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Aviation · head to head

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D vs Prepar3D Professional

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D logo

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D

Aviation

Professional-grade flight simulation and training platform

From
$9.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Prepar3D Professional logo

Prepar3D Professional

Aviation

Professional flight simulation platform

From
$9.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lockheed Martin Prepar3D high system resource requirements with 85 GB base installation and 32 GB RAM recommended; Prepar3D Professional the Personal licence at $59.95 is restricted to home use, personal training and K-12 classrooms, so any business, military or university use requires the Professional licence at $350.00
  • They diverge on capability: Lockheed Martin Prepar3D covers Flight simulation, Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lockheed Martin Prepar3D and Prepar3D Professional actually diverge.

Attributes where Lockheed Martin Prepar3D and Prepar3D Professional differ
AttributeLockheed Martin Prepar3DPrepar3D Professional
Starting price$9.99/month$9.95/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionone-time
PlatformsWindows, VrWindows
Founded20102008

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Aviation).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Lockheed Martin Prepar3D

  • Flight simulation
  • Realistic physics
  • Training scenarios
  • Performance analysis
  • Hardware controllers
  • VR systems
  • Motion platforms
  • Custom aircraft

Only in Prepar3D Professional

  • Flight physics
  • Scenery
  • ATC
  • Training
  • Add-ons
  • VR
  • Hardware
  • Training devices

Both cover

  • Aircraft systems
  • Windows support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D

  • Pilot trainingnot Prepar3D Professional
  • Type rating trainingnot Prepar3D Professional
  • Proficiency maintenancenot Prepar3D Professional
  • Scenario trainingnot Prepar3D Professional
  • Aircraft developmentnot Prepar3D Professional

Prepar3D Professional

  • Running procedural and flight training in a commercial or military simulation facilitynot Lockheed Martin Prepar3D
  • Building multi-channel visual systems across several synchronised displaysnot Lockheed Martin Prepar3D
  • Developing custom aircraft, scenery and scenarios against the Prepar3D SDKnot Lockheed Martin Prepar3D
  • Delivering STEM and K-12 classroom flight simulation on the Personal licencenot Lockheed Martin Prepar3D

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D

  • High system resource requirements with 85 GB base installation and 32 GB RAM recommended
  • Expensive Professional and Professional Plus licenses for commercial and business use
  • Limited backward compatibility with older 32-bit aircraft modules
  • SimDirector scenario creation tool requires programming knowledge for advanced customization

Prepar3D Professional

  • The Personal licence at $59.95 is restricted to home use, personal training and K-12 classrooms, so any business, military or university use requires the Professional licence at $350.00
  • Weapons and sensors, AI behaviors in scenarios, DIS and CIGI packet support, the SimOperator instructor station and multi-channel concurrent operation are confined to Professional Plus at $2,750.00
  • The Personal licence requires an internet connection during use, while only Professional and above run in disconnected environments
  • Developer subscriptions at $9.95 and $50.00 per month watermark the image and are forbidden from delivering training

Pricing, plan by plan

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D

$9.99/month
  • Standard$9.99/month
    • Flight simulation
    • Basic aircraft
    • Training tools
  • Professional$99.99/month
    • Advanced simulation
    • Full aircraft systems
    • Advanced training

Prepar3D Professional

$9.95/month
  • Professional License$350/one-time
    • Proven simulation framework application
    • Rich and interactive environment
  • Professional Developer License$9.95/month
    • Development, testing, and marketing activities

Which should you pick?

Choose Lockheed Martin Prepar3D if

  • You need flight simulation.
  • You work on Windows, Vr.
  • You also want realistic physics.
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D review

Choose Prepar3D Professional if

  • You need flight physics.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want scenery.
Prepar3D Professional review

Questions people ask

Is Lockheed Martin Prepar3D or Prepar3D Professional better?
Neither clearly leads. Lockheed Martin Prepar3D starts at $9.99/month and Prepar3D Professional at $9.95/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lockheed Martin Prepar3D or Prepar3D Professional?
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D starts at $9.99/month and Prepar3D Professional at $9.95/month.
Does Lockheed Martin Prepar3D or Prepar3D Professional run on more platforms?
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D runs on Windows, Vr. Prepar3D Professional runs on Windows.
What is Lockheed Martin Prepar3D best used for?
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D is most often used for pilot training, type rating training, proficiency maintenance, scenario training. Of those, pilot training and type rating training are not what Prepar3D Professional is typically brought in for.
What can Lockheed Martin Prepar3D do that Prepar3D Professional cannot?
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D covers Flight simulation, Realistic physics, Training scenarios, Performance analysis. Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, Scenery, ATC, Training. Both handle Aircraft systems, Windows support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lockheed Martin Prepar3D: What are the license options for Prepar3D?

Prepar3D offers three license tiers: Personal ($59.95) for personal training and K-12 education, Professional ($350) for professional pilot training and commercial uses, and Professional Plus ($2,750) for businesses with advanced features. Developer monthly licenses are available at $9.99 and $50 for Professional and Professional Plus respectively.

Source
Prepar3D Professional: How much does Prepar3D Professional cost?

Prepar3D Professional License costs $350.00 USD as a one-time purchase.

Source
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D: What are the system requirements?

Prepar3D v6 requires approximately 85 GB storage, 32 GB RAM or more for optimal performance, 8 GB or more VRAM, and a DX12-capable GPU with 64-bit architecture. Detailed scenery and aircraft add-ons can significantly increase storage and performance requirements.

Source
Prepar3D Professional: What is the cost of a Prepar3D developer license?

The Professional Developer License costs $9.95 USD per developer per month for development, testing, and marketing activities.

Source
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D: Can I create custom training scenarios?

Yes. Prepar3D includes SimDirector, a scenario generation tool that allows users to create training scenarios across aviation, maritime, and ground domains. Users can place world objects, define scenario logic, create missions, and provide instruction sessions, making it suitable for cockpit training, flight planning, and emergency response preparation.

Source
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D: Is Prepar3D compatible with third-party add-ons?

Prepar3D v5 and v6 maintain compatibility with many Microsoft Flight Simulator X add-ons. However, 32-bit aircraft modules are not compatible with 64-bit Prepar3D versions, and third-party add-ons must be updated for the specific Prepar3D version being used.

Source
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