Simulation Software reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 179 Reddit reviews across 40 subreddits and 55 posts to rank the best Simulation Software brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/ElectricalEngineering, r/MechanicalEngineering, r/arduino, r/industrialengineering, r/Optics. Top-rated brands include LTSpice (4.2/5), Ansys (4.2/5), FlexSim (4.9/5).

Stats

Reviews179

Subreddits40

Posts55

Brands78

Products39

Top communities

r/ElectricalEngineering44 r/MechanicalEngineering11 r/arduino9 r/industrialengineering9 r/Optics9

179 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

LTSpice

4.2

(17)

"LTspice is a powerful and free tool for analog circuit simulation."

"LTSpice is the jam. Just bite the bullet and learn it. It will pay off big time."

"It's free, super easy to pickup, and has everything a beginner could need!"

"LTSpice is not very hard if you watch some beginner tutorials to get an introduction."

"Don’t even bother with other programs."

"You can change all of the UI on LTspice really easily through the console and make it look really nice."

"I recently started to use LTspice, it works!"

"LTSpice is quicker to sketch with and generally preferred."

"LTSpice is a powerful tool for circuit analysis."

"It has an active user community. Yes, the learning curve is pretty steep if you want to perform simulations, but for simple tasks it can’t be beat."

Ansys

4.2

(10)

"Try Ansys Speos: https://www.ansys.com/products/optics/ansys-speos"

"The easiest to learn and quickest to enter new domains of analysis."

"Good tutorials available on their website."

"I like ANSYS. As Greg pointed out, I've mostly done FEA simulations."

"Best Regards, E.O"

"Ansys is well known, incredible powerful and has a lot of learning material / documentation."

"HFSS is also a valuable tool for circuit design."

"Incredibly powerful but the interface is crap."

"Ansys has a bad UI."

"Ansys is a good solver that's stuck with a preprocessor for idiots. I mean, it's fast for single part easy analysis, but it sucks for anything even moderately complex."

FlexSim

4.9

(7)

"FlexSim is nice and very easy to use once you catch its logic and how it functions. Flexscript is also very easy to learn."

"Go Flexsim. It's an incredible package! I work in it full-time and I could go on and on about why it's the best on the market right now."

"Autodesk acquired flexsim recently and it is one of the widely used simulation software, especially in manufacturing industry."

"Flexsim and SIMIO are the main industry softwares. Some courses teach Arena too."

"Flexsim is probably the industry leader. Good luck"

"Flexsim is the way to go"

"I believe Flexsim continues to be in the lead for 'best' for very detailed shop floor level stuff."

Falstad

4.3

(6)

"An excellent tool for visualizing and simulating circuits."

"It has pulled me through the entire degree and even nowadays as a power engineer for simple demos and explaining to others."

"It’s simple and free and worked great for everything until transistors came into play."

"The ultra easy educational grade answer is the Falstad Sim."

"I believe Falstad is more user friendly, especially for beginners."

"It's a pretty poor simulator, but works for basic stuff."

National Instruments

4.2

(5)

"I like NI Multisim, has a nice interface & free for students."

"Multisim is intuitive enough that you can force your way through building circuits with it without never even using it before."

"Multisim is free with a .edu email and widely used in jobs."

"This software is widely used in educational settings. It has a user-friendly interface and includes a wide range of components and features."

"Multisim is pretty good."

MATLAB

4.3

(4)

"Matlab would be ideal for this if you can acquire it cheaply."

"MATLAB/Simulink is recommended as advanced simulation software."

"You could potentially use simulink/MATLAB if you have the funds to get the licenses."

"Battery models have become an indispensable tool for the design of battery-powered systems."

TGC

4.0

(4)

"Upgrading to TGC 2019 is a viable option if TGC 1 meets your needs."

"TGC 1 is a cost-effective option that still provides a great experience."

"TGC has better data and shot history presentation."

"I also ended up going with tgc2019."

Adobe Captivate

4.7

(3)

"Cap is great at doing click simulations and I was able to do incredible things with it."

"I use Captivate for this - never seen a tool do it better (yet)."

"I’ve made some reasonably complex sims with it, and it’s worked well."

EveryCircuit

4.7

(3)

"It is really good I find. Has a lot of features and large community."

"It's shiny and colorful, which is all that matters to me."

"EveryCircuit is great for quick tasks."

#10

Python

4.7

(3)

"I mean, as a one-stop-shop Python can ostensibly do all of this and more."

"Python is an excellent tool for building physics simulations."

"A useful Python repo for running 5e combat Monte Carlos."

#11

Autodesk

4.7

(3)

"Free, runs in a browser and very beginner friendly"

"Fusion 360 does Impact, Stress, Aerodynamics and much much more and is very easy to use."

"EAGLE is mentioned as a useful software for circuit design."

#12

Tinkercad

4.3

(3)

"Tinkercad is an excellent tool for beginners to learn 3D design."

"You can simulate then for free on your briwser via these two websites: [https://theengineerpost7.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/thinkercad/](https://theengineerpost7.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/thinkercad/) and [https://theengineerpost7.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/wokwi/](https://theengineerpost7.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/wokwi/)"

#13

Siemens Star CCM+

4.3

(3)

"Just finished my thesis using LES and the Ffowcs-William Hawkings acoustic analogy in STAR CCM+. The Post FW-H acoustic model was very easy to use."

"I think also you can do it in Star-CCM."

"We use star ccm+ for LES and CAA simulations, export the data and do post processing using python scripts developed in-house."

#14

OpenFOAM

4.0

(3)

"LES with OpenFOAM and postprocessing with Curle Analogy?"

"OpenFOAM is pretty good."

"OpenFoam is recommended for CFD."

#15

Webots

4.0

(3)

"Webots"

"Webots ，vrep.both support programming windows."

"I'm using webots, and it's pretty good so far!"

#16

Crumb

4.0

(3)

"CRUMB is awesome! having some crashing issues after update, but i’m sure it’ll be fixed soon"

"[https://www.crumbsim.com/] and if you want to do some simple stuff in digital circuits..."

"There is a new app called CRUMB, it costs a few dollars and is only available on mobile devices. It works really well IMO."

#17

CircuitLab

4.0

(3)

"CircuitLab has a fair amount of basic components for beginners."

"This is another web-based circuit design and simulation tool that is easy to use and includes a wide range of components and features."

"Also used CircuitLab while at Uni."

#18

Linear Technology

3.7

(3)

"Try LTSpice more, it’s really good."

"LTSpice is pretty good for a free program with an easier user interface than most other SPICE modeling software."

"LTspice is not easy to learn, but worth it once understood."

#19

FRED

3.7

(3)

"If you could choose a software I would go with FRED."

"I personally prefer FRED the most from that list"

"FRED, Lighttools, and non-seq Zemax are what most of us use, but they aren't something you can teach yourself how to use very easily."

#20

Gazebo

3.3

(3)

"Gazebo with PX4 autopilot SITL simulation is recommended for navigation testing."

"Gazebo is recommended for accuracy over graphics."

"Gazebo is a headache but really accurate and very developed."

#21

PyBullet

3.3

(3)

"Pybullet and mujoco are used to be simulators for reinforcement learning."

"Pybullet is simpler and works naturally in Python."

"PyBullet is great but GUI is lagging on most of operations when you call step()"

#22

LTspice

5.0

(2)

"LTspice is reliable for important simulations."

"Free, very popular, updated every month."

#23

SIMUL8

4.5

(2)

"That is the Process Simulation package that I use the most."

"I've used simul8, you can do all that even using your historical data."

#24

Apple

4.5

(2)

"ICircuit is an excellent app for circuit simulation on iOS."

"I’ve found it super useful and straightforward."

#25

AnyLogic

4.5

(2)

"Any logic and simio"

"AnyLogic is great especially due to its integration with Java."

#26

Texas Instruments

4.5

(2)

"This software is developed by Texas Instruments and is available for free. It has a user-friendly interface and includes a wide range of components and features, including support for SPICE simulations."

"TINA-TI is intuitive and allows for vacuum tube simulations."

#27

Multisim

4.5

(2)

"It has the easiest interface out of all EDAs out there."

"Ni multisim"

#28

Micro-Cap

3.0

(3)

"Micro-Cap is also a great free option for circuit simulation."

"Micro-Cap is also a good choice but has a steep learning curve."

"Free, useful but no longer updated."

#29

TSE Audio

4.5

(2)

"My newest favorite is the X50 from TSE Audio. I'm getting great results pairing the x50 with the NAD-IR impulse loader."

"The TSE website actually has a pre amp and a tube screamer for free."

#30

Aspen Plus

2.7

(3)

"I'd personally go with Aspen Plus if there isn't a more specialized software around."

"If forced to do something with distillations for separation I would use AspenPlus with custom blocks."

"Aspen Plus doesn't currently support fermentation."

#31

SimScale

4.0

(2)

"SimScale is recommended as a simulation software."

"Oddly enough I just learned of this software an hour ago."

#32

Unity

4.0

(2)

"Unity is recommended for computer vision simulation, ROS compatible."

"Good simulation examples made with Unity."

#33

Thermal Desktop

4.0

(2)

"Thermal desktop is the most popular tool utilized by industry and offers good value in terms of cost."

"I heard the licenses were cheap (compared to ANSYS) and NASA uses it."

#34

PSPICE

4.0

(2)

"PSpice is a reliable tool for circuit simulation."

"Maybe give PScipe a try? Pretty similar but maybe more your taste."

#35

Unreal

4.0

(2)

"If you are using these for synthetic training data to build a computer vision model then use Unreal you can get it looking pretty faster."

"I've heard good things about Unreal."

#36

LightTools

4.0

(2)

"I decided that LightTools was the best choice to go forward with."

"FRED, LightTools, TracePro and SPEOS are the best choices for analysis"

#37

SimPy

4.0

(2)

"Another one to consider is SimPy"

"I personally prefer to use SimPy and I know some of my peers actively use it in their industry jobs."

#38

SuperPro

4.0

(2)

"It's easy enough to set up a biochem process because it has fields for typical biochem process parameters."

"SuperPro Designer?"

#39

ACTRAN

4.0

(2)

"This is a classic application of acoustic solvers like ACTRAN."

"There are some tools on the market like Actran, used that for a bit to do some hvac and windmirror noise simulations."

#40

Ansys Fluent

4.0

(2)

"Ansys Fluent is recommended for complex physics simulation of a sauna."

"You can use tools like Fluent or Comsol for that."

#41

FreeCAD

4.0

(2)

"I am using always FreeCAD, and I think it is underrated tool."

"There's a CAD software called FreeCAD that has FEM."

#42

Spectrum Software

4.0

(2)

"MicroCap from Spectrum Software is free now."

"MicroCap 12 is good but more difficult to use."

#43

ANSYS

4.0

(2)

"They offer drastically reduced yearly licenses for startups."

"ANSYS is a strong simulation tool for FEA, which could be a good solution."

#44

Unreal Engine

4.0

(2)

"UE has a connection to ROS."

"Unreal for simulation looks godlike but isn't great for productivity."

#45

GROMACS

3.5

(2)

"Hoomd blue/gromacs. I assume you’re doing simulations on magnetite particle stabilized emulsions."

"I do interaction energies of smallb organic molecules using GROMACS but I don't think GROMACS will be able to simulate what you are wanting to simulate, as it struggles with bead models of polymers"

#46

MuJoCo

2.5

(2)

"Pybullet and mujoco are used to be simulators for reinforcement learning."

"Just avoid Mujoco given that you have to pay a licence for it."

#47

Complete Anatomy

5.0

(1)

"Complete anatomy ‘22 is a great app I use on my iPad. Has everything you could ever wish for!"

#48

Cimco

5.0

(1)

"Cimco is the gold standard for gcode backplotting."

#49

University of Colorado Boulder

5.0

(1)

"It has a bunch of different types of simulations available, for more than just physics."

#50

COMSOL

5.0

(1)

"COMSOL multiphysics is pretty great"

#51

EZNEC

5.0

(1)

"EZNEC demo effectively simulates antennas up to 1/2 wavelength long."

#52

Ventana Systems

5.0

(1)

"I used it in high school and a bit in undergrad. Certainly still around, and very effective."

#53

Epic Games

5.0

(1)

"Unreal Engine is excellent for working with image spaces."

#54

ROS

5.0

(1)

"ROS is designed as an integration tool with multiple packages to simulate and test connected modules."

#55

RoboDK

4.0

(1)

"RoboDK might have a free version, but I am not sure about the others."

#56

Vericut

4.0

(1)

"Vericut"

#57

NetSim

4.0

(1)

"You could look at NetSim - [www.tetcos.com](http://www.tetcos.com)"

#58

Wokwi

4.0

(1)

"What about Wokwi? [https://wokwi.com/stm32](https://wokwi.com/stm32)"

#59

Systems Toolkit (STK)

4.0

(1)

"Have you tried Systems Tookit (STK) with Matlab? You can take free online training and get various levels of "certification" through the AGI website."

#60

Kicad

4.0

(1)

"Kicad for schematic and PCB design, ltspice for simulation? Quite a learning curve!"

#61

TracePro

4.0

(1)

"I’ve been using TracePro for 20+ years."

#62

Renesas CC IDE

4.0

(1)

"As they provide code simulation on their IDE platform."

#63

Keil uVision

4.0

(1)

"Keil uVision has a simulator built in. I find it jolly useful."

#64

Arena Simulation

4.0

(1)

"I have used Arena Simulation. You can build various models in it."

#65

COSMO-RS

4.0

(1)

"If you just want to know partition coefficients, COSMO-RS does really well."

#66

3DOptix

4.0

(1)

"3DOptix is a solid choice for simulating lamps and developing optics due to its intuitive interface."

#67

Relux

4.0

(1)

"I use Relux. There you can import IES and LDT files for your simulations."

#68

SimSmith

4.0

(1)

"SimSmith for impedance matching, transmission line stuff, etc."

#69

Mathematica

4.0

(1)

"Mathematica I'd say."

#70

Maple

4.0

(1)

"I use Maple but it’s not free."

#71

Rockwell

4.0

(1)

"Rockwell Arena"

#72

ProteusDS

4.0

(1)

"ProteusDS might be exactly what you're looking for"

#73

Microcap

4.0

(1)

"I‘ve just started to learn microcap and must say I would recommend it. Quite intuitiv but also ectensive and free"

#74

Proteus

4.0

(1)

"Proteus and Ltspice"

#75

Emulate3D

3.0

(1)

"Emulate3D should be able to do that. I don’t think it’s very cheap though."

#76

METSIM

3.0

(1)

"You could look at METSIM, although I've never used it myself."

#77

Speos

3.0

(1)

"Speos is excellent for detailed lighting simulations but can have a steeper learning curve."

#78

Microsoft Excel

3.0

(1)

"I use and it is more than I need."

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