Best Free Flight Simulator Games You Can Try Today

Not every aspiring virtual pilot wants to drop $100-plus on a sim before they know whether flight simulation is even their thing. Fair enough. The good news is some genuinely excellent flight simulators are free - or free enough that you can get a real feel for the hobby before spending a cent on the experience, let alone on hardware.

At Gamer Gear Direct we see this all the time in our Dandenong South showroom. Someone comes in having spent a few weeks on DCS World or War Thunder and suddenly they want to know what HOTAS setup will make it feel more real. The free-to-start pathway into flight sim is legitimate - and it leads plenty of people to become serious sim pilots.

This list covers the best free and free-to-start PC flight simulator games available right now. No mobile games, no browser-based stuff - proper PC simulators that work with real flight hardware and give you a genuine taste of what the hobby is about.

1. DCS World - The Best Free Military Flight Simulator

DCS World (Digital Combat Simulator) from Eagle Dynamics is the gold standard of free military flight simulation. The base game is completely free and includes the Caucasus map - a beautiful mountain and coastal region stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian - plus two aircraft: the Su-25T ground attack jet and the TF-51D Mustang trainer.

That free tier is not a demo. It is a fully functional simulator with the same high-fidelity flight models, weather systems, and multiplayer infrastructure as the paid modules. You can fly both included aircraft across the full Caucasus map, join multiplayer servers, and get a thorough sense of what DCS is about before spending anything.

The business model works like this: the base game is free, then you buy individual aircraft modules (each one modelled to exceptional real-world accuracy) and additional maps as your interest grows. Many players spend years on the free aircraft before expanding. Some never do.

What you get for free: Caucasus map, Su-25T close air support aircraft, TF-51D trainer, full multiplayer access, mission editor.

Best hardware for DCS: DCS rewards proper flight hardware immediately. Even a basic joystick transforms the experience compared to keyboard and mouse. A HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) setup gives you throttle and weapons management without leaving the stick, the way real military pilots operate.

2. War Thunder - Free-to-Play Aviation Combat

War Thunder is a free-to-play combined arms combat game covering ground forces, naval vessels, and - most relevant here - aircraft. The aviation component covers everything from early biplane dogfighting to jet-age combat, with over 2,000 vehicles across multiple nations.

The flight modelling in War Thunder has improved dramatically over the years. In Realistic Battles (RB) mode the physics are surprisingly solid, with proper energy management, stall characteristics, and aerodynamic behaviour that rewards understanding of how aircraft actually fly. It is not DCS-level in terms of systems depth, but it is a genuinely enjoyable and credible aviation sim experience.

War Thunder's free-to-play model gives you access to the full tech tree progression, with premium vehicles and faster research available through paid currency. You can play for years purely on the free tier - many dedicated players do.

What you get for free: Full access to hundreds of aircraft across multiple nations, all three game modes (arcade, realistic, simulator), ground forces and naval if you want them, regular update content.

Best hardware for War Thunder: War Thunder works well with a joystick in Realistic Battles mode and becomes genuinely immersive in full simulator mode where you fly from the cockpit view. A quality joystick makes a noticeable difference in both accuracy and feel.

3. FlightGear - The Open-Source Civilian Sim

FlightGear is a completely free, open-source flight simulator that has been in development since 1997. It is not the most polished experience visually - it has the aesthetic of a software project maintained by passionate volunteers rather than a commercial studio - but the flight physics are genuinely rigorous and the aircraft library is enormous.

The FlightGear Flight Dynamics Model (FGFDM) is used in some real-world training applications, which tells you something about the accuracy of the underlying physics. If you want to understand how aircraft actually behave - how to hold altitude, work rudder and aileron together, manage a crosswind landing - FlightGear will teach you.

What FlightGear lacks in visual flair it makes up for in breadth. Hundreds of aircraft are available, global airport coverage is comprehensive, and the community has produced add-ons covering everything from bush flying in New Zealand to instrument approaches into Heathrow. It is entirely free, with no upsell, no premium tier, and no catch.

What you get for free: Everything. Complete access to all aircraft, global scenery, online flying via VATSIM compatibility, full flight modelling.

Best hardware for FlightGear: FlightGear supports all standard flight hardware out of the box. A yoke is a natural fit if your interest is in civilian GA flying - it is the control interface that most GA aircraft actually use.

4. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (via Xbox Game Pass)

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is available through Xbox Game Pass for PC - which means if you have a Game Pass subscription, you can access what many consider the most visually spectacular civilian flight simulator ever made at no additional cost.

MSFS 2020 uses Bing Maps satellite imagery and AI-generated terrain to recreate the entire Earth. Flying over Sydney Harbour, the Australian Alps, or your own suburb and recognising the actual landscape below you is a genuinely remarkable experience. The flight modelling has improved significantly through post-launch updates and while it is not study-level like DCS, it is more than solid enough for meaningful flight training practice.

If you are already subscribed to Game Pass, MSFS 2020 is effectively free to access. Even if you are not, Game Pass costs less than a single paid flight sim and gives you access to hundreds of other games as a bonus.

Worth noting: MSFS 2024 has been released as a separate title. MSFS 2020 remains fully functional and visually impressive - the 2024 version adds new aircraft systems, an updated career mode, and improved scenery in some areas, but 2020 is an excellent starting point and still one of the most beautiful sims available.

5. X-Plane 12 Demo - 30 Days of the Real Thing

X-Plane 12 from Laminar Research is not free in the traditional sense - it is a paid simulator with a 30-day full-featured trial. But a full month of access to one of the most flight-physics-accurate simulators available is worth including on this list, because it is a meaningful free window to decide whether X-Plane is for you.

X-Plane uses blade element theory to calculate lift, drag, and thrust in real time, which means the flight model is not based on pre-programmed lookup tables but on the actual aerodynamic properties of the aircraft geometry. This results in flight behaviour that is remarkably accurate, including emergent phenomena like wake turbulence and propeller wash that other sims sometimes approximate.

The 30-day demo gives you full access to the simulator including global scenery, multiple default aircraft, and weather systems. If you like it, the full purchase is competitive in price with other premium sims and includes a lifetime of free updates.

6. IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - Free Demo Aircraft

IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad offers a free demo tier that lets you fly the Bf-109 E-7 and Il-2 1941 without purchasing anything. Like DCS World, the full game uses a module-based model - but the free aircraft give you a solid taste of one of the best World War II flight simulators available.

IL-2's flight modelling is particularly praised for its accurate representation of WW2-era piston engine aircraft - the way a Spitfire and a Messerschmitt feel distinctly different to fly, with their own quirks and strengths in combat. If WW2 aviation is your interest, IL-2 is worth the free download just to try the demo aircraft.

The full game is reasonably priced, with individual battle modules covering different theatres of the war. Many players start with the free demo and find themselves buying the full Battle of Stalingrad module within a week.

What Hardware Makes a Difference With Free Sims?

One question we get regularly in the showroom: "is it worth buying hardware before I even know if I like flight sim?" The answer is yes - but start modest.

Playing DCS World or War Thunder with a keyboard and mouse works. It is not a great experience, but it works. Adding even a basic joystick transforms the feel immediately - you can actually manoeuvre the aircraft with the kind of control inputs that feel natural rather than fighting an interface clearly not designed for it.

The entry points for quality flight hardware in Australia are more accessible than many people assume. A joystick from Thrustmaster or Turtle Beach gets you the core experience for around $80-150. From there, the journey is about adding throttle (for a full HOTAS setup), rudder pedals, and eventually a dedicated cockpit if the hobby takes hold properly.

All of the sims on this list support standard USB flight hardware with minimal configuration. DCS World in particular has built-in profiles for the most popular HOTAS setups from Thrustmaster and others, meaning you can plug in and be flying in minutes.

Quick Comparison: Which Free Sim Is Right for You?

Want military jets and WWII aircraft? DCS World is your answer. The free base game gives you a fully functional military sim with two capable aircraft, unlimited multiplayer, and a pathway to hundreds more aircraft through paid modules.

Want something to pick up and play competitively? War Thunder's aviation component gives you progression, online competition, and hundreds of aircraft without spending anything.

Want genuine civilian GA flying with no cost at all? FlightGear is completely free and genuinely rigorous in its flight physics. It is not the prettiest experience but it teaches you to fly properly.

Already have Xbox Game Pass? Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is included and it is extraordinary. Install it and fly over your house.

Want to try the best civilian PC sim before committing? X-Plane 12's 30-day full trial gives you the most flight-accurate civilian simulator available to evaluate properly.

All of these work well with real flight hardware - and once you have been flying with a proper HOTAS or yoke for a few sessions, going back to keyboard and mouse starts to feel genuinely limiting. That is the point where most people come to see us.