ENERCALC alternative
StructSuite vs ENERCALC
StructSuite is free structural design software for US engineers: wood and steel members, joists and rafters, shear walls, footings, retaining walls and ASCE 7-22 loads, in the browser, with no account. Here it is next to ENERCALC, row by row.
Verified 7 November 2026. Every ENERCALC row comes from ENERCALC's own published pages, and every StructSuite row from the StructSuite code. Written and checked by StructSuite's licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.).
The short answer
StructSuite is the free ENERCALC alternative for US light-frame design: every design module runs in full in the browser with no account. It models every shear wall on the building plan at once with collector forces, names the smallest adequate joist, rafter or header from the 2024 IBC and TJI tables, checks Simpson hangers, hold-downs, SABR anchors, clips and post caps, builds dead and live loads from the ASCE 7-22 tables, and quotes the governing code text beside the inputs. Pro is $100/month or $1,000/year, or $50 for a week. ENERCALC's Structural Engineering Library is a broader paid suite of 64 modules at $1,699/year for two seats, adding concrete, masonry, 3D analysis, snow loads and more retaining wall types.
At a glance
Free use
- StructSuite
- Every design module, no account
- ENERCALC
- 30-day trial, no credit card
Price
- StructSuite
- Free · Pro $1,000/yr · $50 week
- ENERCALC
- $1,699/yr or $199/mo (2 seats)
Shear walls
- StructSuite
- All walls on the building plan
- ENERCALC
- One wall line per calculation
Runs on
- StructSuite
- Any web browser
- ENERCALC
- Browser, Mac or installed on Windows
Why engineers choose StructSuite
Free in full, no account
Every design module runs in the browser with the complete calculation on screen. No trial, no sign-up.
Shear walls on the plan
Model every wall line on the building plan at once. Forces distribute automatically and collector forces are drawn along each line.
Simpson Strong-Tie built in
Hangers, hold-downs, SABR anchor bolts, framing clips and post caps, checked against the loads the module computed and drawn as connection details.
Framing sized fast
Floor joists, ceiling joists, rafters and headers from the 2024 IBC and TJI tables, every candidate charted against the span (or the load, for TJ-9000 headers).
Loads from ASCE 7-22
Dead loads from Table C3.1-1a, live loads from Table 4.3-1, wind (Ch. 27, 28, 30) and seismic, in the same project.
The code text, quoted
A book icon beside a governing input opens the provision word for word: 2024 IBC, ASCE 7-22, NDS 2024, SDPWS 2021, ACI 318-25, AISC 360-22.
The whole package, one project
Cover sheet with your logo, stamp and signature, loads, every member, footings and walls, a table of contents and page numbers, printed as one PDF with a plan-check link. Revise a module and the contents and page numbers follow.
Guided, step by step
Every module walks through numbered steps: geometry sketches draw as you type, a step summary stays red until its inputs are filled, and every check is written out. A filled-in sample project, videos and worked examples show the way.
Built for the job site and the plan-check counter
On a phone or tablet
Size a joist, rafter or header at the job site: the modules lay out for small screens in any mobile browser, with nothing to install.
On a locked-down office computer
No installation and no administrator rights, so it runs on city and agency computers where installing software is not allowed.
Code text for the correction list
The governing provision is quoted word for word beside the input it governs, so a plan checker can check the value and copy the section into a correction comment.
Code and catalog in one place
The code sections and the Simpson Strong-Tie catalog data sit inside the module that uses them, so you are not jumping between code books and catalogs.
StructSuite vs ENERCALC, feature by feature
How to read it. A check mark means the product does it, with the note saying how. For ENERCALC, “Not stated” means its published material does not claim the feature, which is not proof it is missing. For StructSuite, “No” means it doesn't do it today.
What it designs
| Feature | StructSuite | ENERCALC |
|---|---|---|
| Wood shear walls | YesEvery wall line modeled on the building plan at once; force distributed automatically; hold-downs, anchor bolts, end posts, two-sided sheathing (SDPWS 2021) | One wall line per calculation (full-height segment method), up to 5 stories; a separate rigid-diaphragm module distributes lateral load |
| Collector (drag strut) forcesForce along a wall line between its shear walls | YesDrawn along each wall line, with the diaphragm and wall unit shears, per ASCE 7-22 | Not stated |
| Framing clips for base shear transferSimpson A35, LTP4, LTP5 | YesRequired clip spacing worked out from the wall line’s shear, capacity tabled from 8 to 48 in, and the clips drawn in the connection detail | Not stated |
| Joists, rafters and headers sized from span tablesFloor joists, ceiling joists, rafters, headers | YesSmallest adequate size named as soon as the table inputs are in, every candidate charted against the span (or the load, for TJ-9000 headers): sawn lumber from the 2024 IBC tables, TJI joists and TJ-9000 headers from the Trus Joist tables | Sized by calculation; no IBC/IRC span-table lookup stated |
| Connectors | YesSimpson Strong-Tie hangers, hold-downs, SABR anchor bolts, framing clips and post caps, picked from the catalog and checked against the computed loads | No connector product selection stated; its shear wall docs exclude anchorage hardware. Wood ledger bolts are designed |
| Wood beams and joists | YesSawn, glulam, LVL, LSL, PSL, I-joists (TJI, BCI, LPI); multi-span and cantilever | YesSawn, glulam, manufactured wood; ASD or LRFD; up to 8 spans |
| Wood columns and posts | YesSawn, glulam, round timber; NDS Table G1 effective length, §3.9.2 combined loading | Yes |
| Steel beams and columns | YesLRFD (AISC 360-22); W, HSS and pipe shapes | YesASD and LRFD; composite and torsion beams |
| Spread and strip footings | YesBearing, overturning, sliding, uplift, punching and one-way shear, flexure, dowels; ACI 318-25 or 318-19 | YesSpread footings with biaxial moment, wall footings |
| Cantilever retaining walls | YesConcrete or CMU stem; Mononobe-Okabe or Seed-Whitman seismic pressure; groundwater, surcharges | YesPlus gravity, gabion, soldier pile and segmental walls |
| Restrained (basement) retaining walls | At-rest pressure option; no top-support model | Yes |
| Masonry walls | CMU retaining-wall stem only (TMS 402-22) | YesSlender and shear walls, lintels and columns |
| Combined and pier footings | No | YesCombined (two columns), pole and pile group |
| Steel connections, base plates, joists | No | YesBase plates and bolt groups |
| Cold-formed steel | No | Not stated |
| Concrete beams, columns and slabs | No | YesBeams and columns; point load on slab |
| Frame, truss or 3D analysis | No | Yes2D frames and trusses, 3D FEM |
The loads it builds for you
| Feature | StructSuite | ENERCALC |
|---|---|---|
| Dead loads from material weightsASCE 7-22 Table C3.1-1a | YesAssembly builder with presets | Your own material-weight database; no ASCE table named |
| Live loads by occupancyASCE 7-22 Table 4.3-1 | Yes | Live load reduction; occupancy table not stated |
| Wind, main wind-force resisting system | YesASCE 7-22 Ch. 27 directional and Ch. 28 envelope | YesASCE 7-22 Ch. 27 and 28 (also 7-16, 7-10) |
| Wind, components and cladding | YesASCE 7-22 Ch. 30 | YesASCE 7-22 Ch. 30 |
| Seismic | YesASCE 7-22 equivalent lateral force: base shear, story, overturning and diaphragm forces | YesASCE 7-22 equivalent lateral force, wall anchorage, nonstructural components |
| Live-load pattern arrangementsWorst-case arrangements of live load on multi-span beams | Opt-in box per ASCE 7-22 §4.3.3; wood and steel beams, including overhangs; each arrangement drawn with a note on why it can govern | YesAll permutations of patterned floor and roof live load on beams |
| Site values from a project address | Seismic values (USGS); wind speed you enter | Links out to the ASCE Hazard Tool |
| Snow | Not generated; you enter the snow load | YesFlat, sloped and drift |
| Tornado | No | Not stated |
Codes and design methods
| Feature | StructSuite | ENERCALC |
|---|---|---|
| US code editions | NDS 2024 · SDPWS 2021 · AISC 360-22 · ACI 318-25 or ACI 318-19 · TMS 402-22 · ASCE 7-22 · 2024 IBC | IBC 2024 / 2021 / 2018 / 2015 · ASCE 7-22 / 7-16 / 7-10 · ACI 318-25 / 19 / 14 · TMS 402-22 / 16 · AISC 360-22 / 16 / 10 · NDS 2024 / 2018 · SDPWS 2021 |
| Design method | Wood ASD · steel LRFD | Wood and steel ASD or LRFD; concrete LRFD |
| Other countries | US codes only | Not stated |
Reports and review
| Feature | StructSuite | ENERCALC |
|---|---|---|
| Code references | Clause cited, and the provision quoted word for word beside the governing input | Not stated |
| Working shown | Every check written out on screen with the numbers substituted | Intermediate values for every failure mode |
| Drawn connection details | YesSill anchor bolts and framing clips, Simpson hangers and post caps, drawn with the catalog’s key dimensions | Not stated |
| Link for the plan checkerReviewer opens the live calculation, no account | YesPro; the printed report links to a read-only page that flags any change made after printing | A free, watermarked license for plan reviewers at publicly funded agencies, who are sent the project files |
| PDF calculation report | YesPro; one US Letter package from one project: cover sheet with your logo, engineer of record, stamp and signature, then a table of contents, every module and page numbers that update as modules are added, removed or reordered | YesWith company logo and P.E. seal |
Workflow
| Feature | StructSuite | ENERCALC |
|---|---|---|
| Autosize | Span tables name the smallest adequate size; beams and columns are sized by hand | YesAutomatic member selection |
| Load linking between membersA beam reaction feeds the column or footing | No | YesMainly steel and wood framing |
| Member schedule | No | Tabular results export to CSV |
| Team workspace | No | Yes2 concurrent seats per plan |
| API and AI | No | An AI assistant (Jack, enercalc.ai); ENERCALC for Revit is a separate product |
| Custom calculators | No | Attach Excel, Word, PDF or Mathcad files to a project |
Price and access
| Feature | StructSuite | ENERCALC |
|---|---|---|
| Using it for free | Every design module runs in full with no account and no time limit. A free account saves one project. | 30-day trial with every module, no credit card. No free plan for the public; free licenses for public-agency plan reviewers. |
| Platform | Any web browser, including phones and tablets; nothing to install and no administrator rights needed | Browser-based ENERCALC (Windows and macOS), the legacy ENERCALC Cloud, or SEL installed on 64-bit Windows |
| Paid plans (US$) | Pro $100/mo ($1,000/yr) · $50 one-week pass | SEL $1,699/yr or $199/mo (2 seats; extra seats $1,150/yr) · SEL-Earth (retaining walls) $499/yr |
| What paying adds | Printing the PDF report, unlimited cloud projects and the plan-check link. Every calculation is already free. | Any use after the trial; SEL includes all 64 modules |
| Refund | No refunds; cancel any time and Pro runs to the end of the period paid for | “30 days” guarantee on its pricing page; its cancel page says no partial refunds of unused subscription |
Where StructSuite leads
- Free in full: every design module runs without an account or a time limit, and the complete calculation shows on screen. Paying is only needed to print, save more than one project or share a plan-check link.
- Shear walls modeled on the building plan all at once: wall lines drawn on the plan, the force distributed automatically, collector (drag strut) forces drawn along each line, then hold-downs, anchor bolts and end posts.
- Simpson Strong-Tie across the workflow: hangers, hold-downs, SABR anchor bolts, framing clips for base shear transfer and post caps are picked from the catalog and checked against the computed loads, and hangers, post caps, clips and sill anchorage are drawn as details.
- Fast framing: for floor joists, ceiling joists, rafters and headers the smallest adequate size is named as soon as the table inputs are in, sawn lumber from the 2024 IBC tables or TJI from the Trus Joist tables, with every candidate charted against the span (or the load, for TJ-9000 headers).
- Dead and live loads built from the ASCE 7-22 tables (Table C3.1-1a material weights, Table 4.3-1 occupancies), so the gravity loads start from a cited table.
- US code text at the point of use: a book icon beside a governing input opens the provision word for word, from 2024 IBC, ASCE 7-22, NDS 2024, SDPWS 2021, ACI 318-25 and AISC 360-22.
- A plan-check link for any reviewer: the printed report links to a read-only page of the live calculation, which flags any change made after printing, with no license or project file to send.
- A fraction of the price: every calculation is free, and Pro is $1,000/year (or $50 for a week) against ENERCALC SEL at $1,699/year.
Where ENERCALC fits
- A much larger library (64 modules): concrete beams and columns, masonry walls, steel base plates, combined and pile footings, and 2D/3D analysis.
- More retaining wall types (restrained, gravity, gabion, soldier pile, segmental) and several code editions side by side.
- ASD and LRFD for wood and steel, snow loads, load linking and automatic member selection.
- A Revit integration (ENERCALC for Revit).
Which to choose
Choose StructSuite if…
- Most of your work is US residential and light commercial: wood beams, posts, joists, rafters, headers and shear walls, steel beams and columns, spread and strip footings, and concrete or CMU retaining walls.
- You want the whole calculation package from one project: a cover sheet with your logo, stamp and signature, the loads, every member, footings and walls, a table of contents and page numbers, printed as one PDF and renumbered for you when you revise.
- You want the tool free to use, or you need it for a week rather than a year.
- You want dead, live, wind and seismic loads built from ASCE 7-22 in the same place you size the members.
- You or your reviewer want to read the code text and every substituted step, not just the result.
- You want a tool a new engineer can pick up quickly: guided numbered steps, a filled-in sample project, step-by-step videos and worked-example guides.
- You size joists, rafters and headers at the job site, on a phone or tablet instead of a desktop computer.
- You review other engineers’ calculations: StructSuite is free, runs in the browser with nothing to install (so it works on locked-down city and agency computers) and needs no account, so a plan checker can rerun a beam, post, footing, shear wall or wind load from another program’s calc package, within StructSuite’s scope (US codes, wood ASD, steel LRFD), and copy the quoted code section into a correction comment.
Choose ENERCALC if…
- You need concrete members, masonry walls, steel base plates or 3D analysis in the same subscription.
- You design many retaining wall types or must stay on older code editions.
- You want load linking and automatic member selection across a large project.
Already on ENERCALC? A free StructSuite run is a quick second check on a member you've designed there, with every step written out.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to ENERCALC?
Yes. StructSuite runs every design module free in the web browser with no account and no time limit: wood and steel beams and columns, joists, rafters and headers, wood shear walls, footings, retaining walls, and dead, live, wind and seismic loads to ASCE 7-22. ENERCALC offers a 30-day trial; after it, the Structural Engineering Library is $1,699/year or $199/month for two seats.
Which is cheaper, StructSuite or ENERCALC?
StructSuite. Every calculation is free, and Pro ($100/month, $1,000/year, or $50 for one week) adds printing, unlimited cloud projects and the plan-check link. ENERCALC SEL is $1,699/year or $199/month for two concurrent seats, with extra seats at $1,150/year; SEL-Earth, for retaining walls only, is $499/year.
Which one is better for wood shear walls?
StructSuite models every wall line on the building plan at once: the lateral force is distributed to the lines automatically, collector (drag strut) forces are drawn along each line, and each wall is checked to SDPWS 2021 with hold-downs, anchor bolts and end posts, with Simpson products checked against the loads. ENERCALC’s wood shear wall module designs one wall line per calculation by the full-height segment method, and its documentation excludes anchorage hardware; a separate module distributes lateral load to rigid-diaphragm systems.
Does ENERCALC run in a browser?
Yes. ENERCALC offers its newest browser-based ENERCALC and the legacy ENERCALC Cloud, as well as the Structural Engineering Library installed on 64-bit Windows; all need a paid subscription after the 30-day trial. StructSuite also runs in any modern web browser, and every design module is free to use with no account.
Which code editions do they use?
StructSuite uses NDS 2024, SDPWS 2021, AISC 360-22, ACI 318-25 (or ACI 318-19), TMS 402-22, ASCE 7-22 and the 2024 IBC. ENERCALC lists several editions side by side, from IBC 2015 to 2024, ASCE 7-10 to 7-22, ACI 318-14 to 318-25, AISC 360-10 to 360-22, NDS 2018 and 2024, TMS 402-16 and 402-22, and SDPWS 2021.
Does StructSuite do snow loads, load linking or autosize like ENERCALC?
Not today. StructSuite carries a snow load you enter through the ASCE 7-22 combinations but does not generate it, designs each member in its own module without linking reactions, and sizes beams and columns by hand (its span tables name the smallest adequate joist, rafter or header). ENERCALC generates snow loads, links loads between steel and wood members and selects members automatically.
How fast can StructSuite size floor joists, rafters and headers?
As soon as the table inputs are in: pick the member, live and dead load, spacing, and species and grade, and StructSuite names the smallest adequate size from the 2024 IBC span tables for sawn lumber, or the Trus Joist tables for TJI joists and TJ-9000 headers, with every candidate charted against your span (or against the load, for TJ-9000 headers).
Can a plan checker use StructSuite to check calculations made in other software?
Yes. StructSuite is free to use in full, runs in any web browser and needs no account, so a plan-check engineer can rerun a member from a calc package produced in another program and compare the results, within StructSuite’s scope (US codes, wood ASD, steel LRFD), with every check written out and the governing code text quoted beside the inputs.
Does StructSuite work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. StructSuite runs in the phone or tablet browser with nothing to install, and its modules lay out for small screens, so an engineer or contractor can size a joist, rafter or header at the job site without a desktop computer.
Can plan checkers use StructSuite on city or agency computers?
Yes. It runs in the web browser with no installation and no administrator rights, which suits locked-down government computers, and a plan checker needs no account to calculate. Each governing provision is quoted word for word beside its input, so a reviewer can check a value against the code and copy the section text into a correction comment.
Does StructSuite include Simpson Strong-Tie connectors?
Yes. Simpson Strong-Tie products are built into the modules: joist and beam hangers, shear wall hold-downs and SABR anchor bolts, framing clips for base shear transfer, and post caps. You pick the product from the catalog list and StructSuite checks it against the loads the module computed; hangers, post caps, clips and sill anchorage are also drawn as details with the catalog’s key dimensions.
Does StructSuite produce a complete calculation package?
Yes. One StructSuite project holds every module of a typical residential or light-commercial job: the cover sheet (firm logo, engineer of record, professional stamp and signature), dead and live, wind and seismic loads, beams, joists, rafters and headers, columns, shear walls, footings and retaining walls. Printing (Pro) assembles them into one US Letter PDF with a table of contents and page numbers, and the contents and page numbers follow when a module is added, removed or reordered. The report links to a read-only verification page for the plan checker.
Is StructSuite free?
Yes, to use: every design module runs in full in the browser with no account and no time limit, and a free account saves one project. Pro ($100/month, $1,000/year, or $50 for one week) adds printing the PDF report, unlimited cloud projects and the plan-check link.
Try StructSuite on your next project
Every design module runs free in the browser, with no account.
How we checked
Every ENERCALC row was read from ENERCALC's own public website and documentation on 7 November 2026, listed below. Nothing comes from inside a trial account, from third-party reviews or from memory. Every StructSuite row was read from the StructSuite code on the same day. Prices are in US dollars, as each vendor publishes them.
Software changes. If a row about ENERCALC is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it and update the date at the top.
More comparisons
- StructSuite vs Calcs.com
- StructSuite vs SkyCiv
- StructSuite vs StruCalc
- StructSuite vs Tekla Tedds
- StructSuite vs US WoodWorks
The software directory lines up the main tools on what they design, the loads they build and what they cost. All comparisons.