OpenFOAM VS SOLIDWORKS Simulation
As of 30 October 2026, SOLIDWORKS Simulation is named by 116 companies and OpenFOAM by 120; OpenFOAM skews to companies under 200 people (54% vs 41%), SOLIDWORKS Simulation to companies over 1,000 (34% vs 29%).
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: OpenFOAM's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, SOLIDWORKS Simulation rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- OpenFOAM: 2–200 employees
- 54%
- SOLIDWORKS Simulation: 2–200 employees
- 41%
- OpenFOAM: 1,000+ employees
- 29%
- SOLIDWORKS Simulation: 1,000+ employees
- 34%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.6 · 2.0
- 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 | OpenFOAM | share | SOLIDWORKS Simulation | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 4 | 3% | 2 | 2% | even |
| 2-10 employees | 19 | 16% | 6 | 5% | OpenFOAM |
| 11-50 employees | 18 | 15% | 13 | 11% | OpenFOAM |
| 51-200 employees | 28 | 23% | 29 | 25% | even |
| 201-500 employees | 9 | 8% | 16 | 14% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| 501-1000 employees | 7 | 6% | 11 | 9% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| 1001-5000 employees | 8 | 7% | 22 | 19% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| 5001-10000 employees | 9 | 8% | 6 | 5% | OpenFOAM |
| 10,001+ employees | 18 | 15% | 11 | 9% | OpenFOAM |
| Segment | OpenFOAM | share | SOLIDWORKS Simulation | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing & industry | 40 | 33% | 69 | 59% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| Technology & software | 21 | 18% | 4 | 3% | OpenFOAM |
| Business & finance services | 18 | 15% | 13 | 11% | OpenFOAM |
| Public, community & associations | 9 | 8% | 3 | 3% | OpenFOAM |
| Consumer services & leisure | 9 | 8% | 1 | 1% | OpenFOAM |
| Automotive | 8 | 7% | 8 | 7% | even |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 8 | 7% | 7 | 6% | even |
| Media & content | 4 | 3% | 1 | 1% | OpenFOAM |
| Commerce & trade | 1 | 1% | 5 | 4% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| Health care | 1 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 1 | 1% | 2 | 2% | even |
| Property & construction | – | – | 2 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Agriculture & forestry | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | OpenFOAM | share | SOLIDWORKS Simulation | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 64 | 53% | 93 | 80% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| Germany | 16 | 13% | 3 | 3% | OpenFOAM |
| France | 8 | 7% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| United Kingdom | 6 | 5% | 7 | 6% | even |
| India | 6 | 5% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Singapore | 4 | 3% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 3% | 3 | 3% | even |
| Austria | 2 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Sweden | 2 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Australia | 1 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Italy | – | – | 2 | 2% | outside top 12 |
| Canada | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Finland | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Japan | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Lithuania | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | OpenFOAM | share | SOLIDWORKS Simulation | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering (non-software) | 206 | 50% | 281 | 94% | SOLIDWORKS Simulation |
| Data & AI | 52 | 13% | 3 | 1% | OpenFOAM |
| Research and science | 32 | 8% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Education & training | 16 | 4% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Software engineering | 7 | 2% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Customer service & success | 5 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| IT operations & business systems | 3 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Product, program & project management | 3 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Sales | 3 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Unclassified | 3 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Marketing & communications | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using OpenFOAM →
Companies using SOLIDWORKS Simulation →
cae simulation ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation is named by 116 companies in job postings and OpenFOAM by 120; 0 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/openfoam-vs-solidworks-simulation)
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.
OpenFOAM vs SOLIDWORKS Simulation: questions
Which is more used, OpenFOAM or SOLIDWORKS Simulation?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, OpenFOAM (120) over SOLIDWORKS Simulation (116). By website-and-DNS footprint, SOLIDWORKS Simulation (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses OpenFOAM?
54% of OpenFOAM companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 41% for SOLIDWORKS Simulation. 29% of OpenFOAM companies have over 1,000 employees, against 34% for SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
Do companies run both?
0 companies name both in their postings, usually OpenFOAM in marketing and SOLIDWORKS Simulation 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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