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Aviation · head to head

CAE Flight Training vs Prepar3D Professional

CAE Flight Training logo

CAE Flight Training

Aviation

World leader in professional flight training

From
On request
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: CAE Flight Training cAE does not publish pricing information on their public website; 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: CAE Flight Training covers Full-flight simulators, Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CAE Flight Training and Prepar3D Professional actually diverge.

Attributes where CAE Flight Training and Prepar3D Professional differ
AttributeCAE Flight TrainingPrepar3D Professional
Starting priceOn request$9.95/month
Pricing modelusage-basedone-time
PlatformsOn-siteWindows
Founded19472008

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 CAE Flight Training

  • Full-flight simulators
  • Type rating training
  • Crew resource training
  • Maintenance training
  • Certification
  • Airlines
  • Regulators
  • Learning platforms

Only in Prepar3D Professional

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

What people use each for

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

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

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

Where each one falls short

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

CAE Flight Training

  • CAE does not publish pricing information on their public website
  • Company website serves as corporate overview and navigation hub without pricing details
  • Pricing inquiry requires contacting CAE directly through their Contact Us section
  • No indication of pricing tiers or quote-based model on public pages

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

CAE Flight Training

On request
  • Pilot TrainingFree
    • Full-flight simulators
    • Type ratings
    • Crew training
  • Maintenance TrainingFree
    • Technical training
    • Systems training
    • Certification

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 CAE Flight Training if

  • You need full-flight simulators.
  • You work on On-site.
  • You also want type rating training.
CAE Flight Training review

Choose Prepar3D Professional if

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

Questions people ask

Is CAE Flight Training or Prepar3D Professional better?
Neither clearly leads. CAE Flight Training starts at On request 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, CAE Flight Training or Prepar3D Professional?
CAE Flight Training starts at On request and Prepar3D Professional at $9.95/month.
Does CAE Flight Training or Prepar3D Professional run on more platforms?
CAE Flight Training runs on On-site. Prepar3D Professional runs on Windows.
What is CAE Flight Training best used for?
CAE Flight Training is most often used for type rating and recurrent training for airline and business jet pilots, cadet to captain airline training programmes, cabin crew and maintenance technician training, flight data analysis and operations management through flightscape. Of those, type rating and recurrent training for airline and business jet pilots and cadet to captain airline training programmes are not what Prepar3D Professional is typically brought in for.
What can CAE Flight Training do that Prepar3D Professional cannot?
CAE Flight Training covers Full-flight simulators, Type rating training, Crew resource training, Maintenance training. Prepar3D Professional covers Flight physics, Aircraft systems, Scenery, ATC.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CAE Flight Training: How much does CAE flight training cost?

CAE does not publish pricing on their website. The company offers civil aviation training programs and defense/security services but requires customers to contact them directly for pricing quotes specific to their training needs.

Source
Prepar3D Professional: How much does Prepar3D Professional cost?

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

Source
CAE Flight Training: How do I get pricing for CAE training programs?

Pricing is not available on CAE's public website. Customers interested in training programs must use the Contact Us section on their website to reach CAE directly and request quotes for specific aviation or defense training services.

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
CAE Flight Training: Does CAE offer a pricing calculator or pricing tiers?

CAE's website does not display pricing tiers, calculators, or any cost information. All pricing inquiries require direct contact with CAE through their contact channels.

Source
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