PCB antenna simulation software, compared
Which electromagnetic simulator should you use for the antenna on your board? Method, price, platforms and strengths of 12 solutions, with every technical term explained in the glossary.
| Solution | Method | Geometry | Platforms | GPU | Price | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LW RF Studio lw tech (Wattlet AS, Norway) |
FDTD | 3D, PCB-focused | Windows, Linux, macOS | Yes (NVIDIA, Professional licence) | Free KiCad check; Student €149; Professional €990 perpetual | Yes: LW Antenna Check (KiCad plugin) and trial | PCB antennas (IFA, MIFA, patch) and their matching network, for hardware engineers who are not full-time RF specialists |
| openEMS Open source (GPL) |
FDTD | 3D | Windows, Linux, macOS | No (multi-threaded CPU) | Free | Yes | Engineers comfortable with scripting (MATLAB/Octave or Python) who want a free, accurate 3D solver |
| Ansys HFSS Ansys (Synopsys) |
FEM, MoM, SBR+ | 3D | Windows, Linux | Yes (some solvers) | Quote (annual or perpetual licences) | Ansys Student edition (size-limited) | RF teams that need a reference-grade 3D solver for any structure |
| CST Studio Suite Dassault Systèmes (SIMULIA) |
FIT (time domain), FEM, MoM | 3D | Windows, Linux | Yes (time-domain solver) | Quote | CST Studio Suite Student edition (size-limited) | Broadband antennas and complex 3D assemblies |
| Altair Feko Altair (Siemens) |
MoM, MLFMM, FEM, FDTD | 3D | Windows, Linux | Yes (some solvers) | Quote (Altair units) | Student edition | Antenna placement on large platforms (vehicles, aircraft) |
| Keysight ADS (Momentum, RFPro) Keysight Technologies |
MoM 2.5D (Momentum), FEM (RFPro) | 2.5D planar, 3D with FEM | Windows, Linux | Check vendor | Quote | No (trial on request) | RF circuit designers who already use ADS for amplifiers and filters |
| Cadence AWR Microwave Office (AXIEM) Cadence |
MoM 2.5D (AXIEM), FEM (Analyst) | 2.5D planar, 3D with Analyst | Windows | Check vendor | Quote | No (trial on request) | Microwave circuits and MMIC/PCB layouts with integrated EM |
| Sonnet Suites Sonnet Software |
MoM 2.5D (shielded) | 2.5D planar in a shielded box | Windows, Linux | No | Quote (several levels) | Sonnet Lite (free, limited) | Planar circuits, filters and couplers |
| COMSOL Multiphysics (RF Module) COMSOL |
FEM | 3D | Windows, Linux, macOS | Check vendor | Quote (base licence + RF Module) | No (trial on request) | Multiphysics problems: RF heating, antennas with thermal or mechanical effects |
| MATLAB Antenna Toolbox MathWorks |
MoM, FMM, PO | 3D (metal and simple dielectrics) | Windows, Linux, macOS | No | Public list price (MATLAB + toolbox) | Trial; MATLAB Home and Student licences | Engineers and students already working in MATLAB |
| 4nec2 (NEC-2) Freeware (Arie Voors) |
MoM (thin wire) | Wires | Windows | No | Free | Yes | Wire antennas (dipoles, Yagis) for radio amateurs |
| MEEP Open source (MIT) |
FDTD | 1D, 2D, 3D | Linux, macOS (Windows via WSL) | No (MPI parallel) | Free | Yes | Research in photonics and electromagnetics, scripted in Python |
Performance
Speed and accuracy depend first on the method: FDTD and FIT give a whole band in one run and gain most from a GPU; FEM is very accurate frequency by frequency; 2.5D MoM is fast but assumes infinite layers, which matters for a PCB antenna at the board edge.
The bench
We are building a reference set of PCB antennas (a 2.4 GHz IFA, a sub-GHz MIFA, a patch) with measured S11, to publish simulation results and run times tool by tool.
What to look at
Can it import your board? Is the mesh automatic? Does it give efficiency and the pattern? Can you design the matching network? Is the licence perpetual?