OSRS Hunter Calculator

9 priced Hunter methods, from 170,000 XP/hr down to 5,000. Members skill.

OSRS Hunter Calculator. Between Ruby Harvest Butterflies (15) and Herbiboar (80) this table lists 9 Hunter methods. Maniacal Monkeys at 90,000 XP/hr is the best of the 6 rows open at level 70. 12,296,804 XP, 12,297 monkeys and 137 hrs - the panel above answers those three at 10 hrs a week.

Hunter goal

RuneScape username

Current level

Current XP

Target level

How much do you actually play?

10 hrs / week

The damage

XP remaining

12,296,804

Actions left

12,297

via Maniacal Monkeys

Time left

137 hrs

Nights of grinding

weekly hours averaged across 7 days

ETA

in 3 months

Maniacal Monkeys at 90,000 XP/hr is what you can run today; Hunters' Rumours at level 72 raises that to 170,000.

Hunter methods and rates

Every Hunter rate below - 9 of them - is what a normal session returns.

Method	Lvl	XP/hr	GP/XP	To goal	Hours
Ruby Harvest Butterflies Varlamore butterfly netting. Slow on its own, so lay bird snares beside you to stack extra XP while catching butterflies. · 24 xp/butterfly	15	15,000	—	512,367	820 hrs
Swamp Lizards Net traps with a rope and small net. A cheap, low-stress grind to bridge levels 29-47 before salamanders. · 152 xp/lizard	29	40,000	—	80,901	307 hrs
Grey Chinchompas Box traps at Piscatoris or Kourend Woodland (needs Eagles' Peak). Catches sell as Ranged ammo for handy early gp. · 198.4 xp/chinchompa	53	60,000	+4	61,980	205 hrs
Red Salamanders afk Four net traps, near-AFK between resets. The chill mid-game staple until chinchompas or rumours open up. · 272 xp/salamander	59	85,000	—	45,209	145 hrs
Birdhouse Runs afk Fully passive: seed 4 houses, collect ~50 min later. Yew shown; magic/redwood give 1,140-1,200 xp; opens at level 5. · 1020 xp/birdhouse	59	5,000	+2	12,056	2,459 hrs
Maniacal Monkeys Requires Monkey Madness II. Deadfall traps baited with bananas; climbs from ~60k to ~110k xp/hr with your level. · 1000 xp/monkey	60	90,000	—	12,297	137 hrs
Hunters' Rumours fastest The 2026 meta - Hunter Guild tasks. Open at 46, but Expert (72) with a block list is fastest; per-rumour XP scales, loot sacks add gp. · 9000 xp/rumour	72	170,000	+2	—	71 hrs (72+)
Black Chinchompas fastest Box traps in the Wilderness (PK risk) or Kruk's Dungeon. Fastest non-rumour XP and elite gp - each catch sells for around 2,900. · 315 xp/chinchompa	73	130,000	+9	—	93 hrs (73+)
Herbiboar profit Fossil Island tracking puzzle; also needs 31 Herblore. Herb drops earn ~380k gp/hr and per-catch XP rises to 2,461 by 99. · 1950 xp/herbiboar	80	120,000	+3	—	92 hrs (80+)

About training Hunter

Hunter is a members-only gathering skill where you trap birds, salamanders, chinchompas and other creatures instead of clicking one static resource, so most methods reward active attention with faster rates. Early levels crawl through butterflies, lizards and salamanders, but from the low 70s the Hunter Guild's "Rumours" tasks and black chinchompas push you past 130k-235k xp/hr. Birdhouse runs quietly bank thousands of XP in the background while you train something else entirely.

Did you know: Level 99 Hunter demands 13,034,431 XP, so clearing it entirely on black chinchompas at 315 XP per catch would take roughly 41,400 successful box traps.

How this Hunter estimate is built

12,135,174 XP separates level 72 from Hunter 99, out of 13,034,431 total. 170,000 XP/hr on Hunters' Rumours turns that gap into 71 hrs; 9,000 XP per rumour turns it into 1,349 actions. One action every 3.2 minutes: that is what 170,000 XP/hr at 9000 XP per rumour actually requires. Every row carries an action count here - all 9 Hunter methods - so that column is never blank. 50 nights at 1.4 hrs a day covers 71 hrs of Hunter. 84 hrs from level 1, if you switch at 15/29/53/59/60/72/73/80.

Decision example

12,135,174 XP: Hunters' Rumours converts it in 71 hrs, Maniacal Monkeys in 135 hrs - 89% more clock. Hunters' Rumours returns 24.3M gp while Maniacal Monkeys breaks even. Low attention instead: Red Salamanders at 85,000 XP/hr.

Limits of the number

170,000 XP/hr is Hunters' Rumours over a session, 229,500 on a perfect tick. An hour of Hunters' Rumours returns about 340K gp. 2 GP/XP is dated 16 October 2026 - the next supply update moves it, the rate usually does not.

Hunter, level 72 to 99

12,135,174 XP - 93% of a whole 99 - explained twice. Both rows price the same 12,135,174 XP, so only the Hunter rate and GP/XP move.

Method	Rate	Actions	Active hours	GP/XP estimate
Hunters' Rumours	170,000 XP/hr	1,349	71 hrs	+24.3M gp
Maniacal Monkeys	90,000 XP/hr	12,136	135 hrs	not estimated

Hunters' Rumours saves 63 hrs over Maniacal Monkeys, which is 89% of the slower total.

Method detail comes from Hunter training on the OSRS Wiki, last read on 16 October 2026 for Hunter. Data sources.

A practical Hunter route

3 stages, 1-43 to 70+: each names the Hunter method to switch to and what the switch buys.

1-43

Birds and tracking
Move through bird snares and tracking methods quickly; the first levels are mostly unlocks for more reliable traps.
43-70

Choose traps or rumours
Falconry, salamanders and birdhouse runs have different attention and profit profiles; birdhouses also feed passive XP between sessions.
70+

Chins, herbi and rumours
Red chinchompas can be profitable, Herbiboar adds Herblore supplies and Hunter Guild rumours add rewards with task variance.

Hunter by goal

What changes the choice

Fastest: Tick or multi-trap methods reward constant resets; use a lower average if you are banking or losing trap cycles.
AFK: Birdhouse runs and selected guild activities create long real-time gaps between active sessions.
Profit: Chinchompas and Herbiboar loot can be valuable, but prices and catch rates vary with world competition.

Requirements and caveats

Trap count, quest unlocks, stamina and Hunter equipment affect the rate beyond the displayed level requirement.
Birdhouse XP is time-gated, so its active-hour rate should not be multiplied across the whole day.

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting trap reset time as if every trap caught on the first attempt.
Treating birdhouse runs as continuous XP rather than a short action repeated after a growth timer.

3 Hunter switches, reviewed 2026-10-16. Hunter training on the OSRS Wiki.

Recent data notes

9 review notes on Hunter, each naming a figure that moved and the reason.

9 review notes for this skill

Black Chinchompas gpPerXp: 2 -> 9. Black chinchompas sell for ~2,876-2,920 gp each (wiki money-making guide + GE Tracker); ~2,850 after GE tax / 315 xp per catch = ~9 gp/xp. The original '2' massively undervalued the game's top Hunter money method (~860k gp/hr).
Grey Chinchompas gpPerXp: 1 -> 4. Grey chinchompas (Chinchompa item) sell for ~810-846 gp each at 2025-2026 prices; ~829 after tax / 198.4 xp = ~4.2 gp/xp, not 1 (the old '1' reflected a much lower historical price).
Grey Chinchompas location corrected: note said 'Feldip Hills', but that is where RED chinchompas spawn (63 Hunter, 265 xp). Grey chinchompas are box-trapped at the Piscatoris Hunter area, Kourend Woodland, or Isle of Souls. Rewrote note with correct locations.
Grey Chinchompas note removed the false claim 'Out-paces salamanders here' - red salamanders (272 xp, ~85k xp/hr) clearly beat grey chinchompas (198.4 xp), so this was backwards. Also added the Eagles' Peak quest requirement (needed for box trapping).
Grey Chinchompas xpPerHour: 70000 -> 60000. Wiki money-making guide caps grey chins at ~44,640 xp/hr (225 catches) at level 53; ~60k is a fair active-play average, while 70k is only reachable at high Hunter levels where players would already use black chins or rumours.
Hunters' Rumours xpPerHour: 150000 -> 170000, to better reflect the current meta. Wiki cites Expert rumours scaling up to ~235k xp/hr and Master ~250k at level 99 with a good block list; 170k is a realistic Expert/Master average that keeps rumours clearly ahead of black chinchompas.
Hunters' Rumours note clarified: rumours actually unlock at 46 Hunter (Novice), with Adept at 57, Expert at 72, and Master at 91 (+ At First Light). Reworded to state they open at 46 but Expert (72) is the fast tier, so the listed level/rate stay internally consistent.
Maniacal Monkeys note: corrected the top-end rate from '~120k' to '~110k' xp/hr, matching the OSRS Wiki figure of 110,000 xp/hr at level 99.
Ruby Harvest Butterflies note: reworded 'Varlamore aerial catch' to 'Varlamore butterfly netting' - butterflies are caught with a butterfly net, whereas 'aerial' is a distinct Hunter technique (bird snaring / aerial fishing).

Hunter FAQ

How long does 99 Hunter take in OSRS?

Budget 84 active hours for the level 1 to 99 climb on the best available Hunter method at each step, or 43 nights at two hours.

How many rumours do you need for 99 Hunter?

About 1,349 rumours at 9000 XP each on Hunters' Rumours, from level 72 to 99.

Which Hunter method is fastest?

Hunters' Rumours, from level 72, at about 170,000 XP/hr. The 2026 meta - Hunter Guild tasks. Open at 46, but Expert (72) with a block list is fastest; per-rumour XP scales, loot sacks add gp.

What is a practical Hunter training route?

1-43: Birds and tracking - Move through bird snares and tracking methods quickly; the first levels are mostly unlocks for more reliable traps. 43-70: Choose traps or rumours - Falconry, salamanders and birdhouse runs have different attention and profit profiles; birdhouses also feed passive XP between sessions. 70+: Chins, herbi and rumours - Red chinchompas can be profitable, Herbiboar adds Herblore supplies and Hunter Guild rumours add rewards with task variance.

Is Hunter profitable?

Yes - Grey Chinchompas earns roughly 4 gp per XP, and Birdhouse Runs earns roughly 2 gp per XP, and Hunters' Rumours earns roughly 2 gp per XP, and Black Chinchompas earns roughly 9 gp per XP, and Herbiboar earns roughly 3 gp per XP. All of them are slower than Hunters' Rumours at 170,000 XP/hr.

Hunter method choice: what matters?

Trap count, quest unlocks, stamina and Hunter equipment affect the rate beyond the displayed level requirement. Birdhouse XP is time-gated, so its active-hour rate should not be multiplied across the whole day. Common mistakes include Counting trap reset time as if every trap caught on the first attempt. Treating birdhouse runs as continuous XP rather than a short action repeated after a growth timer.

How can I compare two Hunter methods fairly?

63 hrs is what Hunters' Rumours saves you over Maniacal Monkeys across 12,135,174 XP, once level 72 is behind you.

All 24 skill calculators, closest in hours first

Ranked by hours to 99, Hunter lands at 16 of 24. Woodcutting takes 81 hrs, Hitpoints 107 hrs. Open the hub table: Black Chinchompas is the only Hunter row that pays, at 9 GP/XP.