Payouts and Markets
Project Carga job payouts reward useful cargo movement without making one simulator type feel unfairly stronger than another.
Simple rule: payouts are based on cargo weight, the destination country’s market rate, the route length, how much the destination needs cargo, and any eligible bonus route multiplier.
How Job Payouts Work
Every job payout is based on four things.
| Factor | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cargo weight / tonnage | Heavier jobs pay more. |
| Destination market rate | Jobs use the market rate of the country you are delivering into. |
| Route length | Longer routes receive a small route bonus through simple route bands. |
| Destination demand | Deliveries into locations that need cargo pay better. Full destinations pay less. |
| Bonus routes | Eligible subscribed players may receive a bonus route multiplier. |
Market Rates
Each country has a daily market rate shown on the Live Markets page.
Jobs use the market rate of the country you are delivering into. For example, if you deliver into Germany, the Germany market rate is used.
Players can use the Live Markets page to see which active countries are paying well today. You still need the correct trade licences to start and finish jobs in those countries.
The dashboard shows a smaller Live Markets preview for your licensed countries. The full Live Markets page shows all active countries.
Route Length
Longer routes receive a small route bonus.
Route length does not directly multiply payout by kilometres. Instead, routes fall into simple bands:
| Route band | What it means |
|---|---|
| Short | A shorter job with a modest route bonus. |
| Medium | A standard job with a small route bonus. |
| Long | A longer job with a higher route bonus. |
| Ultra long | A major route with a stronger route bonus. |
| Intercontinental | An especially long route across regions. |
This keeps payouts fair between pilots and drivers.
Destination Demand
Deliveries into locations that need cargo pay better. Deliveries into locations that are already full pay less.
As a simple guide:
| Destination stock | Payout effect |
|---|---|
| Low stock | Demand is high, so the job can pay better. |
| Normal stock | The job pays the normal demand amount. |
| Oversupplied | Demand is lower, so the job can pay less. |
Two jobs can have the same cargo weight and country, but pay differently because one destination needs cargo and the other is already well stocked.
Shared Hubs can also affect how cargo need is understood around linked airport and depot pairs. At a Shared Hub, pilots and drivers can both contribute to the same storage pool.
Local Demand
Project Carga locations can also use cargo over time.
This represents local businesses, warehouses, and connected industries drawing freight out of the network after it has arrived. It helps keep the economy moving instead of every busy destination staying full forever.
Local demand does not move cargo to another airport or depot. It simply represents freight being used by the local area.
When local demand reduces stock at a location, that location may become more attractive for future deliveries because it needs cargo again.
You may see local demand listed on the live map. It is part of the cargo economy, separate from player deliveries.
Locked Payouts
Once you accept a job, the quoted payout is locked.
If market rates or destination demand change while you are flying or driving, your accepted job does not change.
Free Accounts and Payout Caps
Free accounts can earn funds up to their free lifetime earnings cap of €150,000.
If a free account is near that cap, the final amount paid may be lower than the quoted payout. The job quote shows the job’s value, but free accounts cannot earn beyond their cap.
Subscribed players are not limited by the free lifetime cap while subscribed.
When a free account completes a job at or near the cap, the success screen shows the actual amount credited. Free accounts do not earn XP from completed jobs.
XP and Bonus Routes
Funds and XP are handled separately.
Free users earn no XP. Subscribed players earn XP from jobs.
XP is based on the work completed, not market price. Longer route bands can give a small XP increase. Market rates affect funds, not XP.
Bonus route multipliers are subscription-only. If a subscribed player accepts a job that qualifies for a bonus route, the payout may be increased. Free users do not receive bonus route multipliers.
Example
Two 10t jobs can pay differently even when both deliver into Germany.
| Job | Market rate | Route length | Destination demand | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt to Berlin | Germany market rate: €899/t | Medium | Berlin has low cargo, so demand is high | Higher payout than delivering to a full destination |
| Frankfurt to Leipzig | Germany market rate: €899/t | Medium | Leipzig is full, so demand is low | Lower payout |
The cargo weight and country can be the same, but destination demand changes the value of the job.