Mod Managers Comparison

Comparison to other mod managers

There are many mod managers around these days and it's may be a bit difficult to choose the one you need. This page is designed to highlight key features of known mod managers.

Legend

• KMM - Kortex Mod Manager.
• MO1 - Mod Organizer 1 (version 1.x).
• MO2 - Mod Organizer 2 (version 2.x).
• NMM - Nexus Mod Manager.
• Vortex - a successor to NMM by Nexus Mods.
• Wrye Bash - one of the oldest mod managers among them all.

Features

	Kortex	MO2	MO1	Vortex	NMM	Wrye Bash
Supported games	TES series starting from Morrowind. Fallout series starting from Fallout 3. Sacred 2.	Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout NV, Tale of Two Wastelands (TTW), Skyrim, Skyrim SE, Skyrim VR, Fallout 4, Fallout 4 VR, Enderal (Steam Edition)	Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas.	Supports over 150 games including Cyberpunk 2077, the TES Series, and the Fallout serie.	Supports many games including Elder Scrolls (plus Enderal) and Fallout series.	Morrowind using Wrye Mash. Fallout 3/Fallout NV Using Valda's Wrye Flash. Oblivion, Nehrim, Skyrim (LE, SE, VR), Enderal and Fallout 4 (Regular & VR) Using Wrye Bash.
Importing from other managers	Nexus Mod Manager, MO1, MO2.			MO1, MO2, NMM.
Profile management	Multiple instances per game, multiple profiles per instance.		One instance for one MO installation, multiple profiles per instance.	Multiple profiles per game
Assets conflict management
Conflict resolution	Using mod priority that can be changed by drag & dropping mods in a specific order	Using mod priority that can be changed by drag & dropping mods in a specific order. Per file resolution through hiding of files (renaming with .mohidden).	Using mod priority that can be changed by drag & dropping mods in a specific order. Per file resolution through hiding of files (renaming with .mohidden).	Through definition of order rules between mods, which can be created through drag & drop of the relationship icon. Per file resolution through advanced conflict view (this can be different per-profile)	One time popup during installation to decide whether to keep or overwrite other mods files.	Using mod priority that can be changed by drag & dropping mods in a specific order.
Conflict visualization		Different conflict flags on modlist for different conflict types (winning/losing/both). Highlighting of mods that have conflict with the currently selected mod. Listing of losing, winning and non-conflicted files for each mod. Ability to preview and cycle alternatives of textures and other file types. Advanced per-mod conflict views with alternatives, sorting, search, etc.	Different conflict flags on modlist for different conflict types (winning/losing/both). Highlighting of mods that have conflict with the currently selected mod. Listing of losing, winning and non-conflicted files for each mod. Ability to preview and cycle alternatives of textures and other file types.	Single generic flag on modlist for all conflicts types. Only an "active-rule" icon once conflict has been resolved through a rule. Popup when installing mod with conflicts. Simple conflict resolution window (rules) with tooltip of conflicted files. - searchable and filterable as of 1.4 Advanced per-mod file tree structure of conflicts with alternatives from other mods.	No visualization of conflicts as there can't be, just one time popup during mod installation to either overwrite or keep old files.	Colored checkboxes indicate conflict. Tabs can be selected to see detailed list of conflicts for both loose files and BSA/BA2 files. The mod archive or package name is shown.
Game archives (BSA) management		Extraction Creation Content preview Experimental conflict detection	Extraction Conflict detection Loading without plugins	Archive version checking builtin as of 1.4		Archive version checking Conflict detection
Game archives (BSA) management		Extraction, Creation, Content preview, Experimental conflict detection.	Extraction, Conflict detection, Loading without plugins.
Game archives (BSA) Conflicts		Only experimental WIP conflict visualization of archives through BSA specific conflict flags. BSA order is decided by plugin order like normal.	Change of how the game handles BSAs to allow BSA files to be loaded without plugins, in a different order, and allow BSA contents to overwrite loose files. Order is decided through mod priority and conflicts are shown as part of the normal loose assets conflicts. Cons: some mods and programs relayed on the previous game behavior.
Saves management	Virtualization per profile and dedicated tab to visualize them.					The Saves Tab allows you to switch between different 'save profiles'.
Change master name in header of save game from save game manager
List plugins used in a save game		Through tooltip. Warning icon if current load order is missing files for them.
Config (INI) management	Virtualization per profile and advanced editor.	Virtualization per profile and editor.		Virtualization per profile.		The INI Edits Tab allows applying and undoing 'INI Edits', small INI files that can be installed via BAIN and then applied to INIs. Comes packaged with many default INI tweaks that have been tested and verified.
Load order management scheme	Drag and Drop for mods and plugins.			Based on LOOT and its own rules system.	Drag and Drop for plugins. For mods it's the install order.	Drag and Drop for mods and plugins. Allows locking load order to prevent external applications from making changes.
Add or remove plugin flags from plugin list				ESL flag.		ESM and ESL flags. Also generates correct ONAM data when adding/removing ESM flags.
Change master name in header of plugin from plugin list
Integrated LOOT support		One click sort, detailed loot report, visualization of loot info on pluginlist through flags and tooltips.	One click sort, detailed loot report. (! severely outdated version of integrated Loot)	Drag & drop dependency icon for specific "load after" rules. Full features native to LOOT. Group management including: adding and removing groups, changing a plugins groups, order of groups. LOOT defaults Automatic LOOT updates Plugin details visible by double clicking plugin. Visualization of info through flags.		Visualization of dirty plugins via underlining on the plugin list, automatic retrieval of LOOT's Bash Tag suggestions. Allows you to export your applied tags for contribution to the LOOT masterlist.
Backup features		Modlist order, Plugin order, Individual mod folder backup.		Via Extension only: https://github.com/Garethp/Vortex-Modlist-Backup	Import Export Load Order Backup and Restore Mod Installation	Backs up all the parts of Wrye Bash that can be changed by the user to a location of the user's choosing.
Program list					No method to add custom launcher and you must choose from a predetermined list. Program List varies depending on selected game mode.
Mod package creator	FOMod (XML), KMP.					Only BAIN wizards, and only via simple text editors.
Supported mod package formats	FOMod (XML), KMP.	FOMod (XML, C#), BAIN Package, freeform1, simple2.		FOMod (XML, C#), simple2.	FOMod (XML, C#), OMOD, simple2.	FOMod (XML), OMOD (by repackaging to BAIN), BAIN Wizard, BAIN Package, simple2.
Event Logging	external logs	logs viewable within program		external logging, internal event viewer for order of recently install/enabled/disabled mods		External logs
Mod Merging		Merge "mods" (assets) from the same mod page during install		merge "mods" (assets) from the same mod page during install and any mods after install merge plugins via extension		merge overwrite-only plugins for certain games during patch creation
Virtualization scheme	KxVFS - based on Dokany - kernel-mode file system driver.	USVFS - user-mode WinAPI hooks, a successor to the hook.dll to support 64bit.	Hook.dll - a user-mode WinAPI hooks (32bit only).	Hardlinks by default, Symlinks or move deployment as an option on specific games, USVFS as an experimental extension (no new file support for now).	Symbolic links (symlinks).	No virtualization, files are installed in the Data folder.
Virtualization Pros and Cons	Pros: Game folder remains clean all the time as exclusively hooked programs see the mods. Zero overhead when installing/enabling mods or switching profiles. Mounter VFS visible to all processes on the system (it's kind of a con too). Can link mods across different drives. Allows top-level virtualization. Cons: Slower than alternatives. Requires target folder to be empty. Huge memory consumption on large mod setups (~5 GB for 975k files). Program startup overhead for VFS initialization. Kernel-mode driver, requires administrator privileges to install.	Pros: Supports 64bit programs. Game folder remains clean all the time as exclusively hooked programs see the mods. Zero overhead when installing/enabling mods or switching profiles. Doesn't require write access to destination. Sources and target can be linked across different drives. Intercepts creation of new files in overwrite, keeping game folder clean Cons: Can be less intuitive to users since only the programs can see the mods. Can often be flagged by antiviruses. Can't virtualize some top level files like load-time linked .dll. Can lead to hard to diagnose issues in case there is a bug. Small memory and computation overhead at runtime. Program startup overhead for VFS initialization. Can potentially break if Windows changes something. Uses Overwrite folder that can require some user cleanup and management	Pros: Game folder remains clean all the time as exclusively hooked programs see the mods. Zero overhead when installing/enabling mods or switching profiles. Doesn't require write access to destination. Sources and target can be linked across different drives. Intercepts creation of new files in overwrite, keeping game folder clean Cons: Can't be used for 64 bit programs. Can be less intuitive to users since only the programs can see the mods. Can often be flagged by antiviruses. Can't virtualize some top level files like load-time linked .dll. Can lead to hard to diagnose issues in case there is a bug. Small memory and computation overhead at runtime. Program startup overhead for VFS initialization. Can potentially break if Windows changes something Uses Overwrite folder that can require some user cleanup and management	Pros: Remains even when the program is not running Faster than alternatives because NTFS handles hardlinks directly instead of indirectly when using KxVFS or USVFS Deployment only necessary when adding/removing mods "set and forget" Windows updates shouldn't break it. Cons: Improper removal of mod will cause mods to remain "Dirty" data folder Some applications may see the hardlinks as duplicates and count them as used disk space Requires deployment Requires full write/read access to target folder Takes time (based on file count) to switch profiles and enable/disable mods Can't link across drives Can be less convenient to use for mod authors messing with mod files	Pros: Can link across partitions. Mostly same as Hardlinks (assuming good implementation) Cons: Requires Admin Rights to create Symlinks. Can leave the game folder with mess in case stuff goes wrong Mostly the same cons as Hardlinks	Pros: Does not add complexity and potential failure points with virtualization, hardlinks, or symbolic links and uses a simple and reliable file copy. 100% Reliable with 0% chance for issues installing files into the Data folder. No problems with leftover/broken links and other inconsistencies, just normal files (that are all kept track of). Allows you to have your Game and downloaded mods on different drives. Cons: Depending on the amount and size of files copying files to the Data folder may take a reasonable amount of time to an extended amount of time. Installing 3 GB mods like Interesting NPCs can take a very extended amount of time. Changing order, enabling/disabling mods, clearing to vanilla, requires file transfers to update Data tab contents (user decides when to apply changes so multiple ones can be applied in one step). Requires full write/read access to target folder Requires more space as mod archives can't be deleted (source of files to be copied in Data)
Game root directory virtualization
New files handling (overwrite) and file changes	All new files end up in profile specific Overwrite. All changes to existing virtual files are transparently executed on the correct mod files.	All new files end up in overwrite folder. Ability to Drag & Drop files to existing mod, create a new mod, delete the files, leave the files there. Allows specifying a mod to use as overwrite for a particular program. All changes to existing virtual files are transparently executed on the correct mod files.	All new files end up in overwrite folder. Ability to Drag & Drop files to existing mod, create a new mod, delete the files, leave the files there. Changes to existing virtual files can sometimes lead to deleted mod files and new files in Overwrite.	No handling of completely new files, those end up in the game folder. File changes without deletion are executed transparently on mod files. Deleted/recreated files don't automatically reflect on mod files. A popup for deleted/recreated files will ask user whether to use mod version or game version.		Files added or altered in the Data folder are tracked. New files become orphaned files. Orphaned files can be captured and/or removed using Clean Data. Changed files that belong to an installer can be easily synced with the installer (e.g. to copy the cleaned version of a plugin back into its archive). Monitor External Installation tracks changes in the data folder. Wrye Bash creates an installer from both new and altered files. This can be used to track instalation from other mod managers such as OBMM, FOMM, NMM. It can also be used to manage the changes made by the CK or other tools such as FNIS or BodySlide through BAIN.
VFS persistence	Manager runtime.	Only present for programs started through the manager and their child applications.		For hardlinks, move, and symlinks it persists until purged. For USVFS - same as MO2/MO1.	Symlinks - persists until purged.	N/A - WB uses direct file copies, so no persistence issues are possible.
Game (virtual) folder layout visualization	Using any file explorer (when VFS is enabled) or with dedicated Data tab.	Through dedicated Data tab, or running Explorer++ and similar programs through Mo2.	Through dedicated Data tab.	Not needed as Explorer already shows the correct final result.
Websites-integrations	NexusMods, partially LoversLab and tesall.ru	NexusMods				Opening mod pages on NexusMods. Searching on Google for mods.
Nexus Mods Integration features	Account login, Download with manager, Mod update check	Account login, Download with manager, Mod update check, Mod endorsements, Mod tracking, Mod meta info like categories etc, Browser for mod description,	Integration no longer works since Nexus API update.	Account login Download with manager Mod update check Automatic mod update for premium users Mod endorsements Mod tracking Mod meta info like categories etc Browser for mod description New mods list download rate limiter mod tracking	Account login, Download with manager, Mod endorsements, Mod meta info like categories etc.	Opening mod pages
Web-integration extent	NexusMods: Account, mod updates, mod source, downloads. LoversLab: mod source. TESALL.RU: mod source.	Account, mod updates, mod source, metadata query, downloads, endorsements.				Mod source, searching on Google.
Auto-update check
Integrated download manager				Download rate limiter available
Mod Categories	Custom tag system.	Import from Nexus, support for custom categories.	Broken import from Nexus, support for custom categories.	Import from Nexus, support for custom categories.	Import from nexus, custom categories?	Customizable marker system for archives, customizable groups system for plugins.
Problem detection		Plugins with missing masters Files in overwrite Form 43 plugins for Skyrim SE Script Extender plugin load failure Need to run FNIS Presence of files with attributes that the game can't handle	Plugins with missing masters Files in overwrite Need to run FNIS	Bug report automation in menu Notifications in the bell icon including xSE error notifications. Plugins with missing masters Form 43 plugins for Skyrim SE Incompatible BSA/BA2 detection Generate Report option to generate shareable report about mods installed, including details of selected mod	Missing masters	Missing masters Out of order masters Missing strings files Form 43 plugins for Skyrim SE ESL verification File timestamp conflicts Ghosted plugin verification Dirty edits Deactivate and NoMerge verification Mismatched BSA versions Directory thrashing in Oblivion Encoding problems Load order verification & sanitization Unrecognized save and plugin headers
GUI customization		Comes with 15+ built in styles, more available on Nexus. Styles created through QSS files, with CSS like syntax. Very limited color customization for highlights and separators from menu.	Comes with some built in styles, more available on Nexus. Styles created through QSS files, with CSS like syntax.	Comes with 3 built in styles, several on nexus, customizable via CSS/SASS. Change colors and fonts via a setting menu. MO-esque extension available to make your vortex appear as if it was mo2	?	Change colors via a settings menu.
Exporting modlist/pluginlist	Non-customizable export of modlist to HTML file. Import and export of plugins list.	Customizable modlist export to CSV file. Otherwise only simple copy of loadorder.txt and modlist.txt.	Less customizable modlist export to CSV file.	Generate Report option generates a online document with list of plugins extension automatically uploads to modwatch	Export plugin and mod list to clipboard or text file.	Export plugin and/or mod list to clipboard. Export of various other lists (e.g. applied tags) to clipboard, text files or CSV files.
Modlist features	Color-coding of each mod, collapsible separators (using tag system). Mod metadata: name, priority, version, author, tags, sources, date installed, date uninstalled, folder, install package, signature	Grouping by Category or Nexus Id. Filtering with advanced filters and regex search. Colored separators. Avanced mod counters. Conflict highlighting on selection. Plugin Highlighting on selection. Full refresh from disk. Backup, export as CSV. Update check. Various Keyboard shortcuts and support for multi selection operations. Mod metadata: Conflits, Catagories, Contents, Version, Target Game, Custom Notes, Install time, Nexus ID, Flags: Endorsed,Tracked,hiddenFiles,valid	Mostly same as Mo2, but somethings are missing like separators and notes.	Advanced mod counters. Update check. Grouping by state, category, content, author, version, source. Filter by state, name, version, install time, category, endorsed state, content, dependency resolution. collapsible separators Update check, install from file, manage rules. Various Keyboard shortcuts and support for multi selection operations. Mod metadata: mod name, version number, author, install time, source (nexus or not), category, endorsed, content, priority, dependencies, highlight	Filter by category Sort mod list by Name, Cetegory, Install Date, Download Data, Endorsment, Download ID, Mod version, Author List plugin dependencies (Plugin Tab) Mod metadata Name, Version, Author, Website, Description	Mod context menu Duplicate, Hide, Rename, Backup, Create Snapshot, Revert to Backup or Snapshot for plugins from the Mods tab. List Bash Tags Mod Info Report of plugin name, installer, modified date, file size, author, CRC List file dependencies Jump to assigned Installer from Mods List Check ESL Qualifications for ESL enabled games Export/import various subrecords to/from .csv files List LOOT Cleaning Information Copy .esp to .esm file (Creates file in Data Folder) Add Remove ESL or ESM flags Add ESM Flag to Masters (ESM flag(s) must be manually removed) Create empty plugins for missing masters Mod metadata Import, Export, Edit, Assign to group List ObjectIDs with Editor ID by record type View, Edit, or Assign Readme Files
Game files preview		.DDS Textures complete preview support. BSA/BA2 content preview. Normal images and text (.txt, .ini, .cfg, .log, .json) files.	.DDS Textures partial preview support Normal images and .txt files.	Will attempt to open in default program for the file type ie: nif in bodyslide, dds in gimp or WTV, txt in notepad
Available translations (default distribution)	English Russian	English French Dutch Polish Italian Spanish Russian Portuguese Chinese Japanese	English ..?	many available via extensions	English German	English Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) German Italian Japanese Portuguese Russian Non-English languages are very outdated, and further localization efforts are currently postponed until Wrye Bash has been ported to Python 3. Localization can be easily exported and edited with Notepad++ or Poedit.
Extensions		Bundled with some extensions, additional are available at NexusMods and GitHub. Supports C++ and Python extensions.		Additional extensions are available at NexusMods. Supports JavaScript, C++, and various other electron extensions. Extensions are available to install from within the program.
Current development state and maintainers	Open Source, fully released. Maintained and not so much actively developed on by Kerber (non-paid developer), with highly irregular feature updates.	Open Source, fully released. Maintained and actively developed on by MO2 Team (community non-paid developers), with regular feature updates.	Open Source, fully released. No longer maintained or updated.	Open Source, fully released. Maintained and actively developed by NexusMods (paid professionals), with frequent feature updates and fixes.	Open Source, beta release. Discontinued by NexusMods in favor of Vortex. Currently maintained by a few members of the community.	Open Source, fully released. Maintained and actively developed by Wrye Bash Team (community non-paid developers) with regular feature updates.

Supplementary information

1. Any content inside the mod archive. This installation mode usually requires user input to some extent.
2. Just some files such as .esm/.esp and/or Data folder inside the mod archive.

Page contributors

• Kerber (Kortex developer)
• AL (MO2 Dev)
• Yggdrasil75 (Vortex virtuoso)
• Sharlikran (Wrye Bash contributor)
• FelesNoctis (Generalist contributor)