All difficulty levels and their payouts in Phasmophobia

Phasmophobia allows players to dive as deeply into terror and difficulty as they would like, and they do so with varying difficulty levels that the player, or party leader, can select while setting up a mission. The true name of the game is climbing the difficulty as high as possible to ensure the best possible payouts, while not meeting an untimely demise at the hands of some otherworldly spirit. Higher difficulties increase the risk, but the reward as well, so what difficulty level is ideal?

Related: Where do Cursed Possessions spawn in Phasmophobia?

A note on maps

There are differing map sizes within Phasmophobia, and this size is taken into account when determining the payout for the primary objective, which is discovering which type of ghost is haunting the location. This is then multiplied based on the difficulty level.

• Small — $10
• Medium — $30
• Large — $50

Amateur difficulty in Phasmophobia

Amateur is where players will likely begin their ghost-hunting adventures, as it gives ample time for new investigators to discover how certain systems and mechanics, such as sanity levels in Phasmophobia, operate with players and the spirits. It also offers the lowest payouts available, although, at this stage, any amount of income is welcome.

• No multiplier for Objective 1
• Cash rewards value $10 per objective on 2, 3, and 4
• Five minutes of setup time where the ghost cannot enter a hunt unless a cursed possession is used
• Shortest hunt period, with a long post-hunt cooldown
• Sanity pills restore 40 points of sanity per use
• Insurance offers 50% value of lost items (all items brought on the truck by a deceased member)

Intermediate difficulty

This difficulty eases players towards the next difficulty and is a decent halfway step while players rank to level 15 to unlock Professional mode. Reward multipliers are in effect starting with this difficulty level, but certain mechanics such as a setup time are available for players.

• Doubled cash rewards on all 4 objectives
• Two and a half minutes of setup time where the ghost cannot enter a hunt unless a cursed possession is used
• Slightly longer hunt time, more active ghost activity
• Sanity consumed 50% faster, pills return 35 points per use
• 25% insurance value
• The fuse box starts in the off position, and must be turned on by investigators — this remains true for all advancing difficulties

Professional difficulty

Professional difficulty unlocks at level 15, and both strategies and knowledge of mechanics are necessary to succeed here. The offered value, however, it’s difficult to beat if you can live through it. It’s recommended for players looking to earn cash quickly in Phasmophobia to operate at this difficulty level.

• Tripled cash rewards on all objectives
• Doubled experience gained for completing objectives
• No setup time — the game begins once the front door is unlocked
• Doubled sanity consumption, and 30 points restored per sanity pill used
• Ghosts may wander between rooms, and the objective board will not specify how best to reach the spirit
• Many hiding spots will be blocked
• Insurance is disabled

Nightmare difficulty

Nightmare is a brutal challenge for even the most experienced ghost hunters. Ghosts will hide one type of evidence randomly, making it difficult to determine what ghost type it is without analyzing behavioral patterns. Further, the two bottom screens within the truck are broken, making it difficult to figure out where your level is and the activity level of the spirit. If you can reliably manage it, however, the payout is worth the extra brain power necessary.

• Quadrupled (4x) all cash rewards
• 250% experience gained
• Doubled sanity consumption with 25 points returned per pill
• The ghost is more likely to wander from its starting room
• Hiding spots are almost all disabled
• Longest hunting phase, with hunting phase extended per kill the spirit can achieve