How many heists are there in GTA V?
Six. Five major planned heists—The Jewel Store Job, The Merryweather Heist, The Paleto Score, The Bureau Raid and The Big Score—plus Blitz Play, an armoured-car robbery for the FIB.
Five heists and one thing that pays more
Heists distinguish GTA V from the rest of the series. Before most heists, you choose an approach and crew. That determines how much you take and whether anyone dies.
Quick answer
Which heists let you choose an approach?
Four: The Jewel Store Job (smart or loud), The Merryweather Heist (freighter or offshore), The Bureau Raid (fire crew or roof entry) and The Big Score (subtle or obvious).
Which heist pays the most?
The Big Score: over $201 million in gold. With a good crew, each protagonist can receive more than $40 million.
Which heists pay nothing?
The Merryweather Heist and Blitz Play. The Paleto Score brings in over $8 million, but the FIB takes 78%.
Four rules that apply to every heist
Two approaches, neither simply right
Most heists offer a quiet or loud route. Quiet preparation takes longer and forgives fewer mistakes. Loud execution is simpler but needs better gunmen.
A cheap crew member costs more
Each crew member takes a share. An experienced driver or hacker costs more but completes the job. A cheap hacker gives less time, losing more than their lower cut saves.
Crew members improve
Anyone who survives returns with more experience and a higher cut. Keeping the same crew pays because usefulness rises faster than their percentage.
Setup missions are not padding
Cars, clothing and weapons acquired beforehand are genuinely used. Damage the getaway car during preparation and you drive what remains.
All five heists
In the order they appear
- 1The Jewel Store JobChoice of approachQuiet with sleeping gas or loud force
- 2MerryweatherChoice of approachFreighter or Offshore
- 3Paleto BaySingle routeNo approach choice, only gunmen
- 4The Bureau RaidChoice of approachRoof or fire crew
- 5The Big ScoreChoice of approachSubtle or Obvious
The Jewel Store Job
A training heist that teaches the system. The quiet route requires gas from a laboratory and masks; the loud route only requires breaking in. The earnings differ noticeably, showing that preparation pays.
Tip
Choose the cheapest driver. Escape speed matters little here, so the lower cut is useful.
Merryweather
The only one of the five major heists that yields nothing. This is deliberate: a story turning point, not a source of income. Many players think they did something wrong; they did not.
Tip
Do not try to optimise it. The take is zero regardless of the approach.
Paleto Bay
An open bank robbery in a small town. There is no quiet route: it is a firefight from beginning to end, including the retreat through town.
Tip
Do not economise on gunmen here. A weak gunman means collecting ammunition during the firefight.
The Bureau Raid
Two entirely different missions. The roof route is action-focused and uses parachutes. The fire-crew route is slower, quieter and played in disguise inside the building.
Tip
Both are worthwhile. Their content differs more than any other pair of heist approaches.
The Big Score
The climax of the game and its largest take. In the Subtle approach, the crew disguises itself as Gruppe Sechs guards, loads the gold and escapes the city in modified Gauntlets. In the Obvious approach, Franklin drills into the vault with an HVY Cutter while Michael and the others attack the front entrance as a diversion. The reward is substantially higher than anything before it.
Tip
The most expensive crew finally pays here. Their percentage is higher, but it is calculated from a much larger base.
Lester's assassination missions and the stock market
Heists appear to be the main source of income. They are not: the stock market pays more, and the game never explains this.
Lester orders five assassinations. Each lowers one company's shares and raises a competitor's. Buying the competitor before the assassination and selling afterwards earns far more than any heist.
The rule that decides everything
The decisive rule: save these missions until the end, when you have money from The Big Score. Investing a million yields much more than a few thousand, and the game offers no second chance.
The stock market works differently in the story campaign and GTA Online. This method is unavailable in Online mode.
How much each heist pays
Maximum gross take according to GTA Wiki, before crew and Lester's cuts
| Heist | Maximum take | Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| The Jewel Store Job | $4,946,153 | Diamond Hard |
| The Merryweather Heist | $0 — no money | Subversive |
| Blitz Play | $0 — no money | Blitzed |
| The Paleto Score | $8,016,020 (the FIB takes 78%) | Small Town, Big Job |
| The Bureau Raid | $149,392–$242,346 (Franklin only) | The Government Gimps |
| The Big Score | $201,600,000 obvious / $201,300,000 subtle | The Big One! |
The smart approach with an experienced hacker produces the highest take from The Jewel Store Job: the better the hacker, the more time you have before the alarm sounds. The Big Score's take is so large that even the most expensive crew is worthwhile—a cheap driver or gunman can lose more than their lower cut saves.
There are still 232 items to find
Seven collections spread across the map, from letter scraps to spaceship parts. Each entry explains its reward.