The FCODE-BETA/SS code, based on the Electric Power Research Institute’s FCODE-BETA, is constructed to model the thermal-mechanical performance of Type 304 stainless steel clad pressurized water reactor fuel rods. Specifically, thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, irradiation creep, temperature-dependent material parameters and gap conductance for Type 304 stainless steel clad fuel rods are modeled. FCODEBETA/SS is benchmarked against end-oflife fission gas release and creep strain data from Connecticut Yankee fuel rods. Benchmarking results on key performance variables are comparable to those of FCODEBETA and COMETHE. Using FCODE-BETA/SS to compare the performance of Type 304 stainless steel and Zircaloy clad fuel over a common power history reveals that Type 304 stainless steel clad rods display higher fuel temperatures, wider gaps, and longer times to gap closure than Zircaloy clad rods. The stainless steel cladding spends only a small fraction of life in a state of tensile stress at the ridge, but the magnitudes of these ridge stresses are significantly greater than those found in Zircaloy rods. Nevertheless, the thermal performance of the two rod types is very similar.