Top COCO Simulator Alternatives for Chemical Process Simulation
COCO (CAPE-OPEN to CAPE-OPEN) Simulator is a robust and free-of-charge CAPE-OPEN compliant steady-state simulation environment, offering components like COFE for intuitive graphical flowsheeting, TEA for thermodynamic calculations, COUSCOUS for unit operations, and CORN for reaction numerics. While COCO Simulator is a powerful tool, users often seek alternatives due to specific feature requirements, platform preferences, or the need for commercial support. This article explores the best COCO Simulator alternatives to help you find the perfect fit for your chemical process simulation needs.
Best COCO Simulator Alternatives
Whether you're looking for open-source flexibility, advanced commercial features, or specific integration capabilities, these alternatives offer compelling solutions for chemical engineers and researchers.

DWSIM
DWSIM is an excellent open-source COCO Simulator alternative, offering a CAPE-OPEN compliant chemical process simulator for both Windows and Linux. Being free and open-source, it provides a flexible and cost-effective solution for process simulation, making it ideal for students, researchers, and small businesses. It offers similar core functionalities to COCO Simulator, ensuring a smooth transition for users.

Aspen Plus
Aspen Plus is a market-leading commercial COCO Simulator alternative, widely recognized in the chemical, polymer, and specialty industries for its robust process modeling environment. Available on Windows, Aspen Plus excels in conceptual design, optimization, and performance monitoring, offering a comprehensive suite of tools that go beyond the basic functionalities of COCO Simulator for complex industrial applications.

CHEMCAD
CHEMCAD, developed by Chemstations, is an intuitive suite of commercial chemical process simulation software for Windows. As a strong COCO Simulator alternative, CHEMCAD significantly broadens an engineer’s capabilities and increases productivity with its user-friendly interface and comprehensive simulation tools, making it suitable for a wide range of chemical engineering tasks.

Pro/II
PRO/II® process simulation software is a commercial steady-state simulator available on Windows, serving as a powerful COCO Simulator alternative for improved process design and operational analysis. It is specifically designed to perform rigorous heat and material balance calculations, offering advanced simulation features critical for detailed engineering studies and optimization in various process industries.
Choosing the right COCO Simulator alternative depends entirely on your specific project requirements, budget, and desired level of technical support. We encourage you to explore these options further to find the best fit that aligns with your engineering needs.