A full-featured suite of simulation software tools from Autodesk can cost as little as a few hundred to just a few thousand dollars. Flexible licensing is also available via a pay-per-solution for certain simulations and 24-hour subscription options.
Contrast that with the average cost of a single prototyping project (including intangible costs around staff and time-to-market). If you’re a design or manufacturing firm, traditional prototyping will usually be several orders of magnitude more expensive.