MSFS 2024 is faster when CPU-limited, but 2020 can be steadier. Compare FPS, frame pacing, VRAM, streaming, settings and fair test methods.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is not universally faster than MSFS 2020. It often matches or beats 2020 on modern, CPU-limited PCs because it distributes work across cores more effectively. MSFS 2020 can remain steadier on GPU-, VRAM-, memory- or connection-limited systems, especially when streamed scenery and add-ons are involved.
Which simulator is faster on the same hardware?
Neither simulator wins every same-hardware test: the result depends on the active bottleneck and the workload being flown.
| Test condition | Likely result | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed airport on a recent multicore CPU | MSFS 2024 often runs faster or more consistently | Better distribution of simulation and rendering work can reduce MainThread pressure. |
| High resolution or render scaling | Similar FPS, or MSFS 2020 ahead | The GPU becomes the limit, reducing the benefit of improved CPU utilisation. |
| Limited RAM or VRAM | MSFS 2020 may be steadier | Dense assets and texture residency can cause frame-time spikes in 2024. |
| Unstable or slow data delivery | MSFS 2020 is usually more predictable | Both use online scenery, but MSFS 2024 streams substantially more content on demand. |
| Complex aircraft and detailed add-on airport | Highly variable | Aircraft systems, scenery construction and version-specific optimisation can outweigh engine differences. |
| Light aircraft over sparse terrain | Often little difference | Both may reach the same GPU limit or frame-rate cap. |
There is no credible universal claim that MSFS 2024 is a fixed percentage faster. Resolution, weather, traffic, aircraft, airport, camera direction, add-ons and cached scenery can reverse a result. MSFS 2024 improves multicore use, but it does not eliminate CPU bottlenecks.
Launch benchmarks should not be treated as definitive for MSFS 2024 under Sim Update 5, released in April 2026. Its denser world can also consume the performance gained elsewhere; our comparison of visual detail and GPU workload explains that trade-off.
Why can MSFS 2024 feel smoother yet stutter more?
MSFS 2024 can feel smoother at the same average FPS when its frame times are consistent, yet streamed data and memory pressure can introduce separate intermittent pauses.
A steady 35 FPS generally looks better than 45 FPS interrupted by spikes, particularly while panning the cockpit camera or approaching a detailed airport. An average-FPS counter can hide those interruptions, so diagnose their timing and location:
- At the same busy airport: check the
MainThreadreading, traffic and level of detail. - While panning towards new scenery: suspect streaming, cache activity or exhausted VRAM.
- During a long flight: monitor RAM and VRAM, then retest without third-party aircraft and scenery.
- With missing or blurry scenery: investigate the connection and online data delivery rather than unrelated graphics settings.
- With one aircraft only: complex avionics, displays or an add-on fault are more likely than the renderer.
Do not compare a clean MSFS 2024 installation with an MSFS 2020 Community folder accumulated over several years. Test both without third-party packages first, then restore add-ons in small groups. Our guide to diagnosing stutters and micro-pauses covers the frame-time side in more detail.
Should I use the same settings in MSFS 2020 and 2024?
No. Identical preset names do not produce equivalent image quality or workload because scenery density, draw distance, lighting and asset complexity differ between the simulators.
Terrain and Object LOD, traffic and complex aircraft mainly expose CPU limits. Resolution, render scaling, clouds, shadows, reflections and ambient occlusion usually expose GPU limits, while textures and dense scenery increase VRAM use.
MSFS 2020 also lets many PC users compare DX11 and DX12. Keep whichever produces steadier frame times on the individual system rather than assuming DX12 must be faster. MSFS 2024 uses a DX12-based renderer, so copying configuration files or blindly transferring a 2020 preset is a common mistake. Use our side-by-side graphics-setting baseline for both simulators instead.
How should I benchmark MSFS 2024 against 2020?
A fair comparison controls image output and flight conditions, then records frame pacing as well as average FPS.
- Prepare both simulators. Install their available updates, restart the PC and use the same graphics-driver configuration.
- Remove outside variables. Start with a stock aircraft, temporarily empty the Community folder, disable multiplayer and variable traffic, and fix the airport, weather, local time and camera view.
- Match the output. Use the same display resolution, render scaling and anti-aliasing or upscaling mode. Disable VSync, FPS caps and frame generation for the native test.
- Run two comparisons. Test the same nominal preset, then adjust settings until image quality and draw distance look reasonably similar. The second result is usually more useful.
- Warm the route equally. Let scenery and avionics settle, pan the camera once and repeat the route. Never compare a cold first pass with a cached run.
- Identify the limit. Use the Developer Mode performance display to check for
MainThreadorGPUlimitation, and watch frame-time spikes rather than FPS alone. - Repeat your real workload. Test the aircraft, airport, traffic and weather combination you normally fly. A dense-hub result matters more than peak FPS over empty terrain.
How should I optimise each simulator?
Change settings according to the measured bottleneck, not a generic list of supposed performance fixes.
- CPU or MainThread limit: reduce Terrain LOD, Object LOD, AI or live traffic, parked aircraft, road vehicles and airport activity. Lowering texture resolution rarely fixes a true CPU limit; see which traffic options cost the most FPS.
- GPU limit: reduce render scaling, cloud quality, shadows, reflections and ambient occlusion. Upscaling helps here, but cannot remove a CPU limit.
- RAM or VRAM pressure: reduce texture resolution or LOD, close memory-heavy applications and leave the Windows page file system-managed. Disabling it can turn memory pressure into severe pauses or crashes.
- Streaming stalls: use a stable wired connection where possible, keep the cache on a fast drive with free space and rebuild a damaged cache after a major update. Lowering cloud quality will not fix delayed scenery data.
For simulator-specific diagnosis, use our guides to finding MainThread, GPU and VRAM limits in MSFS 2020 and fixing MSFS 2024 CPU, memory and streaming bottlenecks.
Do upscaling and frame generation make MSFS 2024 faster?
Upscaling can improve performance when the GPU is limiting, while frame generation raises the displayed frame rate without accelerating the simulation thread. Neither fixes high LOD, heavy traffic or complex avionics on a CPU-limited system.
Establish a stable native frame rate before enabling frame generation. It can make camera movement appear smoother on supported hardware, but may add latency and visual artefacts; aggressive upscaling can also soften glass-cockpit text. Keep frame generation disabled during benchmarks so generated frames do not disguise poor base performance.
Does the comparison apply to consoles?
Only partly, because consoles expose fewer graphics controls and the simulator build handles most optimisation. Network quality and traffic still matter, but PC advice about drivers, rendering APIs, page files and detailed graphics settings does not transfer directly.
MSFS 2020 remains available on PC and Xbox only. MSFS 2024 runs on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro, so PS5 performance has no direct MSFS 2020 comparison on the same platform.
Should I switch to MSFS 2024 for better performance?
No; do not move to MSFS 2024 solely for an assumed FPS increase.
- Prefer MSFS 2024 when MSFS 2020 is persistently main-thread limited and the PC has a recent multicore CPU, sufficient RAM and VRAM, fast storage and reliable broadband.
- Prefer MSFS 2020 on a memory-constrained PC, with inconsistent broadband, an older GPU or a mature collection of add-ons already proven stable.
- If both are GPU-limited, reducing render scaling or expensive visual settings will usually matter more than changing simulators.
- If both reach the chosen FPS cap, compare frame-time consistency, camera panning and approach performance instead of chasing a higher counter.
MSFS 2020 is generally the more predictable platform; MSFS 2024 can be the better performer on balanced modern hardware, but its streaming and denser world introduce different failure points. FPS is only one part of the decision, so also consider the wider engine, streaming, add-on and feature differences.