In Grand Theft Auto V, heists are more complex missions that have the potential to net the player thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Each heist varies and getting the max share will depend on your level of preparation.
Your choices leading up to the heist and your preparation are the most critical moments, as you decide on personnel and approach. Everything that happens after will depend on the work you put into it, with more complex objectives leading to a more successful heist. That being said, each one is different and will require close attention to be successful. Note that these are the heists for the GTA 5 story, not the GTA Online heists.
Here’s what you need to know to get the most money from each of these Grand Theft Auto V heists.
How to get the biggest payout in every GTA 5 heist
The Jewelry Store Heist
For the first heist with Franklin and Michael, you’ll be casing and then robbing a jewelry store. When planning the heist, select the Silent option since it will leave you with less to manage and more time to focus on the goods. Your crew selection should be:
- Driver – Karim Denz
- Hacker – Rickie Lukens
- Guns – Packie McCreary
Rickie Lukens is a special character that you can unlock after completing the Lifeinvader story mission. He’ll give one of the main characters a call and offer to help with anything they need since he was fired from his previous employer. Rickie gives you extra time inside the store without having to pay extra.
The gunman in this scenario is less important since they’ll all essentially perform the same. So do yourself a favor and go with the cheaper option Packie McCreary. Packie, an original GTA 4 character, can be recruited after completing the Getaway Driver random event, which can pop up while driving in the Strawberry district. Help Packie and his accomplice escape a two-star wanted level during that event, and he’ll be unlocked as a heist accomplice.
It’s important to bring Rickie and Packie on this first heist, so that they can improve and be used in future heists as well.
Karim Denz will make the getaway portion more challenging because the robbers will start on street bikes, but the take will be less affected. You should absolutely avoid Norm for this mission because he will crash during the getaway portion and you’ll lose the money he was carrying.
The Merryweather Heist
Unfortunately, this isn’t a heist that the player can win. So whichever options you pick, this mission is meant to fail. There’s no way around it and players are better off just getting this defeat out of the way. The good news is the player can play this portion however they want and it won’t affect anything else.
The Paleto Score
For the Paleto Heist, players will armor up to take on a small bank in Paleto Bay. After testing the security measures and securing equipment, the player should choose Packie again as their gunman. He gets extra boosts to his stats if you picked him for the first heist. Choosing Norm or Daryl will cause them to have an accident and lose you a third of your money, unless you pick up their share.
The player will start with over $8 million when they first leave the bank and lose money each time their partners get shot in the back. You will inevitably get shot in the back at least once, but bringing Packie should mitigate your losses.
The Bureau Raid
The Bureau Raid sees the player and their friends take on a FIB skyscraper in the middle of a populated city. Between the covert firefighters and rooftop landing, players should choose the rooftop, since you won’t have to pay off the family of a dead crew member. While you’ll have to hire a whole crew, no one will die, and you won’t have to pay the costs to that person’s family. For the heist crew, you’ll want to go with:
- Driver – Taliana Martinez
- Hacker – Rickie Lukens
- Guns – Norm Richards
Rickie Lukens will work fine as your hacker, primarily if you had used him earlier in the game. Norm Richards won’t get himself killed, so use him as the gunner to get a higher cut.
You’ll need to unlock Taliana, but she’s worth it in the last two heists. After completing the Jewelry Store heist, you can find her near the freeway on the northeast part of the map. You’ll have to drive her to Sandy Shores before she dies. If you’re successful, she’ll unlock as a heist accomplice. Using her for the FIB heist will have her show up in an ambulance, helping you slip by the cops.
Franklin is the only character who will get paid for this heist and his share is somewhere around $240,000.
The Big Score
This is the biggest heist in Grand Theft Auto V and the final test for the trio of criminals. Players can earn tens of millions of dollars in this mission if they’re careful about planning. You’ll need two drivers and two gunmen if you go with the more obvious, louder option with the driller, which is the most profitable. For the louder entry method, you’ll need the following crew:
- Driver (Helicopter) – Taliana Martinez
- Driver (Train) – Karim Denz
- Guns – Cheapest option
Make sure you have Taliana on the helicopter and Karim on the train, because Karim will crash the helicopter. The gunman don’t really do anything this mission, so grab the cheapest option, or Packie if you want to remain consistent.
While the total amounts from each heist can vary depending on your performance, these choices will set you up to get the most money you can.
