The Showdown
Zemaxvsdiffractsim
Why pay monthly fees for Zemax when you can self-host diffractsim for free? Let's look at the facts.
VS
Zemax
The Expensive Option
- Closed Source (Black box)
- Expensive monthly fees per user
- Data stored on their servers
WINNER
diffractsim
The Freedom Choice
- 100% Open Source Code
- Free forever (Self-hosted)
- You own your data completely
Interactive Calculator
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10 people
150100200+
$
*Estimated standard pricing for Zemax. Adjust if needed.
Estimated Annual Waste
$1,440
Monthly Burn Rate$120
5-Year Projection$7,200
Cost with Self-Hosted$0
Calculations based on 10 users at $12/mo.
Detailed Breakdown
0
Ray tracing/Physical optics
Scalar diffraction (FFT)
1
ZPL/Proprietary API
Native Python
2
Built-in CAD viewer
Matplotlib integration