With 10 years' worth of packs and DLC, it can be tricky picking out the best Sims 4 expansion packs. However, if you are a player of The Sims 4, then you also know that to get the full experience of this iconic game, you need add-ons.
Simply put, it's the expansion packs that make The Sims 4 one of the best simulation games ever made, so you really can't do without them. However, with over 80 DLCs to get through, hefty price tags, and now 17 expansion packs to choose from with the new release of the Live and Death pack, you may not know where your money is best served. Especially as we need to plan for future expenses given that we aren't getting The Sims 5 anymore, but instead we'll be getting even more Sims 4 content in the future as well.
We'll worry not; the GamesRadar+ team is here to help. Below, we've considered what expansion packs offer the best value for money in terms of gameplay, Build and Buy mode, and Create-a-Sim. We've also listed every Sims 4 pack in order of release and how much everything will cost you. There's a lot to get through, so let's dive into the 10 best Sims expansion packs to play right now!
The best Sims 4 expansion packs
10. The Sims 4 Growing Together
Released: 2023
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
While we got the new infant stage as a free base game update as well, the fact is you are missing out on a well of content if you don't pick up this expansion pack. This one is for all you family players (especially those that already have the parenthood game pack), as how you raise children will impact family dynamics, have them develop personality traits and quirks, and develop bonds with their household.
All the new features make Sims feel more alive and that your actions actually have meaningful consequences. The inclusion of features such as a mid-life crisis, baby showers, and family reunions are also great fun to experience. If you loved The Sims 3: Generations expansion, this still feels a bit short, but it's as close as you'll get in The Sims 4.
For more information on this pack, head to our guide breaking down everything new in The Sims 4: Growing Together expansion.
9. The Sims 4 Island Living
Released: 2019
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Island Living lets you take your Sim away from the stress of their regular lives to Sulani, a beautiful island paradise where they can live completely off the grid. Island Living truly gives your Sim a taste of the island life - you can pal around with dolphins, laze about on the beach, or become a dang mermaid. There are some beautiful build items included in this expansion and great Create-A-Sim objects that really embrace the Polynesian culture that inspired it.
Island Living offers a very different style of gameplay, with a more relaxing and laid-back vibe that doesn't require your Sim to constantly be working hard and stressing out. There are waterfalls, beaches, jet skis, and beautiful festivals put on by the locals. It's a great pack, albeit one that may start to feel a bit aimless after a while. Maybe we're just bad at relaxing...
Read our guide to all The Sims 4 skill cheats, if you want an even more laidback gaming session.
8. The Sims 4 City Living
Released: 2016
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
The core of City Living is the city itself - San Myshuno, a beautiful, bustling city that gives you a chance to rent apartments - which isn't possible without this expansion (or Eco Lifestyle). Naturally, renting an apartment comes with all the side effects of apartment living, like cockroaches and plumbing problems, which makes for some seriously fun gameplay. San Myshuno, just like any other city, offers unique cultural experiences like themed festivals, food stalls, and karaoke bars.
It's a fun world to hang out in, and if you're a builder it's a fun challenge to try and renovate a small apartment space. City Living also adds work-from-home careers, Social Media Influencers, and Critics, which still feel contemporary and relevant years after its release. There's no other Sims 4 world like San Myshuno, so it's a great option for those who love city gameplay.
7. The Sims 4 Discover University
Released: 2019
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Hard to imagine where the Sims 4 developers went to college, but it seems to have been relatively free of frat boy hazing deaths. Sending your Sim to college is a serious undertaking, but it will throw plenty of new gameplay mechanics at you as a reward. First, you'll need to decide if they want to attend the University of Britechester or the more modern Foxbury Institute, apply, take out a loan, and then decide where to live.
Once you're in, it's a mad rush of classes like robotics and villainy, trying to make your dorm room feel like home, and... joining a college cult by leaving cupcakes in front of a statue. It's intense to juggle all the requirements and keep your sim happy at college, but you can't put a price on a good education. (Though this expansion costs $39.99.)
Having trouble making connections? Check out our The Sims 4 relationship cheats guide.
6. The Sims 4 Get Famous
Released: 2018
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Get Famous is one of the best Sims expansions because it not only captures the cutthroat Kardashian hunger for notoriety, but it's one of those additions that affect everything your Sim does. Gotta pee? Post on social media while you're in the bathroom. Need to be social? Stalk a celebrity at the local bar in the new location, Del Sol Valley. Need some simoleons? Start a new career as an influencer or a live streamer.
Taking your Sim to set as an actor is a fun way to get paid and get famous, and you'll unlock perks (and more negative quirks) by clawing your way from the Z-list to the A-list. Also, this expansion introduces the solid-gold toilet option, which is reason enough to buy it. However, the reason we can't rank it higher is that Del Sol Valley is lacking lots, making it one of the smaller new worlds in the game.
Want to fast-track your way to the top? Read our guide on all The Sims 4 career cheats.
5. The Sims 4 Cats and Dogs
Released: 2017
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Do we really need to explain why Cats & Dogs is one of the best Sims expansion packs? You can have cats and dogs. That's it, that's the reasoning. The Sims 4 goes above and beyond with this pets pack, offering you a chance to Create a Pet, choosing from a variety of dog and cat breeds and customizing them as much as you'd like. Oh, and you can put them in adorable outfits as if this wasn't already overwhelmingly cute.
Sims can build long-lasting bonds with their pets based on their daily interaction, and each pet has a unique personality. I currently have a dog that is worryingly obsessed with my refrigerator, for instance. You can also become a vet and run a clinic in Cats & Dogs, helping the sickly animals from Brindleton Bay feel better. This pack is amazing and a must-have for animal lovers.
Expand your game with our list of the best Sims 4 mods.
4. The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Released: 2020
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Eco Lifestyle is an expansion pack that tasks you with paying attention to how your Sims are living, which adds a really interesting layer to gameplay. How much electricity does your Sim use, and how economically conscious is that long, contemplative shower they take every day? Eco Lifestyle introduces an Eco Footprint mechanic to all the Sims 4 worlds, where gameplay choices affect the state of the world - like adding smog to more pollution-ridden places, or beautiful clear water to those areas that are more eco-conscious.
There's a new Neighborhood Action Plan feature, which helps your neighborhoods feel more intertwined, as the town can vote on things like Eco-Friendly Appliances, which offers extra Handiness skill and Influence for fixing appliances or upgrading them to more green ones. Of course, there are also Neighborhood Action Plans like We Wear Bags, which means your fellow townsfolk will wander around with brown paper bags on their heads…The Sims 4 loves some absurdity, that's for sure.
For more information, read our The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle review.
3. The Sims 4 Life and Death
Released: 2024
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
OK, hear us out; yes, this expansion is the newest addition to our list, but it is also one of the best expansions that we've played for The Sims 4. Not only does it bring a ton of features that fans have long wanted to the game (looking at you Grim Reaper career), but it's also an expansion made for every type of Sims player. Whether you want gritty realism with the new funeral events and family fights over will readings or love fantastical occults such as ghosts who can now choose to live on as a specter in your household, there's something for everyone here.
You can become a mortician, build crypts, have a pet crow, and live out your gothic fantasies. And, of course, as we mentioned above, the most exciting new feature is that there's a new grim reaper career for your Sims to partake in. In terms of Build Buy mode, the items are stunning and are the perfect companion to players who already own the Vampires game pack as well. In short, this is one of the most expansive and stylish expansions around, so it's well worth your attention.
2. The Sims 4 Cottage Living
Released: 2021
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
If you are a Stardew Valley player who loves the idea of growing oversized crops and befriending every wild bunny, then Cottage Living is a dream come true. But, Cottage Living isn’t just for the cozy crowd who has a pension for the cottage-core aesthetic; it’s one of the most well-rounded and best value-for-money expansions in The Sims 4 period. Not only are there a well of new gameplay features such as animals, crops, errands, and town fairs, but we also get one of the most beautiful worlds in the game with the English rural town of Henford-on-Bagley.
Whether you are a builder, CAS expert, or love live mode, there’s always something to do in Cottage Living. Our personal favorite feature from this pack is the simple living lot challenge, where every recipe you make must have the ingredients in your inventory, meaning that it’s up to you to take your Sim grocery shopping, out foraging, or tending to livestock.
Read our guide on all The Sims 4 Cottage Living tips and tricks that you need to know.
1. The Sims 4 Seasons
Released: 2018
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Finally your Sim can celebrate Christmas - or Winterfest - and a bunch of other seasonal holidays. This is one of the best Sims expansions for adding variety to your Sim's life cycle, with regular events and ever-changing weather that can make your sim happier - or, if you're not careful, frozen to death in an evening gown because you got distracted making snow angels at a party.
Between decorating the house for different holidays, flirting with Father Winter, trying out a new gardening career, and picking out your winter outfit, this is one expansion that will keep you busy. This expansion pack also makes every other expansion pack on our list richer. Most new expansion packs come with new events that you can add to the holiday calendar introduced in Seasons. And the weather changes add a sense of realism to your game like never before.
For more details on the best Sims 4 expansion pack, check out our The Sims 4 Seasons review.
Every Sims 4 expansion pack
Every Sims 4 expansion pack
- Get to Work (2015)
- Get Together (2015)
- City Living (2016)
- Cats and Dogs (2017)
- Seasons (2018)
- Get Famous (2018)
- Island Living (2019)
- Discover University (2019)
- Eco Lifestyle (2020)
- Snowy Escape (2020)
- Cottage Living (2021)
- High Shcool Years (2022)
- Growing Together (2023)
- Horse Ranch (2023)
- For Rent (2023)
- Lovestruck (2024)
- Life and Death (2024)
How much does The Sims 4 cost with every DLC?
Despite the base game for The Sims 4 being technically free, it's pretty expensive to be a Sims fan. If you buy all the expansion packs, game packs, stuff packs, and Sims 4 kits, you'll have to buy roughly 82 DLCs, and unsurprisingly, that totals up to a lot of money.
There are 17 expansion packs ($39.99/£34.99), 12 game packs ($19.99/£17.99), 20 stuff packs ($9.99/£8.99) and 33 kits ($4.99/£4.99). Below, we've worked out the grand total of all the DLCs for you.
The Sims 4 total cost
- Expansion packs: £594.83/ $679.83
- Game Packs: £215.88/ $239.88
- Stuff packs £179.8/ $199.8
- Kits: £164.67/ $164.67
- Total cost: £1,155.18 /$1,284.18
That's right you'll be paying £1,155.18 /$1,284.18 if you want everything.
Now, spending over $1000 on purely DLC does seem wild. However, it should be noted that The Sims packs regularly go on sale and get bundled into discounts periodically throughout the year. So, if you keep an eye out on the EA store page or Steam, you can pay less if you only pick up discounted packs. But keep in mind, even with discounts, you'll still be spending over $500/£500 here.
And, considering that EA has now stated that we won't be getting a traditional replacement with The Sims 5 and that they'll be continuing to add more expansions to The Sims 4, you can also expect the above price tag to increase in the future as well.
For more Sims content, check out our guide on The Sims 4 cheats, and the best games like The Sims 4 to play right now. We also have a handy guide on everything that you need to know about the game's competitor InZOI.
