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PrePoMax vs SimScale: catalog facts
PrePoMax	SimScale
Best for: Engineers and students running structural FEM simulations with CalculiX	Best for: Engineering teams running CFD and FEA without local hardware
Free Free and open source.	Paid Commercial subscription; plans are listed on the pricing page.
Windows	Web
Graphical front end for the CalculiX solver Imports CAD exchange formats and STL files All 4 strengths for PrePoMax Graphical front end for the CalculiX solver Imports CAD exchange formats and STL files Netgen and Gmsh meshing, including hexahedral elements Animated 3D result fields and 2D history plots	Runs entirely in the browser on cloud compute Covers CFD, FEA, thermal and electromagnetics All 3 strengths for SimScale Runs entirely in the browser on cloud compute Covers CFD, FEA, thermal and electromagnetics Documentation, forum and public example projects
Limited to the CalculiX solver Requires knowledge of finite element analysis	Requires an internet connection and account Aimed at professional engineering budgets
Downloadable app	Web application
Open source	Not open source
License not stated	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for PrePoMax prepomax.fs.um.si Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for SimScale simscale.com Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.