire method.

Do not treat a rounded count as an hourly rate. A required-action total says how many successful units complete the target under the entered reward. Banking, movement, failed attempts, animation timing, missed ticks and setup changes affect elapsed time. When time matters, measure a representative session with the same method and divide the required count by the observed successful actions per hour.

Economic outputs are arithmetic scenarios rather than live market quotations. Check current item values before buying supplies, include any outputs that can be sold, and consider limits or low-volume price movement. Probability outputs describe repeated independent trials; they do not promise that a result arrives at the displayed attempt count. The visible formula is the authority for what this page includes.

Read this as a planning estimate. Game updates, equipment effects, failures, travel, downtime and live prices can move a real session away from the mathematical result. Check the inputs against the account and use the output as a reproducible baseline.

Questions about OSRS Alch Profit Calculator

Why can two alchemy pages show different outputs?
This page focuses on the full profitability plan and includes low alchemy mode; the simple high-alch page is fixed to one action and faster entry.
How does fire staff selection change outcomes?
If fire staves are selected, fire rune cost is removed and only nature rune cost remains per cast.
What is the break-even buy price formula?
Break-even equals alchemy coin return minus total rune cost for that mode. If item price is below this, the item is non-profitable.
Can this be used for GE flip preparation?
Yes. Set the item value, buy price, and target level; then compare with flip margins from the GE tax page before committing a slot.

Sources

Mechanics and fixed tables were reviewed in 2026. Price-like inputs are user-controlled or approximate rather than live quotes. Source links name the public reference used for the page; the visible formula states the exact implementation.

  1. Old School RuneScape Wiki — High Level Alchemy65 Magic XP per cast, 5 fire and 1 nature rune, 60% of item value, about 1,200 casts per hour, reviewed 2026-09-05.
  2. Old School RuneScape Wiki — Low Level Alchemy31 Magic XP per cast, 3 fire and 1 nature rune, 40% of item value, reviewed 2026-09-05.
  3. Old School RuneScape Wiki — ExperienceLevel thresholds used for target-cast computation, reviewed 2026-09-05.

Related calculators