Paper Route
$120 base cost · $1/sec
Business Overview
Deliver news, earn coins.
The Paper Route isn't flashy, but its steady per-second return is exactly what a growing empire needs.
Cost Scaling
Every business in Tycoon Cards uses the same cost curve: each copy costs 15% more than the last. For the Paper Route, that looks like this:
| Copies owned | Cost of next copy | Total spent to reach this many |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $138 | $120 |
| 10 | $485.5 | $2.44K |
| 25 | $3.95K | $25.5K |
| 50 | $130K | $866K |
| 100 | $141M | $939M |
Income Scaling
Income scales linearly with copies owned — no diminishing returns, ever. Owning more of the Paper Route always earns proportionally more:
| Copies owned | Income per second |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1/s |
| 10 | $10/s |
| 25 | $25/s |
| 50 | $50/s |
| 100 | $100/s |
Profit Calculations
| Payback period (1st copy) | 120 seconds |
| Income per dollar spent | $0.0/s per $1 |
| Efficient switch point | Around copy #18 (when the next copy costs more than Car Wash) |
See the Business Tier List for how this business ranks against all other 99 tiers by payback period.
Unlock Requirements
There is no gating system on businesses in Tycoon Cards — the Paper Route is available to purchase from the very start of any run, the moment you can afford its $120 base cost. The only realistic "requirement" is reaching that amount of money, either by clicking, by owning cheaper businesses, or by carrying prestige and card bonuses from a previous run.
Best Upgrades
Individual businesses don't have their own upgrade trees in Tycoon Cards — the Paper Route always earns exactly $1 per copy at base rate. What actually "upgrades" its value are the game's shared systems: levelling supporting cards (below), earning achievement bonuses, and increasing your prestige multiplier. Each of these applies as a percentage on top of every business you own, including this one.
Best Supporting Cards
At this tier, cost-reduction cards give the best return — you'll buy many copies of this business, so every percentage off compounds across dozens of purchases. All-income cards are a strong secondary pick.
Prestige Recommendations
This tier is typically the very first business you rebuy after every prestige reset — its low cost means you'll be back to owning dozens of copies within moments of a fresh run.
Read the full Prestige Guide for general reset timing, or the Prestige Point Planning guide to calculate exactly how many points your next reset will earn.
Research Interactions
Tycoon Cards does not currently include a research-tree system — the Paper Route cannot be researched or unlocked through any mechanic beyond simply affording it. A research tree is listed as a possible future system on our Updates & Roadmap page; this section will be updated if that ever changes.
Evolution Path (Tier Progression)
Businesses in Tycoon Cards don't evolve or transform — each tier is a permanent, independent business. What we can show honestly is this business's place in the overall 100-tier progression:
- Previous tier: 🍋 Lemonade Stand ($15 base cost)
- This tier: 📰 Paper Route ($120 base cost)
- Next tier: 🚿 Car Wash ($1.30K base cost)
Visual Progression
The five tiers surrounding the Paper Route in the business roster:
Best Strategies
- Buy this tier aggressively and in bulk — at this cost level, ten cheap copies almost always beat saving for a single copy of the next tier.
- Use the x10 or x100 buy buttons once you can afford them, rather than purchasing one copy at a time.
- Remember that all businesses share the same 15%-per-copy cost curve, so the fundamental buy/hold maths never changes — only the absolute numbers do.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the Paper Route cost?
+
How much does the Paper Route cost?
+The first copy costs 120 in-game dollars. Each subsequent copy costs 15% more than the last, following the same cost curve used by every business in Tycoon Cards.
How much does the Paper Route earn?
+
How much does the Paper Route earn?
+Each copy of the Paper Route earns 1 per second, before any card, achievement, or prestige bonuses are applied.
How long does it take for the Paper Route to pay for itself?
+
How long does it take for the Paper Route to pay for itself?
+At base rates, one copy pays back its own cost in approximately 120 seconds — though bonuses from cards and prestige typically shorten this in practice.
When should I switch from the Paper Route to Car Wash?
+
When should I switch from the Paper Route to Car Wash?
+Once you own around 18 copies of the Paper Route, the cost of your next copy will exceed Car Wash's base price — a reasonable signal to start diversifying into that tier instead.
Does prestige reset my Paper Route count?
+
Does prestige reset my Paper Route count?
+Yes. Prestiging resets all business ownership, including the Paper Route, back to zero. However, any cards or achievements that boost this business's income remain permanently in effect on your next run.
Related Businesses
Related Guides
- Business Guide — full roster, cost curves and buy order
- Business Tier List — every business ranked by return on investment
- Economy Guide — how growth curves and inflation work game-wide
- Prestige Guide — when and how to reset for permanent bonuses
Changelog
- v1.0.0 (January 2026) — Available since the original Tycoon Cards release.
Business data verified against the live game configuration · Part of the 100-business encyclopedia · Written by the Tycoon Cards development team