FrameAI vs SCIA

Cloud-native AI steel design vs. 30-year-old desktop FEM — same Eurocode results, no install required

Upload a structural steel PDF. FrameAI extracts every member, runs the Eurocode calculations, and exports shop-ready drawings — without a seat license, a FEM textbook, or a 3-month onboarding.

Try the live demo → Calculate your savings
20×
faster execution
2 min
PDF → drawings
$0
setup cost
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Feature comparison

Feature FrameAI SCIA
BIM import (IFC / Tekla / Revit) ◑ ✓ SCIA BIM (IFC import)
EN 1993-1-8 connection design ✓ ✓ Strong Eurocode support
EN 1993-1-9 fatigue ✓ ✓ Partial fatigue (limited templates)
EN 1992 concrete design ✓ ✓ Multi-material (concrete + steel + timber)
EN 1995 timber design ✓ ✓ SCIA multi-material
EN 1998 seismic design ✓ ✓ All regions
DSTV NC1 export ✓ ✗ Not supported
DXF export ✓ ✓ DXF export
IFC 4.3 export (ISO 16739-1:2024) ✓ ✓ IFC (older schema, no Eurocode Psets)
PDF calculation reports ✓ ✓ PDF reports
Revision diff / AutoDiff ✓ ✗ Not available
ROI calculator ✓ ✗ Not available
Public REST API + webhooks (Studio) ✓ ✗ No public API
Starting price per seat / yr $120 ~€1,500–3,000 / yr
Free tier ✓ Always free ✗ Student license only

Workflow comparison

Traditional workflow
SCIA
  • Install SCIA Engineer (Windows desktop only)
  • Configure licensing and FEM environment
  • Build full structural model — members, loads, supports
  • Run FEM analysis (can take hours for large models)
  • Manually check connections — no automated EN 1993-1-8
  • Export drawings and documentation manually
Total time per joint Days to weeks for a complete project
FrameAI workflow
AI-powered steel design
  • Upload a structural PDF drawing (or type geometry)
  • AI auto-designs every connection per EN 1993-1-8
  • Instant Eurocode check + AutoDiff on revision
Total time per joint 30–60 min end-to-end

Pricing

Traditional
SCIA
~€1,500–3,000 / yr
Per seat per year.
Annual contract required.
Implementation + training extra.
FrameAI
Pro
$60 / yr
Total price, all inclusive.
No seat limit. No training cost.
Browser-based, instant access.
FrameAI
Studio
$400 / yr
Total price, all inclusive.
No seat limit. No training cost.
Browser-based, instant access.

Pricing from public sources as of June 2026. Contact competitor for current quotes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import my existing SCIA model or IFC file?
FrameAI accepts IFC uploads. SCIA exports IFC — import directly into FrameAI. SAF v2.x round-trip is also supported for Scia/Tekla/Nemetschek workflows.
Do you cover Dutch / German / Belgian National Annexes for Eurocode?
Yes. FrameAI supports NA variants for NL, DE, BE, FR, IT, PT, RO, SI, HR across EN 1993-1-1, -1-8, -4, -8, and EN 1998-1.
What about IFC round-trip — can I send model data back to SCIA?
FrameAI exports IFC 4 files. You can import the FrameAI connection design geometry back into SCIA for structural coordination and documentation.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — FrameAI has a free tier with no time limit. Upload up to 5 drawings per month at no cost. SCIA offers student licenses; no free commercial tier.
Does FrameAI cover concrete design?
Yes. FrameAI now ships EN 1992-1-1 bending (§6.1), shear (§6.2), crack width (§7.3), and minimum reinforcement checks (§9.2/§9.3/§9.5) for RC sections detected in /intake PDFs. Rebar schedules with BS 8666 shape codes are generated automatically. Worked examples at /examples/eurocode/.
What's the pricing compared to SCIA?
FrameAI Studio is $400/yr total. SCIA starts at ~€1,500/seat/yr — over 3× more per seat. For a firm with 5 engineers, that is €7,500/yr in SCIA licensing vs $400/yr in FrameAI.
See the Eurocode hand-calc validation report →

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No install. No sales call. Upload your first drawing and see the difference.

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