A Handy List of The Best Mods for The Sims 4 (2024)

Carl's List of The Best Mods for TS4

Mods can add a lot of value to players who are looking for new experiences in The Sims 4, or when they're a bit bored between new Expansion Packs. Many modders have their own sites and do not host their files elsewhere, so mods for this game can be a bit scattered. For this reason I decided to curate a list of good-quality mods that are up-to-date at time of writing, and revisit this at times to remove mods that fall out of date and add new finds.

Mods Help

Mods Must Be Enabled in the game options menu in order to work. Mods that are zipped may need extraction. See each mod's installation instructions for further info. You can organize your mods folder by using 1 level of subfolders beneath The Sims 4/Mods/ but no more. Script mods can only be read that deep, but if you like you can sort CC a bit deeper at 3-4 layers.

You can find more detailed information on using Mods and CC in The Sims 4 here.

Better Build/Buy

by TwistedMexi
Maxis gave us access to their Live Edit objects for building, but left them all named Debug. TwistedMexi's Better Build/Buy will give you a much better view of an increasingly bloated build catalog. It lets you view up to 5 rows of items by simply pressing the 1 key on your keyboard. This will prevent you from needing to enter those long cheats you need to get at those new items, because debug and live edit both have categories in the right-side menu now. Internally these items have better catalog names, so it uses that instead of calling them all debug. This makes it much easier to find a certain rock or a vehicle to decorate your next build project with.

Download at TwistedMexi's Patreon

Functional Chicken Coop

by icemunmun
Icemunmun brought back the functional chicken coop from the Sims 3 store era. This lets your Sim invest money into raising chickens, and after having bought one, you can gradually get eggs. Just be careful which eggs you let your Sims eat - you can get food poisoning from a bad egg. You can also look for easter eggs, which make Sims happy with a small +1 buff for a whole day.

Download at icemunmun's Site

Retail Produce Stands

by Brazen Lotus
Brazen Lotus made these nice-looking produce stands you can use on retail lots to sell produce one at a time to Sims. It's based on the Lice Cold Feezer from Get to Work. This is a nice simple way to add some realism to your Sim's gardening efforts.

Download at Brazen Lotus's Site

Melanin Pack 2

by Xmiramira
People have been waiting on EA to fix skin tones in The Sims 4. There aren't many, or they look bad. Like many other things that have been improved... modders have already done that. Mira's Melanin Pack 2 doubles or triples the amount of skin tones available in the game for all races, letting you make the Sim you want, or a Sim who looks like you. I thought I saw townies generating with these custom skin tones as well. If you want a more diverse world, this is a mod that's a must have.

Download at Xmiramira's Site

AllCheats

by TwistedMexi
Some of the most powerful cheat commands are now locked away from players. TwistedMexi's allcheats allows you to cheat weather, pregnancies, and anything involving buffs that EA doesn't want you to touch.

Download at TwistedMexi's Patreon

Slice of Life

by KawaiiStacie
KawaiiStacie's Slice of Life Mod deserves more space than I'm able to give it here, but it's a big one. The Slice of Life mod features a personality system that offers a total 16 different personality types, like the thinker or the nurturer, that alter how Sims will behave autonomously and what skills and caeers are right for them. Additionally, when Sims are sad, they may get teary eyed, or become blushed when embarrassed. There are several miscellaneous additions like a menstrual cycle, new phone menu that lets you build skills with the phone, and a new body type system that can make Sims insecure. This is also a mod that brings in risky woohoo, so you never know when using that if a Sim might get pregnant.

Download at KawaiiStacie's Site

Basem*ntal's Mods

The type of thing a Sim might do after using Basem*ntal's Mod

by Basem*ntal
I can't even name Basem*ntal's Mods here, but no list would be complete without mentioning them, as they're very popular. Basem*ntal's Mods add adult and criminal activities, and even addictions to The Sims 4. Get one particular add-on and you might even find yourself in an organized group of like-minded individuals who make a living selling treats to adults! Basem*ntal makes unique use of locations like the jungle, letting you make visits to secure your merchandise. Basem*ntal's mods are very well made, but meant for mature audiences only.

Google is your friend.

Life Tragedies

by Sacrificial
You know what the Sims 4 doesn't have much of? Tragedy! Sacrificial's Life Tragedies mod incorporates a lot of horrible things that can happen to your Sims, like getting hit by a car, having a bully beat them up... or worse, with kidnappings and other horrible things happening to your Sims. You can even get a fatal illness that requires surgery, and that surgery might fail. You yourself can be an awful person and could be arrested if you choose to be. This is a mod for people who want to see things that might happen in the real world happen to their Sims. It's not for everyone, but it becomes a bit more accessible that you can use this with various options that can disable tragedies for particular Sims or make them happen less often.

Download at Sacrificial's Site

Bunk Beds

by Ravasheen & PandaSama
At least two Simmers have made working bunk beds. They're not perfect, but definitely achieve the space savings that bunk beds provide for households with multiple children. As you can see, this is accomplished by creating multiple pieces that you assemble in Build mode. Put the frame, ladder, and mattress in place. This one is is Ravasheen's, which uses a kind of teleport to get the Sim up top and has to contend with Sims 4's bedmaking animations on leaving. I like how it just sends them up there. PandaSama's solution is for toddlers, and once you've assembled it will let them climb up to the 2nd bunk. Definitely a great mod for families with a couple toddlers to raise.

Download Ravasheen's Bunks | Download PandaSama Bunks

Wicked Whims

by TURBODRIVER
As with Basem*ntal's mods, it'd be ridiculous to make a list like this and not acknowledge TurboDriver's Wicked Whims. I can't show footage on this platform, but I have a feeling many of you already know what's up there in general. What you might not know, is that it also has an attraction system that is pretty popular, giving Sims actual preferences in areas like eye color or hair length. It might even notify you if your Sim sees a Sim they're totally into. There is a streamer mode version of Wicked Whims that will censor it. You can also install it alone and without customize settings. There are many, many optional positions and scenarios that animators have created for this mod.

Google it.

Have Some Personality, Please!

by Polarbearsims
I think the main goal of Polarbearsims' Have Some Personality Please is to remove idle chat and make Sims actually perform interactions when they are talking. So the choices of interactions they might use could vary... a lot. They'll use things like ask about day or get to know and you can actually learn traits from idle chat. Additionally, they can use mean interactions autonomously. This Mod also features Risky Woohoo as opposed to the game's 0% chance of a baby unless you try, which forces you to decide when a Sim is ready for pregnancy.

Download at Polarbearsims' Site

Armageddon

by Sacrificial
Sacrificial's Armageddon mod lets you play as a superhero in Sims 4. It's come a long way since I did a video on it in my first year on YouTube. It's since added the ability to play a super villain. You know, instead of saving Sims you'll actively fight to make the world have a bit more crime and get a few cool powers like .. yeah, like that. The description for this ability says it knocks a Sim into The Sims 5. Anyway whether superhero or villain, you'll get to do quests and increase your power level while using Sacrificial's signature over the top animations that make them so fun to watch/ Usually on the first time I'm so shocked at what I've just seen that I burst out laughing. Love it.

Download at Sacrificial's Site

Go to School

by Zerbu
If you have Get to Work installed, grab Zerbu's Go to School mod then head to the gallery and install an elementary school or a high school for your child to attend. Make sure the design you pick from the gallery has a teacher's podium. If not you may need to place one yourself, and set the lot type to Elementary School. I got a nice school but the teacher didn't do anything as it seemed to have the wrong type of podium. Once I had that set up, my Sim's kid could attend school and do Get to Work style tasks, like ask questions in class, play an instrument, or draw in the art room. It's worth noting that if you have trouble finishing all the tasks, you can stay late by clicking the x just as you can with Get to Work Careers. A cool thing to mention is that all kids from your worlds will attend this one school once you've set up, and you can make a high school for Teens.

Download at Zerbu's Site

Life's Drama

by Sacrificial
Sacrificial's Life's Drama Mod adds a Social Popularity system to the game, and as your Sim grows more popular other Sims may approach you to help them solve problems. It's also got this gossipy vibe, because your Sim can learn dirty secrets about others and spread it around, very literally. You can be a bit of a backstabber, getting other Sims dirty secrets, adding it to the burn book then scattering their secrets all over so people will see. Other Sims will read these secrets, and hate the target... fighting them and stirring up drama.

Download at Sacrificial's Site

LittleMsSam's Many Other Mods

by
LittleMsSam does many, many small mods that fix problems or improve things based on her own annoyances with the game. Let friends age up is a good example of this - it will make your Sims' friends age up all at once, which makes sense... and is also a matter of convenience. She has a lot of things to browse so I suggest you use her mods list and look around. There are many standalone mods, but also random small mods. You can also download all of her random small mods in one package and look through files to see what you'd like to keep or toss.

Download at LittleMsSam's Site

Invisible Fence

by Bakie
Sims often take a straight line to get somewhere, especially on residential lots. Bakie's invisible fence mod will keep those inconsiderate Sims off your lawn. If you have a nice curvy sidewalk, you can force Sims to stay on that path on their way to your door. It's a nice utility that adds a touch of realism and has a lot of potential applications.

Download at ModTheSims

Custom Traits

by Various Modders
ModTheSims has a huge traits area where you can download individual traits for your Sims, some of which are very highly specific. Like, want to make your Sim have Narcolepsy or Bipolar I? You can do that! I'm not kidding when I say the Sims modding community has covered a lot of mental illnesses, but there are also some more lighthearted things like being good at baking or inept at cooking.

Download at ModTheSims' Trait Section

Nectar Maker

by icemunmun
I don't want too many objects on this list (that's more in the realm of CC), but icemunmun's nectar maker is not only a gameplay object but also comes with a 10-level Nectar Making skill. This gives your Sim the ability to make better drinks. You'll literally stomp fruits and use the powers of fermentation to make a lovely beverage for Sim that can be used as a money maker, or a mood booster. Something I like about this is that it's not only simple things like apple nectar, but also allows you to combine various fruits and flowers to make special drinks.

Download at icemunmun's Blog

Live In Business

by LittleMsSam
I did an entire video on LittleMsSam's mods, but in a list like this her Live In Business mod deserves a mention as much as any other. This lets you sell objects right out of your Sim's home, something Get to Work didn't let you do. It also gives you a kind of retail system without needing Get to Work so kudos for that. But best of all, it's not limited to selling things, but also stuff like Live in Gym, Bar, Club, or even Day Care. You can have Sims drop their children off for you to watch over until they're done working. They actually trust you with their children!

Download at LittleMsSam's Site

Live Drag

by TwistedMexi
Live Drag lets you drag things around while in Live Mode, allowing you to make adjustments to things without having to hit F2 and enter build mode, move it around, and back into the game. It is a convenient little mod along with his many other building-related mods. You can also find things like Always Freebuild, Always Moveobjects and Coastal Basem*nts and Pools. It's all good stuff.

Download at Twistedmexi's

No Intro

by Simser der Deutschen
No Intro is a godsend for when you're modding, or if you just want to save a little time every time you open Sims 4. It replaces the videos that run at the beginning with blank files, so it goes straight into loading the main menu. It's handy and worth a quick mention.

Download at ModTheSims

Supespeed Mod

by Artum
With Supespeed mod by Artum, you unlock the game's fastest speed setting for use even when a Sim is not asleep, so you can advance time without breaking things. It's incredibly helpful when you're just testing something, just be ready to slow it back down. The '3' key acts as a toggle with this mod, so if you use it stop it by hitting 3 again or next time you push 3 you'll be in super speed.

Download at ModTheSims

T.O.O.L.

by TwistedMexi
People have done some amazing things with TwistedMexi's TOOL, one of the most innovative mods in this list. It stands for Takes Objects Off Lot, and it does exactly that. This has only got better with time, as Mexi has learned some new tricks over the past year. WIth TOOL, you can build something and move all the pieces off your lot, and elevate or rotate them to suit your needs. It does take a bit of getting used to, but Mexi has a tutorial on his channel that gives you a rundown of all the functions, what they do, and little problems you might face while using it. More recently, the mod has been updated to let you assemble something on your lot then move it all in a group. You can actually select everything in between two areas. Because of TOOL's ability to actually let builders improve neighborhoods in a way that extends beyond a lot's boundaries, it's a very useful mod.

Download at TwistedMexi's Site

Master Magic

by Zero
Zero's Master Magic mod adds three new specializations to the spellcaster system, letting your Sim specialize in practical, mischief, or untamed magic. Practical and untamed are on opposite sides, so a practical mage will have a harder time casting untamed spells, while a mischief mage will suffer only a little in the other two schools. It also adds some new interactions to the sages that can be used while in training.

Download at Zero's Patreon

Occult Mods

by Zero
In general, Zero has some great mods for the Occult in Sims 4, not just Master Magic. One a lot of players will enjoy is the ability to make a Spellcaster/Vampire hybrid. Vampire Magic requires Realm of Magic but will give vampires their own special access to the spellcasting system, making them more effective at night but having a hard time casting a spell during the daytime. You can also get Black Magic, letting you sell other Sims' souls to learn spells.

Download at Zero's Patreon

Self-Configurable Autonomy Mod (SCAM)

by scumbumbo
Scumbumbo's Self-Configurable Autonomy Mod allows you to take extreme control over Sims' autonomy. This mod is actually now a part of Deaderpool's Master Controller, though you are able to use it standalone as well. You should not use this if you have MCCC. What it does is lets you block Sims from certain autonomous actions, so you can allow autonomy for certain things but customize what Sims will do with their free will. The best thing about this is that it keeps the text file it stores interactions in, so you can do this for every save game.

Download at ModTheSims

UI Cheats Extension Mod

by weerbesu
Do you wish you could just click needs to fill them? If you'd like to be able to control cheating with your mouse, you need the UI Cheats Extension mod. Now, it's one that requires frequent updates because any time the devs touch the UI it breaks, so it's worth me mentioning that. Take it out if you've patched and give weerbesu time to update it. This thing only gets better with time but you need to be careful with its power - you can remove moodlets and automatically complete tasks with a single click!

Download at weerbesu's Patreon

Resorts and Hotels

by KawaiiStacie
This one seems to be a fairly recent release by Kawaii Stacie. Build out a resort lot and plan an event on your Sim's phone. You can use the Become a Resort Owner event to trigger ownership of a resort lot, and from then on you will have a Resorts skill that you can gradually level. It's definitely a viable money maker, and uses get to work style gameplay. Back in Sims 3 days there was a resort ownership option so it's kind of cool a modder brought it back. It's something you imagine a very wealthy Sim doing with all that extra money, sticking it into real estate and snowballing their wealth. We used a resort by gnd968 on the gallery and modified it to fit this lot in Sulani. Looks nice, doesn't it.

Download at Kawaii Stacie's Site

Meaningful Stories

by roBurky
RoBurky's Meaningful Stories is a mod that aims to overhaul the emotions system to make a bit more sense, making Sims a little more stable but also boosting negative emotions. For instance, being sad and uncomfortable at the same time will probably make you feel that sadness a bit more. Happy is its own mood, but only happens here and there. Emotional inertia also helps to prevent mood flip flopping, making mood gradually change to a new state not just because a random moodlet came on. Something I really like about this mod is that going for a jog to clear your head or using a punching bag to eliminate anger is more useful, because negative moods can last a good deal longer and are not so easily covered up as they are in the base game.

Download at roBurky's Page on Itch.io

Education System Bundle

by KawaiiStacie
This mod is several in one, as Kawaii Stacie had previously made better schools and high schools. Downloading this all-in-one, you'll be able to enroll Toddlers in pre-school, and you'll get a lot more interactions when children and teens are at school. You can do things like skill building exercises or work on the next day's homework before class is even over. So the main goal is to give work tones to children and teens that make attending school a bit more realistic. You'll also gain skills while you do homework and can attend school online.

Download at KawaiiStacie's Site

MC Command Center

by Deaderpool
MC Command Center by Deaderpool is next. Other than Wicked Whims I'd say this is probably one of the most popular mods, so plenty of people know how easy it makes to modify settings in the game and do things like change a Sim's traits. It only gets better once you know your way around its many menus. This mod features a ton of extra modules that come in its zip package that will give you more in-depth options for specific things like occult, clubs, pregnancy, and population changes. You can use only the modules you need installed, or go with the whole package if you own all the packs.

Download at Deaderpool's MCCC Site

Become a Sorcerer

by Triplis
Become a Sorcerer is another mod we can't spend nearly enough time on, but it's a whopper. After investigating a suspicious lump of clay your Sim gets magical powers. Once your Sim has done this, you'll get to pick a ritual which gives you the type of sorcerer you'll be playing. This mod actually has an alignment system, where casting many white or dark magic spells will change your Sim's alignment and how quickly they learn spells from that school. It's a detailed mod and appears to have more going on with its magic system as the actual Realm of Magic Game Pack. I'm not exaggerating - it uses some game effects but the spells list is huge and there is replay-ability here. Black Arts, White Arts, Domination, Destruction, and Greed spells that feature a wide array of powers. You definitely want to try this mod if you enjoy playing a caster.

Download at Triplis' Github

Road to Fame

by Sacrificial
Road to Fame by Sacrificial existed well before The Sims 4 Get Famous released, and its availability has not hindered this mod. It lets you take the path of a model, singer, or actress so it has a good bit of replay value. If you enjoy just leveling up in fame, you'll also like that your Sims can hire bodyguards and even perform concerts with this mod. That's right, you can actually perform for a crowd of Sims and papparazi. I tried the singer for a bit, but definitely plan to revisit this mod for an in-depth look. I love that you can drop Sims into a black hole with a trap if you don't like them. If you get an obsessed fan, don't worry.. you can call the cops to the rescue.

Download at Sacrificial's Site

Work from Home Mods

by NoelleBelleFleur
NoelleBelleFleur has made over a dozen mods that aim to take Base Game careers and convert them so that they are of the Work From Home variety you see in City Living. If you wish you could work from home as an astronaut, athlete, business or entertainer, this is a mod that'll fix that for you. Also, given how many office-type careers are shifting to work at home right now, it feels very fitting to mention this is possible in The Sims as well.

Download at ModTheSims

Height Sliders

by luumia
Luumia's mod adds height sliders to the game and allows you to adjust how tall your Sims will be. While any mod that attempts to alter height in this game is going to have problems, because Sims 4 was not built with that in mind, players who want an extra tall or short Sim may be willing to ignore the problems with clipping and certain up close animations it creates.

Download at luumiasims

Get to Work Active Career Aspirations

by konansock
Get to Work's Active Careers lack any aspirations at all related to them. That whole pack does, I guess. But this mod addresses that and adds aspirations for Scientist, Doctor, and Detective. As a bonus, it gives a Frankenstein aspiration that is all about using Scientist inventions to cause chaos.

Download at ModTheSims

Playable Pets

by Andrew and Orangemittens
Andrew and Orangemittens unlocked the player's ability to control pets, something that was not present in Sims 4 but did exist in the past. This will let you use them just like Sims and will also let you see their needs. This mod mostly removes the block, and it may have problems because some interactions were not meant to be used on the player side of things. Great for getting pets to do something you need to for a story, or just to fool around in the game.

Download at Sims4Studio

Social Activities

by LittleMsSam
This is such a simple mod but seems like a no-brainer when you think about it. Sims regularly go into rabbit holes, but what if you could choose to do so - like send them out with a friend so that they'll autonomously fill up social without your involvement. That's what LittleMsSam's Social Activities Mod accomplishes. It's not just social but also things like sending your pet to a sitter, going to a circus or art exhibition, or autonomously going on a date with a chosen Sim. If you also install her First Love mod, you can even send your kid to visit their crush.

Download at LMS's Tumblr

Faster Eating and Drinking

by cyclelegs
While a lot of mods in this list are bigger, the glacially slow pace of Sims eating is a pet peeve to enough players that anything that fixes this deserves a mention here. Use the Faster Eating and Drinking mod to get exactly what you'd expect. Sims will eat like they're actually hungry people. They won't stop chatting entirely, they'll just do it less.

Download at ModTheSims

More CAS Columns

by weerbesu
Create-a-Sim is getting more cluttered with every pack, and it can be hard to find some specific shirt in the list. With weerbesu's More CAS Columns, you can expand the current 2 columns to 3, 4, or 5 depending on which version you download.

Download at weerbesu's Patreon

XML Injector

by Scumbumbo
For XML Injector, I just want to briefly explain why so many mods might ask you to download this. Each game file can only be touched by one mod. If a modder uses XML injector, not only will they be less likely to need to update their mod, they can also inject any new abilities for Sims into the master list without messing with other things. For this reason, XML Injector deserves a mention. Scumbumbo died in 2019, but the mods he created are being updated by a team of modders. Utility mods he created were responsible for a number of the mods on this list, and he provided support to people who would become talented modders themselves by helping them solve problems.

Download at scumbumbomods.com

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