# Ansys Discovery Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Ansys Discovery the right Simulation solution for you? Explore 17 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/245795/Ansys-Discovery/reviews --- Ansys Discovery 3.9 (17) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/245795/Ansys-Discovery/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Ansys Discovery Ease of use 3.9 Customer Service 4.5 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-17 of 17 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Yusuf Y. Cfd Process Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Effective for pre design" November 18, 2022 3.0 Pros İts effective for simple predesign and userfriendly Cons You can not complex simulation. It can be improve Review Source AC Augusto C. Mechanical Engineer Mining & Metals Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Ansys Discovery : A diferent persperctive of real simulation" July 1, 2022 5.0 When I first got in touch with the student version of this software I knew that i was dealing with a software that can meet th expectations of how simulaion need to be done Pros I like the powerful and capabilities that are built into the software. Cons I think the price is one of the cons when you come to chose a simulation software Reason for choosing Ansys Discovery Because it includes these pacakges in the software Review Source EC Ewen C. Product Development Engineer Automotive Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "It's a good start, but there are a lot of opportunities for improvement." December 15, 2021 1.0 It's a good start. The very quick solution turn around using GPUs is definitely a benefit. But the limitations and clunkiness of the program makes it such that I can hardly use it ever (because my models requires a capability that Ansys Discovery Live currently does not or cannot offer). Pros With the proper and appropriate hardware, you can obtain a solution significantly faster than conventional solution methods by leveraging the power of GPUs, even older ones. For simple problems (i.e. single parts and/or basic external vehicle aerodynamics), it is very easy to set up. Cons I'll give what I think are opportunities for improvements based on domain. Static structural - does not handle multiple parts/complex assemblies very well. Does not/cannot model non-linear contacts. Does not/cannot simulate non-linear materials. Defining and applying custom materials is sometimes quite cumbersome. Fluids - Cannot extract important engineering values from the fluid simulation, e.g. coefficient of drag/coefficient of lift from the external aerodynamics example. Cannot select other turbulence models. (Last I inquired, you can ONLY use the LES turbulence model, which is invalid for certain types/classes of analyses.) Cannot model air as an ideal gas (compressible flow solver). Cannot define point heat sources. Direct modelling/manipulation - if you have a part with defined dimensions (part from print), it is quite cumbersome to reproduce the part using the direct manipulation method. Direct manipulation method is great when you are trying to experiment with new designs and you are trying to figure out which design will work best, but if you are trying to test/verify an existing design and you don't have the original/source CAD part, which requires you to re-model it in Ansys Discovery Live/SpaceClaim, it's ridiculously complicated to create, for example, a dimension that is symmetrical/mirrored. Topology optimisation - Sometimes the result from the topology optimisation does not pass the FEA analysis. Review Source TH Tam H. Research Engineer Telecommunications Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Ansys Discovery and Workbench" January 18, 2025 4.0 I mostly use it for thermal simulation, work nicely with Workbench. Pros Ansys Discovery is very powerful for multi-physics simulation with intuitive user GUI. Cons It’s a bit complex to bring simulation models from one tool to the others and loading quite slow. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Application Engineer Computer Software Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Ansys Discovery Review" July 22, 2023 5.0 Pros Discovery offers us a fast, live, accurate early simulation. Discovery has a complete end-to-end workflow from modeling to refined simulation. Cons It requires high-end hardware requirements in order to get a smooth experience Review Source SO Sean O. owner, engineer Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Complete waste of money" February 8, 2022 3.0 Every time I tried to use Discovery, I spent several days trying to get it to work, usually only succeeding when I could copy an existing demo and then replacing the geometry instead of starting from scratch because of all the UI bugs and order of operations is critical for functionality but the UI does not help you understand which order is functional. Every project took several days to get to the 90% completion phase, and then I would need one aspect - rotation, movement, mixing, a video with rotating propeller, etc. and support would notify me that I would need to start over from scratch in fluent / CFX and my days of setup were a complete waste. Pros Its a complete standalone software. It doesn't need anything else to function. Cons It's a complete standalone software. I can't use it on existing simulations, or transfer simulations from discovery directly to fluent / mechanical. If I do I have to redesign everything, remodel everything, reset the boundary conditions and everything Reason for choosing Ansys Discovery because I was investing in other Ansys products and I don't want to have to install, setup, maintain and troubleshoot both systems with completely different terminology, licensing, UI, support, etc. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Freelance Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Ansys Discovery" December 2, 2022 4.0 Pros Ansys Discovery is a powerful Tool which is capable of creating 3D Models simulations and Analysis of different structures and designs Cons The thing that i don't like is that there are many CAD/CAE and simulation software in the market that provide better features at a low price Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Researcher Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Good for Quick Simulations" December 8, 2022 4.0 I enjoy using ANSYS Discovery for simple and quick simulations. I don't expect it to match the higher precision and accuracy of other ANSYS tools, but it is okay since the user should know what they are doing. I definitely recommend it. Pros Ansys discovery is a great tool for easy and quick simulation. It offers a streamlined workflow for the user to quickly setup a problem's geometry and mesh, then setup the properties and boundary conditions. In addition, optimization is very efficient as changing the problem's variable is very simple and not time consuming. Cons Although the mentioned advantages look very attractive, there is a downside for quick and simple simulations. This is of course related to the accuracy of such calculations. It should be kept in mind that this ANSYS Discovery which is mostly targeted for problems not requiring very high accuracy. Other than that, the software sometimes crashes unexpectedly or won't start at all if graphic card requirementw are not met (which are actually very high) Review Source Godwin A. Additive Manufacturing Engineer Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Simulation and Experimentation in Real Time" August 14, 2021 5.0 Ansys Discovery is relatively easy to use and it gives real time simulation at its best as you don't get to wait long period of time just to get results, they are delivered instantly in the explore mode. With this, you can easily experiment with different materials and conditions without having to wait for results as long as the solving is turned on. As materials are being changed, results are updated automatically. Multiple studies can be carried out in the same project including mechanical, thermal and fluid flow. I get to easily import geometry directly as native CAD files of Autodesk Inventor and SolidWorks without have to convert them. Pros The user interface is very interactive with an heads up display (HUD) that tells you what information is required to complete whatever study(ies) to be carried out and as soon as enough information is supplied, results can be gotten instantly. Cons Due to its real time nature, performance relies heavily on system GPU so you might need to follow the minimum system requirements. I noticed a restriction on exporting files to only discovery file format. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Structural Engineer Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Complete 3D software" November 14, 2022 4.0 Pros Ansys has lot of features needed for 3D modelling with difference analyis types and material types Cons Too many features can be difficult to navigate Review Source MA Michael A. Head of Engineering Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Instant Simulation with direct modeller" December 15, 2021 4.0 It is a very useful tool at design finidng phase of a product Pros I like the combination of a 3d direct modeller with the super easy simulation feedback. Design iterations are made instantly Cons I would like to be able to have orthotropic and anisotropic material models Review Source bK bruce K. Mechanical engineer Mining & Metals Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Simple and accurate" December 16, 2021 5.0 Working on a structural frame, the model appears to be meshed as a single part but the deflection simulated was actually measured on the completed structure. the simulation was completed in 1 hr! Pros Discovery is pretty basic to use and fast, the results are comparable to ANSYS but are limited. This is a very good step in the design concept stage. Cons We use Ansys for calculating stresses in an assembly, we have a significant expense in the licenses of Ansys however Discovery is so simple to use and is very effective on the simple models, I feel it could be cheaper. Many cad packages have inbuilt FEA which is also effective , With all the subscription charges our office incurs, we would be better off outsourcing the design work to our Indian offices. Review Source LN Luca N. R&D Hydraulic manager Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 2+ years ### "a satisfied customer" December 16, 2021 4.0 Pros the fact that rapidly you can change and evaluate shape, and then deeply analize with the premium release Cons the connection with the premium solver, not always an easy transition Review Source CG Chris G. ENGINEER Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Interesting idea, but FEA is 'HARD' for a reason..." December 16, 2021 2.0 Use it for educational purposes only. Change the interface to be more compliant with other Engineering software and the Guidelines and styles as defined my Microsoft for Windows 10,11, etc... products. Pros The 'instant' or 'live' results has some educational possibilities, but is limited by other issues. Cons The interface is completely unlike and OS or Engineering software suite in use. When using with SW or CREO, for example into Discovery for analysis, users are completely dumbfounded. Discovery is extremely limited without a 'full' ANSYS workbench license. If I have the Workbench license, the Workbench UI is cleaner and easier to use. Symmetry planes, contact types, convergence reports (in my case) 'on the fly analysis' were completely missing. Review Source JO José O. Mechanical engineering Mechanical or Industrial Engineering Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Ansys Discovery Review" September 6, 2022 5.0 Pros The ability to perform CFD analysis is amazing and it is very similar to the Ansys Fluent. in my opinion, no other software, except the Ansys Fluent, can compete with Ansys Discovery because of all the features it has. Cons Its use could be more intuitive, only people with some know-how are able to use it. Review Source MM Manmohan M. Sr. Manager Solutions Architect Computer Hardware Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Amazingly Interactive tool" December 16, 2021 4.0 Na Pros Ease to use. Few clicks to make an sample test case. Cons Installaing on a remote server without GPU is slightly painful. Alternatives considered [Ansys Fluent](https://www.capterra.com/p/238339/ANSYS-Fluent/) Reason for choosing Ansys Discovery Na Review Source XZ Xiangjie Z. Engineer Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "good software" December 15, 2021 5.0 Pros easy to use, versatile, a lot of control Cons a little slow, too many information, too many options Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.