COMTRADE Viewers Compared (2026)

Several tools are available for viewing and analyzing COMTRADE fault recordings, from free desktop viewers to commercial engineering suites. This overview summarizes how the commonly-used options position themselves, based on publicly available information as of March 2026. Feature sets change. Verify current capabilities on each vendor's site before deciding.

Quick orientation

Detego

Detego is a free, browser-based COMTRADE viewer and fault analysis platform. Upload a .cfg + .dat pair or a .cff file and you get interactive waveforms, phasor diagrams, symmetrical components, impedance trajectories, power quantities, harmonics, and protection analysis modules for distance, overcurrent, differential, directional, and fault location. A built-in report editor produces PDF reports, and cloud storage plus read-only sharing links are included.

What's different: AI fault analysis. Detego is the first COMTRADE tool with an integrated AI agent that reads the recording end-to-end and produces a structured fault report. The agent plans its own measurements, calls the same computation engine a protection engineer would use (DFT phasors, sequence components, impedance trajectories, protection element assessments) and cross-references the relay's manufacturer manual (when available) to check whether observed behavior matches the expected logic. The output is a narrative report with a verdict, supporting evidence, and annotated charts you can drop into the report editor.

It does not replace an engineer's judgment, but it collapses the first 20 minutes of "what am I looking at" into a first pass you can react to.

Best for: Protection engineers who want full fault analysis in the browser, and a fast, evidence-backed first pass from AI before they dive in themselves.

SIGRA

SIGRA is Siemens' fault record analysis tool, distributed alongside the SIPROTEC engineering suite. It is a commercial, Windows-based product. For current feature list and licensing, see Siemens' SIGRA page on the Siemens website.

Typical fit: Utilities standardized on the Siemens / SIPROTEC ecosystem.

TransView

TransView is OMICRON's software for transient recording visualization and analysis. It is distributed as part of OMICRON's engineering software and is Windows-based. For current capabilities and licensing, see OMICRON's website.

Typical fit: Teams already using OMICRON test equipment who want analysis integrated with their existing workflow.

WaveWin

WaveWin is a long-established free Windows COMTRADE viewer, historically known for supporting a wide range of relay-specific file formats in addition to standard COMTRADE. For current feature list see the vendor's site.

Typical fit: Engineers who need to open proprietary relay-native formats that other tools don't support.

Where Detego fits

The established commercial tools and free viewers each serve their niche well. Detego is aimed at a different point in the space: web-native (no install, works on any OS), free to start, and designed around integrated analysis (phasors, impedance, protection assessment, reporting, and an AI-powered first pass) in one workflow. If you already have a licensed desktop tool that meets your needs, there's no reason to switch; if you're opening a recording on a laptop that doesn't have it installed, or you want an AI fault report in seconds, or you want to share analysis with a colleague via link, that's the gap Detego fills.

Vendor information is based on publicly available sources as of March 2026. Feature sets change; verify current capabilities on each vendor's site.