If you quote Indian rooftop projects, you may want drawings, a bill of materials and a proposal from one design. Reslink documents all three. OpenSolar documents most of them in a free core app. SurgePV documents the bill of materials and proposal. Pick OpenSolar for flat RCC (reinforced concrete) roofs with a free core app. API Access and connectors are charged from 16 April 2026. Pick Arka360 if you want a rupee price list before you call anyone. Pick PVsyst if the job is a P50 to P90 yield study rather than a quotation.
This is a desk comparison of what each vendor publishes, checked October 2026. We have not run side-by-side tests. Local rules below come from Indian government documents, and tool facts come from each vendor’s own site. For the wider rules, see our India solar compliance guide.
Criteria used: SLD (single line diagram) output, flat-roof design, quotation pack, subsidy and tariff modelling, rupee price, P50 to P90 yield evidence.
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Best-For Picks for India
- Quotation pack from one design (SLD, bill of materials, proposal): Reslink. Its site lists SLD, structural and electrical bills of material, and OPEX, CAPEX and time-based tariff proposals from the same 3D design.
- Flat RCC roofs with a free core app: OpenSolar. Its India page documents elevated structures on RCC roofs with a parapet wall. Its help centre documents an India SLD template and a PM Surya Ghar incentive set-up. Its core app is free of charge. API Access and connectors are charged from 16 April 2026.
- Published rupee price list with GST: Arka360. It lists Lite, Basic and Premium plans in rupees plus 18% GST, and has a Bengaluru office.
- Yield simulation with P50 to P90 evaluations: PVsyst. Its documentation describes P50 to P90 evaluations, and its help index lists no quotation or proposal output.
- Roof model to bill of materials and proposal in one product, priced per user: SurgePV. It documents roof modeling, shading, yield, financial modeling, bill of materials and proposals, priced per user. Ask for the India outputs in a demo. Its pricing page and published scope do not state a DISCOM (power distribution company) drawing format or a subsidy calculation.
Comparison Table
Listed alphabetically. This is not a ranking; pick by the situation above. Prices checked October 2026 on each vendor’s own page.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Free or paid | Decisive scope fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka360 | Rupee price list, Bengaluru office | ₹46,000 / ₹70,000 / ₹1,00,000 per year plus 18% GST | Paid | SLD and CAD export are listed for Premium and Enterprise only |
| OpenSolar | Flat RCC roofs, free core app | Core app free; API Access and connectors charged from 16 April 2026 (vendor post) | Free core app, paid API and connectors | Help centre documents an India SLD template and a PM Surya Ghar incentive set-up |
| PVsyst | Yield simulation, P50 to P90 | CHF 700 per year (Professional) | Paid | Documents P50 to P90 evaluations; Windows only |
| Reslink | SLD, BOM and proposal from a phone | From $2,000 per year (plan cards); page description says from ₹4,000 per month | Paid | Plans are banded by project size, up to 100 MW |
| SurgePV | Roof model to BOM and proposal, per seat | $1,899 per user per year (1 user); the page shows rupees to visitors in India, so confirm in a written quote | Paid, guided demo | BOM and proposal generation in scope; no DISCOM drawing format stated |
India Criteria Matrix
Each cell is Documented, Partial or Not published, based on the vendor pages and help centres we read in October 2026. Not published means we did not find it on those pages, not that the feature is absent. There are no scores or weights.
| Tool | SLD output | Flat-roof design | Quotation pack | Subsidy or tariff modelling | Rupee price | P50 to P90 yield evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka360 | Documented (Premium and Enterprise only) | Documented (help centre guide to RCC sites) | Documented (proposal and bill of materials) | Partial (subsidy entered as a percentage or a price; rate finder, incentive adders) | Documented | Partial (Banking Simulation listed) |
| OpenSolar | Documented (India template in help centre) | Documented | Documented | Partial (PM Surya Ghar incentive entered by hand; custom tariffs) | Documented (core app free; API Access and connectors charged) | Not published |
| PVsyst | Partial (single line diagram for grid-connected systems; not India-specific, storage not included) | Not published | Not published | Partial (feed-in tariff and self-consumption economics page; no India tariff or subsidy named) | Not published (CHF) | Documented |
| Reslink | Documented | Partial (pitched, elevated and tin-shed design listed; flat or RCC roofs not named) | Documented | Partial (time-based tariff proposals; blogs claim a PM Surya Ghar calculation and a DISCOM tariff library, which are vendor claims) | Partial (page description only) | Not published |
| SurgePV | Not published | Not published | Documented | Not published | Partial (USD listed; confirm rupees in a quote) | Not published (energy-yield modeling listed) |
Two things stand out. OpenSolar’s help centre documents a PM Surya Ghar incentive set-up, which you enter by hand. Reslink’s blogs say its tool calculates the subsidy. They also say its SLDs meet DISCOM and bank submission standards. These are vendor claims that its product pages do not repeat. No vendor product page we read states a DISCOM-approved drawing format. OpenSolar’s India SLD article tells you to check the drawing against your own utility’s requirements. And the tools differ most on SLD output, flat-roof design and rupee pricing, which is where an Indian installer should ask questions first.
Tool Entries
Arka360
Best for: installers who want a published rupee price list from a vendor with an office in Bengaluru, for residential and commercial rooftops.
Not the right choice if: you need SLD export on a lower plan. The pricing page lists it under Premium and Enterprise only. Also look elsewhere if you want a vendor page devoted to elevated structures on RCC roofs. OpenSolar publishes one. Arka360’s help centre documents RCC rooftop sites and lists an elevated mounting structure template.
What the vendor documents: shading report, 3D visualisation, PV layout CAD export, sales proposal and generation report. Its installers page adds an automatically generated bill of materials, and its help centre documents RCC rooftop design with a parapet, entering a subsidy as a percentage or a price and generating a single line diagram. Its fuller feature list adds an electric single line diagram, Banking Simulation, utility rate finder, payback and ROI report, and cash, loan, lease and PPA financing. The homepage country list includes India.
Price (checked October 2026): Lite ₹46,000 per year (₹7,500 per month), Basic ₹70,000 (₹11,500), Premium ₹1,00,000 (₹16,500), each plus 18% GST. That rupee block is shown to visitors in India. Other visitors see US-dollar cards: Basic $199 per month (1 user), Premium $358 per month (2 users) and Enterprise “Talk to Sales”. The page also holds hidden dollar tables.
Limitations: the page still carries a webinar banner dated 9 January 2025, so confirm current rates. The Lite card lists 360 residential projects and does not give a period. The pages we read do not state a PM Surya Ghar calculation. A second Arka360 page, arka360.com/pricing-in, also shows Lite ₹56,000, Basic ₹80,000 and Premium ₹1,10,000 per year plus GST next to the ₹46,000, ₹70,000 and ₹1,00,000 plans, so confirm which set applies in a written quote.
Vendor link: arka360.com.
OpenSolar
Best for: small installers designing on flat RCC roofs who want a free core app. API Access and connectors are charged from 16 April 2026.
Not the right choice if: your DISCOM expects an SLD in a specific format (OpenSolar’s India SLD article says DISCOM requirements vary by state and asks you to check the drawing against your utility), or you need documented P50 to P90 yield evidence.
What the vendor documents: on its India page, elevated structures for flat RCC rooftops with legs, rafters and purlins. The page also lists one-click proposal sharing over WhatsApp, an interactive 3D view in the online proposal, and an India team. There is a Hindi version of the page. Auto BOM builds a hardware list from the design. Its help centre has an India SLD template. It names the DCDB and ACDB, shows a generation meter and a net meter, and cites IS and CEA references. It exports to PDF. A separate help article shows how to enter the PM Surya Ghar tiers and a Rs 78,000 cap as an incentive. The help article on single line diagrams lists AU, NZ, US, CA, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES and IN. The marketing SLD page lists AU, US, UK, DE, IT and ES.
Price (checked October 2026): the core app is free of charge for solar professionals, per the vendor (free page). From 16 April 2026 the vendor charges for API Access, a per-project fee. The per-project API fee is on OpenSolar’s API page. It also charges for supported connectors, a monthly fee per organization, per its 16 February 2026 post. Optional paid Enterprise Services: Support US$500 per month, Customize US$1,350 per month, Enterprise custom (Enterprise Services). Premium imagery is pay per image, with the price shown in the app.
Limitations: the PM Surya Ghar article is a manual set-up, so you enter the tiers yourself rather than get an automatic calculation. The India SLD article says the drawing is a starting point to check against your own utility, and lists limits such as the first eight strings on systems with more than two inverters or eight strings.
Vendor link: opensolar.com.
PVsyst
Best for: yield simulation and P50 to P90 reporting on larger projects.
Not the right choice if: you need quotations or proposals from the same tool, or you work on a Mac or in a browser. The requirements page says it runs under Windows.
What the vendor documents: a P50 to P90 evaluation covering weather variability and simulation uncertainties. Its help documents a single line diagram editor and viewer for grid-connected systems. It leaves out storage, and the page calls it work in progress. It is not India-specific. It also has a feed-in tariff and self-consumption economics page, with no India tariff or subsidy named. PVsyst’s help index lists no proposal or CRM output.
Price (checked October 2026): CHF 700 per year for PVsyst 8 Professional, with grouped-order discounts of 5% for 2 to 4 licences, 15% for 5 to 9 and 20% for 10 or more. No rupee price is published.
Limitations: the vendor pages we read do not say which Indian lenders accept its reports.
Vendor link: pvsyst.com.
Reslink
Best for: Indian EPCs that want SLD, layout drawings, a bill of materials and a proposal from one design made on a phone.
Not the right choice if: you need documented P50 to P90 yield evidence, or a PM Surya Ghar calculation on its product pages. Neither appears there, but its blogs claim an automatic calculation.
What the vendor documents: 3D design from satellite imagery, shadow simulation, auto stringing, ground-mount and tin-shed design, structural and electrical bills of material, SLD and layout drawings, and OPEX, CAPEX and time-based tariff proposals. Its homepage FAQ says it generates SLDs, layout and string drawings, and other “bank-ready” documents. The company page gives a Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh address.
Price (checked October 2026): the pricing page shows yearly cards in US dollars, excluding taxes: Starter (up to 100 kW) $2,000, Scaler (up to 500 kW) $3,000, Builder (up to 5 MW) $5,000, Developer (up to 100 MW) $10,000. The Monthly toggle on the same page shows $250, $350, $550 and $950 per month for the four plans. Its page description says “Starting at ₹4,000/month”. The page does not explain how the two relate, so ask for a written rupee quote.
Limitations: plans are banded by project capacity. Reslink’s product pages do not describe a DISCOM drawing format. Its blog says its SLDs are in a format that meets Indian DISCOM and bank submission standards, which is a vendor claim.
Vendor link: reslink.org.
SurgePV
SurgePV is our product.
Best for: teams that want roof modeling, shading, yield, financial modeling, bill of materials and proposals in one product, priced per user. These teams will confirm India-specific outputs in a demo.
Not the right choice if: you want a self-serve trial. SurgePV offers a guided demo. It is also a poor fit if you need a rupee price in writing before talking to sales. Ask for a written quote. The US-dollar figures on the pricing page are the ones quoted here. Choose another tool if you need documented elevated-structure design for flat RCC roofs. OpenSolar documents it. Outputs support design and documentation but do not replace approval by the responsible engineer, authority, lender or utility. SurgePV’s published product scope does not list a CRM. Monitoring and ERP are not in its published scope.
What the vendor documents: 3D roof modeling, array layout, shading analysis, energy-yield modeling, financial modeling, electrical workflow support, bill-of-materials output and proposal generation. See solar design software for the product page.
Price (checked October 2026): $1,899 per user per year (1 user). 3 seats: $1,499 per user per year. 5 seats: $1,299 per user per year. These are US dollars, as on the pricing page. That page shows rupee amounts to visitors in India. This page quotes the US-dollar figures, so confirm the rupee price and any tax in a written quote.
Limitations: results depend on source data, assumptions and equipment models. The pricing page and published scope do not state a DISCOM drawing format, a PM Surya Ghar calculation or P50 to P90 outputs.
Vendor link: surgepv.com.
India Rules That Shape the Choice
Drawings for the DISCOM application. Rules for new rooftop connections changed in February 2024. The Ministry of Power’s amendment to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules exempted systems up to 10 kW from the technical feasibility study, cut the study time for larger systems from 20 to 15 days, and cut the time to commission rooftop systems from 30 to 15 days (PIB release, 23 February 2024). The drawings and datasheets your DISCOM asks for are listed in our DISCOM grid connection guide, so check that the tool can export a single line diagram in a form your DISCOM accepts.
Subsidy line in the proposal. Under PM Surya Ghar, central assistance for residential systems is Rs 30,000 per kWp for the first 2 kWp. It is Rs 18,000 per kWp for the next 1 kWp. There is no further assistance beyond 3 kWp. Special category states get Rs 33,000 and Rs 19,800 (MNRE annexure hosted by PIB, file dated 7 August 2024). For a 3 kWp system that is 2 × Rs 30,000 + 1 × Rs 18,000 = Rs 78,000. A 1.5 kWp system gets 1.5 × Rs 30,000 = Rs 45,000. OpenSolar’s help centre shows how to enter these tiers by hand. Reslink’s blogs say its tool calculates the subsidy, which is a vendor claim. No other vendor we read states the calculation, so check the figure yourself. Our PM Surya Ghar guide explains the portal steps. Our subsidy calculator is a separate free tool, not part of any software on this list.
Rupees, GST and language. Arka360 is the only vendor here whose rupee price list we quote for every plan. Arka360 shows an 18% GST line on its rupee price list. SurgePV’s pricing page shows rupee amounts to visitors in India. OpenSolar has a Hindi version of its India page, and the vendor pages we read name India offices for Arka360 (Bengaluru) and Reslink (Ghaziabad).
Regulator pointer. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (mnre.gov.in) runs the rooftop scheme. Net metering limits and export rates vary by state, so read your state order before pricing exports; our net metering guide summarises how they differ.
Quotation Software: What to Check
A quotation needs more than a design. Before you buy, ask each vendor to show one residential project end to end and look for these lines: the bill of materials from the design (Reslink, OpenSolar and SurgePV document one), the subsidy line above, GST on the total, and the SLD you would attach to the DISCOM application. Where a vendor does not publish a feature on the pages we read, we say so in the matrix, and a demo is the place to confirm it.
How We Ordered These Tools
SurgePV publishes this page and is a vendor on this list. Its entry uses the same vendor-page sources and template as every other tool here.
We did not rank these tools. They are listed alphabetically, and the best-for picks come from the matrix above.
- SLD output: our DISCOM guide lists a single line diagram among the application documents. We did not assess whether any tool’s SLD is accepted by a specific DISCOM.
- Flat-roof design: OpenSolar’s India page describes flat RCC rooftops with elevated mounting structures as the case it designs for. We did not assess how accurate any tool’s structure model is.
- Quotation pack: a bill of materials and proposal from the same design saves re-entry. We did not assess output quality.
- Subsidy or tariff modelling: buyers ask what the system saves after subsidy. We did not assess whether any calculation is correct.
- Rupee price: a rupee price shows what an Indian buyer will pay, and a tax line shows how the vendor bills. We did not assess discounts or negotiated quotes.
- P50 to P90 yield evidence: larger projects often need yield figures at more than one level. P90 is a yield expected to be met or exceeded in 90% of years (P50: 50%). We did not assess acceptance by any lender.
Sources and Dates
Vendor pages were read in October 2026: Arka360 (pricing, installers, help centre articles linked above), OpenSolar (India, India SLD article, PM Surya Ghar article, elevated structures, Auto BOM), PVsyst (shop, single line diagram help), Reslink (pricing) and SurgePV (pricing). Government sources: PIB release of 23 February 2024 and the MNRE annexure above. The PM Surya Ghar portal (pmsuryaghar.gov.in) blocked our automated requests, so we did not read it directly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best solar design software in India?
It depends on the job. From what the vendors publish, Reslink documents SLD, bill of materials and proposals from one phone-based design. OpenSolar’s core app is free (API Access and connectors are charged from 16 April 2026), and it documents design for flat RCC roofs. Arka360 publishes a rupee price list. PVsyst documents P50 to P90 yield evaluations. SurgePV documents roof modeling, shading, yield, financial modeling, bill of materials and proposals in one product, priced per user.
What is Reslink Energy and who is it for?
Reslink is a 3D solar design and proposal platform aimed at Indian EPCs. Its site lists phone-based 3D design, shadow simulation, auto stringing, bills of material, single line diagrams and proposals. Its office address is in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Its pricing page shows yearly plans in US dollars from $2,000 and a page description that says plans start at Rs 4,000 per month.
How much does solar software cost in India?
Prices are published in different currencies. OpenSolar’s core app is free (API Access and connectors are charged from 16 April 2026). Arka360 lists Rs 46,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 1,00,000 per year plus 18% GST. Reslink shows yearly plans in US dollars from $2,000 to $10,000 excluding taxes. PVsyst Professional is CHF 700 per year. SurgePV lists $1,899 per user per year for one user. Of these, only Arka360’s rupee list is quoted here, so ask the others for a written rupee quote.
Is there free solar software for Indian installers?
OpenSolar says its core app is free for solar professionals. It has an India page covering elevated structures for flat RCC roofs and WhatsApp proposal sharing. The vendor charges for API Access and supported connectors from 16 April 2026, and optional Enterprise Services start at US$500 per month. Its help centre documents a single line diagram template for India and a guide to entering the PM Surya Ghar subsidy as an incentive.
Which solar software suits utility-scale projects in India?
PVsyst documents P50 to P90 evaluations. Reslink’s top plan covers projects up to 100 MW, and Arka360 lists a Banking Simulation feature. None of the vendor pages we read states acceptance by an Indian lender, so ask your lender which reports it accepts.
Does solar software calculate the PM Surya Ghar subsidy?
OpenSolar’s help centre documents it: a guide to entering the subsidy tiers and a Rs 78,000 cap as an incentive by hand. Reslink’s blogs say its tool calculates it from the sanctioned size, which is a vendor claim its product pages do not repeat. We found no calculation on the Arka360 or SurgePV pages we read. The central assistance is Rs 30,000 per kWp for the first 2 kWp and Rs 18,000 for the next 1 kWp. There is none beyond 3 kWp, so a 3 kWp system gets Rs 78,000. Check that your proposal shows this line correctly, whichever tool you use.
