CST Studio Suite VS Zemax OpticStudio
As of 30 October 2026, Zemax OpticStudio is named by 217 companies and CST Studio Suite by 213; CST Studio Suite skews to companies under 200 people (46% vs 42%), Zemax OpticStudio to companies over 1,000 (36% vs 37%).
As of 30 October 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: CST Studio Suite's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Zemax OpticStudio rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- CST Studio Suite: 2–200 employees
- 46%
- Zemax OpticStudio: 2–200 employees
- 42%
- CST Studio Suite: 1,000+ employees
- 37%
- Zemax OpticStudio: 1,000+ employees
- 36%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 3.8 · 2.6
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | CST Studio Suite | share | Zemax OpticStudio | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 4 | 2% | 3 | 1% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 22 | 10% | 25 | 12% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 31 | 15% | 34 | 16% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 44 | 21% | 33 | 15% | CST Studio Suite |
| 201-500 employees | 22 | 10% | 32 | 15% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| 501-1000 employees | 12 | 6% | 12 | 6% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 26 | 12% | 36 | 17% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| 5001-10000 employees | 12 | 6% | 12 | 6% | even |
| 10,001+ employees | 40 | 19% | 30 | 14% | CST Studio Suite |
| Segment | CST Studio Suite | share | Zemax OpticStudio | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & industry | 120 | 56% | 146 | 67% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| Technology & software | 24 | 11% | 15 | 7% | CST Studio Suite |
| Business & finance services | 23 | 11% | 19 | 9% | CST Studio Suite |
| Public, community & associations | 9 | 4% | 17 | 8% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| Consumer services & leisure | 8 | 4% | 4 | 2% | even |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 8 | 4% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Automotive | 7 | 3% | 2 | 1% | CST Studio Suite |
| Media & content | 7 | 3% | 4 | 2% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 3 | 1% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Health care | 2 | 1% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Property & construction | 2 | 1% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Agriculture & forestry | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | CST Studio Suite | share | Zemax OpticStudio | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 131 | 62% | 134 | 62% | even |
| Germany | 19 | 9% | 25 | 12% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| United Kingdom | 11 | 5% | 12 | 6% | even |
| Canada | 7 | 3% | 5 | 2% | even |
| France | 7 | 3% | 8 | 4% | even |
| India | 5 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Czechia | 3 | 1% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1% | 8 | 4% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| Singapore | 3 | 1% | 3 | 1% | even |
| Austria | 2 | 1% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Denmark | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Australia | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Israel | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | CST Studio Suite | share | Zemax OpticStudio | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering (non-software) | 876 | 85% | 569 | 81% | CST Studio Suite |
| Research and science | 29 | 3% | 44 | 6% | Zemax OpticStudio |
| IT operations & business systems | 8 | 1% | 3 | 0% | even |
| Sales | 8 | 1% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Data & AI | 7 | 1% | 7 | 1% | even |
| Software engineering | 6 | 1% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Quality, safety & environment | 5 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Healthcare support and caregiving | 3 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Product, program & project management | 2 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Arts media and entertainment | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Customer service & success | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Unclassified | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Healthcare clinical | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using CST Studio Suite →
Companies using Zemax OpticStudio →
cae simulation ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Zemax OpticStudio is named by 217 companies in job postings and CST Studio Suite by 213; 8 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/cst-studio-suite-vs-zemax)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
CST Studio Suite vs Zemax OpticStudio: questions
Which is more used, CST Studio Suite or Zemax OpticStudio?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Zemax OpticStudio (217) over CST Studio Suite (213). By website-and-DNS footprint, Zemax OpticStudio (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses CST Studio Suite?
46% of CST Studio Suite companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 42% for Zemax OpticStudio. 37% of CST Studio Suite companies have over 1,000 employees, against 36% for Zemax OpticStudio.
Do companies run both?
8 companies name both in their postings, usually CST Studio Suite in marketing and Zemax OpticStudio in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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