OpenSolar Review: Pros and Cons

SurgePV publishes this page and is a vendor in this category. SurgePV competes with OpenSolar and is compared in the table below. The facts here come from OpenSolar’s public pages and help center and from SurgePV’s pricing, checked October 2026. Last checked: October 2026.

What does OpenSolar do?

OpenSolar is cloud software for designing, selling and managing solar projects. Everything below comes from OpenSolar’s own website and help center, read October 2026. Links go to the page that states each fact.

Design and shading

• Auto Design: creates designs in seconds, per the vendor. The vendor says Auto Design is in beta. It lists shading analysis with heatmaps and shade reports, and design of commercial systems.
• The Auto Design page says roof models use photogrammetry (a way to build a 3D model from photos).
• The help center covers tracker modes (1 axis and 2 axis), east-west (dual tilt) layouts and more than one panel type in one design.
• Auto BOM builds a bill of materials (BOM, the parts list) from your design. Mounting Designer works out racking parts.
• Accuracy page: OpenSolar reports a shading check by the US Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies. It also reports checks by PVEL, which it describes as a lab for the global downstream solar industry. PVEL found its production figures within 0.1%-1.9% of PVsyst estimates. PVsyst is a separate solar simulation program.

Single line diagrams (SLDs)

A single line diagram (SLD) is a simple drawing of how a solar system is wired. OpenSolar’s SLD page lists region-specific templates for Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. Its help article lists ten countries: Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and India. The two pages differ, so check your country with OpenSolar.

Proposals, payments and sales

• Sales Machine Proposal: Swipe, Scroll and Quick Quote styles. A Bespoke style comes through the Customize and Enterprise plans.
• CashFlow: collects deposits and final payments and makes invoices. It lists Stripe online payments in supported markets.
• E-signature: a built-in signing flow, PandaDoc or DocuSign.
• Integrated Finance: finance options from listed providers, inside the proposal.

Projects, leads and permits

• Project Management CRM: a customer relationship management (CRM) tool for leads and projects. It has table and Kanban (card board) views, custom workflows, and calendar sync with Google Calendar or Outlook.
• Leads: a branded web page (PROfile) and AI Lead Gen for your website.
• Permitting Integrations: for US projects. Partners include GreenLancer and SolarAPP+.
• Devices: “Tablet or smartphone, iOS or Android, PC or Mac”.

Commercial and large designs

OpenSolar’s help article How to design commercial projects says: “we recommend keeping 3D system designs under 500 kW”. It says larger designs are “technically possible”, but users may see slow simulations, time-outs and errors when saving. It also says users have modeled systems up to 5 MW by reducing simulation work, for example with 2D mode and fewer design options.

We searched OpenSolar’s help center for “carport” and found no results (checked October 2026). Ask OpenSolar before you plan carport work.

How much does OpenSolar cost?

OpenSolar’s core software is free, per the vendor. Paid items are add-ons. Prices below are in the vendor’s own words, checked October 2026.

The Free page says the software stays free because partners pay OpenSolar. It names product makers, finance companies, distributors, permitting companies and education providers. The API page says the core platform “stays free”. The API page does not print the per-project fee for API Access. It points to a pricing screen inside the OpenSolar app. The help center lists the accounting connector price. The vendor says in a 16 February 2026 post that charges for API Access and connectors start on 16 April 2026.

Who should choose OpenSolar?

It may suit you if:

• You want design, proposals, payments and a project tracker in one tool.
• You want to start without a software licence fee. The vendor says the core software is free.
• Your 3D designs are mostly under 500 kW, the size the help center recommends.
• You work in a country on the SLD list.

Look at other tools, or ask OpenSolar first, if:

• Your 3D designs are often above 500 kW. The help center warns of slow runs and errors.
• You plan carport work. We found no carport article in the help center.
• You need API access or connectors. These are paid and depend on your region. Check the amounts in the OpenSolar app and help center first.
• You need permit support outside the US. The vendor lists Permitting Integrations for US projects.
• Your country is not on the SLD lists above.

OpenSolar vs SurgePV: price, start and scope

SurgePV outputs support design and documentation work. They do not replace approval by the responsible engineer, authority, lender, insurer or utility.

Bottom line

Choose OpenSolar if you want design, proposals, payments and a project tracker with no licence fee and your 3D designs stay under about 500 kW. Choose SurgePV if you prefer a per-user subscription with published prices. Book a Free Demo or see the SurgePV pricing page.

Other options

• Nearmap for solar review: the imagery provider OpenSolar documents for 3D design.
• OpenSolar vs SurgePV: a side-by-side page.
• Solar proposal software list: tools for proposals.
• Residential solar tools list: a list for home projects.

Frequently asked questions

What is OpenSolar?

OpenSolar is cloud software to design, sell and manage solar projects. Its website says it has 28,000+ active solar professionals in 185+ countries.

Is OpenSolar free?

Yes, the core software is free. OpenSolar’s website says it is “100% Free of charge” for solar professionals. It says partners pay OpenSolar to be on the platform, such as product makers, finance companies, distributors and permitting companies. Some extras cost money: API access, connectors, Enterprise Services and premium imagery.

How much does OpenSolar cost?

The core software is free, per OpenSolar. Its Enterprise Services page lists Support at US$500 / month and Customize at US$1,350 / month. Enterprise has custom pricing. API access is a per-project fee, and connectors are a monthly subscription. Both depend on your region. Prices checked October 2026.

Can OpenSolar design commercial projects?

OpenSolar’s Auto Design page says you can design and sell commercial systems. Its help center recommends keeping 3D designs under 500 kW. Bigger designs are possible, but it warns of slow simulations, time-outs and errors when saving. It says users have modeled systems up to 5 MW by cutting simulation work, for example by using 2D mode.

Does OpenSolar make single line diagrams?

Yes, in some countries. A single line diagram (SLD) is a simple drawing of how a solar system is wired. OpenSolar’s SLD page lists templates for Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. Its help article lists ten countries: Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and India. Check that your country is on the list.

What are OpenSolar alternatives?

Other tools also cover solar design and proposals. SurgePV is one of them, and it competes with OpenSolar. Compare price, scope and limits on each vendor’s own website before you choose.

Is OpenSolar better than SurgePV?

It depends on how you want to pay. OpenSolar’s core software is free with paid add-ons, while SurgePV is paid per user per year from $1,899 for one user. Compare scope and limits on each vendor’s own pages. Sources: OpenSolar home page and the SurgePV pricing page, checked October 2026.

Sources

All pages were read on 28 October 2026. Help center pages were opened in a headless Chrome browser.