Open Source Alternatives to Simulink

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Simulink is a visual programming environment, especially for time transient simulations and ordinary differential equations. Depending on what you need there are plenty of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) available:

  • Modelica language is the most viable alternative and in my opinion, it is also a superior option to MathWorks Simulink. There are open-source implementations OpenModelica and JModelica. One of the main advantages of Modelica is that you can code a multidimensional ordinary differential equation with algebraic discrete non-causal equations. With OpenModelica you may create a non-causal model right in the GUI and with JModelica you can use Python to model everything. For more information about JModelica see this Reddit post. There is a Discord server for Modelica Language and its many implementations, where you can ask questions and discuss Modelica-related issues.
  • If you prefer a similar environment as SIMULINK, xcos which comes with Scilab, or its older sister scicos which comes packed with Scicoslab might be very helpful. There are also the simport, Simelica-AdvancedBlocks, and Coselica tools which can translate SIMULINK into scicos / Modelica models. Nelson is also a fork of Scilab which is working on a block-diagram environment (here). More info about Scilab history and its very forks here. There are Discord channels for #scilab and #xcod. Here is a nice introduction video by scicos creator Ramine Nikoukhah.
  • There is also the Kepler project which is a less known but very interesting alternative.
  • If you want to simulate electrical systems then I would suggest taking a look at SimulIDE, KTechLab, QUCS/QUCS-S… More I have listed here. Check the SimulIDE Discord channel here.
      • For fluidic and mechatronic simulations also take a look at Hopsan and its Discord channel here.
  • I see some people have suggested LabVIEW as an alternative to SIMULINK, which IMHO is comparing apples and oranges. LabVIEW is a completely different beast and a great FLOSS alternative to it is MyOpenLab. You may use MyOpenLab for creating GUIs to communicate with Raspberry Pi and Arduino. I have explained more here. There is also a Discord server for MyOpenLab where you can ask questions or discuss different topics.


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Former PhD Candidate at University of Twente (2016–2020)Updated 3y

Simulink is a visual programming environment, especially for time transient simulations and ordinary differential equations. Depending on what you need there are plenty of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) available:

  • Modelica language is the most viable alternative and in my opinion, it is also a superior option to MathWorks Simulink. There are open-source implementations OpenModelica and JModelica. One of the main advantages of Modelica is that you can code a multidimensional ordinary differential equation with algebraic discrete non-causal equations. With OpenModelica you may create a non-causal model right in the GUI and with JModelica you can use Python to model everything. For more information about JModelica see this Reddit post. There is a Discord server for Modelica Language and its many implementations, where you can ask questions and discuss Modelica-related issues.
  • If you prefer a similar environment as SIMULINK, xcos which comes with Scilab, or its older sister scicos which comes packed with Scicoslab might be very helpful. There are also the simport, Simelica-AdvancedBlocks, and Coselica tools which can translate SIMULINK into scicos / Modelica models. Nelson is also a fork of Scilab which is working on a block-diagram environment (here). More info about Scilab history and its very forks here. There are Discord channels for #scilab and #xcod. Here is a nice introduction video by scicos creator Ramine Nikoukhah.
  • There is also the Kepler project which is a less known but very interesting alternative.
  • If you want to simulate electrical systems then I would suggest taking a look at SimulIDE, KTechLab, QUCS/QUCS-S… More I have listed here. Check the SimulIDE Discord channel here.
  • For fluidic and mechatronic simulations also take a look at Hopsan and its Discord channel here.
  • I see some people have suggested LabVIEW as an alternative to SIMULINK, which IMHO is comparing apples and oranges. LabVIEW is a completely different beast and a great FLOSS alternative to it is MyOpenLab. You may use MyOpenLab for creating GUIs to communicate with Raspberry Pi and Arduino. I have explained more here. There is also a Discord server for MyOpenLab where you can ask questions or discuss different topics.



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Comments

Wow. Thanks alot for your complete explanation


20-sim is a great alternative package with a complete toolset for multi-domain dynamic systems.


Sorry but I think 20-sim is a failed project. As far as I know they started along with Modelica team but then sided to make their product closed source. Their total user community is their own employees and a couple of poor master students who are forced to use it. They could change this by changing…
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