Side by side

CPU Computer Simulators vs U-DaLES

Both stand on physics simulation software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

CPU Computer Simulators

Free plan MacWindows

CPU Computer Simulators offers a broad, free simulation library organized around an instructional cycle. Its age and lack of support create compatibility considerations for current computers.

Visit CPU Computer Simulators

U-DaLES provides a detailed urban simulation workflow with pollutant chemistry, vegetation, surface energy, and HPC parallelism. It is suited to technical modelling work rather than guided teaching, and its evolving Python package requires attention to project updates.

Visit U-DaLES

The facts

	CPU Computer Simulators	U-DaLES
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Mac, Windows	Linux, Mac, Self-hosted
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Not published
Plans published	2	None
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	physport.org	udales.github.io
On physics simulation software	#50 of 89	#46 of 89

CPU Computer Simulators: what it does well

Free downloads for macOS and Windows
Offline desktop use
Covers electricity, motion, waves, and particles
Supports simulated experiments and model testing
Includes installation readmes

What to know first

Produced in Java in 1999
May not run on modern computers
No guarantees or software support
Classroom use requires projector and student computers

U-DaLES: what it does well

Free and open-source under the GNU GPL
Models airflow, heat, moisture, and pollutants
Supports Linux, macOS, and WSL
MPI targets large HPC domains
Python tools include 3-D visualization

What to know first

Python interfaces may change
Solver requires several build dependencies
Parallel NetCDF output needs merging
No lesson library or assessment tools

Alternatives to CPU Computer Simulators Alternatives to U-DaLES The whole list