Cash Drop

Cash Drop calls in a crate stacked with $2,500. It is the most expensive normal Power at 200 Monkey Money, or 180 with the Budget Cash Drops knowledge, and it is the strongest way to jump-start a game.

What Cash Drop does

• Spawns a crate on the map that gives $2,500 when collected.
• In Half Cash mode the crate is worth $1,250.
• Tap the crate to collect it. If you leave it, it collects itself after 15 seconds, so the money is never lost.
• It can only be used while a round is running, not in the break between rounds.

The amount is fixed. $2,500 is huge on round 1 and almost nothing on round 90, which decides when you should use it.

How to get Cash Drops

Buying them is expensive, so the free ones are valuable. Sources include:

• Achievements: Student (your first Monkey Knowledge point gives 2 Cash Drops), Thrifty (win 10 Half Cash games, 3 Cash Drops plus 250 Monkey Money), Stubborn Strategy (3 plus 500 Monkey Money), Student Loans (3), Bill Greates (5), Like a Boss (2), I'll Be Back (2), Territory Sampler (2), Double Trouble (2) and more.
• Quests such as the Pat Fusty, Psi, Obyn Greenfoot and Captain Churchill tutorials, and Least Cash, Fast Tracked (3).
• The More Money Pack and Fast Track Pack in the shop, plus daily and event rewards.

Best times to use it

• Round 1 to round 10. You start most games with $650, so a $2,500 crate is almost four times your starting money. That is enough for a Banana Farm right away on any difficulty, or Benjamin plus a Banana Farm on Medium. The earlier you invest it, the more it snowballs.
• Hard medals on Expert maps. Two or three Cash Drops in the first rounds let you build a real defence before the early Camo and Lead rounds (Camo Greens on 24, Leads on 28, Camo Reds and Yellows on 33).
• Half Cash and Impoppable. These modes are short on money, so the crate matters even more, even at $1,250 in Half Cash.
• Paragon pushes. In normal Boss Events and long games, early Cash Drops speed up the farm build that later pays for a Paragon.

After about round 40, Thrive usually earns more per Monkey Money than a Cash Drop.

Best combos

• Banana Farms. The classic use: drop the crate on round 1, buy farms immediately, and let them pay back the rest of the game.
• Benjamin. His cash generation stacks with a fast farm start.
• Banana Farmer. Picks up the crate and your bananas automatically so you can focus on building.
• Strong early towers. If you do not want to farm, the cash gets you straight to a key tier 3 such as a Ninja Monkey or a Wizard Monkey that covers Camo.
• Thrive later. Cash Drop for the start, Thrive once pop cash and farm income are large.

Where you can't use it

• Disabled in CHIMPS, Races and ranked Boss Events.
• Disabled in challenges and Quests that turn Powers off, and in the editors' test mode.
• Not usable in Contested Territory, because there is no Cash Drop Relic.
• In Odyssey and Rogue Legends only equipped Powers can be used.

Is it worth the Monkey Money?

Only in the right game. 200 Monkey Money is a lot: the same amount buys two Monkey Boosts or four Glue Trap packs. A Cash Drop is worth it when you use it in the first few rounds of a hard medal attempt, where $2,500 decides whether your defence comes online in time.

It is not worth buying for normal games, late rounds or freeplay. Budget Cash Drops saves 20 Monkey Money on every purchase, so take it if you buy them regularly. For most players the best plan is to hoard the free Cash Drops from achievements and quests and spend them on Expert and Impoppable medals.

Frequently asked questions

How much money does Cash Drop give in BTD6?

$2,500 per crate, or $1,250 in Half Cash mode.

How much does a Cash Drop cost?

200 Monkey Money, or 180 with the Budget Cash Drops Monkey Knowledge.

Do I have to collect the Cash Drop crate?

You can tap it, but it also collects itself after 15 seconds, so the money is never lost.

When should I use Cash Drop?

As early as possible, ideally in the first rounds, so the money can grow through farms or early towers.

Can you use Cash Drop in CHIMPS?

No. Powers are disabled in CHIMPS, Races and ranked Boss Events.

Is Cash Drop or Thrive better?

Cash Drop is better early in a game. Thrive is better in the mid and late game when pop cash and farm income are high.