What are the best MSFS 2024 add-ons?

The best MSFS 2024 add-ons are a well-supported aircraft matched to your flying, detailed scenery for places you revisit, and one utility that solves a repeated problem. On PC, FlyByWire A32NX is the best freeware airliner starting point; console users should choose in-simulator products explicitly marked for their platform.

These recommendations focus on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and also cover MSFS 2020 where appropriate. Add-ons, sometimes written as add ons or called mods, include aircraft, airports, regional scenery, liveries, navigation tools and external utilities. Exact simulator, product-build and platform compatibility matter more than any universal ranking.

Best MSFS 2024 add-ons by category

The best add-ons for MSFS 2024 improve a type of flying you already do regularly rather than adding features you may never use.

Best aircraft add-ons

The strongest aircraft choice depends on the procedures, systems and era you want to simulate.

This is not a universal best-to-worst list. The Fenix suits Airbus procedure work, the PMDG suits Boeing operations, the Comanche rewards careful engine handling, and the BAe 146 provides a more manual regional-airliner experience. Our detailed aircraft comparison by flying role and budget covers these choices and specialist alternatives.

Best airport and scenery add-ons

The best scenery purchase is usually an airport or region you fly through repeatedly.

A famous international hub is poor value if you visit it once. Airliner pilots should prioritise regular bases and destinations; VFR and general-aviation pilots normally gain more from local airfields, landmarks and regional corrections. See our airport scenery recommendations and conflict checks for more specific choices.

Best utility, realism, navigation and ground-handling add-ons

Utilities are worthwhile when they remove a recurring limitation, while traffic and ramp products are mainly optional immersion unless they support a procedure you practise.

Traffic, maps, VFR objects and ground services are covered more fully in our comparison of practical MSFS 2024 mods and utilities.

Which MSFS 2024 add-ons are genuinely must-have?

No add-on is essential for every pilot, but one dependable aircraft, scenery for a frequently used location and a tool that fixes a repeated operational problem are the closest things to must-have MSFS 2024 add-ons.

A utility becomes essential only when it solves a problem on many flights. GSX Pro is useful to a PC airliner pilot who performs turnaround procedures, but unnecessary for a bush pilot. A navigation subscription can be valuable for procedure-heavy flying, while an occasional VFR pilot may be adequately served by the simulator's built-in planning tools.

Are freeware or payware MSFS add-ons better?

Freeware can equal or exceed paid products, while payware makes sense when it funds specialist systems, detailed artwork, documentation and continuing support.

Payware is a payment model, not a quality grade. Judge both types using the same criteria:

• Scope: determine whether an aircraft has custom systems and flight dynamics or is mainly a visual model, sound set or livery.
• Maintenance: check whether simulator-update problems are investigated and corrected.
• Documentation: a complex aircraft should explain installation, configuration and normal operation.
• Dependencies: scenery may require object libraries, while utilities may need a background programme or airport profile.
• Value: one aircraft used for dozens of flights is normally better value than several discounted products used once.

Payware is worth buying when it covers a role you fly repeatedly and provides depth absent from the default simulator or available freeware. Do not pay merely for a long feature list, a large download or promised future functionality.

Pre-purchase and pre-install checklist

Check these seven points before downloading or paying for an MSFS add-on.

• Simulator edition: does the listing explicitly name MSFS 2020, MSFS 2024 or both?
• Platform entitlement: does the purchase cover PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5 or PS5 Pro? Do not assume a PC licence includes a console edition or that Xbox ownership transfers to PlayStation.
• Required base content: does it depend on a particular default aircraft, simulator edition, official world package, object library or another add-on?
• External-program restrictions: products requiring Windows executables, injectors or manual Community installation cannot be used as console add-ons.
• Performance cost: consider the combined load from the aircraft, detailed airport, traffic, weather and world-detail packages rather than each product alone.
• Duplicate scenery: check for another handcrafted, Marketplace, official or freeware version of the same airport or city.
• Update and support status: identify the supported simulator build, update method and evidence of maintenance before installing.

How to install and manage MSFS 2024 add-ons

Install one correctly matched package at a time, test it on a representative flight, and record where it came from and how it receives updates.

What can each MSFS platform install?

PC supports manual packages, developer installers and external programmes, while Xbox and PlayStation add-ons must be distributed for that console inside the simulator.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PS5 Pro; the PlayStation edition launched on 8 December 2025. MSFS 2020 remains a PC and Xbox simulator and was never released for PlayStation.

1. Verify simulator and platform support. The product should name MSFS 2024 and your platform. A generic Microsoft Flight Simulator compatibility claim is not enough.
2. Select the correct build. Use the developer's MSFS 2024 package or installer rather than copying an older MSFS 2020 installation wholesale.
3. Check dependencies. Install any required base aircraft, official content, model library or supporting programme before the main package.
4. Remove duplicates and superseded versions. Disable or uninstall an older copy of the same aircraft, airport or scenery area before adding its replacement.
5. Install one package. On PC, extract a manual package into the active MSFS 2024 Community folder or run its designated installer. On consoles, install it through the in-simulator library or content manager.
6. Inspect manual folder structure. For a conventional PC package, manifest.json and layout.json should be inside the package's top-level folder, not hidden beneath several wrapper folders. Do not put the compressed archive itself in Community.
7. Test a representative flight. For an aircraft, test loading, cold start, taxi, take-off, autopilot where applicable, approach and shutdown. For scenery, inspect the approaches, runway, taxiways, terrain and night lighting.
8. Record the source and updater. Note whether the add-on is managed by the simulator, a developer installer or a manual download. This prevents old files being left behind during later updates.
9. Add the next package only after the first passes. Installing a large batch at once makes dependency and conflict faults much harder to isolate.

PC users looking for aircraft, scenery and utilities can browse our MSFS freeware downloads library. Read each file's compatibility notes instead of assuming every MSFS 2020 package also supports MSFS 2024.

MSFS 2024 Content Manager: how to install, update and remove add-ons

MSFS 2024 Content Manager handles official and in-simulator content, including compatible Marketplace acquisitions, but it does not replace the installer or updater for manual PC packages and external programmes.

MSFS 2024 streams much of its content, so an owned item may be available for use without being permanently stored locally. An installed status generally means local package data has been downloaded; the available or owned status means the entitlement remains in your library. The exact action labels can differ by platform and interface revision.

1. Open the content library. From the simulator's main interface, open My Library or the Marketplace content area and enter Content Manager. Its location may move between interface revisions, but it remains part of the in-simulator content system.
2. Find installed content. Use the search box and the installed filter to locate an aircraft, airport, livery, world package or utility stored locally.
3. Find available content. Select the owned, available or not-installed filter to see eligible products that can be downloaded or enabled. Check the platform badge before installing.
4. Install an item. Select the product and choose the offered download or install action. Some streamed content may instead offer local download or enablement choices.
5. Update an item. Use the update-available filter or update notification, select the product and apply its update. If no update is shown for a manual PC package, use the source or updater recorded when it was installed.
6. Remove or disable an item. Select installed content and choose uninstall, delete local content or disable when that action is offered. Core simulator packages may not be removable.
7. Confirm the result. Restart the simulator when requested and repeat the flight or location that exposed the original problem.

Removing downloaded content normally does not erase ownership; the item remains available for reinstallation if its entitlement is still valid. Marketplace availability also does not prove that one purchase works on every platform, particularly between PC/Xbox and PlayStation.

Do MSFS 2020 add-ons work in MSFS 2024?

MSFS 2020 compatibility in MSFS 2024 is package-specific and must not be assumed.

Some packages work through compatibility support, while others require a dedicated installer, updated package or separate product edition. An aircraft appearing in the selection screen does not prove that its avionics, flight model, sounds, animations or external connections work correctly.

On PC, MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 can use different package locations and separate Community folders. Do not copy an entire 2020 folder into 2024. Install the correct build and test older packages individually.

What are the best MSFS 2020 add-ons?

The same selection rule applies to MSFS 2020: choose a supported aircraft for your preferred role, scenery for a regular location and only those utilities that solve a recurring need.

The A32NX, Fenix A320 family, PMDG 737 family, A2A Comanche and Just Flight BAe 146 remain strong choices where their specific MSFS 2020 editions are supported. Use the 2020 installer and documentation, and do not assume that buying or updating one simulator edition automatically grants the other.

Why do Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons cause problems?

Most add-on failures come from the wrong build, incorrect folder structure, missing dependencies, duplicate scenery, outdated packages or several demanding products running together.

• The add-on does not appear: confirm that it was extracted, installed into the active simulator's Community folder and not left inside an extra wrapper directory.
• An airport has doubled buildings or jetways: two packages are modifying the same location. Disable one version, including conflicting official handcrafted content where the simulator permits it.
• Textures are pink or objects are missing: install the required library, base aircraft or official content. An old livery may also fail after its parent aircraft changes.
• The aircraft loads but systems fail: check that you installed the correct MSFS edition and that any external programme or supporting package is running.
• Performance collapses at a hub: repeat the same aircraft, airport, weather and camera position without third-party traffic, ground services and world-life packages.
• A simulator update breaks an aircraft: remove or disable the affected package until a compatible build is issued. Reinstalling unchanged files will not repair a genuine version conflict.

On PC, isolate a suspected conflict methodically:

1. Move third-party packages out of Community and close external utilities.
2. Repeat the failing flight with default simulator content.
3. Restore packages in groups until the problem returns.
4. Split the suspect group in half and repeat until one package or conflicting pair is identified.
5. Check its dependencies and supported simulator before reinstalling, updating or replacing it.

On Xbox or PlayStation, disable or uninstall the most recently added content through Content Manager and repeat the same flight. Console users cannot repair package files manually, so an incompatible product must be updated or removed.

Deleting the rolling cache is not a universal add-on repair. It can help with streamed terrain or imagery faults, but it will not fix incompatible aircraft code, missing libraries or duplicated airports.

Do I need any more MSFS add-ons?

No additional add-ons are needed once your aircraft, regular locations and basic workflow meet your needs reliably.

Add another only when you can name the gap it will fill, confirm support for your simulator and platform, and test it without changing several other components at once. A small setup containing one deeply modelled aircraft, a few familiar airports and one genuinely useful utility is easier to maintain and troubleshoot than an indiscriminate collection.