Software · head to head
Prepar3D Professional vs CAE Flight Training
Prepar3D Professional
Software
Professional flight simulation platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
CAE Flight Training
Software
World leader in professional flight training
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Prepar3D Professional has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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; CAE Flight Training mostly delivered through physical full-flight simulators and training centres rather than as software a customer installs
- They diverge on capability: Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, CAE Flight Training covers Full-flight simulators.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Prepar3D Professional and CAE Flight Training actually diverge.
| Attribute | Prepar3D Professional | CAE Flight Training |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | subscription | usage-based |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Windows | On-site |
| Founded | 2008 | 1947 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 CAE Flight Training
- Full-flight simulators
- Type rating training
- Crew resource training
- Maintenance training
- Certification
- Airlines
- Regulators
- Learning platforms
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 CAE Flight Training
- Building multi-channel visual systems across several synchronised displaysnot CAE Flight Training
- Developing custom aircraft, scenery and scenarios against the Prepar3D SDKnot CAE Flight Training
- Delivering STEM and K-12 classroom flight simulation on the Personal licencenot CAE Flight Training
CAE Flight Training
- Type rating and recurrent training for airline and business jet pilotsnot Prepar3D Professional
- Cadet to captain airline training programmesnot Prepar3D Professional
- Cabin crew and maintenance technician trainingnot Prepar3D Professional
- Flight data analysis and operations management through Flightscapenot Prepar3D Professional
- Courseware and training records management with CAE Pelesysnot 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
CAE Flight Training
- Mostly delivered through physical full-flight simulators and training centres rather than as software a customer installs
- The software pieces, Flightscape, CAE Rise and CAE Pelesys, are sold to airlines and operators rather than to individual pilots
- Pricing is not published
Pricing, plan by plan
Prepar3D Professional
Free- EnthusiastFree
- Basic simulator
- Limited aircraft
- Scenery
- Professional$199/month
- Full platform
- All aircraft
- Training tools
CAE Flight Training
On request- Pilot TrainingFree
- Full-flight simulators
- Type ratings
- Crew training
- Maintenance TrainingFree
- Technical training
- Systems training
- Certification
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.
Choose CAE Flight Training if
- You need full-flight simulators.
- You work on On-site.
- You also want type rating training.
Questions people ask
- Is Prepar3D Professional or CAE Flight Training better?
- Neither clearly leads. Prepar3D Professional starts at Free and CAE Flight Training at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Prepar3D Professional or CAE Flight Training?
- Prepar3D Professional has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Prepar3D Professional and On request for CAE Flight Training.
- Does Prepar3D Professional or CAE Flight Training run on more platforms?
- Prepar3D Professional runs on Windows. CAE Flight Training runs on On-site.
- Can I use Prepar3D Professional for free?
- Yes. Prepar3D Professional has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CAE Flight Training starts at On request.
- 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 CAE Flight Training is typically brought in for.
- What can Prepar3D Professional do that CAE Flight Training cannot?
- Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, Aircraft systems, Scenery, ATC. CAE Flight Training covers Full-flight simulators, Type rating training, Crew resource training, Maintenance training.
Related pages
More on Prepar3D Professional
More on CAE Flight Training
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