OpenFOAM
Simulation (FEA & CFD)Free, open-source computational fluid dynamics toolbox
- Stars
- 2.3k
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Status
- Open source
Alternative to ANSYS
Free alternatives to ANSYS
Leading commercial simulation suite for structural, fluid and electromagnetic analysis. Here are 5 free options, most popular first.
C
CalculiX
Simulation (FEA & CFD)Free three-dimensional structural finite-element program
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Status
- Open source
C
code_aster
Simulation (FEA & CFD)Structural and thermomechanical FEA solver developed by EDF
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Status
- Open source
Gmsh
Simulation (FEA & CFD)3D finite-element mesh generator with a built-in CAD engine
- Licence
- GPL-2.0+
- Status
- Open source
Alternative to ANSYS
SALOME
Simulation (FEA & CFD)Open-source platform for simulation pre- and post-processing
- Licence
- LGPL-2.1
- Status
- Open source
Alternative to ANSYS
Check file compatibility before switching. Free tools import STEP, DXF and other neutral formats well, but native SolidWorks, Altium or Revit files, drawing standards and PDM workflows may not carry over cleanly.