The Best GTA Cheats of All Time, Ranked

How we ranked the best GTA cheats

The best GTA cheats of all time are the ones you actually come back to: codes that save a run, open up the map, or create the kind of chaos you tell friends about. We judged every cheat from GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, GTA IV and GTA 5 on three things:

• Usefulness: does it solve a real problem, like dying, being chased or being broke?
• Fun: does it make the game more entertaining to play?
• Legacy: is it the code everyone still remembers, decades later?

Each entry lists the code for every platform where it exists. Xbox and Switch inputs are translated from the PlayStation combo (Cross = A on Xbox and B on Switch, Circle = B / A, Square = X / Y, Triangle = Y / X, L1/R1 = LB/RB or L/R, L2/R2 = LT/RT or ZL/ZR). Switch codes apply to the Definitive Edition versions of GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas. If you want to search every code yourself, use the GTA Cheat Finder.

The top 19 GTA cheats, ranked

1. HESOYAM: Health, Armor & $250,000 (San Andreas)

The undisputed king. One code refills CJ’s health and armor, repairs whatever he’s driving and drops $250,000 into his pocket. It’s useful at every stage of the game, which is why “HESOYAM” became shorthand for GTA cheats in general.

• PlayStation: R1, R2, L1, Cross, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
• Xbox: RB, RT, LB, A, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
• Switch: R, ZR, L, B, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
• PC: HESOYAM

2. Spawn Jetpack (San Andreas)

The jetpack turned San Andreas’s whole map into a playground. Hover over rooftops, escape any chase, or explore the countryside from above. Our San Andreas jetpack guide covers tricks and limits.

• PlayStation: L1, L2, R1, R2, Up, Down, Left, Right, L1, L2, R1, R2, Up, Down, Left, Right
• Xbox: LB, LT, RB, RT, Up, Down, Left, Right, LB, LT, RB, RT, Up, Down, Left, Right
• Switch: L, ZL, R, ZR, Up, Down, Left, Right, L, ZL, R, ZR, Up, Down, Left, Right
• PC: ROCKETMAN (or YECGAA)

3. PAINKILLER: Invincibility (GTA 5)

GTA 5’s best survival cheat. It makes you immune to damage for about five minutes, long enough to tear through a firefight. The catch: it times out, and if you’re mid-fall from a skyscraper when it expires, you’ll find out the hard way.

• PlayStation: Right, Cross, Right, Left, Right, R1, Right, Left, Cross, Triangle
• Xbox: Right, A, Right, Left, Right, RB, Right, Left, A, Y
• PC console: PAINKILLER
• Phone: 1-999-724-654-5537

4. Spawn Rhino Tank (GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas)

A tank on demand. The Rhino shrugs off gunfire, flattens traffic and makes five-star wanted levels feel like a light inconvenience. Vice City and San Andreas share the same combo.

• PlayStation (Vice City / San Andreas): Circle, Circle, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle
• Xbox (Vice City / San Andreas): B, B, LB, B, B, B, LB, LT, RB, Y, B, Y
• Switch (Vice City / San Andreas): A, A, L, A, A, A, L, ZL, R, X, A, X
• PlayStation (GTA III): Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, R1, L2, L1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle
• PC: GIVEUSATANK (GTA III), PANZER (Vice City), AIWPRTON (San Andreas)

5. AEZAKMI: Never Wanted (San Andreas)

Not “clear your wanted level”: never get one. Police simply ignore CJ’s crimes. It’s the purest form of sandbox freedom in any GTA game.

• PlayStation: Circle, Right, Circle, Right, Left, Square, Triangle, Up
• Xbox: B, Right, B, Right, Left, X, Y, Up
• Switch: A, Right, A, Right, Left, Y, X, Up
• PC: AEZAKMI

6. Skyfall (GTA 5)

Drops you from high above Los Santos for a freefall onto the city. It’s pure spectacle and the quickest way to see the map from above. Pair it with the parachute cheat if you’d rather not splat.

• PlayStation: L1, L2, R1, R2, Left, Right, Left, Right, L1, L2, R1, R2, Left, Right, Left, Right
• Xbox: LB, LT, RB, RT, Left, Right, Left, Right, LB, LT, RB, RT, Left, Right, Left, Right
• PC console: SKYFALL
• Phone: 1-999-759-3255

7. Flying Cars (GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas)

Hit top speed, pull back and your car takes off. Flying cars are the cheat that made the original 3D games feel limitless.

• PlayStation (GTA III / Vice City): Right, R2, Circle, R1, L2, Down, L1, R1
• Xbox (GTA III / Vice City): Right, RT, B, RB, LT, Down, LB, RB
• PlayStation (San Andreas): Square, Down, L2, Up, L1, Circle, Up, Cross, Left
• Xbox (San Andreas): X, Down, LT, Up, LB, B, Up, A, Left
• PC: CHITTYCHITTYBB (GTA III), COMEFLYWITHME (Vice City), RIPAZHA (San Andreas)

8. Spawn Hydra (San Andreas)

A VTOL fighter jet with missiles, available at any moment. The Hydra makes the San Andreas skies yours and laughs at the police helicopter.

• PlayStation: Triangle, Triangle, Square, Circle, Cross, L1, L1, Down, Up
• Xbox: Y, Y, X, B, A, LB, LB, Down, Up
• Switch: X, X, Y, A, B, L, L, Down, Up
• PC: JUMPJET

9. TOOLUP: Weapons & Ammo (GTA 5)

A full loadout, including a sniper rifle, RPG and grenades, from one code. The first thing most players type on a fresh GTA 5 save.

• PlayStation: Triangle, R2, Left, L1, Cross, Right, Triangle, Down, Square, L1, L1, L1
• Xbox: Y, RT, Left, LB, A, Right, Y, Down, X, LB, LB, LB
• PC console: TOOLUP
• Phone: 1-999-8665-87

10. Spawn Buzzard (GTA 5)

An armed attack helicopter spawned wherever you stand. Fun fact: its combo is identical to the Vice City and San Andreas Rhino tank combo.

• PlayStation: Circle, Circle, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle
• Xbox: B, B, LB, B, B, B, LB, LT, RB, Y, B, Y
• PC console: BUZZOFF
• Phone: 1-999-289-9633

11. Weapon Set 3, the “Nutter” kit (Vice City, San Andreas)

The heaviest weapon set in both games. Vice City’s includes the minigun; San Andreas’s adds a heat-seeking rocket launcher and satchel charges.

• PlayStation: R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Down, Down
• Xbox: RB, RT, LB, RT, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Down, Down
• Switch: R, ZR, L, ZR, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Down, Down
• PC: NUTTERTOOLS (Vice City), UZUMYMW (San Andreas)

12. HOTHANDS: Explosive Melee (GTA 5)

Every punch and kick explodes. It’s ridiculous, powerful and endlessly entertaining in a bar fight.

• PlayStation: Right, Left, Cross, Triangle, R1, Circle, Circle, Circle, L2
• Xbox: Right, Left, A, Y, RB, B, B, B, LT
• PC console: HOTHANDS
• Phone: 1-999-4684-2637

13. IFIWEREARICHMAN: $250,000 (GTA III)

GTA III is the only 3D-era game with a straight money cheat, which earns it a place on history alone. Vice City dropped it entirely, and GTA 5 never had one. See the history of GTA cheat codes for how cheats evolved.

• PlayStation: R2, R2, L1, L1, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
• Xbox: RT, RT, LB, LB, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
• Switch: ZR, ZR, L, L, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
• PC: IFIWEREARICHMAN

14. Health, Armor & Ammo (GTA IV)

GTA IV moved cheats to Niko’s phone, and this is the number every player memorised. It works the same on every platform. Its sibling, 482-555-0100, restores health and armor and repairs your car instead of refilling ammo.

• Phone (all platforms): 362-555-0100

15. FLOATER: Moon Gravity (GTA 5)

Lower gravity turns every crash into a slow-motion ballet of floating cars and bodies. It’s the best “just mess around” cheat in GTA 5. More silly picks are in our funny GTA cheats list.

• PlayStation: Left, Left, L1, R1, L1, Right, Left, L1, Left
• Xbox: Left, Left, LB, RB, LB, Right, Left, LB, Left
• PC console: FLOATER
• Phone: 1-999-356-2837

16. SEAWAYS: Cars Drive on Water (Vice City)

Vice City is a city of bays and canals, and this cheat turns all of it into road. Drive across the ocean in a Banshee and never look back.

• PlayStation: Right, R2, Circle, R1, L2, Square, R1, R2
• Xbox: Right, RT, B, RB, LT, X, RB, RT
• Switch: Right, ZR, A, R, ZL, Y, R, ZR
• PC: SEAWAYS

17. LAWYERUP: Lower Wanted Level (GTA 5)

Removes one wanted star per entry. Not glamorous, but it’s the cheat that saves more GTA 5 sessions than any other.

• PlayStation: R1, R1, Circle, R2, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left
• Xbox: RB, RB, B, RT, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left
• PC console: LAWYERUP
• Phone: 1-999-5299-3787

18. PROFESSIONALKILLER: Hitman Level for All Weapons (San Andreas)

Maxes every weapon skill, so CJ can dual-wield and aim faster. It skips one of San Andreas’s longest grinds.

• PlayStation: Down, Square, Cross, Left, R1, R2, Left, Down, Down, L1, L1, L1
• Xbox: Down, X, A, Left, RB, RT, Left, Down, Down, LB, LB, LB
• Switch: Down, Y, B, Left, R, ZR, Left, Down, Down, L, L, L
• PC: PROFESSIONALKILLER

19. Spawn Annihilator (GTA IV)

An armed helicopter dialled up from Niko’s phone. In a game as grounded as GTA IV, that’s a serious power trip.

• Phone (all platforms): 359-555-0100

Honourable mentions

• BAGUVIX (San Andreas): infinite health, though falls, fire and some explosions can still hurt.
• HIGHEX (GTA 5): explosive ammo; bullets explode on impact.
• Elvis Is Everywhere (San Andreas, BLUESUEDESHOES): replaces pedestrians with Elvis impersonators. Pure joy.
• Spawn APC (The Ballad of Gay Tony, 272-555-8265): an armoured personnel carrier from your phone.

What makes a GTA cheat great?

The cheats at the top of this list share one trait: they remove friction without removing the game. HESOYAM keeps you in the action instead of hunting for health. The jetpack and Hydra let you see the map in new ways. AEZAKMI lets you experiment without the police ending every idea in thirty seconds.

The fun cheats, like Skyfall and Moon Gravity, earn their spots differently: they give you a reason to keep playing after the story is done. That’s why the best way to use cheats is to mix the two. Use a utility cheat to stay alive, then a chaos cheat to make it interesting.

Before you use them

1. Learn the combo first. Long codes like the jetpack (16 presses) are easy to fumble. Drill them in the GTA Cheat Trainer.
2. Check the save rules. GTA 5 disables trophies and achievements for the session once you cheat. In San Andreas, avoid saving after world-altering cheats. Our guide on whether cheats disable saves explains each game.
3. Single-player only. None of these work in GTA Online, and you shouldn’t try to cheat there.

Full lists live on our San Andreas cheats and GTA 5 cheats hubs. This is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.