How do I display FPS in MSFS 2020?

To display FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on PC, enable Developer Mode under General Options, apply the change, then use the new developer menu bar at the top of the screen and select Options > Display FPS. The built-in overlay shows frame rate, frame time and the main performance limiter.

How do I turn on the MSFS 2020 FPS counter?

The built-in counter is activated through Developer Mode rather than the normal assistance or graphics settings.

1. Open General Options: From the main screen or pause menu, select Options > General Options.
2. Enable Developer Mode: Open the Developers category, set Developer Mode to On, then select Apply & Save.
3. Open the developer menu: A narrow menu bar will appear across the top of the simulator. This is separate from the ordinary Options screen.
4. Enable the overlay: From that top bar, select Options > Display FPS. The diagnostic panel normally appears in the upper-right area.

There is no standard keyboard shortcut for the built-in counter. To hide it, select Display FPS again. You can then disable Developer Mode if you no longer need its tools.

What do MainThread and GPU mean?

The limiter named by the overlay tells you which part of the PC is holding back the frame rate at that moment.

• Limited by MainThread: The simulator's main CPU thread is the bottleneck. Terrain and Objects Level of Detail, road and airport traffic, AI aircraft, complex avionics and dense scenery are common causes. Total CPU usage can remain well below 100% because one busy thread may still set the limit.
• Limited by GPU: The graphics card is taking longest to render each frame. Resolution, render scaling, clouds, shadows, reflections and ambient occlusion are the settings most likely to help.

Watch frame time as well as the large FPS figure. A steady 33.3 ms is approximately 30 FPS, while 16.7 ms is approximately 60 FPS; stable frame delivery often feels better than a higher number that fluctuates sharply. Our MSFS 2020 performance and bottleneck guide explains which settings to adjust after identifying the limiter.

Why is the MSFS FPS counter not showing?

A missing counter usually means the Developer Mode change was not applied or the wrong Options menu was opened.

• Select Apply & Save after turning Developer Mode on; using Back without applying may discard the change.
• Look for the developer menu bar at the very top of the simulator, then use its Options menu—not the normal General Options screen.
• If the developer bar appears but the panel does not, toggle Display FPS off and on.
• If the bar itself is absent, confirm Developer Mode is still enabled and restart the simulator.
• DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 use the same procedure, so changing graphics APIs is not required.

Developer Mode is intended for development and diagnostic work and can interfere with achievement tracking while active. Disable it after testing if achievements matter to you.

Can I display FPS in MSFS 2020 without Developer Mode?

On Windows, Xbox Game Bar can provide a simpler FPS figure without the simulator's detailed diagnostic panel.

Press Win+G, open the Performance widget, select FPS and pin the widget if you want it visible during flight. Windows may request performance access or a restart before the FPS value works. Use this option when you only need a number; use the MSFS counter when you need MainThread and GPU information.

If smoother frame pacing is the goal, our guide to capping the MSFS 2020 frame rate covers the available methods and when each one makes sense.

Can you show the FPS counter on Xbox?

MSFS 2020 on Xbox Series X|S does not expose the PC Developer Mode FPS overlay.

A television or monitor may report its refresh rate or VRR signal, but that is not necessarily the simulator's rendered frame rate. The built-in diagnostic counter and its MainThread/GPU readings are PC-only.