GTA 5 Missions: Complete List, Heists, Side Jobs and 100% Tips

How many jobs does it take to finish Grand Theft Auto V? The built-in stats and the Rockstar Social Club both count 69 story missions, and the average player needs a little over 30 hours to see the credits. This guide to GTA 5 missions gives you the full list of campaign jobs from the snowy Prologue to the three endings, explains the six big heists and their approaches, covers the side content that counts towards 100%, and shares practical tips for gold ratings.

A quick note if you found us through our GTA V apk page: the campaign is only officially available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. Everything here applies to those versions, including the PS5 release and the Enhanced PC release. The jobs themselves are identical on every platform, so this list works however you play GTA V, whether on an older console or a new PC build of GTA V.

How Many Story Missions Are There?

The official answer is 69. That is the number GTA V uses for its completion stats, and it is the number you need for 100%. The fan-run GTA Wiki points out that the campaign actually contains more jobs than that, close to 80, because several of them are branching choices. You cannot play every prep job or every ending in a single run, so the counter only tracks the jobs one playthrough needs.

As for time, HowLongToBeat lists the main story at about 32 hours on average (median 31.5 hours), with rushed runs near 22 hours and relaxed runs around 50. Chasing 100% adds many more hours on top, mostly for side jobs, hobbies and collectibles rather than the plot itself.

Strangers and Freaks missions, the optional side jobs given by odd characters around the map, add dozens more. Some count towards 100% and some do not; the GTA Wiki marks each one.

All 69 are main story missions in the sense that the plot cannot move on without them, but they vary hugely in length. A useful way to think about the 69: roughly a third are setup or preparation jobs, a handful are the big heists, and the rest are character-driven jobs that move the plot along. Preparation jobs are short, often just stealing a truck or some gear, while heist finales can take close to an hour on a first attempt.

Full List of Main Missions in Chronological Order

The list below follows the chapter structure on the GTA Wiki. Many jobs unlock at the same time from different contacts, so treat this as a rough chronological order rather than a strict one. Each character’s own jobs, however, must be done in the sequence shown, and a contact’s next mission will not appear until you complete the previous one.

North Yankton, 2004

• Prologue: Michael, Trevor and their partner Brad rob a cash depot in the snowy town of Ludendorff, and the escape goes badly wrong. Completing it also opens access to GTA Online.

Los Santos, the first chapter (2013)

• Franklin and Lamar: repossess two sports cars for car dealer Simeon Yetarian and race them back to his showroom. Franklin becomes playable here.
• Repossession: recover a green motorbike from a rival gang’s turf, with a shootout on the way out.
• Complications: sneak into a rich family’s house to take their son’s car, which is how you meet Michael.
• Father/Son: rescue Jimmy after thieves steal Michael’s yacht on the freeway.
• Marriage Counseling: chase the tennis coach and pull down a hillside deck, which turns out to belong to cartel boss Martin Madrazo.
• Daddy’s Little Girl: a bike ride with Jimmy turns into a race to pull Tracey off a party yacht.
• Chop: Lamar’s kidnapping scheme, with his Rottweiler leading the hunt for a rival.
• The Long Stretch: a deal with Lamar and his friend Stretch turns into a police and gang ambush.
• Friend Request: Michael reunites with Lester and plants a bomb in a prototype phone at the Lifeinvader offices.
• Casing the Jewel Store: scout the Vangelico store with Lester and pick the loud or smart approach.
• Carbine Rifles (loud) or Bugstars Equipment and BZ Gas Grenades (smart): the preparation jobs for your chosen plan.
• The Jewel Store Job: the first big heist, ending with a motorbike escape through the storm drains.

Blaine County, the desert chapter

• Mr. Philips: Trevor learns his old partner is alive and takes out a biker gang in one furious afternoon.
• Nervous Ron: break up a rival gang’s weapons deal with Ron and a sniper rifle.
• Trevor Philips Industries: defend his meth lab in Sandy Shores from the Aztecas.
• Crystal Maze: destroy a rival meth operation run by the O’Neil brothers.
• Friends Reunited: Trevor drives into Los Santos, finds Michael and crashes back into his life.

Los Santos, the middle chapter

• Fame or Shame: chase down a talent-show star who humiliated Tracey on television.
• Dead Man Walking: a job for the FIB at the morgue that goes sideways.
• Three’s Company: the first job with all three leads, pulling a target out of an office tower.
• By the Book: an infamous interrogation scene ordered by agent Steve Haines, with a long-range hit across the city.
• Scouting the Port, then Minisub or Cargobob: preparation for the port job.
• The Merryweather Heist: take a prototype weapon from the private military firm, by the freighter or offshore approach.
• Did Somebody Say Yoga?: Michael’s family life falls apart in a single bizarre day.
• Hood Safari: Trevor tags along with Franklin and Lamar on a deal in Grove Street, the old San Andreas landmark.
• The Hotel Assassination: the first assassination contract, which also earns Franklin a hillside mansion.
• Blitz Play Intro, Masks, Boiler Suits, Trash Truck and Tow Truck: preparation for the armoured-truck job.
• Blitz Play: ambush an armoured truck downtown.
• I Fought the Law… and Eye in the Sky: rare-car thefts for billionaire Devin Weston.
• Mr. Richards: Michael helps film producer Solomon Richards with a problem on set.
• Caida Libre: Trevor and Michael take a job for Madrazo that ends with them hiding in the desert.
• Deep Inside: one more rare car for Weston, stolen from a film set.

Blaine County, the northern chapter

• Minor Turbulence: Trevor clings to a cargo plane to steal its load.
• Paleto Score Setup and Military Hardware: plan the bank job and steal gear from an army convoy.
• Predator: a drone-assisted chase for the FIB.
• The Paleto Score: rob the small bank in Paleto Bay and fight your way out through town.
• Derailed: hit a train carrying cargo for one of Madrazo’s rivals.
• Monkey Business: break into a secure research lab for the FIB.

Los Santos, the final chapter

• Hang Ten: a personal score gets settled in Vespucci.
• Surveying the Score: scout the Union Depository with Lester.
• Bury the Hatchet: Michael and Trevor return to North Yankton, where a secret about Brad finally comes out.
• Pack Man: steal a car-transporter full of supercars.
• Fresh Meat: Franklin rescues Michael from the Triads.
• Cleaning out the Bureau, Architect’s Plans and Fire Truck (covert approach): preparation for the FIB building job.
• Reuniting the Family: Michael wins his family back.
• The Bureau Raid: the FIB building heist.
• The Wrap Up: a three-way shootout between government agencies.
• Lamar Down: rescue Lamar from a lumber-yard trap set by Stretch.
• The Ballad of Rocco and Legal Trouble: Michael’s film-industry troubles boil over.
• Meltdown: Michael’s movie premieres while Devin Weston targets his family.
• Planning the Big Score: pick the subtle approach (Stingers, Gauntlet) or the obvious one (Driller, Sidetracked).
• The Big Score: the gold heist on the Union Depository, with every lead involved.

The three endings

• Something Sensible (option A): Franklin goes after Trevor, as Steve Haines demands.
• The Time’s Come (option B): Franklin goes after Michael, as Weston demands.
• The Third Way, often called Deathwish (option C): Franklin saves both, and the trio turns on everyone hunting them. Option C is the canon ending and keeps all three leads playable afterwards.

The ending choice has a lasting effect. If you kill Trevor or Michael, that character is gone from the world after the credits, along with his properties and his side jobs, and the survivor’s relationship with Franklin turns cold. Option C is the only route that keeps all three available for free roam, so pick it unless you want to see the darker endings first. You can always use replay to watch the other two afterwards without losing your main save.

The Six Big Heists in GTA V

The heists are the spine of the campaign and the most replayable jobs. Each one begins at a planning board, and most let you pick an approach and a crew. Good crew members take a bigger cut but rarely make mistakes. Cheap ones can drop loot or get shot, though if they survive they improve for the next job, so some players hire a cheap gunman or driver early on purpose.

Crews come in three roles. Gunmen add firepower and protect the loot, drivers handle the escape, and hackers buy you more time inside secure buildings. The best crew members appear on the planning board with a higher cut, while new recruits found through random events in GTA V start cheaper. A well-chosen driver or hacker can be the difference between a clean run and a lost bag of cash, so consider skill before price on the big jobs.

The Big Score is the biggest payday and the hardest to plan. The subtle approach relies on swapping gold trucks on the road, while the obvious approach blasts into the vault with a heavy drill and escapes by train. Either way, expect a long, multi-stage job where all three leads take part and you switch between them constantly.

The Jewel Store Job is the best place to learn how the system works. The smart approach uses knockout gas and disguises as pest-control workers, while the loud approach sends in armed robbers for a fast smash and grab. Your choice changes the preparation jobs, the crew you need and how much time you have inside.

The Merryweather Heist is unusual because the prize is not money. The desert lead talks the others into stealing cargo from a ship, and the result causes trouble for the rest of the campaign. The freighter approach is a stealthy boarding, while the offshore approach uses a helicopter and a submarine to lift the cargo from the sea.

The Bureau Raid sends the crew into the FIB headquarters disguised either as firefighters or as a team dropping onto the roof. It is one of the most cinematic jobs in GTA V, with a long climb, a fire and a tense escape.

Standout jobs worth replaying, in our opinion, include Three’s Company for its rooftop sniper switch, Minor Turbulence for the plane-hanging stunt, Monkey Business for its underwater and lab sections, and The Paleto Score for sheer firepower. Each one shows a different side of what the game does well, from tense stealth to over-the-top action, and each mission is short enough to replay in an evening.

If you like to plan, read the boards closely. Each approach unlocks different preparation jobs, and the choice also changes how the finale plays out. Replay lets you try the other approach later without restarting the campaign.

Side Missions: Strangers and Freaks, Assassinations and More

The side content is where much of the humour and many 100% requirements live. These are the types you will meet:

• Strangers and Freaks: optional jobs from eccentric characters, marked with a question mark on the map. Examples include Franklin’s paparazzi jobs for Beverly, Michael’s Epsilon Program chain and the celebrity souvenir runs for Nigel and Mrs. Thornhill.
• Assassination missions for Lester: five contracts for Franklin, tied to the campaign’s stock markets, BAWSAQ and LCN. Before each hit, Lester tips Franklin to invest in a rival company that benefits when the target dies. Many players save the last four until the campaign is over, when they have far more cash to put into the market.
• Family side jobs and therapy: Michael’s The Good Husband, Doting Dad and Parenting 101, plus five sessions with Dr. Friedlander that feed into a choice at the end.
• Rampages: five arcade-style shootouts for Trevor against different groups.
• Property Management and Flight School: short jobs for businesses you buy, and flying lessons with ratings to earn.

Side jobs also unlock new activities, vehicles and shops. The cheapest route to serious money is the Lester assassination contracts combined with smart stock trades, so do not rush them.

Not every side job matters for 100%. The GTA Wiki notes that some Strangers and Freaks chains, such as the submarine-parts hunt for Abigail Mathers, are optional extras. If completion is your goal, check each chain’s requirement before you sink hours into collectibles.

Strangers and Freaks also hide some of the funniest writing in GTA V. Michael’s Epsilon Program chain parodies self-help cults and asks you to wear robes, run in the desert and donate money. Franklin’s paparazzi jobs send him chasing celebrities around Vinewood with a camera, and the runs for Nigel and Mrs. Thornhill involve stalking film stars for souvenirs. Many of these chains unlock gradually as the plot moves on, so check the map for new question marks after each chapter.

Random events, the small encounters marked with blue or red dots, are another source of fun. They are not jobs in the menu, but some of them unlock new recruits for your robbery crews, so stop and help when you see one.

Before you start, a few first-playthrough tips make the campaign smoother:

• Do side jobs between chapters. They break up the plot, unlock new activities and raise your stats for later jobs.
• Keep each lead’s money separate in mind. Cash is not shared, so a big payout to one lead does not help another buy a property.
• Visit the shooting range and the flight school early. Better aim and flying skills pay off in later heists and in the plane-heavy northern chapter.
• Save before trying anything risky in free roam. Replays protect your progress inside a job, but a bad decision in the open world still costs money.
• Listen to the car radio while you drive between jobs. The stations and talk shows in GTA V are full of satire about the same characters you meet on the job.

Franklin, Michael and Trevor: Who Gets Which Jobs

The campaign shares jobs among three leads, and you can switch between them freely outside a job. In many heists and late jobs you also switch in the middle of the action at set moments, for example to take over as the sniper, the pilot or the driver.

• Franklin: the street-level jobs with Lamar and Simeon, the assassination contracts, Devin Weston’s car thefts and the final choice. His special ability slows time behind the wheel.
• Michael: family drama, the film-studio plot with Solomon Richards, therapy sessions and most planning with Lester. His ability slows time while aiming.
• Trevor: the Blaine County chapters, his wars with bikers, rival gangs and the O’Neil brothers, plus Rampages. His ability lets him take far less punishment and hit harder.

Michael starts the campaign as a retired robber under witness protection, Trevor as a meth dealer in the desert and Franklin as a repo man. Their jobs cross over constantly, and the heists are where all three meet. Trevor and Michael also share the two North Yankton jobs, the Prologue and Bury the Hatchet, which bookend their history together.

On the map, campaign jobs appear as letters in each character’s colour: blue for Michael, green for Franklin and orange for Trevor, with other contacts using their own initials. If a letter is grey or missing, that job belongs to someone else or is not ready yet, so switch characters and check again.

You can also play a big part of the campaign in whatever sequence suits you once several contacts are active. If you get tired of Michael’s family drama, switch to the young repo man for a few car jobs, or to the desert lead for some chaos. The plot waits for you, and each lead’s phone keeps his own contacts, so no mission is lost by taking a break from one character.

Gold Medal Tips and 100% Completion

Every campaign job has a set of optional objectives. Meet them all and you earn gold; meet some and you get silver or bronze. Typical objectives include finishing within a time limit, keeping your shooting accuracy above a set level, landing a number of headshots, taking little punishment, or pulling off a specific stunt. You can check the objectives for any job in the replay menu before you start.

Useful facts before you begin:

• The achievement or trophy Solid Gold, Baby! asks for 70 gold ratings from campaign jobs and Strangers and Freaks combined. You do not need gold on everything, and hobbies do not count.
• A gold medal on every job is not required for 100% completion. It is a separate challenge.
• Objectives stack across replays. If you hit the time on one attempt and the headshots on another, both count, except on Rampages, which must be done in one go.
• Use checkpoints. On long jobs, replaying from a checkpoint is quicker than restarting.

Practical tips that help with most objectives in each mission:

1. Read the list first and plan the route. Many objectives fail because you grab the wrong car or take the wrong exit.
2. Raise stats beforehand. Better shooting and driving stats make tight objectives easier.
3. Save special abilities for tight moments: Michael’s slow aim helps with headshots, and Trevor’s rage helps you survive the objectives that limit how much harm you take.
4. Do not chase enemies you do not need to kill. Several objectives reward speed, so skip side fights when you can.
5. Stay calm behind the wheel. A wrecked getaway car often costs the time objective.
6. Turn the radio down during tense driving sections so you can hear the crew’s instructions; the car radio and dialogue compete for your attention.
7. Look up a written walkthrough only for the jobs you fail repeatedly, so the rest still feel fresh.

Two quick warnings. First, some objectives only appear after you complete a mission once, so a first run is best played for fun. Second, a few tasks such as protecting a crew member or not letting a target escape can fail even when you survive, so read the brief carefully before you start shooting and kill only what you need to.

Stuck on a particular job? GTA V is forgiving here. If you fail the same section several times, the game offers to skip ahead to the next checkpoint, and you can still return later through replay to beat it properly. On driving sections, a faster car or a different route is often the real fix.

For 100% completion you need all 69 campaign jobs plus a required set of side jobs, hobbies, random events and collectibles. Expect to spend well over 60 hours, and use the checklist in the pause menu stats to see what is left.

Mission Replay and GTA Online Unlocks

You can replay any campaign job you have finished. Open the pause menu, go to the Game tab and choose Replay Mission, or Replay Strangers and Freaks for side jobs. Replays do not change your save file, so they are perfect for gold hunting and for trying the other heist approach. Replays also let you catch dialogue and radio chatter you missed the first time.

Finishing the Prologue unlocks access to GTA Online, the multiplayer mode of GTA V, which has its own separate content and progression. Starting it for the first time takes you to character creation, and from there you play contact jobs and online heists with other players rather than the campaign. These jobs are not counted in the 69.

GTA Online has grown far beyond the original 2013 launch. Popular GTA Online heists include The Fleeca Job, Series A Funding and The Pacific Standard Job from the original 2015 set, followed by The Doomsday Heist, the Diamond Casino and Cayo Perico jobs and, most recently, The Kortz Center Heist from July 2026. Rockstar still adds GTA Online updates every few weeks, and the same GTA V map now hosts years of extra content, while the campaign has stayed the same since 2013 apart from technical upgrades on newer platforms.

It is worth knowing that progress does not carry between the two modes. Money, cars and properties in the campaign stay with Michael, Franklin and Trevor, while your GTA Online character has its own bank balance and garage. Choices in the campaign also have no effect on the online world of the game, which follows the canon ending.

Inside GTA Online, jobs come from your phone. Contacts such as Lamar, Gerald or Simeon call with work, and the phone’s job list lets you launch races, missions and heists with other players. The online mode also has its own radio stations, businesses and properties, so it plays very differently from the campaign even though it uses the same map.

If you mainly want to play solo, the campaign is the place to start. GTA Online jobs can be played alone, but many heists need two to four players. A good plan for new players is to wrap up the campaign first, then jump into GTA Online with the skills you have learned.

To keep reading, see our guide on crouching and cover for stealth and shootout controls, or meet the most unhinged lead in our GTA 5 Trevor character guide.

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