Free Engineering Software for Students and Educators

Students: Learn the software used by top engineers and jumpstart your career.

Educators: Bring learning to life with hands-on curriculum and academic resources.

Design Your Future with Free Bentley Software

Bentley Education gives students and educators free access to industry-leading civil engineering, CAD, and infrastructure software—plus real-world learning resources and a global community of users.
See how Bentley Education is helping students and educators worldwide build the infrastructure of tomorrow.

Build Your Career Advantage

Here’s how you can stand out:

Access professional software, including MicroStation, to gain hands-on experience
Explore courses to advance your practical skills from the classroom
Build your portfolio of infrastructure projects to show employers you are career ready Start Learning ❯

Deliver an industry-aligned Curriculum

Here’s how you can prepare your students to be workforce ready:

Teach all the same Bentley applications used by leading engineering firms at no cost
Save valuable time with ready-made lesson plans, activities, and guides
Integrate theory and practice and give students the skills employers are seeking Get Started ❯

Find Your Free Engineering Software

Let us help you find the solutions that meet your needs. There are over 50 to choose from. Use this interactive diagram to find the right software to best support your course, project, or area of interest. View all education software

Recommended for bridge design

OpenBridge Designer: Create physical and analytical models throughout the lifecycle of steel and concrete bridges, combining capabilities for modeling, analysis, and design.
ProStructures: Create accurate 3D models for structural steel, metal work, and reinforced concrete structures.

Recommended for road design

OpenRoads Designer: Comprehensive detailed design and documentation for roadway projects, including surveying, drainage, subsurface utilities, and visualization in one application.
OpenRoads ConceptStation: Create conceptual designs to evaluate more options and identify risks during project planning.

Recommended for water infrastructure

OpenFlows Water: Comprehensive decision-support software for you to design, plan, and operate your water distribution systems.
OpenFlows Sewer: Efficient sanitary sewer modeling and design software used to design, analyze, and plan wastewater collection systems.

Recommended for CAD modeling and building design

MicroStation: Model, document, access, and view architectural, engineering, mapping, construction, and operations design information with the power and flexibility you need for any size project.
OpenBuildings Designer: Design, analyze, document, and visualize buildings with software made for architects and engineers.

Recommended for structural analysis and detailing

STAAD: Analyze and design any structure, simple or complex, and share the synchronized model with confidence for multidiscipline team collaboration.
RAM Elements: Perform 3D finite element analysis of almost any type of structure or structural component.

Geotechnical analysis

PLAXIS 3D: Perform powerful 3D finite element analysis of deformation and stability for high-profile projects in soil and rock.
PLAXIS 2D: Reliably analyze soil and rock in 2D to assess deformation and stability under the effects of ground-structure interaction, groundwater flow, heat flow, or earthquakes.

Education partners

At Work in Leading Academic Institutions

Ready to Get Started with Free Engineering Software?

Your free access to industry-leading software and resources is just a click away. Sign up for a Bentley Education User Account today or login to view your existing profile. Get Started ❯