Aviation & Aerospace · head to head
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D vs Prepar3D Professional
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D
Aviation & Aerospace
Professional-grade flight simulation and training platform
- From
- $9.99/month
- Rated
- -
Prepar3D Professional
Aviation & Aerospace
Professional flight simulation platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Prepar3D Professional has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lockheed Martin Prepar3D and Prepar3D Professional actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lockheed Martin Prepar3D | Prepar3D Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $9.99/month | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Windows, Vr | Windows |
| Founded | 2010 | 2008 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Aviation & Aerospace).
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
Free- EnthusiastFree
- Basic simulator
- Limited aircraft
- Scenery
- Professional$199/month
- Full platform
- All aircraft
- Training tools
Which should you pick?
Choose Lockheed Martin Prepar3D if
- You need flight simulation.
- You work on Windows, Vr.
- You also want realistic physics.
Choose Prepar3D Professional if
- You need flight physics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want scenery.
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 Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lockheed Martin Prepar3D or Prepar3D Professional?
- Prepar3D Professional has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $9.99/month for Lockheed Martin Prepar3D and Free for Prepar3D Professional.
- Does Lockheed Martin Prepar3D or Prepar3D Professional run on more platforms?
- Lockheed Martin Prepar3D runs on Windows, Vr. Prepar3D Professional runs on Windows.
- Can I use Prepar3D Professional for free?
- Yes. Prepar3D Professional has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lockheed Martin Prepar3D starts at $9.99/month.
- 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.
SourceLockheed 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.
SourceLockheed 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.
SourceLockheed 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