Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OpenFOAM VS Altair

Compare OpenFOAM VS Altair and see what are their differences

OpenFOAM logo OpenFOAM

OpenFOAMยฎ - Official home of The Open Source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Toolbox.

Altair logo Altair

Visually Analyze Any Data at the Speed of Business
  • OpenFOAM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-02
  • Altair Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-24

OpenFOAM features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenFOAM is free to use and its source code is openly available under the GPL license, allowing for extensive customization and transparency in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.
  • Extensibility
    Users can extend and modify the functionality of OpenFOAM to suit specific needs or integrate new algorithms, making it highly adaptable to various projects and research requirements.
  • Community and Support
    A robust community of users and developers contributes to forums, documentation, and collaboration, providing substantial peer support and shared knowledge.
  • Versatility
    OpenFOAM supports a wide range of physical models and simulation types, from simple incompressible flow to complex multiphase flows and chemical reactions, making it suitable for diverse applications.
  • Parallel Computing
    Optimized for parallel processing, OpenFOAM can run efficiently on high-performance computing systems, thereby handling large-scale simulations effectively.

Possible disadvantages of OpenFOAM

  • Steep Learning Curve
    OpenFOAM requires a significant investment of time to learn and master, as it involves understanding complex physics, programming concepts, and software-specific syntaxes.
  • Limited GUI
    Unlike some commercial CFD software, OpenFOAM lacks a sophisticated graphical user interface (GUI), necessitating users to rely on command-line input and scripting for setup and execution of simulations.
  • Documentation Quality
    Although community-driven, the documentation can sometimes be incomplete or outdated, making it challenging for new users to find reliable and up-to-date instructions and tutorials.
  • Performance Variation
    Performance and stability can vary depending on the specific simulation setup and hardware used, which may require users to conduct extensive testing and optimization.
  • Dependency Management
    Installing and maintaining OpenFOAM and its dependencies can be complex, often requiring specific versions of libraries and compilers to ensure compatibility and optimal performance.

Altair features and specs

  • Comprehensive CAE Solution
    Altair provides an extensive suite of computer-aided engineering tools that cover a wide range of industries, from automotive to aerospace. This makes it a one-stop solution for various simulation needs.
  • Data Analytics and AI Integration
    The platform integrates data analytics and artificial intelligence, enabling companies to leverage data for more informed decision-making and improved operational efficiency.
  • High-Performance Computing
    Altair offers high-performance computing (HPC) solutions that enable faster processing of complex simulations, thereby reducing time-to-market for new products.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The software features a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of setting up and conducting simulations, making it accessible even for users who are not experts in the field.
  • Strong Support and Community
    Altair provides robust customer support and has a strong community of users and developers who share their expertise and solutions, facilitating problem-solving and innovation.

Possible disadvantages of Altair

  • Cost
    Altair's solutions can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises that may not have the budget to invest in high-end simulation software.
  • Complexity
    Despite its user-friendly interface, the software's advanced features and capabilities can still be overwhelming for new users who may require extensive training.
  • Hardware Requirements
    To fully utilize Altairโ€™s high-performance computing capabilities, significant investment in hardware may be necessary, which can be a barrier for smaller companies.
  • Licensing Model
    Altair's licensing model can be complex and might not be flexible enough for some businesses. Users may find the need to purchase multiple licenses for different modules.
  • Integration Challenges
    Integrating Altair with other existing systems can sometimes be challenging, requiring additional configuration and setup time.

Analysis of OpenFOAM

Overall verdict

  • OpenFOAM is a powerful and versatile tool for CFD that is well-regarded in both academia and industry. Its open-source nature and comprehensive feature set make it a valuable resource for those needing customizability and advanced simulation capabilities.

Why this product is good

  • OpenFOAM is a popular open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool that provides a wide range of features for simulating complex fluid flows.
  • It offers a flexible and extensible platform, allowing users to customize solvers and utilities to fit specific simulation needs.
  • The extensive library of pre-built solvers and utilities is suitable for various applications, from automotive to aerospace engineering.
  • Being open-source, it encourages collaboration and sharing of improvements, making it highly adaptable and continuously evolving.
  • Comprehensive documentation and a large user community contribute to reliable support and knowledge exchange.

Recommended for

  • Engineers and researchers in academia who require a robust CFD tool with customization capabilities.
  • Industry professionals involved in research and development who need flexible and cost-effective CFD solutions.
  • Advanced users with programming skills who want to leverage and extend its capabilities for specific project needs.

OpenFOAM videos

What is OpenFoam? | Skill-Lync

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to run your first simulation in OpenFOAMยฎ - Part 1 - tutorial
  • Tutorial - CFD tutorial for beginners | What is OpenFOAM? | SKILL-LYNC

Altair videos

HyperMesh Review of the results with HyperStudy Bike frame

More videos:

  • Review - Erweiterte Modellierungsmรถglichkeiten fรผr Composites in HyperMesh und HyperView
  • Tutorial - Hypermesh Tutorial for Beginners : Basics of Hypermesh GUI

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenFOAM and Altair)
Numerical Computation
100 100%
0% 0
Data Dashboard
0 0%
100% 100
Technical Computing
81 81%
19% 19
Data Transformation
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare OpenFOAM and Altair

OpenFOAM Reviews

We have no reviews of OpenFOAM yet.
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Altair Reviews

5 Best Python Libraries For Data Visualization in 2023
Itโ€™s a declarative statistical library built on top of the popular Vega-Lite visualization grammar. Altair is friendly, consistent, and comes with a simple API. Using this data visualization library, you can create beautiful and effective visualizations with a minimal amount of code. If you donโ€™t know, a declarative library needed to be mentioned only one link between the...
The 16 Best Data Science and Machine Learning Platforms for 2021
Description: Altair (formerly Datawatch) offers a suite of solutions through its Knowledge Works portfolio and is headlined by an advanced data mining and predictive analytics workbench called Knowledge Studio. The product features patented Decision Trees, Strategy Trees, and a workflow and wizard-driven graphical user interface. It also includes capabilities for data...
Top 8 Python Libraries for Data Visualization
Altair is a statistical data visualization library in Python. It is based on Vega and Vega-Lite which are a sort of declarative language for creating, saving, and sharing data visualization designs that are also interactive. Altair can be used to create beautiful data visualizations of plots such as bar charts, pie charts, histograms, scatterplots, error charts, power...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenFOAM seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OpenFOAM mentions (19)

  • OpenFOAM on Debian 12
    In openfoam.org, there is not compiled binaries for Debian (any version). So one should install it using docker (I prefer to do not use it) or by compiling the code from the source. I consider compiling from source, but I do prefer binaries. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Please help me get running OpenFOAM
    Hello I am a mechanical engineering student in my last year. So I made the wisest decision to learn OpenFOAM. But there is the catch. I have no idea how to use Linux or how to emulate Linux on Windows 10. I found a lot of videos on Youtube how to download an start OpenFOAM but every one of them was using different methods each time so I got confused. Can anyone please help or direct me? Thank you for your answers... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Step by Step (Written not Video) Tutorial for FEM with Air
    As far as air flow simulation, I got slightly farther with Open Foam than I did in FreeCAD directly. Still, I got in way over my skill level and stopped before getting anything useful. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Open source FEA tools instead of ANSYS Workbench and APDL
    There are two versions of openfoam, one closed source (which is the one I linked to in my original comment, my apologies about that) and the open source version. But what you're describing makes it sound like fenics might be your best option. Source: over 2 years ago
  • command not found and looping
    I suggest you install per the instructions at openfoam.com or openfoam.org instead of using apt. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Altair mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Altair yet. Tracking of Altair recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenFOAM and Altair, you can also consider the following products

ANSYS Fluent - ANSYS engineering simulation and 3D design software delivers product modeling solutions with unmatched scalability and a comprehensive multiphysics foundation.

MATLAB - A high-level language and interactive environment for numerical computation, visualization, and programming

Tableau Prep - Tableau Prep is comprised of two products: Prep Builder and Prep Conductor.

Wolfram Mathematica - Mathematica has characterized the cutting edge in specialized processingโ€”and gave the chief calculation environment to a large number of pioneers, instructors, understudies, and others around the globe.

Simscale CFD - SimScale CFD is a cloud-based leading CAE platform that offers access to CFD, FEA, and thermodynamics simulation capabilities 100% via a standard web browser.

COMSOL Multiphysics - COMSOL is the developer of COMSOL Multiphysics software, an interactive environment for modeling and simulating scientific and engineering problems.