Special Cargo in GTA Online: How to Source, Sell and Profit
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Follow on XYes, Special Cargo is worth it if you have the patience to fill a warehouse. Buying crates three at a time, a full large warehouse costs GTA$ 666,000 to stock and sells for GTA$ 2,220,000, a GTA$ 1,554,000 profit. Smaller warehouses pay less per crate, and the biggest sales are the riskiest to deliver alone.
Special Cargo is the CEO crate business: you buy crates through source missions, store them in a warehouse, then sell them in bulk. Below you'll find what every crate costs, what each sale size pays, how delivery vehicles are assigned, and how warehouse staff can source for you. If you're still deciding which warehouse to buy and where, our Special Cargo Warehouses hub lists every location and price.
On this page
Special Cargo quick facts
Quick facts | Details |
|---|---|
Requirement | An Executive Office, registered as a CEO |
Where to buy warehouses | The SecuroServ computer in your office |
Warehouses you can own | Up to 5 |
Warehouse capacity | Small 16, medium 42, large 111 crates |
Warehouse prices | GTA$ 250,000 (small) to GTA$ 3,500,000 (large) |
Source mission cost | GTA$ 2,000 (1 crate), GTA$ 8,000 (2 crates), GTA$ 18,000 (3 crates) |
Full large warehouse sale | GTA$ 2,220,000 (GTA$ 20,000 per crate) |
Sell timer | Around 30 minutes |
Guaranteed single-vehicle sale | 9 crates or fewer |
Staff sourcing | Added in The Criminal Enterprises (July 2022) |
What you need to start
Special Cargo runs out of an Executive Office, and you have to register as a CEO before any of it unlocks. Once you're the boss, buy warehouses from the SecuroServ computer in your office. You can own up to five at once.
Warehouses come in three sizes:
Warehouse size | Capacity | Price range |
|---|---|---|
Small | 16 crates | GTA$ 250,000–400,000 |
Medium | 42 crates | GTA$ 880,000–1,017,000 |
Large | 111 crates | GTA$ 1,900,000–3,500,000 |
A bigger warehouse also pays more per crate when you sell it full (see the sell prices below). For every location and exact price, check the Special Cargo Warehouses hub. Its top pick is the large Darnel Bros Warehouse.
How to source Special Cargo
Crates come from source missions you launch from the SecuroServ computer in your office. You pick how many crates to buy, and you pay up front:
Crates per mission | Cost |
|---|---|
1 crate | GTA$ 2,000 |
2 crates | GTA$ 8,000 |
3 crates | GTA$ 18,000 |
On foot you carry one crate at a time, but 2 and 3 crate missions often put all the crates in a single vehicle, so they aren't three times the work. With associates in your organization, the extra hands cut down the return trips.
Each warehouse has its own cooldown after a source mission. Owning a second warehouse means you can keep sourcing into it while the first one is on cooldown, which is the simplest way to keep the business moving.
How much Special Cargo sells for
The value of each crate rises with the number of crates you sell at once. A lone crate is worth GTA$ 10,000, while a full large warehouse pays GTA$ 20,000 per crate. Here is the in-game sell table at the sizes that matter:
Crates sold | Sale price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
1 | GTA$ 10,000 | Lowest value per crate |
9 | GTA$ 126,000 | Largest sale that is sure to be one vehicle |
10 | GTA$ 145,000 | A land sale can now need a second truck |
16 | GTA$ 240,000 | Full small warehouse, GTA$ 15,000 each |
30 | GTA$ 495,000 | A land sale can now need a third truck |
42 | GTA$ 735,000 | Full medium warehouse, GTA$ 17,500 each |
50 | GTA$ 900,000 | Under half a large warehouse |
100 | GTA$ 1,950,000 | Nearly full large warehouse |
111 | GTA$ 2,220,000 | Full large warehouse, GTA$ 20,000 each |
So if you're wondering how much 42 crates of Special Cargo sell for, the answer is GTA$ 735,000, and stretching to a full large warehouse more than triples the payout per sale.
Full warehouse profit
Profit is the sale price minus what you spent on source missions. Filling with 3-crate missions keeps the mission count low:
Warehouse | Crates | Source missions | Stock cost | Sale price | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Small (3-crate runs) | 16 | 6 (five 3-crate, one single) | GTA$ 92,000 | GTA$ 240,000 | GTA$ 148,000 |
Medium (3-crate runs) | 42 | 14 | GTA$ 252,000 | GTA$ 735,000 | GTA$ 483,000 |
Large (3-crate runs) | 111 | 37 | GTA$ 666,000 | GTA$ 2,220,000 | GTA$ 1,554,000 |
Large (1-crate runs) | 111 | 111 | GTA$ 222,000 | GTA$ 2,220,000 | GTA$ 1,998,000 |
Single-crate missions squeeze out the best margin, but they take three times as many missions to fill a large warehouse. Most players are better off with 3-crate runs and spending the saved time on more stock.
Special items
Every so often your Assistant tips you off about a special item: a rare one-crate good that sells for five times what you pay for it. These are the best Special Cargo you can get per mission:
Special item | Cost | Sale price |
|---|---|---|
Film Reel | GTA$ 19,000 | GTA$ 95,000 |
Rare Hide | GTA$ 21,000 | GTA$ 105,000 |
Golden Minigun | GTA$ 23,000 | GTA$ 115,000 |
Ornamental Egg | GTA$ 25,000 | GTA$ 125,000 |
Large Diamond | GTA$ 27,000 | GTA$ 135,000 |
Rare Pocket Watch | GTA$ 30,000 | GTA$ 150,000 |
The Rare Pocket Watch is the most valuable of the six. When the tip comes in and you have the cash, it's worth taking.
How to sell Special Cargo
Start a sale from the Ad-Hawk laptop inside the warehouse. The game then assigns the delivery method, and you don't get to pick it:
Land: one or more MTL Brickade trucks
Sea: a single Tug
How many vehicles you get depends on how many crates you sell:
Crates sold | Land | Sea | Air |
|---|---|---|---|
1–9 | 1 Brickade | 1 Tug | 1 plane |
10–29 | Up to 2 Brickades | 1 Tug | Not guaranteed to be one plane |
30 or more | Up to 3 Brickades, sometimes with several drop-offs each | 1 Tug | Not guaranteed to be one plane |
Because you can't pick the roll, only a sale of 9 crates or fewer is sure to be one vehicle. The sell timer is generous at around 30 minutes, so even a multi-truck sale is doable, but every extra vehicle is one more thing that can go wrong.
Selling in a public session adds a high-demand bonus that grows with the number of other players in the lobby. The catch is that those same players can destroy your cargo, and a failed sale costs you stock. You don't have to sell everything at once: smaller sales pay less per crate, but they spawn fewer vehicles.
Selling Special Cargo solo
Special Cargo can be run entirely solo, from sourcing to the final drop. When you sell alone, the real choice is how much risk you're willing to take on the delivery:
Safest: sell while you have 9 crates or fewer, in an Invite Only session. That is the only sale size guaranteed to be a single vehicle, and since The Criminal Enterprises update (July 2022) a private session keeps other players away from your cargo. The cost is a lower price per crate and no public-lobby high-demand bonus.
Most profitable: sell a full warehouse. A land roll of 30 crates or more can field up to three Brickade trucks, sometimes with several drop-offs each, in around 30 minutes, all of which you drive yourself. A sea roll is a single Tug, but an air roll is not guaranteed to be a single plane.
If you do go big alone, the generous timer is on your side, but every extra truck is extra exposure to rivals in a public lobby. For how Special Cargo stacks up against other solo earners, see our solo money-making guide.
Warehouse staff and Export Mixed Goods
Since The Criminal Enterprises update in July 2022, every warehouse comes with staff who can source cargo for you. Lupe is your staff manager. A staff trip costs a fee (about GTA$ 7,500 a trip) and takes roughly one in-game day, about 48 real minutes. Each trip brings back a few crates at random, and sometimes a special item.
Each trip adds only a few crates, so staff sourcing is a slow top-up rather than a quick way to fill a large warehouse.
The same update added Export Mixed Goods, a separate daily delivery you launch through your office Assistant. It unlocks once your staff have sourced cargo for the first time. It never touches your warehouse stock, so running it never costs you crates, and it reportedly pays about GTA$ 50,000.
Tips to earn more from Special Cargo
Own two warehouses. Each one has its own cooldown, so you can keep sourcing while the other waits.
Buy 3 crates at a time. It keeps the mission count down, and the crates often travel in one vehicle.
Grab special items. Each one sells for five times its cost, so a single mission clears GTA$ 76,000 to GTA$ 120,000 in profit, more than any regular source mission.
Save big sales for bonus weeks. Rockstar periodically runs 2X sale weeks, and selling a full warehouse during one doubles the take. Just keep in mind that a well-stocked warehouse can be raided by NPCs, and a raid you don't deal with costs you crates, so sitting on stock for weeks carries some risk. A Mansion Security team (added in A Safehouse in the Hills, December 2025) cuts how often your businesses get raided. Sell challenges are a separate bonus worth keeping an eye out for too.
Unlock Nightclub goods. Owning a Special Cargo warehouse (or a Hangar) unlocks the Nightclub's Cargo and Shipments goods. Our Nightclub guide explains how that business works.
Is Special Cargo worth it?
For a CEO with the cash to stock it, yes. A full large warehouse turns GTA$ 666,000 of 3-crate missions into GTA$ 2,220,000, and you can do every step solo. The trade-offs are the up-front cost of every crate, the time it takes to source 111 crates, the occasional NPC raid on a well-stocked warehouse (less often if you own a Mansion with a Security team), and the risk of a multi-vehicle sale in a busy lobby.
If paying for every crate up front puts you off, our Air Freight guide covers the Hangar business, where sourcing works differently. You can also run Vehicle Cargo from a Vehicle Warehouse alongside your crates.
FAQ
Is Special Cargo in GTA 5 worth it?
Yes, especially with a large warehouse. Stocking 111 crates with 3-crate missions costs GTA$ 666,000 and the full sale pays GTA$ 2,220,000, a GTA$ 1,554,000 profit.
How much do 42 crates of Special Cargo sell for?
42 crates, a full medium warehouse, sell for GTA$ 735,000, or GTA$ 17,500 per crate.
What's the best Special Cargo in GTA 5?
The Rare Pocket Watch is the most valuable special item, costing GTA$ 30,000 and selling for GTA$ 150,000. For regular crates, a full large warehouse pays the best rate at GTA$ 20,000 per crate.
How much can you make from Special Cargo in GTA Online?
A full large warehouse sells for GTA$ 2,220,000. After stock costs, that is GTA$ 1,554,000 profit with 3-crate missions, or GTA$ 1,998,000 with single-crate missions.
How many Special Cargo warehouses can you own?
Up to five. Owning more than one lets you keep sourcing while another warehouse is on cooldown.
How do you sell Special Cargo solo?
Sell while you have 9 crates or fewer if you want a guaranteed single vehicle, ideally in an Invite Only session where no other players can attack it. Larger sales pay more per crate, but a land roll can need up to three Brickade trucks, all of which you drive yourself within around 30 minutes, and an air roll is not guaranteed to be a single plane.
Can you choose the delivery vehicle?
No. The game assigns land, sea or air when you start the sale from the Ad-Hawk laptop.
What happens if your Special Cargo is destroyed?
Rival players in a public session, and NPC attackers on some sell missions, can destroy your cargo in transit, and a failed sale costs you stock. Selling in an Invite Only session keeps other players out, and smaller sales mean fewer vehicles to protect.
