How to Start the Cayo Perico Heist in GTA Online (2026): Kosatka, Setup and Current Payouts

Cayo Perico is still GTA Online's go-to solo heist. Here's how to unlock it, what to buy, every step from Gather Intel to the finale, and what it pays after the July 2026 changes.

Years after it launched, The Cayo Perico Heist is still the heist most GTA Online players start with – mainly because it's the one you can run completely solo. Rockstar trimmed its payouts with the Kortz Center Heist update in July 2026, but it remains a reliable way to fund a new player's first businesses.

This guide walks you through unlocking the heist, the first Gather Intel run, the prep missions worth doing and what you can expect to earn on the current version of the game.

What you need

You don't need any upgrades on the submarine to run the heist. Save your money for the sub itself and a couple of runs' worth of setup fees.

How to unlock the heist

1. Meet Miguel Madrazo at The Music Locker. This short story setup introduces the job and Pavel, the Kosatka's captain.
2. Buy the Kosatka. Open the Warstock Cache & Carry site on your in-game phone or computer and purchase the base submarine.
3. Board the sub. Request the Kosatka, head inside and let Pavel give you the tour. The heist planning screen is near the end of it.
4. Register as a boss. Become a CEO, VIP or MC President before you use the planning screen.
5. Start Gather Intel from the planning screen. Nothing else unlocks until this mission is done.

Tip: use an invite-only or friends-only session. Preps and the finale are much less stressful without other players around.

Step 1: The first Gather Intel run

Your first scouting mission is longer than later ones because it's scripted. You can't bring weapons – you're going in undercover.

1. Go to the Pegasus Concierge hangar at Los Santos International Airport and meet English Dave. A cutscene takes you to the island.
2. Drive Winky to West Beach, take Dave and Strickler to the beach party and wait for Pavel's instructions.
3. Leave the party through the south without being spotted.
4. Find the Communications Tower, hack its signal box and use the compound's CCTV cameras to locate the primary target. On your first run, it's always the Madrazo Files.
5. Scope the required points (such as the North Dock), photographing any secondary loot, tools and entry points you find along the way.
6. Return to the airstrip and leave the island.

Everything you discover on this first visit – infiltration points, escape points and compound entrances – is saved for future runs. On repeat heists, you'll usually steal a Velum from a smuggler to fly in, and the scouting part becomes much shorter.

Common mistake: being spotted too often or alerting El Rubio's guards sends you back to Los Santos, and you'll have to start the mission again.

Step 2: Prep missions

Once Gather Intel is complete, the prep board opens. You don't need to do everything – just enough for the plan you want.

• Approach vehicle: the Kosatka is the simplest choice for solo play, since it's your base and your ride.
• Equipment: the Fingerprint Cloner, the Cutting Torch, and either the Plasma Cutter or the Safe Code, depending on how the primary target is stored.
• Weapons: pick a loadout. Suppressors cost GTA$5,000 and are worth it for a stealth run.
• Disruptions: optional. Many solo players skip them entirely.

Do the land-based equipment preps first, then the weapon loadout, then the approach-vehicle mission.

Step 3: The finale

A popular solo setup is Kosatka approach → Drainage Tunnel entry → Kosatka escape, at night.

1. Swim through the drainage tunnel and cut through the grate.
2. Move quickly through the compound, taking out only the guards whose sight lines cross your path.
3. In El Rubio's office, grab any paintings, open the small safe and take the key from the desk.
4. Complete the fingerprint hack and head down to the vault.
5. Take the primary target – open the safe with the code, or cut the glass case while watching the cutter's heat gauge.
6. Grab secondary loot on your way out, then escape to the sea and swim clear.

Current payouts (after the July 2026 update)

Rockstar quietly lowered most Cayo Perico values with Title Update 1.73 on July 14, 2026. These are the current primary target values:

Pavel takes a 2% cut and the fence takes 10% of your final take. Secondary loot such as cocaine, weed, cash and paintings adds a meaningful amount on top, while gold bars need a second player to grab.

Elite Challenge: finish in under 15 minutes, fill every player's bag and don't fail a fingerprint hack to earn GTA$50,000 (GTA$100,000 on Hard Mode). Using Quick Restart forfeits it.

Cooldowns, Hard Mode and the Thursday reset

• Cooldown: 144 real minutes after a solo finale, or 48 minutes after a finale with a crew.
• Hard Mode: when Pavel contacts you after the cooldown, pay the setup fee within 48 minutes. Hard Mode adds 10% to the primary target and doubles the Elite bonus.
• Target odds: since July 2026, the odds of rolling the better primary targets refresh at the weekly reset on Thursday instead of on a rolling timer. Expect mostly Tequila on repeat runs within the same week.

Tips

• Bring a crew if you can: the cooldown is far shorter, and you can carry gold.
• Each crew member must get at least a 15% cut, so agree on splits before the finale.
• Keep an eye on Rockstar's weekly events. The Panther Statue only appears during selected events, and it's by far the most valuable target in the heist.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.