What are Old School RuneScape Bonds?
Old School Bonds are premium in-game items that can be purchased with real money ($6.99 USD) or traded on the Grand Exchange for gold coins. Each bond provides 14 days of OSRS membership when redeemed. Bonds bridge the gap between real-world currency and in-game wealth, allowing players to either buy GP with money or sustain membership by earning GP in-game.
How Much is a Bond Worth in OSRS?
As of 2026, OSRS bond prices fluctuate between 8-11M GP on the Grand Exchange, with the average around 9-10M GP. Bond prices are affected by: (1) Real-world demand for GP, (2) In-game gold inflation, (3) Seasonal events and promotions, (4) Major game updates that increase membership demand. Always check the GE price before buying or selling bonds, as prices can swing 500k-1M in a single day.
Bond GP Conversion — Understanding the 10% Tax
When you convert a tradeable bond to GP, you receive 90% of its market value. For example, if a bond costs 10M GP on the GE, you only receive 9M GP when converting it. This 10% tax was implemented to: (1) Control gold inflation in the economy, (2) Make membership redemption more attractive, (3) Create a gold sink to maintain economy balance. The tax applies only when converting bonds to GP—not when redeeming for membership or trading on the GE.
Can You Sustain OSRS Membership with Bonds?
Yes, but it requires efficient money-making. To sustain membership with bonds, you need to earn enough GP to buy 2.14 bonds per month(30 days ÷ 14 days per bond). At current prices (9-10M per bond), this means earning 20-22M GP per month, or roughly670k-730k GP per day. Efficient methods that achieve this:
- Vorkath (2-3M GP/hr): 20-30 min/day sustains bonds with profit left over
- Zulrah (2-3M GP/hr): Similar to Vorkath, requires 77 Magic
- Chambers of Xeric raids (3-5M GP/hr): 15-20 min/day covers bonds
- Herb runs (200-300k per run): 3 runs/day = 600-900k, easily covers bonds
- Daily battlestaves (300k profit): 2 min/day, covers half your bond cost
Players with combat stats 90+ can easily sustain membership. Lower-level players may struggle unless they do dailies consistently.
Is Buying Bonds Worth It?
When bonds are worth buying: (1) You have limited playtime but disposable income, (2) You're starting fresh and need startup capital, (3) You want to skip early-game grinding, (4) Your time is worth more than $7/hr in real life. When bonds aren't worth it:(1) You have high-level PvM stats (Vorkath, Zulrah, raids are faster GP than working IRL), (2) You enjoy money-making content, (3) You play enough to sustain bonds naturally through dailies/bossing, (4) You're an ironman (bonds don't help much).
Math comparison: At $6.99 per bond = ~9M GP, you're paying $0.78 per million GP. If you make 2M GP/hr in-game, that's equivalent to $1.56/hr of real-world value. Most players value their time higher than this, making bonds a reasonable purchase for convenience and time-saving.
How Many Bonds Do I Need?
Popular GP targets: 10M (starter cash) = 2 bonds ($13.98), 50M (mid-game gear) = 6 bonds ($41.94), 100M (Bandos, Armadyl gear) = 12 bonds ($83.88), 500M (Twisted bow, Scythe) = 59 bonds ($412.41), 1B (max gear) = 118 bonds ($824.82). Remember: bonds are most efficient for small-medium purchases. For max gear (1B+), most players farm gold in-game as it's more cost-effective than $800+ in bonds.
Bond Price Trends & Predictions
Bond prices generally increase over time due to in-game gold inflation. Historical trends show 5-10% annual increase. Prices spike during: (1) Major content updates (new raids, skills), (2) League/seasonal events, (3) Summer and holidays when player counts increase. Prices dip during: (1) Game controversies or bans, (2) Off-peak months (January-February), (3) When Jagex runs bond sales or promotions.