Should I install Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 on separate drives?
No, you do not have to install Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024 on separate drives. Both can live on the same drive quite happily if it is a fast SSD with plenty of free space. Separate drives can help with storage management, updates and loading consistency, but they are a preference, not a requirement.
Should I put MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 on different drives?
Our short answer is this: use separate drives if you already have two good SSDs and enough space, but do not buy extra storage purely because you think the simulators will conflict with each other. They will not, as long as each sim has its own install location and its own packages.
What matters most is drive speed and free space, not the fact that the titles are on the same physical drive. A single fast NVMe SSD is usually better than splitting them across a fast drive and a slow one.
When separate drives make sense
- You are short on space on your main SSD and want to avoid constantly moving files or uninstalling content.
- You run both sims regularly and want cleaner organisation for add-ons, rolling cache and updates.
- You already own two fast SSDs, so there is no downside to separating them.
- You use a lot of third-party content and want to reduce clutter and make troubleshooting easier.
In those cases, separating them can make life simpler. It is especially useful if you keep large scenery libraries, photogrammetry caches or lots of liveries and aircraft.
When keeping both on the same drive is perfectly fine
- Your drive is a fast SSD or NVMe SSD.
- You still have healthy free space after installing both sims and your add-ons.
- You do not have a second fast drive and the alternative would be a slower SATA SSD, HDD or USB drive.
- You want the simplest setup with the fewest moving parts.
If the choice is between one fast internal SSD and one slower drive, we would keep both simulators on the fast internal SSD. Microsoft Flight Simulator benefits far more from storage speed and low latency than from being separated for the sake of it.
Does installing them on separate drives improve performance?
Usually, not in any dramatic way. You should not expect a big FPS increase just because MSFS 2020 is on one drive and MSFS 2024 is on another.
What you may notice is better loading behaviour, smoother content updates and less chance of running a drive close to full capacity. SSDs tend to behave better when they are not nearly full, so keeping each sim with comfortable headroom can help overall responsiveness.
The real performance mistakes are:
- Installing one sim on a mechanical hard drive.
- Filling an SSD almost completely.
- Putting the sim itself on a fast drive but moving package content or cache to a very slow one.
- Mixing up add-on folders between the two sims.
Best storage setup for MSFS 2020 and 2024
| Setup | Good idea? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Both sims on one fast NVMe SSD | Yes | Simple, fast and usually the best choice if you have enough space. |
| One sim per fast SSD | Yes | Great for organisation and space management, with no real downside. |
| One sim on SSD, one on HDD | No | The HDD-installed sim will suffer in loading and general responsiveness. |
| One sim on internal SSD, one on slow external USB drive | Usually no | Convenient for capacity, but often poor for consistency and update reliability. |
| Both sims on a nearly full SSD | No | Low free space can hurt updates, caching and general smoothness. |
What should stay separate between MSFS 2020 and 2024?
Even if both are on the same drive, treat them as two different simulators.
- Community folders should be separate.
- Official package folders should be separate.
- Rolling cache should be separate.
- Add-on managers, profiles and configuration files should be checked carefully so they are pointing at the correct sim.
This is where most problems happen. People do not usually break things by using the same drive; they break things by pointing add-ons or tools at the wrong folder.
If you need help locating the packages area, we cover the general location of the Community folder here: Fly Away Simulation. The exact path can vary by edition and how you installed the sim, so it is always worth double-checking inside each simulator's settings or install prompts.
Our practical recommendation
If you are starting from scratch, we would use this order of preference:
- Best overall: install both MSFS 2020 and 2024 on one large, fast internal SSD if it has ample free space.
- Also excellent: install each sim on its own fast SSD if you already have two.
- Avoid: putting either sim on a hard drive just because you want them separated.
- Keep room free: leave comfortable spare capacity for updates, rolling cache and add-ons rather than filling a drive to the limit.
How much free space should you leave?
We would not run a Microsoft Flight Simulator drive right to the edge. Both sims can grow well beyond the base install once world updates, aircraft, scenery and cached data start piling up.
A sensible rule is to leave plenty of free space after installation so updates can unpack cleanly and the SSD is not constantly under pressure. The exact amount depends on how much extra content you use, but more headroom is always safer than less.
If you do use separate drives, which sim should go where?
Put the simulator you use most on the faster drive. If one drive is NVMe and the other is older SATA SSD, give the NVMe to the sim you fly most often, or to the one with the larger add-on library.
If both drives are similarly fast, there is no wrong answer. In that case, organise them in the way that makes updates and add-on housekeeping easier for you.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not share add-on folders between 2020 and 2024 unless an add-on is explicitly built and packaged to support both.
- Do not move folders manually mid-install unless the simulator or installer gives you a proper option to do so.
- Do not install to a slow external drive just to save space on your main SSD.
- Do not ignore free space. A crowded SSD causes more grief than having both sims on the same device.
- Do not assume separate drives fix stutters. Stutters are often tied to settings, CPU load, memory pressure, add-ons or online streaming, not simply where the sim is installed.
Bottom line
You do not need separate drives for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024. If both can fit on one fast SSD with plenty of spare space, that is absolutely fine. Use separate drives only if both drives are fast and it helps you manage storage, updates and add-ons more cleanly.