Goryachkina returned to the 2500s in rating in the second half of 2018, reaching a new peak rating of 2535 in August. In April, she earned her third and final GM norm at the Aeroflot Open A. During the tournament, she scored 4½/9 (+1–1=7) against nine players all rated between 2571 and 2625, including eight GMs. She became the fifth-youngest woman to earn the Grandmaster title at 19 years and 5 months. As a new GM, she had another surge in rating in the Russian Championship Higher League in August, gaining 26 points with a score of 5½/9 and a performance rating of 2713 against opponents all rated above 2600. With this increase in rating, she also became ranked in the women's top 10 for the first time. Nonetheless, she lost in the second round of the Women's World Chess Championship for the third consecutive edition and finished in joint third at the Russian Women's Championship.