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Tekla Tedds alternative

StructSuite vs Tekla Tedds

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 Tekla Tedds, row by row.

Verified 7 November 2026. Every Tekla Tedds row comes from Tekla Tedds'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, browser-based alternative to Tekla Tedds for US light-frame design: every design module runs in full with no account and nothing to install. 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 $1,000/year or $50 for a week. Tekla Tedds is a Windows desktop library at $1,255 per user per year, broader across concrete, masonry, cold-formed steel and international codes, and it lets you write your own calculations in Word.

At a glance

Free use

StructSuite
Every design module, no account
Tekla Tedds
30-day trial

Price

StructSuite
Free · Pro $1,000/yr · $50 week
Tekla Tedds
$1,255 per user per year

Shear walls

StructSuite
All walls on the building plan
Tekla Tedds
One wall line per calculation

Runs on

StructSuite
Any web browser
Tekla Tedds
Windows 11 desktop, online licensing

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 Tekla Tedds, feature by feature

How to read it. A check mark means the product does it, with the note saying how. For Tekla Tedds, “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

What it designs: StructSuite and Tekla Tedds compared
FeatureStructSuiteTekla Tedds
Wood shear wallsYesEvery 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, segmented or perforated method, ASD or LRFD; a separate rigid-diaphragm force distribution calculation
Collector (drag strut) forcesForce along a wall line between its shear wallsYesDrawn along each wall line, with the diaphragm and wall unit shears, per ASCE 7-22Not stated
Framing clips for base shear transferSimpson A35, LTP4, LTP5YesRequired clip spacing worked out from the wall line’s shear, capacity tabled from 8 to 48 in, and the clips drawn in the connection detailNot stated
Joists, rafters and headers sized from span tablesFloor joists, ceiling joists, rafters, headersYesSmallest 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 tablesSized by calculation; no IBC/IRC span-table lookup stated
ConnectorsYesSimpson Strong-Tie hangers, hold-downs, SABR anchor bolts, framing clips and post caps, picked from the catalog and checked against the computed loadsWood connection calculation (NDS); required hold-down force reported, hold-down stiffness entered by the user; no connector catalog stated
Wood beams and joistsYesSawn, glulam, LVL, LSL, PSL, I-joists (TJI, BCI, LPI); multi-span and cantileverYesSawn, flitch, glulam, SCL; ASD and LRFD (NDS 2024)
Wood columns and postsYesSawn, glulam, round timber; NDS Table G1 effective length, §3.9.2 combined loadingYesWood member design (NDS)
Steel beams and columnsYesLRFD (AISC 360-22); W, HSS and pipe shapesYesAISC 360-22 / 360-16 / 360-10; ASD and LRFD
Spread and strip footingsYesBearing, overturning, sliding, uplift, punching and one-way shear, flexure, dowels; ACI 318-25 or 318-19YesPad and strip foundations
Cantilever retaining wallsYesConcrete or CMU stem; Mononobe-Okabe or Seed-Whitman seismic pressure; groundwater, surchargesYesCantilevered or propped stem, ACI 318 or TMS
Restrained (basement) retaining wallsAt-rest pressure option; no top-support modelYesBasement wall (ACI 318)
Masonry wallsCMU retaining-wall stem only (TMS 402-22)YesTMS 402/602-22 and -16
Combined and pier footingsNoYesPad or strip footings, isolated or combined (ACI 318); pile caps, piles, flagpole embedment
Steel connections, base plates, joistsNoYesBase plates, anchor bolts, bolt groups, SJI joists
Cold-formed steelNoYesJoists and walls (AISI)
Concrete beams, columns and slabsNoYesACI 318 beams, columns, one- and two-way slabs, shear walls, tilt-up
Frame, truss or 3D analysisNoYes2D frame analysis; 3D through the included Structural Designer LT (size-capped)

The loads it builds for you

The loads it builds for you: StructSuite and Tekla Tedds compared
FeatureStructSuiteTekla Tedds
Dead loads from material weightsASCE 7-22 Table C3.1-1aYesAssembly builder with presetsA dead loading calculation is listed; its source table is not stated
Live loads by occupancyASCE 7-22 Table 4.3-1YesNot stated
Wind, main wind-force resisting systemYesASCE 7-22 Ch. 27 directional and Ch. 28 envelopeYesASCE 7-22 directional procedure, rectangular buildings
Wind, components and claddingYesASCE 7-22 Ch. 30YesASCE 7-22
SeismicYesASCE 7-22 equivalent lateral force: base shear, story, overturning and diaphragm forcesYesASCE 7-22 equivalent lateral force
Live-load pattern arrangementsWorst-case arrangements of live load on multi-span beamsOpt-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 governASCE 7 live-load patterning in the included Structural Designer LT; not stated for the Tedds beam calculations
Site values from a project addressSeismic values (USGS); wind speed you enterNot stated
SnowNot generated; you enter the snow loadYesUndrifted and drifted snow loads (ASCE 7)
TornadoNoYesASCE 7-22

Codes and design methods

Codes and design methods: StructSuite and Tekla Tedds compared
FeatureStructSuiteTekla Tedds
US code editionsNDS 2024 · SDPWS 2021 · AISC 360-22 · ACI 318-25 or ACI 318-19 · TMS 402-22 · ASCE 7-22 · 2024 IBCNDS 2024 / 2018 · SDPWS 2021 / 2015 · AISC 360-22 / 16 / 10 · ACI 318-19 · ASCE 7-22 · TMS 402/602-22 / 16
Design methodWood ASD · steel LRFDWood and steel ASD and LRFD
Other countriesUS codes onlyYesEurocodes, British, Australian and Canadian standards

Reports and review

Reports and review: StructSuite and Tekla Tedds compared
FeatureStructSuiteTekla Tedds
Code referencesClause cited, and the provision quoted word for word beside the governing inputNot stated
Working shownEvery check written out on screen with the numbers substitutedNot stated
Drawn connection detailsYesSill anchor bolts and framing clips, Simpson hangers and post caps, drawn with the catalog’s key dimensionsNot stated
Link for the plan checkerReviewer opens the live calculation, no accountYesPro; the printed report links to a read-only page that flags any change made after printingNot stated
PDF calculation reportYesPro; 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 reorderedYesWord-based output with templates; PDF through its API

Workflow

Workflow: StructSuite and Tekla Tedds compared
FeatureStructSuiteTekla Tedds
AutosizeSpan tables name the smallest adequate size; beams and columns are sized by handDesign two or more trial sections at once (steel beams); automatic sizing not stated
Load linking between membersA beam reaction feeds the column or footingNoColumn and wall load chase-down calculations; member-to-footing linking not stated
Member scheduleNoNot stated
Team workspaceNoYesSeats shared within the organisation by default; admins can assign them to named users
API and AINoYesPublic Tedds API; an AI support chat
Custom calculatorsNoYesWrite your own calculations in Tedds for Word

Price and access

Price and access: StructSuite and Tekla Tedds compared
FeatureStructSuiteTekla Tedds
Using it for freeEvery design module runs in full with no account and no time limit. A free account saves one project.30-day trial with full features; no free plan
PlatformAny web browser, including phones and tablets; nothing to install and no administrator rights neededWindows 11 64-bit desktop; needs an internet connection for licensing
Paid plans (US$)Pro $100/mo ($1,000/yr) · $50 one-week pass$1,255 per user per year (online purchase in the US, UK and Ireland)
What paying addsPrinting the PDF report, unlimited cloud projects and the plan-check link. Every calculation is already free.Any use after the trial; includes Tedds for Word, Structural Designer LT and Trimble Connect Pro
RefundNo refunds; cancel any time and Pro runs to the end of the period paid forNot stated

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.
  • Runs in any web browser on any computer, with nothing to install or license per machine.
  • 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 printed in the report: the reviewer opens the calculation read-only, and the page flags any change made after printing.
  • Live-load arrangements per ASCE 7-22 §4.3.3 on wood and steel beams, each drawn with its load placement and a note on why it can govern.
  • A fraction of the price: every calculation is free, and Pro is $1,000/year (or $100/month, or $50 for a week) against Tekla Tedds at $1,255 per user per year.

Where Tekla Tedds fits

  • A broad US library beyond wood: concrete slabs and tilt-up walls, masonry, cold-formed steel, SJI joists, piles and pile caps.
  • Write your own calculations in Word, and drive the library through a public API.
  • International codes (Eurocode, British, Australian, Canadian), snow and tornado loads, and 3D analysis through Structural Designer LT.

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 Tekla Tedds if…

  • You need concrete slabs, tilt-up, masonry or cold-formed steel alongside wood and steel.
  • You want to write custom calculations in Word or automate through an API.
  • You also work to Eurocode, British, Australian or Canadian standards.

Already on Tekla Tedds? 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 Tekla Tedds?

Yes, for US design. 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. Tekla Tedds offers a 30-day trial; after it, a subscription is $1,255 per user per year.

Which is cheaper, StructSuite or Tekla Tedds?

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. Tekla Tedds is $1,255 per user per year and includes Tedds for Word and Structural Designer LT.

Does Tekla Tedds run on a Mac or in a browser?

Tekla Tedds requires Windows 11 64-bit and, per Trimble’s licensing FAQ, an internet connection for licensing. StructSuite runs in any modern web browser on Windows, Mac or Linux, with nothing to install.

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. Tekla Tedds designs one wood shear wall line per calculation by the segmented or perforated method, in ASD or LRFD, reports the required hold-down force, and has a separate rigid-diaphragm force distribution calculation.

Which code editions do they use for US work?

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. Tekla Tedds’ US library notes list NDS 2024 and 2018, SDPWS 2021 and 2015, AISC 360-22, 360-16 and 360-10, ACI 318-19, ASCE 7-22 and TMS 402/602-22 and -16.

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 Tekla Tedds row was read from Tekla Tedds'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 Tekla Tedds is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll correct it and update the date at the top.

More comparisons

The software directory lines up the main tools on what they design, the loads they build and what they cost. All comparisons.