Any project. Anywhere. Any material.
You can design, analyze, and document structural projects – anywhere in the world, with any material using STAAD. It offers you a flexible solution to cover all your structural engineering needs from the foundation up. STAAD is a comprehensive structural finite element analysis and design application that allows users to perform analysis on any structure exposed to static, dynamic, wind, earthquake, thermal, and moving loads. STAAD comes in different variations so you can choose what’s best for you.
*Prices vary per region. For more options, see licensing and subscriptions section.
- STAAD.Pro
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What is STAAD.Pro?
STAAD is a popular structural analysis application known for analysis, diverse applications of use, interoperability, and time-saving capabilities. STAAD helps structural engineers perform 3D structural analysis and design for both steel and concrete structures.
A physical model created in the structural design software can be transformed into an analytical model for structural analysis. Many design code standards are incorporated into STAAD to make sure that the structural design complies with local regulations.
View Data Sheet ❯ Comparison Chart ❯
- STAAD.Pro Advanced
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What is STAAD.Pro Advanced?
STAAD.Pro Advanced includes all the modeling, analysis, design and interoperability capabilities of STAAD.Pro, but layers on more advanced analysis, as well as reinforced concrete design and detailing features.
- Nonlinear geometric and cable analysis
- Eigen buckling analysis
- Floor spectrum analysis due to time history loading (seismic design)
- Steady state dynamic performance for vibration design
- Pushover analysis
- Design and detailing of reinforced concrete beams, columns, footings, pile caps, walls, and slabs
- Design reports, material takeoffs, and bill of quantity
- Automated reinforcing drawings, details, and schedules, with customizable settings
View Data Sheet ❯ Comparison Chart ❯
- Structural WorkSuite
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What is Structural WorkSuite?
Structural WorkSuite is Bentley’s most comprehensive set of structural software bundled into one cost-effective license. It includes everything that is in STAAD.Pro Advanced, and STAAD Foundation Advanced, as well as various RAM software.
Structural WorkSuite includes the following interoperable software:
- STAAD.Pro Advanced
- STAAD Advanced Concrete Design
- STAAD Foundation Advanced
- RAM Structural System
- RAM Concept (including post-tensioning)
- RAM Connection and RAM Elements
- iTwin Analytical Synchronizer and Microstran.Advanced
- ADINA for advanced nonlinear and multiphysics analysis
View Data Sheet ❯ Comparison Chart ❯
What is STAAD.Pro?
STAAD is a popular structural analysis application known for analysis, diverse applications of use, interoperability, and time-saving capabilities. STAAD helps structural engineers perform 3D structural analysis and design for both steel and concrete structures.
A physical model created in the structural design software can be transformed into an analytical model for structural analysis. Many design code standards are incorporated into STAAD to make sure that the structural design complies with local regulations.
View Data Sheet ❯ Comparison Chart ❯
What is STAAD.Pro Advanced?
STAAD.Pro Advanced includes all the modeling, analysis, design and interoperability capabilities of STAAD.Pro, but layers on more advanced analysis, as well as reinforced concrete design and detailing features.
- Nonlinear geometric and cable analysis
- Eigen buckling analysis
- Floor spectrum analysis due to time history loading (seismic design)
- Steady state dynamic performance for vibration design
- Pushover analysis
- Design and detailing of reinforced concrete beams, columns, footings, pile caps, walls, and slabs
- Design reports, material takeoffs, and bill of quantity
- Automated reinforcing drawings, details, and schedules, with customizable settings
View Data Sheet ❯ Comparison Chart ❯
What is Structural WorkSuite?
Structural WorkSuite is Bentley’s most comprehensive set of structural software bundled into one cost-effective license. It includes everything that is in STAAD.Pro Advanced, and STAAD Foundation Advanced, as well as various RAM software.
Structural WorkSuite includes the following interoperable software:
- STAAD.Pro Advanced
- STAAD Advanced Concrete Design
- STAAD Foundation Advanced
- RAM Structural System
- RAM Concept (including post-tensioning)
- RAM Connection and RAM Elements
- iTwin Analytical Synchronizer and Microstran.Advanced
- ADINA for advanced nonlinear and multiphysics analysis
View Data Sheet ❯ Comparison Chart ❯
STAAD
The leading choice for Structural Engineers
- Design for any project, including buildings, culverts, plants, bridges, stadiums, and marine structures.
- Design structures with a variety of construction materials including steel and concrete.
- Perform finite element analysis and analyze any structure exposed to static, dynamic, wind, earthquake, thermal, and moving loads.
- Reduce the resource hours required to properly load your structure by automating the forces caused by gravity, wind, earthquakes, snow, or vehicles.
- Easily accommodate your design and loading requirements, including U.S., European, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese codes.
Featured User Stories
Hyundai Engineering
Design Automation System for Modular Transport and Precast Concrete Structures
Engineering Laboratories and Research Building
CNI Ingenieros Consultores SAS
DCO Albany Green Energy Biomass
STAAD and AutoPIPE used in wood-fired renewable power facility for Procter & Gamble
Canal Top Solar PV Power Plant
Skeleton Consultants used STAAD to design a 10-megawatt solar photovoltaic project
User Quote
STAAD revolutionized the structural design process years ago, and even today, many years and versions later, it is still the most user-friendly solution and preferred by most designers.
FAQs
STAAD is a comprehensive structural finite element analysis and design application that allow users to perform analysis on any structure exposed to static, dynamic, wind, earthquake, thermal, and moving loads.
STAAD is used for structural analysis and design, enabling engineers to analyze the forces acting on structural members and verify if they comply with specific international design codes. This infrastructure software is ideal for designing buildings, bridges, industrial facilities, and more.
No, STAAD is not a CAD software. STAAD is specifically designed for structural analysis and design. However, it integrates with CAD tools like MicroStation and AutoCAD to streamline workflows by importing and analyzing 3D models. STAAD.Pro is also an ISM (Integrated Structural Modeling) enabled application allowing a seamless, two-way exchange of data between STAAD and MicroStation and other ISM-enabled applications. You can import, export, and update project data between the programs, making it possible to share design changes and maintain consistency.
Structural engineers must make a variety of difficult decisions every day. To help them perform this advanced work, structural engineers rely on dedicated structural engineering software. This software helps automate extremely time-consuming processes for the structural engineer, including building a digital model, studying the forces acting on the structure, solving the equations and mathematics that predict the structure’s behavior; and ensuring all elements and systems in the structure and have adequate strength and stiffness.
Further, it is important to choose software that will help structural engineers conform to regulatory codes and ensure safety. Structural engineering software helps users save time and ensure accuracy, which is vital when dealing with structure stability and strength.
STAAD is a popular structural analysis application known for advanced analysis, diverse applications of use, interoperability, and time-saving capabilities. STAAD helps structural engineers perform 3D structural analysis and design for both steel and concrete structures. A physical model created in the structural design software can be transformed into an analytical model for structural analysis. Many design code standards are incorporated into STAAD to make sure that the structural design complies with local regulations.
STAAD is an acronym derived from Structural Analysis and Design. It is Bentley Systems’ flagship software for structural engineering, offering advanced analysis and design capabilities for a variety of projects. Learn more about STAAD.
Structural WorkSuite eliminates concerns about product-by-product license availability by combining individually priced applications into a single bundle. It helps engineers on tight budgets take advantage of comprehensive workflows rather than being stuck with the inefficiencies and limitations of partial workflows. Each Structural WorkSuite user can employ all applications within the software package with no extra fees.
Structural WorkSuite includes:
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Staad.Pro supports over 90 international design codes for steel, concrete, timber, and aluminum.
Some of these codes include:
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All design codes can be found at https://docs.bentley.com/LiveContent/web/STAAD.Pro-v2025.0.0/Help/en/topics/Design_Codes/General/c-stpst_Design_Codes.html
STAAD pricing depends on licensing options, including perpetual licenses and subscriptions. Bentley’s Virtuoso subscriptions also provide access to STAAD along with expert training and support. Learn more about STAAD pricing.
Yes, STAAD.Pro is user-friendly for engineers. Bentley offers comprehensive tutorials, online training, and built-in templates to help users quickly learn and apply its features.
STAAD excels in advanced structural analysis and design, while Tekla specializes in modeling and detailing. Engineers often use both tools together for a comprehensive workflow, but STAAD is preferred for advanced structural analysis and design.
Many structural engineers prefer STAAD because it scales easily from simple buildings to massive industrial and offshore structures, handling large, multi-material, and multi-discipline models with analytical robustness. It supports advanced analysis types, including nonlinear, dynamic, seismic, and offshore, and more than 90 international design codes for steel, concrete, timber, and aluminum. STAAD’s OpenSTAAD API enables automation and custom workflows, while its interoperability across Bentley’s ecosystem makes it ideal for integrated infrastructure projects. Combined with flexible licensing and the Structural WorkSuite bundle option, STAAD offers unmatched power, versatility, and value compared to RISA.
STAAD is among the best structural engineering software tools. Its advanced analysis capabilities, multi-material support, and compliance with global standards make it ideal for engineers designing a wide range of structures.
| Processor | Intel® Pentium or AMD® processor 3.0 GHz or greater. |
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| Memory | 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended (4 GB for STAAD.Pro Advanced). More memory almost always improves performance, particularly when working with larger models. 4 GB (8 GB for STAAD.Pro Advanced) or more can help speed up solutions for very large complex models with large numbers of load cases. |
| Video | Graphics card supported by OpenGL. See the graphics card manufacturer for latest information on graphics drivers. 256 MB of video RAM or higher is recommended. If insufficient video RAM or no graphics card supported by OpenGL can be found, the application will attempt to use software emulation. For optimal performance, graphics display color depth should be set to 24-bit or higher. When using a color depth setting of 16-bit, some inconsistencies will be noted. |
| Screen Resolution | A minimum screen resolution of 1280×1024 is required, but higher is recommended. Note: 4k displays are currently not supported. |
| Hard Disk | Requirements will vary depending on the modules you are installing. A typical minimum is 500MB free space. |
| Supported Operating Systems | Windows 11 (64-bit), Windows 10 (64-bit) Bentley does not support its software running on Microsoft operating systems versions that Microsoft has “retired”. For more information on Microsoft’s application retirement policy, refer to the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy. For similar information on Bentley products, refer to the Bentley Lifecycle Policy. |
Additional RAM, disk space, and video memory will enhance the performance of STAAD.Pro. The minimum amount of physical + virtual memory required by the program is over 600MB. You may need to ensure that adequate amounts of virtual memory are available and that parameters such as paging file sizes should be large enough or span over multiple drives if the free space on any one drive runs low.
Another issue to keep in mind is the location of the TEMP parameter as in the SET TEMP environment variable in Windows. While performing calculations, depending on the structure size, the program may create very large scratch files which are placed in the folder location associated with the TEMP parameter. You may want to point the SET TEMP variable to a folder on a drive that has disk space sufficiently large to accommodate the requirements for large size structures.
You should have a basic familiarity with Microsoft® Windows® systems in order to use the software.
Yes. STAAD supports seismic analysis, allowing engineers to evaluate a structure’s response to seismic loads and ensure compliance with international standards.
