Softwr

Aviation & Aerospace · head to head

Prepar3D Professional vs AGI STK

Prepar3D Professional logo

Prepar3D Professional

Aviation & Aerospace

Professional flight simulation platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
AGI STK logo

AGI STK

Aviation & Aerospace

Systems Tool Kit for space and aerospace analysis

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; AGI STK sTK is sold as a ladder of separate licences, STK Pro, STK Premium Air, STK Premium Space and STK Enterprise, so mission areas are gated behind different products
  • They diverge on capability: Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, AGI STK covers Orbit analysis.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Prepar3D Professional and AGI STK actually diverge.

Attributes where Prepar3D Professional and AGI STK differ
AttributePrepar3D ProfessionalAGI STK
PlatformsWindowsWindows, Linux
Founded20081989

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (subscription), free tier (Yes), 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 Prepar3D Professional

  • Flight physics
  • Aircraft systems
  • Scenery
  • ATC
  • Training
  • Add-ons
  • VR
  • Hardware

Only in AGI STK

  • Orbit analysis
  • 4D visualization
  • Mission planning
  • Communication analysis
  • Conjunction assessment
  • MATLAB
  • Python
  • C++/.NET API

Both cover

  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Prepar3D Professional

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

AGI STK

  • Modelling satellite orbits, coverage and conjunction risknot Prepar3D Professional
  • Mission analysis and visualization for air, space and defence systemsnot Prepar3D Professional

Where each one falls short

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

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

AGI STK

  • STK is sold as a ladder of separate licences, STK Pro, STK Premium Air, STK Premium Space and STK Enterprise, so mission areas are gated behind different products
  • Further capability is sold as separate add-on toolkits including TETK, the RF Channel Modeler and the STK Missile Toolkit
  • Distributing an application built on STK Engine to end users requires each of them to hold an Ansys STK Engine Runtime License
  • Free access is limited to students at accredited institutions and to time-limited trials
  • No price, minimum or cost driver is published for any STK tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Prepar3D Professional

Free
  • EnthusiastFree
    • Basic simulator
    • Limited aircraft
    • Scenery
  • Professional$199/month
    • Full platform
    • All aircraft
    • Training tools

AGI STK

Free
  • STK FreeFree
    • Basic analysis
    • 2D/3D visualization
    • Orbit analysis
  • STK Professional$15000/year
    • Advanced analysis
    • Premium modules
    • API access
  • STK Enterprise$50000/year
    • All modules
    • Multi-user
    • Custom solutions

Which should you pick?

Choose Prepar3D Professional if

  • You need flight physics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want aircraft systems.
Prepar3D Professional review

Choose AGI STK if

  • You need orbit analysis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Linux.
  • You also want 4d visualization.
AGI STK review

Questions people ask

Is Prepar3D Professional or AGI STK better?
Neither clearly leads. Prepar3D Professional starts at Free and AGI STK at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Prepar3D Professional or AGI STK?
Prepar3D Professional starts at Free and AGI STK at Free.
Does Prepar3D Professional or AGI STK run on more platforms?
Prepar3D Professional runs on Windows. AGI STK runs on Windows, Linux.
Can I use Prepar3D Professional for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Prepar3D Professional best used for?
Prepar3D Professional is most often used for running procedural and flight training in a commercial or military simulation facility, building multi-channel visual systems across several synchronised displays, developing custom aircraft, scenery and scenarios against the prepar3d sdk, delivering stem and k-12 classroom flight simulation on the personal licence. Of those, running procedural and flight training in a commercial or military simulation facility and building multi-channel visual systems across several synchronised displays are not what AGI STK is typically brought in for.
What can Prepar3D Professional do that AGI STK cannot?
Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, Aircraft systems, Scenery, ATC. AGI STK covers Orbit analysis, 4D visualization, Mission planning, Communication analysis. Both handle Windows support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Prepar3D Professional

More on AGI STK

Keep looking

Other head to heads