---
id: engines/cadnaa
about:
  label: CadnaA
  description: >-
    Commercial software from DataKustik GmbH in Germany that calculates, maps
    and assesses environmental noise from roads, railways, industry and
    aircraft.
  tags:
    - noise
    - acoustics
    - noise mapping
    - traffic noise
    - barriers
tool:
  tier: 1
  form: Commercial noise prediction software
  group: Sensory landscape
  homepage: 'https://www.datakustik.com/products/cadnaa/cadnaa'
open:
  source: closed
  data: unknown
  api: unknown
  participation: unknown
  licence: >-
    commercial; one-time purchase or subscription, on-premises dongle or cloud
    licensing
  note: >-
    Sold as licensed Windows software in several product tiers; a free demo
    version can be downloaded.
domains:
  - sensory
relations:
  - predicate: answers
    target: questions/sensory-landscape
provenance:
  origin: agent
  sources:
    - title: CadnaA - Noise Prediction & Mapping Software - Datakustik GmbH
      url: 'https://www.datakustik.com/products/cadnaa/cadnaa'
  created: '2026-10-18'
  reviewed: '2026-10-18'
  reviewed_by: 'Claude, from the sources listed'
  status: draft
---
The name stands for Computer Aided Noise Abatement.[^1] CadnaA models noise from industrial sites, road and railway networks, airports and whole towns.[^1] Its calculation standards include ISO 9613-2, the CNOSSOS-EU methods behind the EU Environmental Noise Directive, Germany's RLS-19 and TA Lärm, the UK's CRTN, the US TNM 2.5 and China's HJ2.4. Some are dated as recently as 2024.[^1] Sister products CadnaB and CadnaR cover building acoustics and room acoustics.[^1]

The typical uses all come before anything is built: strategic noise maps under the Environmental Noise Directive, noise studies for planning and permitting, industrial plant assessments, traffic noise forecasts, and the design of noise control measures such as barriers.[^1] Dedicated source types exist for wind turbines and for tennis, pickleball and padel courts.[^1] Models are built on the map or imported from CAD, GIS (shapefile, GeoPackage), OpenStreetMap, CityGML and raster terrain files.[^1] Results export back to GIS, Google Earth and office formats.[^1] Projects can run to 16 million objects per source type.[^1] DataKustik says consultancies, authorities and industry use it in more than 60 countries.[^1]

CadnaA is Windows-only software for x86-64 machines, not Apple silicon.[^1] It is sold in tiers from CadnaA Basic to CadnaA City & Airport, by one-time purchase or subscription, and licensed through a USB dongle or cloud licensing.[^1] Calculation can be spread over many cores and, with the CALC products, over other machines.[^1] A free demo version is offered.[^1]