Which Sims 4 Expansion Pack Should You Buy in 2020?

The Sims 4 base game can be fun, but if you really want to enjoy everything it has to offer, you’ll want to pick up a few expansions. Expansions are designed to be large packs that have a significant impact on your Sims 4 experience, and they’re priced accordingly; a full-price expansion will cost $39.99 or your regional equivalent.

Since these expansions can be pretty pricey, you’ll want to make sure you love the packs you buy. Below, you’ll find a brief overview of every expansion currently available in The Sims 4. Once you have a clearer picture of what each pack has to offer, you’ll be able to pick the right packs for your collection.

Sims 4: Get to Work

Get to Work, the first expansion pack for The Sims 4, is all about the workplace. The pack allows you to control your Sims on the job on three different career paths: Doctor, Scientist, and Dentist. It also gives you the chance to build and run your own retail business. Bakeries, bookstores, and clothing shops are just a few of the businesses that you can create.

While this pack does include a new world, Magnolia Promenade, it’s on the smaller side. It includes just four retail lots, three of which are already occupied by pre-built shops.

In addition to on-the-job content, the pack introduces the alien life state to the game.

Get this pack if:

You hate rabbit-hole jobs
You want to run your own business
You’re a fan of extraterrestrials

Skip this pack if:

Your Sims are unemployed
You want to avoid alien abductions

You want to add a big new world to your game

Sims 4: Get Together

As the name implies, Get Together is all about social interactions. This pack introduces a new club system that makes it easier for your Sims to hang out and have fun with their closest Sim friends. Of course, clubs aren’t just about fun. You can create practical clubs, such as a chores club, which means you can enlist club members to make you meals and clean your dirty home.

This pack doesn’t include any new careers, but it does come with a massive world. Windenburg is a massive coastal town with 27 lots, which include pre-built coffee shops, bars, and even a hedge maze! Bars now include theme nights, such as Ladies Night and Singles Nights, which means your Sims can have more fun when they hit the town. The pack also introduces an array of new skills and activities to the game, including foosball, DJing, and fire dances.

Get this pack if:

You’re looking for a new world to play in
Your Sims are social butterflies

You want more control over other Sims

Skip this pack if:

Your Sims are homebodies

You’re itching to add more careers to your game
You hate hanging out with townies

Sims 4: City Living

Sick of suburban life? City Living lets your Sims move to San Myshuno, a bustling city that’s filled with karaoke bars, food trucks, and festivals. Because the city has a dense population, your Sim won’t be living in a house. Instead, you’ll live in an apartment along with other Sims. If you’d prefer your own place, you can opt to live in a spacious penthouse instead. Unfortunately, players can’t build their own apartment buildings, but individual apartments can be decorated and customized.

The pack also introduces three new metropolitan-based careers to the game: Politician, Critic, and Social Media. While you can send your Sim off to work, you also have the option of working from home, where you might be asked to stump on the streets or boost your social media profile. All three careers are designed to help your Sim take full advantage of the city lifestyle.

Get this pack if:

You love decorating, but hate building houses

Your Sim wants a flexible career
You want your Sims world to feel more alive

Skip this pack if:

Building homes is your passion
You hate spicy food
You don’t like karaoke

Sims 3: Cats and Dogs

Animal lovers, rejoice! Cats and Dogs allows you to invite a new furry friend into your Sims household. The game includes a wide range of cat and dog breeds and even allows you to mix breeds to create your perfect pet. The pet character creator is robust; players can even paint custom patterns onto their pet’s fur. If you’re all about fashion, you’ll find a number of clothing items for your pets as well.

This expansion isn’t as robust as Sims pet packs of the past. There are only two types of pets, cats and dogs, and while players can care for their pets, they can’t control their behavior.

The pack also allows Sims to run their own veterinary practice, and it includes a brand-new world, the pet-friendly Brindleton Bay. This 16-lot world includes a dog park , a museum, and two bars.

Get this pack if:

You love animals
You want to add a new world to your game

You love running Sim businesses

Skip this pack if:

You prefer reptiles

You want to control your pets
You’re interested in adding more traditional careers to your game

Sims 4: Seasons

Seasons adds dynamic, ever-changing weather and four distinct seasons to your Sims game. Your Sims will be able to play in the snow, shower in the rain, and stay cool in the pool on a sweltering summers day. The game also adds a calendar system and various seasonal activities to your game, like the romance-themed love day and the Christmas-esque Winterfest. You can get rid of holidays you don’t enjoy and add your own custom holidays to your calendar.

Seasons doesn’t include a new world, but it does add the Gardener job to the game, a career with two distinct paths. Your Sims can choose to be a Flower Designer, crafting stunning custom arrangements that they sell to other Sims, or they can become a Botanist, where they will analyze plants and write research papers.

Seasons is a robust content pack that can completely transform the Sims 4.

Get this pack if:

You want better lighting
You want to feel the passage of time in your game
You’re looking for more activities for your Sims

Skip this pack if:

You hate thunderstorms
You really want a new world

You don’t want your Sims to have to dress for the weather

Sims 4: Get Famous

In Get Famous, you can guide your Sims to superstardom. Players can accumulate “Fame Points” that they can spend on a branching skill tree. With each point spent, your Sim will become more famous, giving your Sim access to unique perks and a bevy of fans. Of course, fame isn’t all about fun. Famous Sims can be swarmed in the street, stalked at their homes, or become addicted to “juice.”

There are a number of ways to make your Sim a celebrity. You can play through the Acting career, an interactive job that lets you follow your Sim to work, or you can invest in a video station and make your Sim a famous vlogger without ever leaving your home. This pack comes with a new world, the Los Angeles-inspired Del Sol Valley, which includes mansions and a number of VIP nightspots.

Get this pack if:

You like having specific goals for your Sims to work towards
You want more costume-themed Create-a-Sim items

You’ve always wanted a golden toilet

Skip this pack if:

You’re not interested in the fame mechanic

You don’t like active jobs
You don’t want Sims to be swarmed by fans

Sims 4: Island Living

Island Living allows your Sims to live on Sulani, a tropical paradise that might be the most stunning location in the entire game. Naturally, the beach and the ocean are an essential part of island life. Whether you’re combing through the sand for treasure or zipping around on jet-skis, your Sims will have plenty of ways to relax and have fun. Just be careful; spending too much time in the sun could leave your Sim with a sunburn. The pack introduces a new animal, dolphins, as well as a new life state: Mermaids.

Because this pack is all about the island, it won’t have much of an impact on your game unless you choose to play on Sulani. It does include one full-time career, Conservationist, and a variety of part-time jobs, like Lifeguard, Fisherman, and Diver. The pack is filled with collectibles, including buried treasures, seashells, and an array of tropical fish. The pack gives builders the chance to flex their creative muscles, such as shipwreck homes and houses built on stilts. Homes can even have clear floors so that you can see the ocean below.

Get this pack if:

You love building and decorating homes

You’re looking for a beautiful new world to play in
You play The Sims to relax

Skip this pack if:

You want an expansion that impacts your entire game
You’re not a fan of tropical locales
You hate swimming

Sims 4: Discovery University

Discover University allows your Sims to enroll at one of two college campuses: the historical University of Britchester or the tech-focused Foxbury Institute. While at college, Sims can study hard, but they can also take full advantage of college life. This pack includes a wide range of activities, such as juice pong, debate, soccer, and even secret societies. Succeeding in college isn’t easy; Sims will have to manage their time and finances carefully in order to keep their grades up.

Being educated gives your Sims plenty of brand-new career paths, like the Education, Engineer, and Law career branches. The pack also includes the Robotics skill and Robot life state. Sims can build a variety of useful bots, such as Party-Bots, Cleaner-Bots, and robotic arms. Sims can also build Servos, human-like robots that are fully playable once activated. Servos can do everything a normal Sim can, and a Sim and a Servo can even fall in love (and woohoo too, if that’s what you’re into).

Get this pack if:

You’re looking for a challenge
You want to add more careers to your game
You want to build a robot-empire

Skip this pack if:

You prefer more relaxing gameplay
You’re mostly interested in building houses

Your Sim is a loner

Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle

This expansion is all about sustainability! Sims can use solar panels and turbines to produce their own electricity and water, grow their own food in a vertical garden, and fabricate fantastic-looking furniture. Sims can also dumpster-dive for food and items, allowing them to get the things they need for free. These items might not look great at first, but with a few repairs or a little bit of upcycling, they’ll be as good as new. You can earn a living by selling the items you make or join the brand-new Civil Designer career path.

The pack also includes a new world, Evergreen Harbor, which will slowly transform as you play. Every week, Sims can vote on Neighborhood Action Plans, allowing them to change and improve the community they live in. Your Sims could build a beautiful public garden or a bustling Fabrication Center. The longer you play, the more Evergreen Harbor will start to change. You can fill the city with garbage and smog or turn it into an eco-friendly paradise. The world has three distinct neighborhoods and includes both houses and apartments.

Get this pack if: