PSIM
Simulation & CAE software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
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What is PSIM
PSIM is a simulation and design tool for power electronics and motor drive systems. It is used by power electronics engineers and educators to model circuits, control loops, and electromechanical systems and to evaluate switching behavior and system performance before building hardware. The product focuses on fast time-domain simulation workflows for power conversion and motor control use cases, with optional modules for control design and code generation depending on the edition.
Purpose-built power electronics modeling
PSIM provides libraries and workflows oriented to inverters, converters, motor drives, and related control blocks. This specialization reduces setup time compared with more general numerical computing environments when the primary task is power electronics simulation. It also supports common analysis tasks such as waveform inspection and switching-loss-related evaluations within the same workflow.
Fast switching simulation workflow
PSIM is widely used for time-domain simulation of switching power converters where iteration speed matters. Its solver and modeling approach are designed to handle PWM switching and control-loop interaction efficiently for many practical designs. This can make it a good fit for rapid what-if studies and parameter sweeps during early design and troubleshooting.
Ecosystem for control and drives
PSIM offers add-on capabilities (by edition/module) that support control design, motor modeling, and integration with embedded control workflows. This helps teams move from plant modeling to controller verification without switching tools for every step. It is commonly adopted in academic labs and industrial power electronics groups, which supports availability of example models and training materials.
Narrower scope than multiphysics CAE
PSIM primarily targets power electronics and motor drive simulation rather than broad multiphysics analysis. Teams needing structural, CFD, or general-purpose 3D CAD-centric simulation typically require additional tools. For cross-domain digital prototyping beyond electrical and controls, PSIM may not be sufficient as a standalone platform.
Licensing is module dependent
Capabilities vary by license tier and optional modules, which can complicate cost estimation and standardization across teams. Some advanced workflows (for example, certain control or code-generation features) may require additional purchases. This can be a constraint for organizations trying to keep a single, uniform toolchain across projects.
Less general numerical computing
Compared with general numerical computing platforms, PSIM is less oriented to arbitrary matrix-based computation, custom algorithm development, and broad third-party package ecosystems. Users who need extensive data science, optimization, or custom numerical methods may need to export results to other environments. This adds integration work for teams that rely heavily on bespoke analytics pipelines.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Altair Units (AU) / feature-draw (usage-based) How it’s licensed: PSIM is offered under Altair’s Altair Units licensing. Individual PSIM features/products draw a specified number of Altair Units when used (customers purchase a pool of Altair Units and the applications draw from that pool). Pricing per Altair Unit is not published on the vendor site and purchases / quotes are provided via Altair Marketplace or Sales.
Example PSIM feature unit draws (from Altair official docs / release notes):
- PSIM Power Supply (PSIMPowerSupply) – 10 AUs.
- PSIM Motor Drive (PSIMMotorDrive) – 20 AUs.
- PSIM Code Generation (PSIMCodeGen) – 15 AUs.
- PSIM Interface (PSIMInterface) – 15 AUs.
- PSIM Solver (PSIMSolver) – 15 AUs (noted in 2025 licensing notes; solver uses 15 AUs and may apply decay factors for multi-job runs).
Free / trial availability (see notes below): See fields below.
Discounts / purchasing: Altair Units are purchased as a pool via Altair Marketplace or by contacting Altair Sales. The vendor site does not publish per-AU pricing or public subscription tiers; customers are instructed to request a quote or use Altair Marketplace (pricing visibility requires signing in / country mapping).
Seller details
Powersim, Inc.
Rockville, Maryland, USA
Private
https://powersimtech.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/powersim-inc/
