This is my favorite free Questa/ModelSim edition because it’s the most up-to-date version. Works on: Windows, Linux (Red Hat or Ubuntu) Questa-Intel FPGA Starter Edition (ModelSim) But they all look and feel the same, and they are sufficient, even for advanced VHDL projects.
That’s why you will find many installation options for ModelSim on this list.Īll free ModelSim versions are speed-restricted in some way. ModelSim / QuestaSim, produced by Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics), is one of the most popular HDL simulators. I recommend installing another operating system in a virtual machine to get around the problem. Mac OS is the most challenging platform because there’s only one open-source simulator that works natively. But with a little effort, you can make it work in other distros, including Ubuntu. FPGA vendors usually only support the Red Hat Linux distribution. Microsoft Windows is the easiest to install on, but many simulators also have a Linux version. But fortunately, there are many free and legal alternatives that you can download and install.
Professional VHDL simulators are more expensive than most individuals can afford.
