Best GTA 5 mods for story mode
The best GTA 5 mods for story mode are the ones that fix what Rockstar never finished: better lighting, a living police force, open interiors, and a trainer that replaces every cheat code. All of them are PC only, and most still want the Legacy build rather than the 2025 Enhanced build. Here is the ranked list, what each one does, and how to install the lot without wrecking your save.
Before you install anything
Two facts shape everything below.
First, mods only work on PC. PlayStation and Xbox players get cheats, nothing more. If that is you, the “gta 5 ps4 cheats” and “gta 5 xbox cheats” lists cover every button combo.
Second, GTA V on PC now ships as two separate titles in the Rockstar Games Launcher. The original 2015 release is labelled Legacy. The March 2025 Enhanced build adds ray tracing and the newer GTA Online engine features. Enhanced changed the executable and the archive format, so the big modding tools had to be rebuilt for it. Support has arrived in pieces and still lags behind Legacy. Keep Legacy installed as your modding copy and treat an “gta 5 enhanced mod” claim with suspicion until the tool’s own page lists the Enhanced build number.
Nearly every file you will download lives on gta5-mods.com. You will see it typed as “gta 5 5mods” or “gta 5 5 mods” in search. Same site.
Heads up
Never launch GTA Online with mod files in your game folder. Rockstar tolerates single-player mods but bans accounts caught running modified files online. Back up your save folder in Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\Profiles before you start.
The three tools everything else needs
These are not the fun part. They are the part that makes the fun part load.
Script Hook V by Alexander Blade is the bridge between the game and .asi script mods. Every trainer and most gameplay mods call it. It breaks every time Rockstar patches the game and gets updated within a few days, so if the game crashes on launch after an update, this is the first thing to check.
ScriptHookVDotNet does the same job for mods written in C#. A huge share of the gameplay scripts on this list need it.
OpenIV is the archive editor. Texture packs, car models and map edits all go through it. Its “mods” folder feature lets you keep edited archives separate from the originals, which is the single best habit you can build. Install it, enable the mods folder, and copy archives there before editing. If something goes wrong, delete the folder and the game is stock again.
Quick steps: get a clean mod setup
- Install GTA V Legacy through the Rockstar Games Launcher.
- Run the game once unmodded so it generates settings and a save.
- Copy ScriptHookV.dll and dinput8.dll into the game’s root folder.
- Install ScriptHookVDotNet into the same folder.
- Install OpenIV, point it at your game folder, and enable the mods folder.
- Add one mod at a time and launch between each one.
The ranking
1. LSPDFR
LSPDFR turns story mode into a police career. You pick a department, take callouts, pull over drivers, run plates and make arrests, with a radio dispatch layer that does not exist in the base game. It is the most ambitious free mod on PC and it has a plugin ecosystem of its own, so the base install is only the start. Expect a steeper setup than anything else here. It wants Legacy and the matching RagePluginHook version, and it is picky about both.
2. NaturalVision Evolved
Razed’s lighting overhaul is the reason modded GTA 5 screenshots look like a different game. It rewrites the weather system, time of day, fog, reflections and vehicle paint shaders. The older NaturalVision Remastered is fully free and still excellent. Evolved spent years as a Patreon early-access release before public builds appeared, so check which version you are downloading and whether it matches your game build. On an older GPU it is heavy. Budget a frame-rate hit.
3. Menyoo PC
This is the trainer most players end up using. Menyoo spawns any vehicle, ped or object, changes weather, teleports you, sets wanted level, gives money, and includes an object spawner for building your own scenes. It covers everything the official “gta 5 cheat codes” do and far more, with the bonus that it does not lock achievements the way phone cheats do for that session. The in-game menu is bound to F8 by default.
4. Simple Trainer
If Menyoo feels like too much, Simple Trainer is the lighter alternative. It covers the same core functions and is the one most tutorials assume you have. F3 opens it. Many players keep both installed.
5. Open All Interiors
Rockstar built dozens of interiors for GTA Online and then locked them in story mode. This mod unlocks them: the strip club, the Vangelico jewellery store, the FIB building, Los Santos Customs shops and the heist safehouses, with peds and ambient audio. It is a small script with an outsized effect on how big the city feels.
6. World of Variety
The vanilla game recycles a small pool of peds and vehicles. World of Variety injects the full roster of GTA Online cars, outfits and ped models into story-mode traffic and crowds. It also restores vehicles that got cut from the single-player spawn tables. Pair it with the add-on car packs on this list and Los Santos traffic stops looking like 2013.
7. Realism Dispatch Enhanced
RDE replaces the LSPD with a layered, region-accurate police response. Sheriff cars in Blaine County, highway patrol on the freeways, NOOSE and SWAT at higher wanted levels, plus Army units if you push to five stars. Chases feel like the GTA IV era again. It needs a clean install and conflicts with other police overhauls, so choose it or LSPDFR, not both on the same copy.
8. Single Player Apartment
Story mode never let you buy the high-rise apartments. This mod adds them as purchasable properties, Eclipse Towers included, with a garage and a working interior. You pay in GTA dollars from your character’s account, which finally gives Michael’s post-heist millions a purpose.
9. IVPack
IVPack ports the full Liberty City vehicle roster from GTA IV into GTA V as add-on cars, with correct handling and dirt maps. If you want the Sabre, the Sultan RS or the old Vapid Stanier back in traffic, this is the cleanest way. Install order matters: add-on packs go in after World of Variety.
10. Gang and Turf Mod
This gives you Grove Street’s gang wars inside GTA V. Recruit members, claim territory across the city, defend it from rival sets and watch the map change colour. It is the mod that gets closest to the San Andreas loop in a modern engine.
11. Grand Theft Space
A full space expansion with a launch sequence, orbital travel and explorable moon and planet surfaces. It is more of a tech demo than a campaign, but nothing else on PC does what it does. It is also the first mod on this list likely to break after a game update, so disable it if you cannot launch.
12. JulioNIB’s superhero scripts
The Iron Man, Hulk and Superman scripts turn story mode into a sandbox movie. Flight, repulsors, ground pounds, destructible cars. These are Patreon-gated at release and move to free later. They demand ScriptHookVDotNet and a fast CPU. For messing about for an afternoon with a friend watching, they are unmatched.
Agent's note
Most crashes come from version mismatch, not from the mod itself. Every script mod lists the Script Hook V version it was built against on its download page. Match the game build in the launcher to that number before you blame the mod.
What not to bother with
Redux is still downloaded in large numbers. It bundles a visual overhaul with gameplay changes and has a history of including other people’s work without credit. NaturalVision does the visual job better and cleaner.
Skip any mod promising free GTA Online money, cars or rank. Those are either cheat engines that get accounts banned or malware. There is no legitimate “gta online money cheats” route, and nothing on gta5-mods.com will change that.
FAQ
Do GTA 5 mods work on the Enhanced version?
Partly. Tool support for the 2025 Enhanced build has arrived in stages and some major mods remain Legacy only. Keep Legacy as your modding copy. If a mod page states it supports Enhanced, it will list the Enhanced build number. If it does not say, assume no.
Do mods disable achievements?
Script mods and trainers do not block Steam or Rockstar achievements. Entering phone or button cheats does, for that play session. A trainer is the cleaner way to get the same effects.
Can I use mods on PS5 or Xbox Series X?
No. Rockstar has never allowed mods on console. Console players get the official cheat codes and nothing else.
Will I get banned for story mode mods?
Not for story mode on its own. The ban risk comes from loading GTA Online with modified files present. Keep a separate, unmodded install for Online or remove your mods folder and script files before you go online.
How do I undo everything?
Delete the OpenIV mods folder, remove the .asi files and the ScriptHookV and ScriptHookVDotNet files from the game root, then verify the install through the Rockstar Games Launcher. The game returns to stock.