Oil Tycoon! budget calculator
Put in what you have saved in Oil Tycoon!, get back the purchase tier it reaches. Every formula is shown — no hidden math.
Budget → purchase tier
| Your budget | Tier it reaches | What you can buy |
|---|---|---|
| Under $100 | Starter | Conveyor ($10) + clear obstacle ($25) + path door ($50) |
| $100 – $249 | Container tier | Above + Miguel's mug ($100) |
| $250 – $669 | Processing tier | Above + upgrader ($250) — do this first |
| $670 – $49,999 | Automation tier | Above + drill worker ($670) |
| $50,000 – $699,999 | Extractor tier | Above + oil extractor ($50,000) |
| $700,000+ | Monument tier | Everything — and the monument still does nothing |
The two formulas that matter
Payback on the upgrader
`` gain per unit = $33 − $23 = $10 payback (units) = $250 ÷ $10 = 25 units ``
25 units through the upgrader and it has paid for itself. On a line running several units per second, that is under a minute.
Offline buffer
`` offline minutes = container capacity ÷ (line rate per minute) ``
Collection stops when barrels fill — so the container, not the pump, sets how long you can stay away.
Spending rule
| Budget under | Buy |
|---|---|
| $250 | Depth (path segments, $10–50) — never cosmetics |
| $669 | Upgrader before anything else |
| $49,999 | Workers before the next big building |
| $50,000+ | Extractor, then the second branch |
Worked budgets
Three real budgets, walked through:
$80 (first hour). Not enough for the upgrader. Buy the $10 conveyor segment to close any gap in the route, clear a $25 obstacle if it blocks extension, and bank the rest. The route reaching the sell point without gaps is worth more than any single purchase at this balance.
$400 (early game). Upgrader bought at $250, $150 left. Do not spend it on cosmetics — the $670 drill worker is the next target, and the wait is short once the upgrader doubles what each unit earns.
$60,000 (mid game). Extractor territory, but only if the line already runs unattended. If walking away stalls it, spend $670 on a worker first: an extractor feeding a stalling line just fills the pit faster.
The two formulas that matter
Payback = cost ÷ income added per second. The upgrader at $250 on a line already earning a few dollars a second pays back in seconds to minutes. The same $250 on a line that sells raw oil pays back slowly, because the income added per second is small — the formula punishes buying value upgrades before the line runs.
Offline buffer = stages covered by workers ÷ stages that starve. One worker covering the only starving stage takes the buffer from minutes to overnight. This is the ratio behind the offline production page: two covered stages and zero starvers means you can log off.
Spending rule
Spend on the pile. The limiting-stage method identifies it in ten seconds, and every dollar spent anywhere else is a dollar that waited. When no pile exists and money accumulates faster than you can reinvest, the line has outgrown its current tier — that is the moment for the tier jump in the table above, not before.
FAQ
What should I buy with my current budget?
Under $100, buy line pieces; $100–$249, save for the upgrader; $250–$669, the upgrader then the drill worker; $670–$49,999, workers and tank upgrades; $50,000+, the oil extractor.
What are the two formulas that matter?
Payback on the upgrader and offline buffer. The upgrader pays back in under a minute on an active line; the offline buffer tells you how long production survives while you are away.
