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| How to Make Money in Graveyard Keeper |
Learn how to make money in Graveyard Keeper with proven early, mid, and late-game strategies, including wine, farming, church income, and automation.
If you’re struggling to earn enough coins to progress smoothly in Graveyard Keeper, you’re not alone. Money is one of the biggest bottlenecks in the game, especially for new players who don’t yet understand which activities actually scale. This guide on how to make money in Graveyard Keeper breaks down the most reliable, efficient, and progression-friendly ways to earn silver and gold—without wasting in-game days.
Whether you’re early game, mid game, or pushing toward late-game automation, this article aligns perfectly with informational search intent and gives you practical, proven strategies you can apply immediately.
Understanding Money in Graveyard Keeper (Before You Grind)
Before diving into methods, it’s critical to understand how money works in Graveyard Keeper. The economy is NPC-driven, meaning every vendor buys and sells specific goods at fluctuating prices. Flooding the market lowers prices, while selling gradually maximizes profit.
Coins come in three tiers:
- Copper – basic transactions
- Silver – mid-tier expenses
- Gold – late-game progression and major unlocks
Your goal is not just to earn money, but to earn it consistently and sustainably.
Early Game: Best Ways to Make Money Fast
Early game is tight. You need coins for tools, recipes, and story progression, but you lack automation. These methods are beginner-friendly and low risk.
Sell Burial Certificates (Your First Reliable Income)
This is the first money stream the game teaches you—and for good reason.
Every time you bury a body and complete the burial certificate quest, you can sell it to the tavern keeper (Horadric) for silver.
Why this works
- No crafting required
- Bodies arrive regularly
- Scales naturally with story progression
Pro tip: Improve corpse quality before burial to boost graveyard rating, which indirectly unlocks better money opportunities later.
Sell Firewood and Simple Resources
Firewood is easy to craft and always in demand early game.
You can sell:
- Firewood
- Simple iron parts
- Excess stone
These won’t make you rich, but they keep you solvent while you unlock better tech.
Mid Game: Where Real Money Starts
This is where how to make money in Graveyard Keeper becomes interesting. Mid game introduces crafting chains, NPC specialization, and higher-value goods.
Farming and Selling Crops
Once you unlock farming properly, crops become a stable income source.
Best crops to sell:
- Wheat (feeds multiple crafting chains)
- Lentils
- Pumpkins
Sell surplus crops to the Farmer NPC. Don’t oversell—prices drop fast if you flood the market.
Why farming works
- Renewable
- Predictable
- Supports cooking and alchemy later
Craft and Sell Prayer Services (Church Income)
Once your church is operational, prayer services become a major income stream.
High-value prayers:
- Prayer for Faith
- Combo Prayer (late mid-game)
Improving your church quality increases donations significantly. This is one of the most underrated money sources in the game.
You can learn more about church mechanics from the official Graveyard Keeper Steam page, which explains progression systems in detail.
Sell Crafted Goods, Not Raw Materials
Raw materials are cheap. Processed goods are not.
High-profit crafted items include:
- Simple iron parts → complex iron parts
- Nails
- Polished stone
NPCs pay significantly more for processed goods, especially the Blacksmith and Merchant.
Late Game: High-Profit, Scalable Money Methods
Late game is about efficiency and automation. At this stage, you should be thinking in gold coins, not silver.
Wine and Beer Production (Top-Tier Strategy)
Alcohol production is one of the best money makers in the entire game.
You’ll need:
- Vineyard unlocked
- Wine press
- Barrels
- Access to the Merchant
Wine sells for a high price and demand remains stable if you sell smartly.
Beer is cheaper but sells in larger quantities, making it ideal for steady cash flow.
This method is widely considered the gold standard by the Graveyard Keeper community, as documented in the official game wiki maintained by players and developers.
Selling Crates via the Merchant
Once you unlock the Merchant storyline, you gain access to crate trading, which is extremely profitable.
Crates can contain:
- Wine
- Vegetables
- Crafted goods
The Merchant pays in gold over time, making this one of the few true late-game wealth systems.
Important: This is not instant money. It’s an investment system with delayed but massive returns.
Zombie Automation = Passive Income
Zombies don’t directly generate money, but they remove labor bottlenecks, allowing you to scale production.
Best zombie tasks:
- Farming
- Mining
- Vineyard work
- Crafting repetitive items
The more you automate, the more time you spend on high-value activities like trade and production optimization.
Advanced Tips Most Players Miss
If you want to truly master how to make money in Graveyard Keeper, these details matter.
Don’t Oversell to One NPC
Every NPC has a hidden price modifier. Selling too much of one item crashes the price.
Rotate sales across days and NPCs to maintain value.
Optimize Time, Not Just Output
Time is your most limited resource. If an activity takes too long for too little profit, drop it—even if it “feels productive.”
Wine > Beer > Crops > Raw materials
Always move up the value chain.
Stack Synergies (Church + Crafting + Farming)
The richest players don’t rely on one income stream.
They combine:
- Weekly church income
- Automated farming
- Alcohol production
- Merchant crates
This creates financial stability even if one stream slows down.
Common Mistakes That Keep Players Poor
Avoid these traps:
- Selling raw materials instead of processed goods
- Ignoring church upgrades
- Not unlocking the Merchant storyline early enough
- Manually grinding tasks that zombies can automate
Fixing just one of these mistakes can double your income.
Visual Learning: Use Maps and Production Diagrams
For complex systems like wine production or zombie logistics, in-game diagrams and community videos help a lot. Strategy breakdown videos on the official Graveyard Keeper Steam community hub visually explain optimal layouts and production chains.
These resources significantly reduce trial-and-error time.
Put These Strategies to Work Today
If you’re tired of being broke in Graveyard Keeper, pick one method from this guide and fully optimize it before moving on. Consistency beats complexity every time.
Final Thoughts: Mastering Money in Graveyard Keeper
Understanding how to make money in Graveyard Keeper isn’t about grinding endlessly—it’s about smart systems, timing, and progression awareness. Early game survival leads to mid-game optimization, which unlocks late-game wealth through automation and trade.
If you apply the strategies in this guide step by step, you’ll never feel stuck behind a paywall again. Instead, money becomes a tool that accelerates your progress rather than a barrier.
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