DIgSILENT PowerFactory vs PowerWorld Simulator
DIgSILENT PowerFactory
digsilent.dePowerWorld Simulator
powerworld.comSide by side
| Figure | DIgSILENT PowerFactory | PowerWorld Simulator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Spec score · Electrical Design Software | 8.0 (#11) | 7.9 (#16) |
| Founded | 1985 | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Gomaringen, Germany | Champaign, Illinois, United States |
| Intended users | The maker describes the editions for individual end users, organisations managing multiple licences, and multi-user teams sharing central project data. | PowerWorld says its customers include electric utilities, independent system operators, government agencies, generation and transmission developers, power marketers and traders, consultants, and academia. |
| Purpose | PowerFactory analyses electrical generation, transmission, distribution and industrial power systems. | Simulator interactively simulates high-voltage power system operation over periods from several minutes to several days. |
| Support | Commercial perpetual licences include maintenance and support for the first 12 months, and subscriptions include them for the subscription term; software support requests go through the Customer Portal. | The company lists technical support by email and says license maintenance includes customer support, upgrades, and software patches. |
Plans
DIgSILENT PowerFactory
- Demo licenceFree
- Commercial licence — perpetualPrice not published
- Commercial licence — subscriptionPriced on request
- Commercial licence — time-limitedPriced on request
PowerWorld Simulator
- Simulator evaluation versionFree
- Simulator base package (first commercial license)$11,000, paid once
In their own words
DIgSILENT PowerFactory
DIgSILENT PowerFactory is software for analyzing electrical generation, transmission, distribution and industrial power systems. Its study areas include renewable integration, distributed generation, and medium- and low-voltage networks. Available analyses cover load flow, short circuits, contingencies, protection, stability and electromagnetic transients. Users can automate work with Python, DIgSILENT Programming Language, a C++ API or a parallel task automation tool. The base package imports and converts network data; its DGS interface exchanges data in ASCII, XML, CSV and ODBC formats for GIS and SCADA connections. Additional interfaces include OPC DA/UA, IEEE C37.118 simulation and FMI 2.0 co-simulation, though some require separate licences. Editions range from a local SQLite setup to licence-server management and shared project data using Oracle, SQL Server or PostgreSQL. The 28-day demo is free for one user, with predefined functions, and excludes DGS, exports and API. Commercial pricing is available on request; platforms listed are Windows, API and self-hosted.
PowerWorld Simulator
PowerWorld Simulator is desktop software for interactively simulating high-voltage power-system operation over periods from minutes to days. Its full package solves power-flow systems of up to 250,000 buses. The base package provides contingency analysis with automatic batch processing, full power-flow or fast linearized analysis, and result views organized by contingency or impacted facility. Visualization includes animated diagrams, automatic diagram creation and modification, contoured displays, and a model explorer. Optional add-ons cover ATC, OPF, SCOPF, reserves optimization, SimAuto, transient stability, GIC, and integrated topology processing. SimAuto allows an external program to extend Simulator. The product lists industry-standard file-format compatibility and GIS support. It runs on 64-bit Microsoft Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 and newer; no other operating systems are supported. A free evaluation version is limited to 13 buses. The first commercial base-package license costs $11,000 as a one-time purchase and includes one year of upgrades and support.