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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName GREAT-WEST FUNDS INC
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Apr. 30, 2018
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Fund Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The Fund seeks investment results that track the total return of the common stocks that comprise the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) SmallCap 600® Index (the “Benchmark Index”).
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. This table does not reflect the fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If the fees and expenses imposed by a Permitted Account were reflected, the fees and expenses shown below would be higher.
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination April 30, 2019
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 24.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example does not reflect the fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If the fees and expenses of any Permitted Account were reflected, the fees and expenses in the Example would be higher.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and applies whether you hold or redeem all of your shares at the end of each period. The Example also assumes that the expense reimbursement is in place for the first year, that your investment has a 5% return each year, that all dividends and capital gains are reinvested, and that the Fund’s operating expenses are the amount shown in the fee table and remain the same for the years shown. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock The Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks of its Benchmark Index. The Fund will seek investment results that track the total return of the Benchmark Index by owning the securities contained in the Benchmark Index in as close as possible a proportion of the Fund as each stock’s weight in the Benchmark Index. This may be accomplished through ownership of all the stocks in the Benchmark Index and/or through a combination of stock ownership, owning derivatives such as futures contracts on the Benchmark Index and options on futures contracts, and owning exchange-traded funds that seek to track the Benchmark Index.

The Benchmark Index is the S&P SmallCap 600® Index. The S&P SmallCap 600® Index is designed to measure the performance of publicly traded common stocks of the small company sector of the U.S. equities market.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Investment Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock The following is a summary of the principal investment risks of investing in the Fund:

Derivatives Risk - The Fund may invest in derivative instruments, including but not limited to, futures contracts and options. Using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The Fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives can also make a fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets, and may increase the Fund’s volatility. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s use of derivative contracts will work as intended, and it is possible for the Fund to lose more than its original investment.

Exchange-Traded Fund (“ETF”) Risk - An ETF is subject to the risks associated with direct ownership of the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based. Fund shareholders indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of the ETFs in which the Fund invests. Lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in it being more volatile.

Index Risk - It is possible the Benchmark Index may perform unfavorably and/or underperform the market as a whole. The Fund is not actively managed and the portfolio managers do not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets. Maintaining investments in securities regardless of market conditions or the performance of individual securities could cause the Fund’s return to be lower than if the Fund employed an active strategy.

Interest Rate Risk - The Benchmark Index includes real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REIT prices overall may decline because of rising interest rates. There may be less governmental intervention in the securities markets in the near future. If so, it could cause an increase in interest rates, which could have a negative impact on REIT stock prices and could negatively affect the Fund's net asset value.

Market Risk - Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments in the U.S. and in other countries. Market risk may affect a single company, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole.

Over-the-Counter Risk - Over-the-Counter (OTC) listed companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources. Many OTC stocks may be less liquid and more volatile than exchange-listed stocks.

Small Size Company Securities Risk - The stocks of small size companies often involve more risk and volatility than those of larger companies. Among other things, small size companies are often dependent on a small number of products and have limited financial resources, and there is generally less publicly available information about them. Securities of small size companies have lower trading volume and are less liquid than securities of larger, more established companies.

Tracking Error Risk - The Fund may not be able to precisely track the performance of the Benchmark Index.

An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank, is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency, and is subject to the possible loss of your original investment.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney is subject to the possible loss of your original investment.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank, is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency,
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investment in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund’s Investor Class shares for the last ten calendar years and by comparing the Fund's average annual total return to the performance of a broad-based securities market index. The returns shown below are historical and are not an indication of future performance. Total return figures assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and include the effect of the Fund’s recurring expenses, but do not include fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If those fees and expenses were reflected, the performance shown would have been lower.

Updated performance information may be obtained at www.greatwestfunds.com (the website does not form a part of this Prospectus).
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide an indication of the risk of investment in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund’s Investor Class shares for the last ten calendar years and by comparing the Fund's average annual total return to the performance of a broad-based securities market index.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.greatwestfunds.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The returns shown below are historical and are not an indication of future performance.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Calendar Year Total Returns
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads Total return figures assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and include the effect of the Fund’s recurring expenses, but do not include fees and expenses of any Permitted Account. If those fees and expenses were reflected, the performance shown would have been lower.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
  Quarter Ended Total Return
Best Quarter June 2009 20.70%
Worst Quarter December 2008 -25.20%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2017
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.19%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.01%
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.20%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets none [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.20%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 20
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 64
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 113
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 255
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 20
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 64
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 113
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 255
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.17%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 12.74% [2]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate May 01, 2015
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund | Investor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.19%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.02%
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.37%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.56%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets none [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.56%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 57
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 179
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 313
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 701
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 57
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 179
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 313
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 701
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (31.35%)
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 24.95%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 25.70%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 0.36%
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 15.78%
2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 40.59%
2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 5.20%
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (2.54%)
2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 25.74%
2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 12.75%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 20.70%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (25.20%)
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 12.75%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.37%
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 9.86%
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund | Class L  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.19%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.35%
Other Expenses rr_Component2OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.09%
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.44%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.88%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.07% [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.81%
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 83
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 274
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 481
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,078
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 83
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 274
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 481
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 1,078
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 12.52%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.09%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 15.79% [3]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Aug. 12, 2011
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund | S&P SmallCap 600® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.23%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 12.91% [2]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate May 01, 2015
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund | S&P SmallCap 600® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | Investor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.23%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.99%
Ten Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.43%
Great-West S&P Small Cap 600 Index Fund | S&P SmallCap 600® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) | Class L  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
One Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.23%
Five Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 15.99%
Since Inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 16.72% [3]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Aug. 12, 2011
[1] GWCM has contractually agreed to waive fees or reimburse expenses that exceed 0.21% of the Fund's average daily net assets attributable to each Class, excluding Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees, Shareholder Services Fees, brokerage expenses, taxes, dividend interest on short sales, interest expenses, and any extraordinary expenses, including litigation costs (the “Expense Limit”). The agreement’s current term ends on April 30, 2019 and automatically renews for one-year terms unless it is terminated by Great-West Funds or GWCM upon written notice within 90 days of the end of the current term or upon termination of the investment advisory agreement. Under the agreement, GWCM may recoup, subject to Board approval, these waivers and reimbursements in future periods, not exceeding three years following the particular waiver/reimbursement, provided Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses of a Class plus such recoupment do not exceed the lesser of the Expense Limit that was in place at the time of the waiver/reimbursement or the Expense Limit in place at the time of recoupment.
[2] Since inception on May 1, 2015
[3] Since inception on August 12, 2011