Best Shotgun in GTA Online (2026): All 10 Ranked
The Assault Shotgun deals the most damage over time of any shotgun in GTA Online: 192 per shot if all six pellets land, at 240 shots a minute, from $10,000. The Heavy Shotgun is the pick past close range: its single slug reaches 50 m and does 351 to vehicles.
| # | Weapon | Why it is here | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assault Shotgun 768 dmg/s · $10,000 | 192 per shot if all six pellets land, at 240 a minute measured: the most damage over time in the class, from $10,000 at rank 37. | S |
| 2 | Heavy Shotgun 390 dmg/s · $13,550 | A single 117 slug at 200 a minute. It reaches 50 m where pellets stop at 40, and it does 351 to vehicles. $13,550. | S |
| 3 | Combat Shotgun 744 dmg/s · $295,000 | 186 per shot at 240 a minute by the file, level with the Assault Shotgun, for $295,000. | A |
| 4 | Pump Shotgun Mk II 320 dmg/s · $82,500 conversion | 256 per shot with every pellet and the Mk II shells, at 75 a minute. | A |
| 5 | Sawed-Off Shotgun 373 dmg/s | The biggest single blast in the class, 320, and it fires from a motorbike. | B |
| 6 | Sweeper Shotgun 446 dmg/s · $14,900 | 162 per shot at 165 a minute from a 10-shell drum. | B |
What « Per Shot » Means for a Shotgun
A shotgun fires several pellets, and the game file gives the damage of each one: 32 per pellet and six pellets for the Assault Shotgun, 40 and eight for the Sawed-Off. The per-shot figures on this page assume every pellet lands, which only happens at point-blank range. Past a few metres the spread takes pellets off target, and that is where the Heavy Shotgun, which fires one 117 slug, keeps its full damage out to 50 m.
Biggest Blast or Most Damage Over Time?
The Sawed-Off hits hardest per trigger pull, 320, followed by the Pump Shotgun Mk II at 256 and the Double Barrel at 240 per barrel. But they fire 55 to 75 times a minute. The Assault and Combat Shotguns fire 240 a minute for around 190 a shot, roughly twice the output over a few seconds. Pick the burst for one target who is close, the automatics for anything else.
Shotguns and Vehicles
From a car's driver seat GTA V allows pistols and submachine guns, not shotguns. The exception is the Sawed-Off, which can be fired from a motorbike. Only the Pump Shotgun has a Mk II conversion, done at a weapon workshop in a Mobile Operations Center or an Avenger.
Every Shotgun in GTA Online
10 in all, sorted by damage per second. Damage is the game file's value; the rate of fire is measured in game, marked « file » where only the file value exists. Where no GTA Online measurement exists for a weapon, the damage is left blank rather than guessed. Prices and ranks are the in-game ones; for a Mk II, the price is the workshop conversion.
| Weapon | Damage per shot, all pellets | Rounds per minute | Damage per second | Magazine standard / max | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assault Shotgun | 192 32 × 6 | 240 | 768 | 8 / 32 | $10,000 rank 37 | Fully automatic: the most damage over time in the class. |
Combat Shotgun | 186 31 × 6 | 240 file | 744 | 6 | $295,000 | Magazine: some lists give 6, others 10. |
Sweeper Shotgun | 162 27 × 6 | 165 | 446 | 10 | $14,900 | A 10-shell drum. |
Heavy Shotgun | 117 | 200 | 390 | 6 / 30 | $13,550 | Fires a single slug: it reaches 50 m where the others stop at 40, and does 351 to vehicles. |
Sawed-Off Shotgun | 320 40 × 8 | 70 | 373 | 8 | n/a | 320 per shot if every pellet lands, the biggest blast in the class. Fires from a motorbike. |
Pump Shotgun Mk II | 256 32 × 8 | 75 file | 320 | 8 | $82,500 conversion | 256 per shot with every pellet, and the Mk II shells. |
Double Barrel Shotgun | 240 30 × 8 | 55 | 220 | 2 | $15,450 | 240 per barrel, two barrels, then a reload. |
Bullpup Shotgun | 112 14 × 8 | 60 | 112 | 14 | $8,000 | 14 shells, light pellets. |
Musket | 165 | 13 | 36 | 1 | $21,400 | One ball, then the slowest reload in the class. |
Pump Shotgun | n/a | n/a | n/a | 8 | $3,500 rank 17 | No published GTA Online table for it. |
More GTA V Weapons on GTAside
The assault rifles, where seven rifles sit within 3 per cent on damage per second, the snipers, led by the Heavy Sniper Mk II, and the explosive weapons, all on the GTA V weapons hub. The GTA 5 cheat codes hand out a full weapon set in story mode, never in GTA Online.