The best Sims 4 mods to expand your life sandbox

As if your mods folder wasn't big enough already, this list of the best Sims 4 mods will stuff your game with hours of new life simming. No matter how many new Sims 4 DLCs EA releases, modders will always find ways to expand the base game with their own visions. Something has to occupy us while we wait for the arrival of The Sims 5, after all.

This list focuses on gameplay changes, but if you're in need of new visuals check out our list of favorite Sims 4 CC as well for all the fashion and decor picks.

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The Sims 4 - Bella Goth looks smug while money flies from her hands

(Image credit: Maxis, Electronic Arts)

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Nearly a decade after release, countless new Sims 4 mods drop every day on ModTheSims— the longtime platform standard for browsing the Sims 4 mod selection. Whether your mod of choice is just a small tweak or a total rework, you'll find it there. A more recent option to take a look at is Sims 4's official modding support through CurseForge, available at the Official Mod Hub for Sims 4. You'll also find that some of the bigger Sims 4 modders have dedicated websites for their own catalogue of modded additions.

We wouldn't leave you to track down the best mods all on your own, though. Here’s a sampler of the best Sims 4 mods, from small tweaks to complete feature overhauls. Don’t miss reading the installation section to get you on your way.

Sims 4 mods: Utilities

MC Command Center

Download from: Deaderpool-mccc or CurseForge

MCCC is a mega-mod that lets you tweak virtually aspect of your Sims’ lives, giving you godlike control over them and others in their world. You can blacklist certain clothing items, even on Sims you aren’t controlling. You can set employment rates for Sims of different ages or scan Sims to find out if they’re pregnant.

There are also lots of automatic settings geared towards letting non-controlled Sims live full lives without you, getting married and having babies of their own volition, and you can also use the mod to adjust the in-game time settings so your Sims don’t take half a day to shower and have breakfast. If you only grab one mod, make it this one.

The big blessing that we all need: MCCC also adds an auto-save function to The Sims 4 and you can customize the save interval in its settings.

UI Cheats Extension

Download from: Weerbesu's Patreon

This handy mod by Weerbesu makes using Sims 4 cheats a breeze if you don't know the lot by heart. Right-clicking various parts of the normal Sims 4 interface will give you extra options for things like giving a household more money, promoting Sims in their careers, or changing the in-game time. You can find the full list of features by scrolling down a bit on the download page.

Sims 4 mods: Create-A-Sim

100 Personality Traits

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, modded by VickySims)

Download from: Vicky Sims or CurseForge

The Sims 4 already has a lot of personality traits but modders have added so many more options. You can find tons of individual trait mods, but for efficiency's sake the pack of 100 new traits by Vicky Sims gives you lots of new choices quickly. You can create a Sim who's captivating, practical, humble, or a coward, plus 96 more all with their own different effects on skill gains and relationships.

Old School CAS Room

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, modded by LittleDica)

Download from: Littledica's Patreon

After a while, the blue void of The Sims 4's character creator gets a little old. There are a lot of different CAS room background mods out there, but the Old School room by LittleDica is a really neutral, all purpose option that comes in several wall color variants. The Sims 2 CAS Background by Simsi45 is another really nice throwback, though the collection of framed photos on a brick wall does definitely have some retro city bar vibes. For something even more stylized, the Moving Day CAS room by Ellcrze is super cute.

Sims 4 mods: Build/Buy mode

Better Build/Buy

Download from: TwistedMexi's Patreon or CurseForge

For the pro builders in the room, TwistedMexi's Better Build/Buy mod relieves a lot of headaches. This mod expands the number of rows while browsing for objects and makes using filters easier too. The real biggie though is how easy it makes hunting for debug items—the neat objects that exist in The Sims 4 but can usually only be revealed for use via cheats. Better Build/Buy lets you see them without cheats and gives them all names, making them much easier to find. Debug items have color swatches too.

T.O.O.L

Download from: TwistedMexi's Patreon or CurseForge

If you've ever seen a Sims 4 builder opening a menu to type in very specific object placement, that's the TOOL mod for sure. This is another must-have for serious builders that adds tons of precise control by grouping objects, specifying elevation, and better object scaling. By default, TOOL only works in Live Mode, but if you install Better Build Buy (above) as well, there's a hotkey to activate it in Build/Buy mode.

OMSP Shelf

The Sims 4 mod - OMSP Shelf. A Red shelf is clipped through the top of a refrigerator so clutter items can be placed on top of it.

(Image credit: Amoebae)

Download from: PictureAmoebae

This is a big must-have for players who like constructing intricate scenes. Placing clutter items naturally in The Sims 4 can be a bit of a headache. Even if you've gotten good at using your ALT key for free placement and the 0 or 9 keys to change an object's height, you can run into snapping nightmares. The OMSP shelf helps you add clutter to just about anything by acting as a placeholder surface while you clutter to your heart's desire.

The Green Table

A Sims 4 mod showing a bright green table inside another table.

(Image credit: Future)

Download from: ZWHSims' blog

Similar to the OMSP shelf, the green table is a mod that gives you better control over staging your perfect build. Just like objects snapping to surfaces, sometimes chairs snap to tables in ways you won't like. To keep that from happening, use the green table to position a chair just so, casually pulled out or at a diagonal, or near a table without being at the table.

Sims 4 mods: Live Mode

Meaningful Stories

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis / Modded by roBurky)

Download from: Roburky.itch.io

A mod pack containing some of prolific Sims 4 modder roBurky's best work, all aimed at making your Sims feel more human. If you've used Emotional Inertia or True Happiness—both previously on this list individually—then you'll attest to the quality of roBurky's work, and both of those mods are in the package alongside other must-haves.

Emotional Inertia, redesigned just for this collection, stops your Sims' moods flipping on and off like a light switch. In the base game, simply having a good meal in a well-decorated room fills them with joy for a few hours, but then the feeling vanishes. Emotional inertia makes moods less predictable, but more stable: they'll change less and last longer, making it more difficult to game the system. True Happiness, meanwhile, changes your Sims' default state from "happy" to "fine". Making them happy actually requires something special to happen, such as meeting a new partner, which will boost their mood considerably for a short time. 

But Meaningful Stories is more than just these two well-liked mods. It also changes how the environment, such as paintings, impacts your Sims' moods. The effects are now more subtle and build up over time. It also stops extreme mood swings, so that instead of going from extreme happiness to sadness your sim will move through the natural, neutral in-between stages. Lastly, it creates more variable moodlets, meaning the same source of mood can give stronger or weaker effects at random.

Wonderful Whims

A screenshot for the Sims 4 mod, Wonderful Whims

(Image credit: EA, Maxis/TURBODRIVER)

Download from: ModTheSims or CurseForge

This Sims 4 mod is all about adding more complexity to character romance and interactions, letting you tweak the traits they find attractive in others, dating preferences, and even attitude towards birth control. Wonderful Whims adds a whole extra layer to the Sims 4 dating experience, giving it a little extra depth and less superficiality.

Its counterpart Wicked Whims is the adult content alternative with a lot more nudity and animations that's long been popular in the community.

Life's Drama

Download from: SacrificialMods

Life's Drama adds a dash of controversy to every neighborhood, with new dramatic scenarios for townie NPCs, some of which you can intervene in. Your Sims might peer out their window to see a couple embroiled in a huge argument, a robber trying to pick a pocket, or a bride running away from her wedding. You can cause some drama yourself via the new "Exposing A Loved One" action, which works on Sims that have partners. Drop the bombshell, and grab some popcorn.

Have Some Personality Please!

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis)

Download from: ModTheSims

Have Some Personality is a huge overhaul of—as you can probably guess—the way Sims’ personalities work. It changes lots in the background (read the description on the mod page for an exhaustive list) but the best thing about it is that it eliminates all idle conversations. Never again will two Sims blab aimlessly to each other about nothing in particular: instead, they’ll be forced to choose an interaction, which is far more interesting.   

Those interactions aren’t random, either: the mod will select them based on traits, moods and the existing relationships between the two Sims in question, which will give them a greater sense of autonomy than ever before. Expect more kisses from love interests—and more sucker punches from your enemies. 

Turbo Careers

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis / Modded by Zerbu)

Download from: Zerbu

The Turbo Careers mod makes all adult (and two teen) careers function like the active careers from the Get to Work expansion. You can download work venues from the Gallery, including ones with a combined function, or make your own—just make sure they have the right objects for Sims to do their job.  

The necessary activities for career progression are naturally related to the career—programming, cooking, exercising—and sometimes Sims will receive fieldwork. An athlete might have to go to the gym and show off her muscles, while a Sim who works in business might have to offer career advice to those running retail venues.   

You can browse all available careers here and the venue requirements for every job here

LGBTQIA+ mod

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, modded by Lumpinou)

Download from: Lumpinou's mods or CurseForge

Lumpinou's gender and orientation overhaul mod is super deep and customizable, giving you options to build the exact Sims you want but also customize the society around them. You can choose any Sim's gender identity, romantic and sexual orientation, and whether they're public or private with all of that information. You can play a coming out story for you Sim or change the mod settings so that everyone in the world is accepting of all sexualities without comment. As you're playing, your Sims will develop their friendships or romances according to their own preference or can even begin questioning their identity.

Ownable Cars

(Image credit: Maxis, Electronic Arts)

Download from: CurseForge

This one is a small change, but now that The Sims 4 has overhauled infants and added ladders, proper cars are high on the list of longstanding community feature requests. You can't actually drive these cars, but you can find them in buy mode, put them on your lot, and click on them to initiate "driving to" another location instead of using your Sim's cell phone. 

Become a Sorcerer

The Sims 4 mod - Become A Sorcerer: Mortimer Goth laughs maniacally with fire in his palms.

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis / Modded by Triplis)
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Download from: Triplis.github.io

Do you miss the magic of previous Sims games? Become a Sorcerer adds a hearty serving of the supernatural, letting your Sims sling magic spells that can either suck the sadness out of a friend or strike down an enemy with a bolt of lightning. 

You just need to touch lump of clay, choose one of three rituals—they’ll determine which Needs are replaced with new magical ones—and get to casting. Using magic strengthens your powers and unlocks new spells, but it also depletes your “Magical Connection” (a mana bar, basically), and you’ll have to drain either yourself or another Sim to replenish it. 

Depending on your choices, you’ll lean towards good or evil, which changes the type of spells you can cast. Do-gooders can eventually bring ghosts back to life, but if that doesn’t sound like fun, just set fire to a table instead.

SimDa Dating App

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis / Modded by LittleMsSam)

Download from: LittleMsSam or CurseForge

This mod by LittleMsSam adds extra options for your romantically-inclined Sims. Using their phone, Sims can plan a date with another Sim at a particular neighborhood location. You can also choose to have one-night-stands and get calls for hook-ups from other NPC Sims. The main mod is pretty unrestricted in who it considers to be eligible for dates, including those in different age categories than your Sim and Sims already in relationships. To fine-tune your dating experience, check out the handful of optional addons available with the SimDa app.

Custom food interactions

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis / Modded by TheFoodGroup)

Download from: ModTheSims

If you want more culinary creativity, then Custom Food Interactions is the only place you should start. It doesn’t add any ingredients or recipes to the game—it just adds new possible interactions to cooking equipment along with a framework that lets you craft a fridge-full of custom meals from other modders’ kitchens. 

With it installed, you’ll want to head over to the ModTheSims custom food section and pick from the menu. You’ll find recipes for everything from Chinese dumplings to beignets, blueberry cheesecake to biriyani.

Risky WooHoo

The Sims 4 - Hearts float above a bed where two Sims are beneath the covers together

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis)

Download from: ModTheSims

Another mod bringing The Sims closer to real life is one from PolarBearSims. It introduces a chance for Sims who are capable of getting pregnant to become so any time they Woohoo instead of just when purposefully using "Try for baby". The mod comes with a variety of different percentage risks and adjusts the chances based on where your Sims are getting it on as well as the traits they possess. It also reworks aspects of pregnancy, introducing complications and possible infertility for some Sims.

It should be noted that you can also manually adjust the chances of getting pregnant in MCCC. Risky WooHoo is compatible with that mod, but MCCC will overwrite the percentage chances.

If you’re looking to change the game even more, have a proper dig into the Create a Sim ‘custom gender settings’ in the base game. They were updated a while back and now provide you with more options, such as the ability to allow same-sex couples to fall pregnant.

How to install Sims 4 mods

(Image credit: Electronic Arts, Maxis)

How do you install mods for The Sims 4? Luckily it's pretty simple, especially if you only want to make a couple tweaks. 

To install Sims 4 mods, you can drag and drop the mod folders you've downloaded into your Sims 4 "Mods" folder. The game should automatically have created one for you after you start up the game for the first time. 

Your mods folder is located in: Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Mods.

Once you're in game, you'll also need to enable mods in your game settings by going to your Options menu under the Other tab. Make sure to tick the "Enable Custom Content and Mods" and "Script Mods Allowed" boxes depending on what you've chosen to install. You'll need to restart your game afterwards.

Always check out the installation instructions for any mod you download just to be sure there aren't any more additional steps. Most should just be a quick matter of copying files over. Do keep an eye out for any dependencies your mods have, such as meshes creates by other modders that you'll also need to install.

Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren started writing for PC Gamer as a freelancer in 2017 while chasing the Dark Souls fashion police and accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as the self-appointed chief cozy games enjoyer. She originally started her career in game development and is still fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long books, longer RPGs, has strong feelings about farmlife sims, and can't stop playing co-op crafting games.

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