Best Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) Software

Compare the Top Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) Software as of January 2026

What is Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) Software?

Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) software is used by engineers to analyze and simulate the performance, behavior, and characteristics of designs in a virtual environment. CAE software enables engineers to perform various types of analysis, including structural, thermal, fluid dynamics, and electromagnetics, helping to ensure that products are optimized for functionality, safety, and cost-effectiveness before physical prototypes are created. It includes tools for finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multibody dynamics (MBD), and optimization studies. CAE software is widely used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, energy, and manufacturing to improve product designs, reduce material usage, and shorten development cycles. Compare and read user reviews of the best Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) software currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.

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    Azore CFD

    Azore CFD

    Azore CFD

    AzoreCFD has been a trusted, cutting-edge software tool since 2007. Azore focuses on analysis, design, engineering, and on obtaining precise, and quick results. Customers use Azore for applications that include: industrial flows, aerodynamics, thermal mixing, conjugate heat transfer, gas species mixing, heating and cooling systems, external flows, and more. Azore can be used to simulate essentially any steady-state or transient fluid flow model, including problems that involve conjugate heat transfer and special transport. With flexible pre/post processing, Azore allows for arbitrary polyhedral mesh topology with several import formats supported. Built-in post-processing capabilities includes: scalar fields, pathlines, animations, residual reports, vector fields, ISO-surfaces, force & movement reports, and export for external post-processing.
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  • 2
    Orbital Stack

    Orbital Stack

    Orbital Stack

    Orbital Stack is an AI and CFD web-based software that provides earlier qualitative guidance, comparing a large number of design options while highlighting any potential wind and thermal comfort red flags. It allows for the realization of a variety of climate-conscious, high-performance developments not previously feasible due to cost and/or time constraints associated with traditional studies. Orbital Stack is the first digital climate-analysis tool built by global leaders in wind and microclimate engineering using real wind tunnel data. It is truly a game-changer for the architecture and building design sector, offering our clients direct access to wind comfort and safety analysis, thermal comfort and shadowing analysis, and cladding pressure simulations. This means architects can run their own wind simulations and quickly understand the climate impacts of their proposed building designs from the start, making decisions that result in higher performing and more resilient projects.
    Starting Price: $0
  • 3
    SimScale

    SimScale

    SimScale

    SimScale is a cloud-based web application that plays a key part in simulation software for many kinds of industries. The platform allows the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and Thermal Simulation. It also offers 3D simulation, continuous modeling, and motion & dynamic modeling.
  • 4
    COMSOL Multiphysics
    Simulate real-world designs, devices, and processes with multiphysics software from COMSOL. General-purpose simulation software based on advanced numerical methods. Fully coupled multiphysics and single-physics modeling capabilities. Complete modeling workflow, from geometry to postprocessing. User-friendly tools for building and deploying simulation apps. The COMSOL Multiphysics® software brings a user interface and experience that is always the same, regardless of engineering application and physics phenomena. Add-on modules provide specialized functionality for electromagnetics, structural mechanics, acoustics, fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical engineering. Choose from a list of LiveLink™ products to interface directly with CAD and other third-party software. Deploy simulation applications with COMSOL Compiler™ and COMSOL Server™. Create physics-based models and simulation applications with this software platform.
  • 5
    Ingrid Cloud

    Ingrid Cloud

    Ingrid Cloud

    Ingrid Cloud is an online tool that automates the entire process of wind simulations. Our computational model has virtually zero human intervention, making it easy-to-use and accurate. We make CFD simple and affordable. The unique technology is based on research conducted at KTH Royal Institute of Technology for the past 15 years.
    Starting Price: $245 one-time fee
  • 6
    Ansys Sherlock
    Ansys Sherlock is the only reliability physics-based electronics design tool that provides fast and accurate life predictions for electronic hardware at the component, board and system levels in early stage design. Ansys Sherlock automated design analysis provides fast and accurate life predictions for electronic hardware at the component, board and system levels in early design stages. Sherlock bypasses the ‘test-fail-fix-repeat’ cycle by empowering designers to accurately model silicon–metal layers, semiconductor packaging, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and assemblies to predict failure risks due to thermal, mechanical and manufacturing stressors--all before prototype. With embedded libraries containing over 500,000 parts, Sherlock rapidly converts electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) files into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA) models. Each model contains accurate geometries, material properties and translates stress information.
  • 7
    HyperWorks

    HyperWorks

    Altair Engineering

    HyperWorks provides easy-to-learn, effective workflows that leverage domain knowledge and increase team productivity, enabling the efficient development of today’s increasingly complex and connected products. The new HyperWorks experience was created to free engineers to move from physics to physics, domain to domain, and even create reports without ever leaving their model. Create, explore and optimize designs within HyperWorks to produce robust designs that accurately model structures, mechanisms, fluids, electromagnetics, electrical, embedded software, systems design, and manufacturing processes. The solution-specific workflows enhance a growing number of engineering processes including fatigue analysis, concept design optimization, CFD modeling, and design exploration. Each provides a meticulously designed and intuitive user interface, differentiated for each user profile while remaining consistent and easy to learn.
  • 8
    Ansys Fluent
    Ansys Fluent is the industry-leading fluid simulation software known for its advanced physics modeling capabilities and industry leading accuracy. Ansys Fluent gives you more time to innovate and optimize product performance. Trust your simulation results with a software that has been extensively validated across a wide range of applications. With Ansys Fluent, you can create advanced physics models and analyze a variety of fluids phenomena—all in a customizable and intuitive space. Accelerate your design cycle with this powerful fluid simulation software. Ansys Fluent contains the best-in class physics models and can accurately and efficiently solve large , complex models. Ansys Fluent unlocks new potentials for CFD analysis. A fluid simulation software with fast pre-processing and faster solve times to help you be the fastest to break into the market. Fluent’s industry leading features enable limitless innovation, while never making a compromise on accuracy.
  • 9
    Dive

    Dive

    Dive

    Dive CAE is a cloud-native computational fluid dynamics software platform that enables engineers to simulate complex fluid behaviors, such as free-surface flow, multiphase interactions, heat transfer, and moving machinery, using a mesh-free Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method. It runs entirely in the browser and on high-performance computing infrastructure, so users don’t need local hardware or installation. The mesh-free approach allows for modeling of complex geometry, surface tension, non-Newtonian fluids, and transient flows without the time-consuming meshing and tuning required by conventional CFD. Onboarding is fast (typically under one day), and the software supports parallel design-of-experiment workflows that deliver multiple iterations in hours rather than days. Dive CAE emphasizes collaboration, license simplicity (one licence for all users), transparent cost control, data usage governance, and scalability via cloud infrastructure.
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    FLOW-3D

    FLOW-3D

    Flow Science

    Optimize product designs and reduce time to market with FLOW-3D, a highly-accurate CFD software that specializes in solving transient, free-surface problems. FLOW-3D‘s complete multiphysics suite includes our state-of-the-art postprocessor, FlowSight. FLOW-3D provides a complete and versatile CFD simulation platform for engineers investigating the dynamic behavior of liquids and gas in a wide range of industrial applications and physical processes. FLOW-3D focuses on free surface and multi-phase applications, serving a broad range of industries including microfluidics, bio-medical devices, water civil infrastructure, aerospace, consumer products, additive manufacturing, inkjet printing, laser welding, automotive, offshore, energy and automotive. A uniquely powerful, multiphysics tool, FLOW-3D provides the functionality, ease-of-use and power that helps engineers advance their modeling objectives.
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