How to Check FPS in Any Game — Every Method (Detailed Guide)

How to Check FPS: The number was lower than expected. Always lower than expected. That seems to be the universal gaming experience.

You spend time tweaking your graphics settings, convinced you found the sweet spot between quality and performance. The game feels smoother. You are sure of it.

But without an FPS counter running, you are guessing. And guessing is not good enough when you are trying to actually improve performance.

That is the thing about FPS. You think you can feel the difference. Sometimes you can. But you cannot feel the difference between 58 FPS and 74 FPS. You cannot feel whether enabling DLSS gave you 30 more frames or 8 more frames. You need the number on screen. Without it you are just guessing in the dark.

I went through forums, Reddit threads, and Steam discussions while building this site and found the same questions repeated constantly.

One person on Reddit wrote: “I have been gaming for 3 years and never knew how to check FPS until today. I just thought my game was running badly. Turns out I was getting 40 FPS on medium settings when I should have been getting 90.”

Another asked on a PC building forum: “Is there a way to see FPS without downloading anything? I play on my work laptop and can’t install software.”

And a third: “My Steam FPS counter stopped working after a Windows update. What happened?”

Different situations, same need. Everyone wants to see their frames. Not everyone knows the fastest way to do it.

This guide covers every working method in 2026. From the ones built into Windows that need zero downloads, to the most powerful monitoring tools available. You will find the right one for your exact situation and have it running in under five minutes.

Let us start.

What Is FPS and Why Does It Matter?

FPS stands for Frames Per Second. It is how many individual images your PC produces every second while you are gaming.

Think of it like a flip book. Each page is one frame. The faster you flip the pages, the smoother the animation looks. Your PC is producing those pages and your monitor is displaying them. The more pages per second, the smoother your game feels and looks.

Here is what different FPS values feel like in practice:

FPS	What It Feels Like
Below 30	Choppy, slideshow-like, uncomfortable to play
30 to 60	Acceptable but not smooth. Console-level.
60	The standard. Smooth for most games.
60 to 144	Noticeably smoother. Competitive advantage in fast games.
144 and above	Buttery smooth. Significant feel difference in shooters.

Knowing your FPS helps you in three real ways. First, it tells you whether your settings are too high for your hardware. Second, it tells you whether a graphics change actually improved performance or made it worse. Third, it tells you whether your PC is performing as it should or whether something is holding it back.

That last point matters most on this site. If your GPU is capable of 120 FPS but you are getting 60, something is limiting it. Maybe a CPU bottleneck. Maybe thermal throttling. Maybe a driver issue. The FPS number is the first clue. Use our PC Bottleneck Calculator to find out if your CPU and GPU are properly matched when your FPS does not match what your hardware should be producing.

How to Check FPS, Method 1 — Steam FPS Counter

Best for: Steam games. Zero performance cost. One-time setup.

This is the first method I recommend to anyone who plays through Steam. It takes 30 seconds to enable, costs absolutely zero performance, and works automatically in every Steam game from that point forward.

According to research from multiple monitoring tool comparisons in 2025, the Steam FPS counter has literally zero performance impact because it reads existing frame data directly from the graphics API rather than injecting any code into your game. It is the most lightweight option available.

How to enable it:

Step 1: Open Steam.

Step 2: Click Steam in the top left menu, then click Settings.

Step 3: Click the In-Game tab on the left sidebar.

Step 4: Find the option labeled “In-game FPS counter.”

Step 5: Click the dropdown and select your preferred corner. Top left, top right, bottom left, or bottom right.

Step 6: Close Settings. Launch any Steam game.

A small number will appear in your chosen corner. That is your FPS. It updates in real time.

Optional: Make it easier to read

By default the Steam counter shows in a small grey text. If you play dark games or dark scenes make it harder to see, go back to Settings, In-Game, and tick “High contrast color.” The counter turns bright green and is visible against any background.

One limitation to know: Steam’s counter only shows average FPS. It does not show frame time (the consistency of delivery between frames). For most people this is fine. If you want frame time data for diagnosing stuttering, use MSI Afterburner instead.

Method 2 — Xbox Game Bar

Best for: Non-Steam games. No download required. Already on your PC.

Every Windows 10 and Windows 11 PC has Xbox Game Bar pre-installed. You do not need to download anything. It works with games from every launcher — Epic Games, Battle.net, EA App, Xbox, standalone games, everything.

How to use it:

Step 1: Launch your game.

Step 2: Press Windows + G on your keyboard. The Xbox Game Bar overlay opens.

Step 3: Look for the Performance widget. It shows FPS, CPU usage, GPU usage, and RAM usage. If you do not see it, click the Widget Menu icon (looks like a controller) and select Performance.

Step 4: Click the Pin icon on the Performance widget. This keeps it visible on screen even after you close the Game Bar interface.

Step 5: Press Windows + G again to close the main overlay. The pinned Performance widget stays on screen showing your live FPS.

The honest limitation: Game Bar uses Windows desktop composition to draw its overlay which costs 5 to 8 FPS in most games. If you are performance-sensitive or playing a competitive game, that cost matters. For a quick check it is fine. For permanent monitoring, use Steam or MSI Afterburner instead.

If Game Bar does not appear in fullscreen: Switch your game from Fullscreen Exclusive to Borderless Windowed mode in the game settings. Game Bar sometimes fails to overlay in true fullscreen mode. Borderless Windowed solves this completely.

Method 3 — NVIDIA GeForce Overlay

Best for: NVIDIA GPU owners who want FPS plus GPU stats without MSI Afterburner.

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, GeForce Experience gives you a built-in overlay that shows FPS, GPU temperature, GPU usage, and more. It is more powerful than the Steam counter and more convenient than Afterburner for NVIDIA users specifically.

How to enable it:

Step 1: Make sure GeForce Experience is installed. If not, download it from nvidia.com/geforce/geforce-experience.

Step 2: Open GeForce Experience and click the Settings gear icon (top right).

Step 3: Make sure In-Game Overlay is toggled On.

Step 4: Click Settings within the overlay section.

Step 5: Click HUD Layout, then click Performance.

Step 6: Choose Basic (FPS only) or Advanced (FPS plus temperatures, clock speeds, latency).

Step 7: Launch your game and press Alt + Z to toggle the overlay on and off.

The keyboard shortcut to remember: Alt + Z opens the full GeForce overlay. Alt + R toggles the performance overlay specifically.

Method 4 — AMD Adrenalin Overlay

Best for: AMD GPU owners. Built in, no extra downloads needed.

AMD Adrenalin is the driver software that comes with every AMD graphics card. It includes a built-in performance overlay with FPS, GPU temperature, VRAM usage, and clock speed. If you have an AMD card the software is likely already installed.

How to enable it:

Step 1: Open AMD Adrenalin Software. Right-click your desktop and look for AMD Software or find it in your Start menu.

Step 2: Click the Performance tab along the top.

Step 3: Click Metrics on the left sidebar.

Step 4: Toggle on the metrics you want to see. FPS is under Framerate. Also enable GPU Temperature and GPU Usage while you are there.

Step 5: Launch your game and press Ctrl + Shift + O to toggle the overlay on and off.

The keyboard shortcut to remember: Ctrl + Shift + O.

Method 5 — MSI Afterburner

Best for: Anyone who wants the most powerful and customizable FPS monitoring available.

MSI Afterburner is the most feature-rich free monitoring tool for PC gaming. It shows FPS plus GPU temperature, GPU usage, CPU temperature, CPU usage per core, VRAM usage, RAM usage, and frame time — all on a single customizable overlay that works in every game regardless of launcher or graphics API.

The key thing to know: MSI Afterburner requires a companion app called RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS) to display the in-game overlay. Both install together automatically when you use the official installer.

We wrote a complete guide on every feature and every common problem in our MSI Afterburner guide. But here is the quick setup for FPS specifically:

Quick FPS setup:

Step 1: Download MSI Afterburner from msi.com/Landing/afterburner. When installing, make sure you say YES to installing RivaTuner Statistics Server.

Step 2: Open MSI Afterburner and click the Settings icon.

Step 3: Click the Monitoring tab.

Step 4: Find Framerate in the list, click it, and tick Show in On-Screen Display.

Step 5: Click Apply, then OK.

Step 6: Confirm RivaTuner is running in your taskbar (hidden icons, bottom right).

Step 7: Launch your game. FPS appears in the overlay.

Why choose Afterburner over other methods: It is the only method that also shows GPU usage on the same overlay. This matters because FPS alone does not tell you whether your GPU is being fully utilized. If you are getting 80 FPS but your GPU is only at 55% usage, you have a bottleneck stealing performance from you. Seeing FPS and GPU usage together tells the whole story.

Method 6 — In-Game FPS Counters

Best for: Competitive players who need zero performance overhead.

Many games have a built-in FPS counter hidden in their settings menu. These are the best option for competitive play because they add absolutely zero performance overhead. They read the frame data directly from the game engine itself.

The catch is that every game puts it in a different place. Here are the most popular games and exactly where to find it:

Valorant: Settings, Video tab, Stats section. Enable Client FPS. Also enables server tick rate and network stats on the same screen.

CS2: Press the tilde key (~) to open the console. Type cl_showfps 1 and press Enter. Type cl_showfps 0 to turn it off.

Fortnite: Settings (gear icon), Video tab, scroll down to Performance Stats. Enable Show FPS.

Warzone: Settings (gear icon), Telemetry tab. Enable Frames Per Second.

Cyberpunk 2077: Settings, Video tab, scroll to the bottom. Enable Performance Overlay.

Minecraft: Press F3 while in game. FPS appears in the top left corner with full system stats.

Apex Legends: Settings, Gameplay tab. Enable Performance Display.

Epic Games Launcher (Fortnite, Rocket League, and other Epic titles): Open the Epic Games Launcher, click your username at the top right, go to Settings, scroll down and enable In-Game Overlay. Once enabled, press F3 during any Epic game to toggle the overlay which shows FPS alongside basic system stats.

If you cannot find it in your game’s settings: Check the game’s options under Video, Display, Graphics, or Performance. If it is not there at all, use the Steam counter or Xbox Game Bar instead.

Which Method Should You Use?

Here is a simple decision guide based on your exact situation:

FPS Counter Not Showing? Fix It Here

These are the most common reasons an FPS counter stops working and the exact fix for each one.

Problem: Steam FPS counter not showing

Fix 1: Make sure the game was launched through Steam and not a shortcut. The Steam overlay only works in games opened directly from your Steam library.

Fix 2: Go to Steam Settings, In-Game, and make sure Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game is turned ON. The FPS counter requires the Steam overlay to be active.

Fix 3: Right-click the specific game in your Steam library, click Properties, and make sure Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game is checked for that specific game too.

Problem: Xbox Game Bar not appearing

Fix 1: Switch your game from Fullscreen to Borderless Windowed mode. Game Bar does not appear in exclusive fullscreen on many games.

Fix 2: Go to Windows Settings, Gaming, Xbox Game Bar, and confirm it is enabled. A Windows update occasionally resets this setting.

Problem: MSI Afterburner overlay not showing

The most common cause is RivaTuner Statistics Server is not running. Check your taskbar hidden icons. RTSS must be running for the overlay to appear. Open it manually from the Start menu if it is not there.

Read the full problems and fixes section in our MSI Afterburner guide for every other scenario.

Problem: FPS counter blocked by anti-cheat

Some games with strict anti-cheat software (Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye) block third-party overlays like MSI Afterburner. In this situation use your game’s built-in FPS counter or the Steam overlay which is whitelisted by most anti-cheat systems.

What to Do When Your FPS Is Lower Than Expected

You have your FPS counter running. The number is lower than it should be for your hardware. Now what?

The first step is checking whether your GPU is being fully utilized. If your GPU is capable of much higher FPS but is only delivering 60, something is holding it back. Not the GPU itself. Something else in the system.

Open MSI Afterburner’s overlay and add GPU usage percentage alongside FPS. If GPU usage is 95 to 100% and FPS is still low, you are GPU-limited and need a faster graphics card to get more frames.

If GPU usage is 50 to 70% while FPS is low, your GPU is not being given enough work. This is almost always a CPU bottleneck. Your processor cannot prepare frames fast enough to keep the GPU busy.

We covered every cause of this in complete detail in our guide on why GPU usage is low. And if you want to know the exact percentage mismatch between your CPU and GPU, use our free PC Bottleneck Calculator — enter your components and get the answer in 30 seconds.

If FPS is low and you want to fix it without buying new hardware, our low FPS guide covers every free fix in order from easiest to most involved.

Frequently Asked Questions

One Last Thing Before You Go

Getting your FPS counter running is step one. Understanding what the number means is step two.

A high FPS number is great. But FPS combined with GPU usage is where the real insight is. If your FPS is lower than expected and your GPU is not maxed out, you are not getting the performance your hardware should be delivering. Something is holding it back.

That is exactly what this entire site is built around. Helping you find what is holding your system back and showing you the most efficient path to fixing it.

Once your FPS counter is set up, spend one gaming session watching both FPS and GPU usage simultaneously using MSI Afterburner. Those two numbers together will tell you more about your PC’s performance than anything else.

And when you need a clearer answer about whether your CPU and GPU are properly matched for each other, our free PC Bottleneck Calculator gives you that answer in 30 seconds.

Now go get that counter running.