DIgSILENT PowerFactory vs Proteus PCB Design
DIgSILENT PowerFactory
digsilent.deProteus PCB Design
labcenter.comSide by side
| Figure | DIgSILENT PowerFactory | Proteus PCB Design |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Electrical Design Software | 8.0 (#11) | 7.3 (#27) |
| Founded | 1985 | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Gomaringen, Germany | Skipton, North Yorkshire, England |
| Intended users | The maker describes the editions for individual end users, organisations managing multiple licences, and multi-user teams sharing central project data. | Labcenter describes Proteus as used in industry for professional PCB design and rapid prototyping, and in education for teaching electronics, embedded design and PCB layout. |
| Purpose | PowerFactory analyses electrical generation, transmission, distribution and industrial power systems. | Proteus combines schematic capture and PCB layout for designing, testing and laying out printed circuit boards. |
| Security | DIgSILENT states that it is certified to ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015. | Labcenter says its website uses SSL/TLS and that card details are handled by an external PCI DSS compliant payment provider and are not stored or seen by Labcenter. |
| 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. | Direct technical support is free for professional users, with email support preferred for project issues and a typical email response time of one to two working days. |
Plans
DIgSILENT PowerFactory
- Demo licenceFree
- Commercial licence — perpetualPrice not published
- Commercial licence — subscriptionPriced on request
- Commercial licence — time-limitedPriced on request
Proteus PCB Design
- Proteus Design Suite (commercial packages)Priced on request
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.
Proteus PCB Design
Proteus PCB Design has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.