ANUGA
Open Source
Open-source 2D shallow-water modelling in Python from Geoscience Australia — strong for dam break and tsunami.
SFINCS
ActiveDeltares' reduced-complexity compound flood model — coastal, fluvial and pluvial drivers in one fast solver.
by Deltares
- Pricing
- Open Source
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Commercial use
- Permitted
- Ecosystem
- Fortran, Python (HydroMT-SFINCS)
- Platform
- Windows, Linux
About SFINCS
SFINCS (Super-Fast INundation of CoastS) solves simplified shallow-water equations tuned for one job: compound flooding, where surge, tide, waves, river flow and rainfall arrive together. By trading full-momentum physics for a carefully validated reduced-complexity scheme (with a subgrid approach that preserves fine topography on coarse grids), it runs orders of magnitude faster than conventional 2D models — fast enough for probabilistic ensembles and forecasting.
It has become the go-to open model for compound coastal flood risk, used in global studies and operational systems alike, and slots into the Deltares ecosystem (HydroMT builds SFINCS models; Delft-FEWS runs them operationally). Open source under GPL-3.
Where it fits in the workflow
TerrainCatchmentRainfallRunoffRoutingHydraulicsMappingReporting
Alternatives to SFINCS
Ranked by the topics, categories and workflow stages they share with SFINCS.
Delft3D FM
Open Source
Deltares' open flexible-mesh suite for rivers, estuaries and coasts — hydrodynamics to morphology.
FastFlood
Free
Rapid flood modelling in the browser — steady-state inundation estimates in seconds, anywhere on earth.
Flood Modeller
Freemium
Jacobs' 1D/2D river and floodplain suite — a UK practice staple with a genuinely useful free tier.
HEC-RAS
FreeVerified
The world's most used hydraulic model: free 1D/2D river analysis, sediment, water quality and flood mapping.
Iber
Free
Free Spanish 2D hydraulic model — flow, turbulence, sediment and habitat modules behind a full GUI.