Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OpenFOAM VS FEATFLOW

Compare OpenFOAM VS FEATFLOW and see what are their differences

OpenFOAM logo OpenFOAM

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

FEATFLOW logo FEATFLOW

The program package FEATFLOW is both a user oriented as well as a general purpose subroutine system...
  • OpenFOAM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-02
  • FEATFLOW Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-04

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    Although community-driven, the documentation can sometimes be incomplete or outdated, making it challenging for new users to find reliable and up-to-date instructions and tutorials.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.

FEATFLOW features and specs

  • Efficiency
    FEATFLOW is renowned for its high computational efficiency, making it suitable for solving complex fluid dynamics problems with reduced computational resources.
  • Robustness
    The software is designed to handle challenging simulations in fluid dynamics and exhibits robustness in handling various fluid flow scenarios.
  • Flexibility
    FEATFLOW offers a highly flexible framework that can be adapted for a range of applications. It supports customization and extension to meet specific research needs.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, FEATFLOW is accessible to researchers and developers for both use and modification, facilitating collaborative development and improvements.
  • Adaptativity
    The software includes features for adaptive mesh refinement, which allows for dynamic adjustments to the computational grid, enhancing accuracy in critical areas.

Possible disadvantages of FEATFLOW

  • Complexity
    The software's advanced features and flexibility may come with a steep learning curve, requiring users to have substantial knowledge in computational fluid dynamics.
  • User Interface
    FEATFLOW lacks a modern graphical user interface, which may be a barrier for users preferring intuitive, out-of-the-box software experiences.
  • Documentation
    The documentation might not be as comprehensive as some commercial alternatives, possibly leading to challenges in effectively utilizing the software's full capabilities.
  • Limited Support
    Being an academic open-source project, FEATFLOW may have limited official support, which can be an issue for users needing immediate assistance or troubleshooting.
  • Niche Application
    FEATFLOW is particularly focused on fluid dynamics, which makes it less applicable for those needing a more generalized computational toolkit.

OpenFOAM videos

What is OpenFoam? | Skill-Lync

More videos:

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

FEATFLOW videos

No FEATFLOW videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenFOAM and FEATFLOW)
Technical Computing
75 75%
25% 25
Numerical Computation
72 72%
28% 28
Simulation Software
60 60%
40% 40
CFD
72 72%
28% 28

User comments

Share your experience with using OpenFOAM and FEATFLOW. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

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: almost 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: about 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

FEATFLOW mentions (0)

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

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenFOAM and FEATFLOW, 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

Autodesk Fluid Flow - Autodesk Fluid Flow is an industry-leading fluid dynamics software that helps to enhance product performance and reliability.

Wolfram Mathematica - Mathematica has characterized the cutting edge in specialized processing—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.