In-Depth Reviews of Top Solar Design Software

Arka360 suits installers who want design, proposals and lead tracking in one tool, with US plans from $199 per month. Its Basic plan leaves out CAD export, single line diagrams and battery sizing, which the pricing page lists for Premium and Enterprise.

Aurora Solar suits teams that design and sell residential solar in one tool. Its shade report is not available on the Basic plan, and the API, Aurora AI and Contract Manager are on Enterprise only.

AutoCAD is a drawing program, and solar design inside it comes from add-ons such as PVcase, PVCAD and Virto.CAD. You buy the add-on from its own vendor, and Autodesk's price page could not be read for this page.

BlueSol suits a designer who works on Windows and wants one program for PV layouts, wiring diagrams and reports, for a one-time price of 590,00 € before tax. Each license installs on one computer, and Mac use needs a Windows virtual machine.

Enact Solar suits installers who want design, proposals and later system monitoring on one platform, and the vendor says it works in 35+ countries. The Design and proposals plan lists 10 new commercial projects per month, and engineering (PVCAD) is priced as a separate plan.

Energy Toolbase suits commercial solar and storage developers who need utility rate and battery modeling in proposals. Its own comparison table marks in-app PV panel layout tools with a cross, and it does not publish a price for ETB Developer.

ETAP suits engineers and planners who study how a solar plant works inside the power grid. ETAP does not publish a price, and its free demo is for learning only, not for real project work.

GoSolo, now branded Solo, suits solar, roofing and HVAC sales teams that want interactive proposals, lender financing and an expert design team on call. Its current pricing page shows no amounts, and its pages ask you to book a demo to start.

HelioScope suits teams that design and sell commercial solar and storage projects, with plans sized from 1.25 MW (DC) to 30 MW (DC). Each Basic or Pro license includes 1 user and 10 projects per month, and design size is capped by plan.

HOMER Pro suits engineers who size microgrids and off-grid power systems by simulating a full year of use. It is a Windows program, so Mac users need to run Windows.

Lyra suits US and Puerto Rico home installers who want to make permit packages themselves and file at least 20 a year. Its own pages describe a residential focus, and they do not list proposals or financial modeling.

Nearmap suits solar teams that want recent aerial pictures and online measuring before a site visit. The vendor does not publish a price, and the image types you get depend on your subscription and your address.

OpenSolar suits installers who want design, proposals, payments and a project tracker in one tool that the vendor says is free of charge. Its help center recommends keeping 3D designs under 500 kW, and API access, connectors and Enterprise Services are paid.

Photonik suits homeowners and small installers who want a free tool to lay out panels and send proposals. Its own site says it has no 3D modelling and no automated shading, and some tools, such as the wiring diagram editor, are still in beta.

Pipe Solar suits solar companies that want proposals, financing, e-signing, a project tracker and a customer portal in one tool, billed month to month. It posts no price on its site, so you must ask the vendor what a proposal costs.

PV*SOL suits planners who design on a Windows computer and want 3D shading, batteries, electric cars and heat pumps in one tool. The vendor says it needs Windows 10 or 11 and a yearly or 3-month named-user licence, from 845,00 EUR plus VAT a year for premium.

PVcase suits engineering teams that design utility-scale and large rooftop projects inside AutoCAD. Its design tools need AutoCAD on a Windows PC, and PVcase does not publish prices.

PVComplete suits engineers who already work in AutoCAD, and sales teams who want a web tool for first layouts. The vendor prices each tool on its own, and PVCAD runs only on Windows.

PVsyst suits engineers who need detailed yield simulation, shade models and loss reports for solar systems. It runs only on Windows, and the vendor sells one licence per computer.

PVWatts suits quick, early estimates of how much energy a solar system could make from a few inputs. The vendor says it is for very preliminary studies and does not model shade from nearby objects.

Pylon suits small teams that design home solar systems and want to pay per project, not per seat. Its Standard plan stops at 30kW, and its pricing page does not name the currency.

RatedPower suits teams that design utility-scale solar and storage plants and want layout, yield and documents from one run. The vendor's own site says that if your work is commercial, industrial or residential rooftop, other tools serve you better.

Revit suits architects and engineers who already model buildings in Revit and want solar checks inside that model. Autodesk's Revit help describes solar analysis and PV energy estimates, but we found no PV string design, single line diagram or proposal tool there.

SAM suits analysts, engineers and developers who want a free desktop program to model solar output and project finance. You enter the system, cost and weather inputs yourself, and we found no single line diagram, wire sizing or proposal builder on the SAM site or in its help.

Scanifly suits solar companies that want PV design from remote imagery or drone photos, with plan sets and racking exports. Its subscription price is not published, and onsite design needs a drone with GPS and a camera.

SketchUp is a general 3D modeler, and solar layout comes from the Skelion plugin, which you buy separately on skelion.com. The Skelion site lists layout, shading losses and energy reports, and does not list wiring diagrams or financial models.

Sunny Design suits installers and planners who work with SMA inverters and want a free browser tool for roof planning, shading and yield. SMA's manual describes planning with SMA inverters and does not say whether you can add other brands.

Solar Design Tool is now sold as Lyra, a web tool that makes home solar permit packages for the US and Puerto Rico. The vendor sets a minimum of 20 permit packages per year, so it is built for steady volume.

SolarAPP+ suits licensed installers who permit standard home solar or storage in a place that uses it. The vendor says ground-mounted, multifamily and commercial systems are outside its scope.

SolarEdge Designer suits installers who design SolarEdge systems and want a web tool with no license or subscription fee. SolarEdge describes it as a tool for SolarEdge systems, and its own DXF export note sends you to other software, such as AutoCAD, to continue single line diagrams.

Solargraf suits residential installers who want design, proposals and self-service permit plan sets for rooftop systems. Its self-service permit tool does not support ground mount, commercial, carport or three-phase designs, and its price page could not be read when we checked.

Solarius PV suits designers who start from CAD drawings or BIM models and want wiring diagrams and financial reports in one program. ACCA lists Windows as the system it runs on, and Mac users need a Windows virtualizer.

SolarMonkey suits installers who want online quotes for solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, with prices based on how many projects you do each month. Its pages do not mention single line diagrams or wiring drawings, and they show different starting prices.

SolarPlus suits installers and commercial teams who want design, battery modelling, quotes and a built-in CRM in one tool. The vendor says it does not model single-axis trackers, and each plan caps the kilowatts you can quote.

SolarProof suits Australian installers who want STC and battery rebate quoting, proposals and a single line diagram editor in one browser tool. One limit to know: Pro plans are metered by a monthly kW quota, and extra quota costs $45 per 100 kW.

SolarVis suits installers who want roof design, proposals, a CRM and lead tools in one web platform, from €990 per year. The cheapest plan, Starter, limits projects to 100 kWp and 150 per year.

Sunbase Data suits solar teams that want lead tracking, door-to-door sales tools, design, proposals and project tracking in one system. Its price is custom, and Sunbase's own comparison page says its 3D design may not match Aurora Solar for complex commercial engineering.

archelios PRO suits PV designers and installers who want a web tool for layout, yield and electrical design, with plans sized by project power. Plans are yearly: Trace lists Free (9 kWp per project in the page text), Silver at EUR 990, Gold at EUR 1,490 and Platinum at EUR 1,990 a year, excluding tax.

Virto Solar suits engineering teams that already work in AutoCAD or BricsCAD and want automated layouts, electrical design and PVsyst export. The vendor does not show prices, and Virto.CAD needs AutoCAD or BricsCAD to run.