Open-source process simulation
MaximaLabs vs DWSIM
DWSIM is free, open source, and genuinely good. MaximaLabs is what you reach for when a team needs to work in one model together, from anywhere, without maintaining anything.
DWSIM is an open-source, cross-platform steady-state and dynamic simulator with a real thermodynamic library and an active community — it is free, and its source is public. We hold it in high regard: our own build documentation cites DWSIM as an algorithm and validation reference. So the honest comparison here is not about price or transparency, where DWSIM is unbeatable, but about what a hosted, collaborative product does that a locally-installed open-source tool does not.
An honest comparison
Where DWSIM is genuinely stronger
- Free, and open source under the GPL — you can read exactly how every model works, which no commercial simulator allows
- No vendor, no subscription, no usage metering, and no account required
- Runs locally on Windows, Linux and macOS, fully offline and under your control
- Extensible in your own code, with a community that has been building on it for years
Where MaximaLabs wins
- Nothing to install, patch, or keep working on each engineer's machine — open a link
- Real-time multiplayer on one shared flowsheet, with share links and version history
- An AI copilot that builds flowsheets from a description and diagnoses failed solves
- Managed compute for heavy runs, plus an audited history, SSO and team accounts for regulated environments
The honest positioning
Being straight about the wedge is the point.
If you want free, inspectable, offline software, DWSIM is an excellent answer and we would not argue you out of it. MaximaLabs earns its keep when the constraint is people rather than solver capability: several engineers in one model, access without installs, and an audit trail — and when you would rather not be the person maintaining the tooling.