Keep reading for our list of the very best Factorio mods for 1.0 out there, along with instructions on how to get started downloading mods of all shapes and sizes to augment your game.
The best Factorio mods
Factorio has been in Early Access since 2016, and playable for quite a while before that, too. In that time, a great many different kinds of mods have sprung up to help expand the game. Some of the mods below are complete game-changers, adding new systems and items and ores and enemies, while others are lightweight, non-game-changing quality of life improvements. These are the best Factorio mods available right now: Bob’s and Angel’s Modpacks | Bottleneck | Even Distribution | Squeak Through | Speed Control | EvoGUI | Alien Biomes | Long Reach | Factorissimo2 | VehicleSnap
How to install Factorio mods
It is incredibly easy to install as many Factorio mods as your automation-fuelled heart desires. You can install mods using Factorio’s robust in-game modding process; or you can do it the old fashioned way and download a zip folder from Factorio’s online mod portal. Here’s what to do in each case:
In-game method: In Factorio’s main menu, click Mods and navigate to the Install tab. Here you can see an enormous list of all possible downloadable mods from the mod portal. Once you’ve found the mod you want to use (you can use the search function to help with this), simply select the mod, click Install, and then once the installation is finished you should click Confirm to restart the game with the new mod running. Website method: Head to Factorio’s online mod portal and find the page of the mod you want to use. Click Download, and wait for the zip folder to finish downloading. Then, navigate to your mods folder on your PC (usually found under C:/Users/[Your Name]/AppData/Roaming/Factorio - if it isn’t here then create a folder called “mods”), and place the zip folder inside. Then run Factorio.
With each mod featured below, I’ve added a link to its page on the mod portal so you can immediately download the zip folder for the website method.
Bob’s and Angel’s Modpacks
Yes, yes, we’re starting off with a bit of a cheaty entry. Because not only are Bob’s and Angel’s Modpacks two separate things, they are also Modpacks rather than mods. I’m including them as one entry because they’re both so well-known, they’re frequently used together, and because “10 best Factorio mods” sounds much neater than “The 8 best Factorio mods and 2 best Factorio modpacks”. Bob’s and Angel’s Modpacks are each comprised of perhaps 20 game-changing mods, each of which introduce various new features, mechanics, items, and concepts to the base Factorio game. Many dozens of new items, ores, structures, and technologies must be discovered, crafted, and mastered in order to beat the game with these modpacks enabled. They are well-known for greatly increasing the scale and challenge of Factorio, so if you’ve finished your first Factorio game and you’re looking to up the ante, you may wish to consider downloading one or both of these packs.
Bob’s Mods download Angel’s Mods download
Bottleneck
Kicking off the more lightweight quality of life mods, Bottleneck is one of the most popular Factorio mods out there, and has been since its inception. As the name suggests, this mod exists to help you with bottlenecks in your factory, and this is does by placing lights in the corner of various structures such as mining drills and furnaces, so that you can see whether the structure is limited by its input (red light), limited by its output (yellow light), or not limited by any bottleneck (green light). It’s as useful as it is simple, and I honestly see no reason for this idea not to be included in the base game. I certainly never play a game of Factorio without this mod.
Bottleneck download
Even Distribution
Even Distribution is another mod that I cannot do without. For all the great work Wube Software have done with making Factorio as accessible and intuitive as possible, the way the dragging-and-dropping of resources into containers splits the resources unevenly is something I’ll never understand. Even Distribution makes it so that dragging and dropping a resource over multiple containers splits the resource evenly between each container, rather than halving the amount with each new container. Again - why is this not just a part of the base game?
Even Distribution download
Squeak Through
Squeak Through slightly decreases the collision boxes of most structures, so that you, the player (and, incidentally, Biters as well), can move more easily between adjacent structures. Taking the above screenshot as an example, the player would not be able to squeeze between those solar panels in a normal game - but with Squeak Through, they can. Certain things, such as walls, remain unaffected (for obvious reasons), but otherwise you’ll find yourself not having to think about leaving yourself a “way in” to large sections of your factory with this handy mod.
Squeak Through download
Speed Control
Speed Control introduces a new overlay into the top-left of the screen, which enables you to speed up or slow down the game at will. You can modify by hundredths, tenths, or even… oneths? at a time. I don’t find myself using it much to slow time down, but it’s very useful for speeding up time during moments where you’re just waiting for something to finish or arrive.
Speed Control download
EvoGUI
EvoGUI offers players another top-left overlay, but this time it is designed to give players valuable insight into various normally-invisible statistics about their game. For example, the pollution level where the player is currently standing, the current in-game time and the number of in-game days since you first crashlanded, and - perhaps most significantly - the current Biter evolution level. If you know enough about how Biters work, you can use this statistic to figure out exactly how prepared you need to be at any given moment, both for fighting off Biter attacks and for attacking nests. Another very useful and lightweight tool that all Factorio players will find useful.
EvoGUI download
Alien Biomes
Alien Biomes is a little bit more of a game-changing mod than most of the others on this list, greatly expanding the number of possible biomes in a Factorio world. It’s hard not to be taken in by the injection of various new colours into the ever-dull browns and greens of the base game. There is also an addon mod which gives all the new biomes a high resolution makeover, to match the new high resolutions that Wube have been drip-feeding into Factorio. Take a closer look at the new biomes by following the download links below.
Alien Biomes download Alien Biomes High-Res Terrain download
Long Reach
Long Reach is possibly the cheatiest mod on this list, but I love it all the same. This mod simply increases the range at which you’re allowed to interact with (or place) a structure. By default, you can place or interact with anything you can see, which means not only can you place new structures from miles away if you zoom out fully, but you can abuse this new functionality by heading into your map, zooming in on a patch of revealed terran (if you have a Radar there, for instance), and placing/interacting with whatever you like there, regardless of how far away the player may be.
Long Reach download
Factorissimo2
Factorissimo2 is a fascinating (and, again, slightly cheaty) expansion on the base Factorio. This mod allows you to construct and place warehouses which you can then enter, transporting you into a small pocket dimension where you can move around and build structures as normal. It’s a great space saver and a very useful way of organising large factories. There are also slots for inputs and outputs, allowing you to feed belts in and out of the warehouses seamlessly.
Factorissimo2 download
VehicleSnap
Finally, a minor but life-saving mod which solves one of the most subtly infuriating issues I have when driving around in my car in Factorio. VehicleSnap allows you to snap the direction of your car to regular angles, making it far easier to travel directly north, south, east, or west. Extremely useful when you’re trying to place down long lines of structures such as walls while driving! The mod also allows you to customise the number of angles that your car can snap to, giving you complete control over the influence VehicleSnap asserts over your questionable driving skills.
VehicleSnap download
And there you have it: our picks for the very best Factorio mods out there. But if you still have some Factorio-related questions that need answering, you might want to take a look below at our other Factorio guides!
Factorio guide and top tips - Our practical top tips for Factorio beginners. Factorio early game walkthrough - How to ace your first weeks in a new Factorio world. Factorio mods for 1.0 - Here are the very best Factorio mods we’ve ever used. Factorio console commands - The most useful cheats in Factorio revealed. Factorio blueprints - How to use blueprints, and the best blueprints we’ve found.
