PyroSim

subscription (annual) Engineer & Analyze

Fire dynamics simulation software that provides a graphical user interface for the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) -- used by fire protection engineers to model fire growth, smoke spread, sprinkler activation, and tenability conditions in buildings; imports CAD/BIM geometry (DWG, DXF, IFC), manages FDS simulations, and produces visualizations and reports; developed by Thunderhead Engineering (founded 1998, Manhattan KS).

Agent-hostile

3.0 /5 composite score

Solid -- purpose-built FDS graphical interface for fire protection engineers doing performance-based fire and smoke modeling; transparent annual pricing ($1,200/$1,800 node-locked/floating), a 30-day free trial, and active FDS-based physics validated by NIST make it the standard for CFD fire simulation; no public API/CLI (RF2) and desktop-only delivery limit agent-driven workflows.

Solid

Rubric Scorecard

How we grade →

Criterion	Score	Evidence
Value for the price	4/5	subscription (annual), from $1200
Agent Friendliness	1/5	API: none (desktop GUI only; scripting via FDS text input files)
Ease of adoption	3/5	--
Portability & lock-in	4/5	6 file formats
Interoperability	3/5	2 integrations

Visit PyroSim →

How we verified this: we checked PyroSim against its live site and an independent source — en.wikipedia.org. Nothing on this page is listed from memory. See how we grade. Verified 2026-07-05.

Evidence

File formats

Format	Direction	Support
FDS	native	full -- Native FDS input format (.fds), the NIST open standard for fire simulation
IFC	import	partial -- BIM geometry import
DWG	import	partial -- CAD geometry import
DXF	import	partial -- CAD geometry import
CSV	export	full -- Results data export
SMV	export	full -- Smokeview visualization file

Integrations

FDS (NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator) (native) Smokeview (NIST visualization) (native)

Pricing detail

Billing unitper-seat

TiersNode-locked ($1200), Floating ($1800)

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