Getting Started with Microsoft Flight Simulator Mods

Microsoft Flight Simulator add-on installation is conceptually simple: paid add-ons install through the in-launcher Marketplace, free add-ons drop into the Community/ folder. The complexity is choosing what to install — the freeware catalogue alone has hundreds of thousands of files.

This guide walks the standard install on MSFS 2020 (the path is similar for MSFS 2024 but file locations differ).

Step 1 — Find your Community folder

The exact path varies by install type:

Microsoft Store / Game Pass: %LocalAppData%/Packages/Microsoft.FlightSimulator_*/LocalCache/Packages/Community/
Steam: %AppData%/Microsoft Flight Simulator/Packages/Community/
Boxed/Premium Deluxe: path is configurable; check the General Options → Data menu in MSFS.

Bookmark this path. Every freeware add-on goes here.

Step 2 — Browse flightsim.to

flightsim.to is the largest free MSFS add-on catalog. Browse categories:

Airports — the most-popular category. Tens of thousands of community-built airports.
Aircraft — free aircraft mods. Quality varies wildly.
Liveries — paint schemes for existing aircraft.
Scenery — landscape and city add-ons.
Tools — utility add-ons (CDU enhancers, EFB tools).

Three popular first picks:

Your home airport as a freeware enhancement (most major airports have community improvements).
A scenery enhancement for your favourite flight region.
A livery pack for the default aircraft you fly most often.

Step 3 — Install a freeware add-on

Download the .zip from flightsim.to. Extract the contents directly into your Community/ folder. The extracted folder should contain the add-on's manifest.json and layout.json at the root.

Launch MSFS. The Content Manager (Main Menu → Profile → Content Manager) lists your Community folder contents.

Step 4 — Optional: Marketplace add-ons

Marketplace is in-launcher. Browse and purchase. Payment is through your Microsoft account.

Three notable Marketplace categories:

High-fidelity aircraft (Fenix A320, PMDG 737, FlyByWire A32NX — note FBW is also free).
Detailed airports from developers like FlyTampa, Aerosoft, FSDreamTeam.
Scenery from developers like Orbx (regional landscape mods).

Many users mix paid + free. The paid market is well-developed for serious simmers.

Step 5 — Manage performance

Each enabled scenery/airport add-on adds GPU and CPU cost when you're in the relevant region.

The Content Manager lets you disable add-ons without uninstalling — useful if a specific airport tanks frame rates and you need to fly out of it temporarily.

Common gotchas

Add-on doesn't appear in-game. Check the Community/ folder path is right. Wrong path is the #1 issue.
MSFS update broke add-on. Sim Updates regularly invalidate older add-ons. Most popular freeware is updated; check flightsim.to comments.
Two airport add-ons for the same airport. Conflict. Pick one (usually the more recent or more detailed).
Game crashes on takeoff at modded airport. Often a bad scenery installation. Remove the add-on, test, reinstall.
Performance tanked. Too many heavy scenery add-ons. Use Content Manager to disable some.

If you're on MSFS 2024, the broad workflow is identical but file paths differ. Always cross-reference an add-on's MSFS 2020 vs 2024 compatibility.