To improve FPS and overall performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, we usually get the biggest gains by lowering the settings that hit the CPU and GPU hardest, reducing traffic and background load, and testing changes one at a time. The best results normally come from adjusting render scaling, terrain detail, clouds, traffic, and online streaming features rather than simply turning everything down blindly.
If the sim feels choppy, stutters during approach, or performs badly at large airports, the goal is not just a higher frame rate but a more stable frame time. Smoothness matters as much as raw FPS.
Best quick fixes for MSFS 2024 FPS
- Restart the sim and your PC before testing. This clears temporary background load and gives you a clean baseline.
- Update your graphics driver and install any current Microsoft Flight Simulator updates.
- Turn off or reduce traffic, especially AI aircraft, live traffic, airport vehicles and ground clutter.
- Lower render scaling slightly if your GPU is overloaded. This is often the single biggest FPS boost.
- Reduce terrain and object detail if performance drops near dense cities or complex airports. These settings are often CPU-heavy.
- Lower cloud quality if weather causes big frame-rate drops.
- Disable unnecessary background apps such as overlays, recording tools, web browsers and launchers.
- Test in the same aircraft, airport and weather after each change so you know what actually helped.
How to tell whether you are CPU-limited or GPU-limited
Before changing too much, we recommend working out what is holding performance back.
Signs you are GPU-limited
- FPS drops heavily at higher resolutions.
- Changing render scaling has a big effect.
- Heavy clouds, shadows, reflections or anti-aliasing cause obvious slowdowns.
- Your graphics card usage is consistently very high.
Signs you are CPU-limited
- FPS is poor at busy airports even with moderate graphics settings.
- Traffic, airport density and complex scenery hurt performance more than resolution changes.
- Terrain detail or object detail changes make a noticeable difference.
- Your main processor thread is the limiting factor and the GPU is not fully loaded.
This matters because GPU bottlenecks are usually fixed with resolution and visual quality settings, while CPU bottlenecks respond better to lower traffic, lower world detail and fewer background tasks.
Best graphics settings to improve FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
We suggest starting with a balanced preset, then adjusting the most expensive settings manually.
1) Render scaling and upscaling
If you need a meaningful FPS gain, reduce render scaling in small steps rather than immediately dropping every setting. If your system supports an upscaling method, it can improve performance, but image clarity varies. A moderate setting is usually better than the most aggressive one.
If the image becomes too soft, raise render scaling slightly and lower a different visual option instead.
2) Terrain detail and object detail
These are among the most important settings for large cities and complex airports. If you get stutters on approach or taxi, lowering terrain detail and object detail often helps more than reducing texture quality.
We usually recommend lowering them gradually until dense areas feel stable, then leaving them alone.
3) Clouds
Cloud quality can be expensive, especially during overcast weather and storms. If clear-weather performance is fine but bad-weather performance is poor, reduce clouds first.
4) Shadows, reflections and ambient effects
These can cost a lot of performance for less visible gain than many players expect. If you want extra FPS without making the sim look drastically worse, lower:
- Shadow quality
- Reflection quality
- Ambient or contact shadow effects
- Water or screen-space visual effects
5) Anti-aliasing and sharpness
Some anti-aliasing modes look cleaner but cost more. If you are chasing performance, test a lighter anti-aliasing option or combine upscaling with a sensible sharpness setting. We recommend checking cockpit text readability before settling on a change.
6) Texture settings
Texture quality affects VRAM usage more than FPS on many systems. If you have enough VRAM, lowering textures may not help much. If you get stutters, pop-in or instability, reducing texture settings can still be worthwhile.
Traffic and online settings that often improve performance
Traffic settings can have a surprisingly large effect, especially on the CPU.
- Live traffic: can reduce performance in busy airspace.
- AI traffic: often expensive at major airports.
- Ground aircraft: useful to reduce if aprons are crowded.
- Airport vehicles and workers: can be lowered for smoother taxi and apron performance.
- Multiplayer aircraft: may affect busy hubs and events.
If FPS tanks on the ground but improves once airborne, these are some of the first options we would adjust.
Photogrammetry and streaming data
Online world data can improve visuals but may also contribute to stutters on slower connections or storage systems. If you see pauses when loading scenery, test with reduced online features such as:
- Photogrammetry
- Live weather
- Live traffic
- Other streamed world data features
If performance becomes smoother, the issue may be related to data streaming rather than pure graphics power.
How to fix stuttering in MSFS 2024
Low FPS and stuttering are related but not identical. We can sometimes have acceptable FPS with poor smoothness.
Common causes of stutter
- Too many background applications
- CPU overload at detailed airports
- Insufficient VRAM or system memory
- Streaming pauses or slow storage access
- Aggressive graphics settings causing frame-time spikes
- Add-ons that conflict or consume resources
Practical stutter fixes
- Close background apps, especially overlays, RGB tools, recording utilities and browser tabs.
- Install the sim on fast storage if possible.
- Lower traffic and airport density first if stutters happen on the ground.
- Reduce terrain detail if stutters occur near cities.
- Reduce cloud quality if stutters occur in heavy weather.
- Clear out unnecessary add-ons and test with a minimal setup.
- Use a frame cap or synchronisation option if your frame rate swings wildly. A stable 40 to 60 FPS often feels better than an unstable higher number.
Do add-ons reduce performance in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024?
Yes, they can. Complex aircraft, detailed airports, large scenery packs and utilities running in the background may all affect performance.
If you suspect add-ons are responsible, test methodically:
- Temporarily remove or disable non-essential add-ons.
- Test a default aircraft at the same airport and weather.
- Add items back one by one until performance drops again.
This is especially useful if the sim used to run well and now feels worse after installing new content. If you need extra content later, we recommend keeping your add-ons organised and only installing what you actively use. Our main library is here: https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/.
Windows and PC optimisation tips for better MSFS 2024 performance
We do not need to over-tune Windows, but a few basics help:
- Use a sensible power plan so the CPU and GPU are not being unnecessarily restricted.
- Keep enough free disk space on the drive where the sim is installed.
- Disable unnecessary startup apps.
- Avoid running multiple overlays at the same time.
- Make sure your monitor resolution matches what you intend to use; accidental supersampled resolutions can crush FPS.
- Check temperatures; thermal throttling can look like random poor performance.
If you are using a laptop, make sure the sim is running on the dedicated GPU rather than integrated graphics.
Best testing method to find the right settings
The fastest way to optimise Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is to avoid changing everything at once.
- Choose one repeatable test such as the same aircraft, the same airport gate, the same weather and the same time of day.
- Set a starting point with moderate settings.
- Change one setting group at a time: render scaling, clouds, terrain detail, traffic and so on.
- Record the result after each change.
- Stop when performance is stable, not just when the FPS number is highest.
This makes it much easier to build a setup that suits your hardware instead of copying someone else's settings blindly.
Recommended priority order if you want more FPS quickly
If you want a simple order to follow, we would usually try these first:
- Lower render scaling slightly
- Reduce terrain and object detail
- Reduce traffic and airport density
- Lower cloud quality
- Lower shadows and reflections
- Test with fewer online streaming features
- Remove or disable heavy add-ons
Final answer
The best way to improve FPS in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is to identify whether the sim is limited by your GPU, CPU, traffic load, or scenery streaming, then lower the settings that target that bottleneck. For most systems, the biggest gains come from render scaling, terrain detail, clouds, traffic, and airport density, followed by trimming background apps and testing without heavy add-ons.