GTA 5's in-game statistic counts 69 missions, but one playthrough can contain about 74 playable missions when approach-specific setups and required side content are included. The exact order can vary because character strands open in parallel and each major heist can use a different approach.
GTA 5 mission order at a glance
Phase | Mission order |
|---|---|
Opening | Prologue, Franklin and Lamar, Repossession, Complications, Father/Son, Pulling Favors, Chop, Marriage Counseling, Daddy's Little Girl, Friend Request, The Long Stretch |
Jewel Store | Casing the Jewel Store, Carbine Rifles or Bugstars Equipment and BZ Gas Grenades, The Jewel Store Job |
Trevor arrives | Mr. Philips, Trevor Philips Industries, Nervous Ron, Crystal Maze, Friends Reunited, Fame or Shame |
Trio and FIB | Dead Man Walking, Three's Company, By the Book, Hood Safari, Did Somebody Say Yoga? |
Merryweather | Scouting the Port, Minisub, optional Cargobob by approach, The Merryweather Heist |
Blitz Play | The Hotel Assassination, Boiler Suits, Masks, Trash Truck, Tow Truck, Blitz Play |
Paleto build-up | I Fought the Law, Eye in the Sky, Mr. Richards, Caida Libre, Deep Inside, Minor Turbulence, Paleto Score Setup, Predator, Military Hardware, The Paleto Score |
Bureau build-up | Derailed, Monkey Business, Hang Ten, Surveying the Score, Bury the Hatchet, Pack Man, Fresh Meat, The Ballad of Rocco, Cleaning out the Bureau, Architect's Plans |
Bureau and fallout | Fire Truck for the covert route, The Bureau Raid, The Wrap Up, Reuniting the Family, Legal Trouble, Lamar Down, Meltdown |
Big Score | Planning the Big Score, Stingers or Sidetracked, Gauntlet or Driller, The Big Score |
Ending | Something Sensible, The Time's Come, or The Third Way |
Opening missions and first heist
Start with 
Prologue, then follow Franklin's repo work until 
Complications brings Michael into the present-day story. Pulling Favors is the one Strangers and Freaks mission required to keep the main path moving.
Casing the Jewel Store opens the first approach choice. Loud needs Carbine Rifles. Smart needs Bugstars Equipment and BZ Gas Grenades. Both lead to 
The Jewel Store Job.
Trevor, Merryweather, and Blitz Play
Mr. Philips introduces Trevor as playable. The next phase reunites the old crew, brings all three protagonists into the FIB strand, and opens the Merryweather approach. The Hotel Assassination is required before Blitz Play.
Save the other four Lester assassinations until after the main story if the goal is to maximize the amount of cash available for stock-market investing.
Paleto and Bureau Raid sequence
The mid-game runs several character strands in parallel, so map icons may let you swap the exact order of nearby entries. The sequence converges at 
The Paleto Score, then builds toward the Bureau Raid.
The Bureau Raid has a covert Fire Crew route and a Roof Entry route. Architect's Plans is part of the setup chain, while Fire Truck applies to the covert choice.
The Big Score and endings
The Big Score uses either a Subtle route with Stingers and Gauntlet vehicles or an Obvious route with Sidetracked and Driller preparation. Franklin then chooses one ending:
Choice | Final mission | Permanent active-save result |
|---|---|---|
A | Trevor is lost | |
B | Michael is lost | |
C | All three remain available |
Something Sensible
The Time's Come
The Third WayHow many GTA 5 missions are there?
The common 69 figure comes from the in-game checklist. Branching heist routes, setups not counted by the statistic, optional family missions, and three alternative endings make the total pool larger. A player completes one route through that pool rather than every mutually exclusive branch in a single save.
For 100% requirements beyond the main plot, use the GTA 5 100% completion guide.