Three Systems, and Only One of Them Is the Trophy List
GTA Online measures your progress with three separate systems, and players mix them up constantly. The platform achievements on Xbox and PC, or trophies on PlayStation, are the ones tied to your account and your Gamerscore or trophy level.
Underneath those sits a second system that lives entirely inside the game: Awards, found under Stats in the pause menu. They climb from Bronze to Platinum and pay out RP bonuses as you go.
The third system is the performance medals handed out at the end of heist setups and finales. Medals, Awards and platform achievements are three different things, and this guide keeps them separate so you always know which one a goal belongs to.
Key Takeaways
- GTA V's full list holds 77 achievements on Xbox and PC, and 78 trophies on PlayStation including the Los Santos Legend platinum; the GTA Wiki counts 47 of them as tied to GTA Online.
- Only the 50 base-game trophies count towards the PlayStation platinum. The 27 added by updates are optional for it.
- In-game Awards are separate: they run Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, and pay RP bonuses of 100, 200, 400 and 800 RP per tier.
- The Decorated achievement asks for 30 Platinum Awards, while the Mastermind achievement asks for 25 platinum heist medals. They are not the same grind.
- Rank 100, needed for Above the Law, takes 1,583,380 RP and is the longest single requirement on the Online list.
1. The Platform List: How the Numbers Break Down
The base game shipped with 50 achievements and trophies worth 1,000 Gamerscore on Xbox. Seventeen of those 50 belong to GTA Online, covering things like completing the introduction, owning an apartment, garage and insured vehicle, and robbing all 20 stores.
Free updates then added 27 more: nine with the Heists update in 2015, ten in the Freemode Events and Rockstar Editor era on the enhanced editions, and eight with The Doomsday Heist. That brings the combined GTA V total to 77 on Xbox and PC.
PlayStation players see 78, because the list also carries the Los Santos Legend platinum trophy. It unlocks when every base-game trophy is earned, and the 27 update trophies are not required for it.
Each console generation keeps its own list. The PS4 and PS5 versions track separately, as do the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions, so a transferred character can pop many Online trophies again on the newer list, usually the next time you rank up or finish an activity.
The oldest lists are frozen. Online play on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was shut down in December 2021, which our history of the PS3 and Xbox 360 shutdown covers in full, so nothing on those lists can still be earned.
2. The Online Achievements That Define the Grind
Above the Law is the marathon: reach Rank 100 in GTA Online. Rank 100 takes 1,583,380 RP, so it builds up over months of normal play rather than in one push. Our guide to how to rank up fast in GTA Online lays out the methods that move it along quickest.
Numero Uno asks for a first-place finish in every competitive game type, from races and deathmatches to golf, tennis, darts and a full Survival. Most of these can be worked through with one friend in an invite-only session, taking turns at the wins.
Decorated is the bridge between the two systems: earn 30 Platinum Awards inside the game, and the platform achievement or trophy unlocks. It sounds steep, but many Awards are one-off tasks or quick counts, like haircuts, outfits and store robberies.
The heist additions carry the heaviest names. Mastermind wants 25 platinum medals across heist setups and finales, while Masterminds, added with The Doomsday Heist in GTA Online, wants all three of its Criminal Mastermind challenges finished.
Live a Little is the spender of the list: buy GTA$8,000,000 worth of vehicles from the Heists update. It arrives on its own if you build a garage over time, and stings if you try to force it in one shopping trip.
3. Awards: The System Inside the Game
Open the pause menu, go to Stats, then Awards, and you find the second system. Awards are grouped under headings such as General, Crimes, Victory, Vehicles, Combat and Heists, with later updates adding their own groups as new modes arrived.
Most Awards climb through four tiers. Bronze pays a 100 RP bonus, Silver pays 200 RP, Gold pays 400 RP and Platinum pays 800 RP, and each tier is a one-time payment per character.
Community award trackers count 85 Awards that can be raised all the way to Platinum. Decorated only needs 30 of them, so there is real choice in which ones you chase, and the rest can be left to accumulate naturally.
Some Awards also unlock physical rewards, such as T-shirts and tattoos. The Slayer, for repeated top-three finishes in Deathmatches, unlocks the Burning Heart tattoo, and a few Awards hand over free chrome wheels for your cars.
Progress is tracked per character for most Awards, so a second character starts most of them again. A small number, including the heist Awards, are shared between both of your characters once earned.
4. Heist Medals Are a Third, Separate Thing
Every heist setup and finale scores your performance when it ends, grading the run from Bronze up to Platinum based on things like completion time, accuracy, damage taken and whether the objective was handled cleanly.
These medals are not Awards, even though both use the same four metal names. The Mastermind achievement counts platinum medals, while Decorated counts Platinum Awards, and the game tracks them in different places.
Keeping the two apart matters when you plan. A perfect heist run fills your medal count but does nothing for Decorated, and an afternoon of quick Awards does nothing for Mastermind.
The Criminal Mastermind challenges sit above both. They ask a fixed team to clear a heist series in order, on Hard, with no deaths, and they exist for the original heists and for all three Doomsday acts, in team sizes of two, three and four players.
5. Career Progress on the Current Versions
The PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC Enhanced versions carry one more tracker: Career Progress. It follows your headway across GTA Online's updates, from businesses owned to heists completed, and unlocks its own rewards as you advance through it.
Career Progress is not an achievement list and adds nothing to your Gamerscore or trophy count. Think of it as the game's own internal record, useful for seeing what you have never tried.
It is still worth a look for completionists, because it surfaces older update content that no achievement points at. Our explainer on GTA Online's daily challenges and objectives covers the smaller daily trackers that sit alongside it.
If you are deciding which team challenges to attempt first, the Criminal Mastermind runs pair naturally with the heists ranked in our guide to the best two- and three-player heists in GTA Online.
6. A Sensible Order to Earn Them In
Start the slow clocks early. Rank 100 and your Platinum Award count both grow from ordinary play, so beginning them on day one costs nothing extra, while leaving them until last turns them into a wall.
Clear the quick base-game Online trophies next: the introduction, your first apartment and vehicle, the store robberies and a full Survival. Most are realistic by around Rank 20 with a friend helping where a mode needs a second player.
Move to the competitive wins for Numero Uno once you have that friend online, and swap wins mode by mode. It is far faster traded than fought for against strangers.
Save the Criminal Mastermind challenges for a practised, patient team that already knows each finale. One death near the end restarts the whole attempt, so rehearsal runs first are the cheapest path.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many achievements and trophies does GTA Online have?
The GTA Wiki counts 47 achievements and trophies tied to GTA Online across the base game and its updates. They live inside GTA V's combined list of 77 achievements on Xbox and PC, or 78 trophies on PlayStation once the platinum is included.
Do the update trophies count towards the PlayStation platinum?
No. The Los Santos Legend platinum needs the 50 base-game trophies only. The 27 trophies added by the Heists, Rockstar Editor era and Doomsday updates raise your completion percentage and Gamerscore-style totals, but the platinum ignores them.
What is the difference between an Award and an achievement?
An achievement or trophy belongs to your platform account and is earned once per list. An Award lives inside GTA Online's Stats menu, climbs from Bronze to Platinum, pays RP bonuses, and is tracked for your in-game character.
How many Platinum Awards do I need for Decorated?
Thirty. Community trackers count 85 Awards that can reach Platinum, so you can pick the fastest ones, such as simple counts for haircuts, outfits, robberies and short races, and skip the long combat grinds.
What is the hardest GTA Online achievement?
Masterminds is usually rated the toughest, because it means finishing all three Criminal Mastermind challenges in The Doomsday Heist: every act in order, on Hard, with the same team and no deaths, in groups of two, three and four.
How much RP does Rank 100 take?
Rank 100 takes 1,583,380 RP in total. There is no shortcut around the number, but double-RP event weeks, heists and long playlists all speed it up considerably compared with free-roam play alone.
Do my trophies carry over when I move to PS5 or Xbox Series X|S?
The newer consoles run separate trophy and achievement lists. When you transfer a character, most Online trophies unlock again automatically, typically popping the next time you rank up or complete an activity after the move.
Can I still earn the PS3 and Xbox 360 trophies?
No. GTA Online on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 shut down in December 2021, so those lists can no longer be completed. The trophies themselves remain visible on your profile if you earned any before the closure.
What do Awards give you besides RP?
Some Awards unlock items, including special T-shirts, tattoos such as the Burning Heart, and free chrome wheels. Most of their value is the RP bonus at each tier and the progress they feed into the Decorated achievement.
Are heist medals the same as Awards?
No. Medals grade your performance on a single heist setup or finale, while Awards track long-term totals in the Stats menu. The similar names hide two separate systems, and two different achievements watch them: Mastermind for medals, Decorated for Awards.
The Bottom Line
Treat the three systems as three different scoreboards. Chase the platform list for your account, let Awards pay you RP while you play normally, and respect the Criminal Mastermind challenges as the true endgame of the achievement hunt.
