Top 5 Solar Design Software for Planning Your Installation (Solar)
If you want a short list that covers most real-world solar workflows, build around Aurora Solar or HelioScope for day-to-day design, keep PVsyst for engineering-grade validation, and use PVWatts as a fast, trusted cross-check. If budget control matters more than per-seat tooling, OpenSolar is the cleanest “start designing today” option.
Expect practical buying advice, not marketing talk: what to standardize, what to double-check, and what to keep as a backup when deadlines hit and software support queues get slow.
1. Aurora Solar
Aurora Solar earns its spot when you need one environment that can carry a residential project from “rough layout” to a customer-facing proposal, then keep that same design moving toward delivery. The platform leans hard into remote design accuracy, clean visuals, and sales enablement, so you spend less time stitching screenshots, spreadsheets, and third-party shade reports into something a homeowner can understand. In the field, that matters because most change orders start with mismatched expectations about shading, roof geometry, setbacks, or what “offset” really means once you apply realistic losses.
Operationally, Aurora’s value shows up when you standardize assumptions across a team. When new reps or designers join, a single set of templates, design rules, and component libraries reduces output variance, which reduces rework. It also helps that Aurora includes features aimed at repeatable production modeling and shade documentation, including LIDAR-assisted modeling and bankable shade reports on higher tiers. When the business runs high volume, the time saved per design becomes more important than the software line item.
Where Aurora often becomes a hard internal debate is cost and dependency risk. The published tiers show Basic at $159 per user per month and Premium at $259 per user per month when billed monthly, with annual billing discounts and an Enterprise option with custom pricing. That math adds up fast when a company assigns licenses to sales, design, and management. Separately, user reviews also highlight a practical risk: when billing or support gets stuck, the business can lose momentum, so keeping a backup tool for production estimates and quick proposals prevents a full stop when something goes sideways.
Best fit: residential and small commercial teams that want one tool for proposals, remote design, shade reporting, and repeatable production assumptions.
Watch-outs: cost scaling by seat, plus the operational pain of relying on one platform without a backup workflow.
2. HelioScope
HelioScope is the pick when the job looks more like C&I engineering than residential sales. You use it when array geometry, electrical constraints, and production modeling need to stay disciplined across larger rooftops, carports, and ground mounts. The tool’s strength is that it pushes you toward an engineering rhythm: layout, component selection, stringing decisions, and simulation outputs that can be carried into deeper validation steps. When internal stakeholders ask, “How close is this to what PVsyst will say,” HelioScope is built to keep that gap manageable.
From a workflow standpoint, HelioScope plays well as the “design and simulate” layer before final plan sets and stamped drawings, especially when different teams handle sales engineering and final engineering. It also includes outputs teams care about on real projects, including CAD export and single-line diagrams as listed in its plan comparison. That shortens the distance between concept design and the documents people actually review. In practice, that can shave cycles off interconnection packages and internal approval steps because reviewers see familiar artifacts instead of a set of screenshots and a production number.
On pricing and packaging, HelioScope publishes Basic at $159 per license per month and Pro at $259 per license per month, and it also calls out project limits as 10 projects per month and 120 per year per license in the plan comparison. Enterprise is custom priced, and it’s where larger features live, including PVsyst export, direct API access, SSO, and much larger design size allowances. The detail that matters is licensing: teams sometimes underestimate how many licenses are needed once design volume increases or multiple contributors need to access the same projects in parallel.
Best fit: commercial rooftops, carports, and ground mounts where standardized simulation outputs, CAD handoffs, and larger system sizing are routine.
Watch-outs: project limits per license, plus the need to integrate with drafting, permitting, and final engineering steps outside the platform.
3. OpenSolar
OpenSolar is the fastest way to get a capable design-and-proposal stack running when software spend needs to stay lean. The platform positions itself as free for solar professionals, and that single fact changes adoption behavior: teams can add users without the internal fight about per-seat costs. That helps when the business is ramping, when a dealer network needs access, or when a small installer wants to keep overhead low while still producing clean proposals and layouts.
In day-to-day use, OpenSolar can carry the front half of your process: quick designs, proposal output, and a workable production estimate when inputs and assumptions are configured correctly. The emphasis is on getting to a customer-ready deliverable without heavy admin overhead. That’s valuable when the main bottleneck is speed to quote, not modeling depth. It’s also valuable when you need a second platform available for continuity, even if a primary tool is down or too expensive to license broadly.
The common trap is treating “free” as “no cost.” You still pay through time: configuration quality, consistent loss assumptions, rate structures, and team training determine whether outputs stay stable. User discussions also show that production estimates can come out conservative if the configuration and losses are set that way, with reports of real systems producing materially more than estimates in some cases. That is not automatically a flaw, it’s a reminder that modeling tools reflect inputs, and conservative assumptions often get baked in to protect sales teams from underperformance complaints. If the goal is accurate planning, the job is to standardize assumptions, then validate them against PVWatts or PVsyst before committing to a design.
Best fit: budget-conscious installers, startups, dealer models, and teams that want to scale access without per-seat licensing pressure.
Watch-outs: configuration discipline, consistent loss modeling, and the need for a validation step to prevent “conservative-by-accident” estimates.
4. PVsyst
PVsyst belongs in the stack when accuracy and defensibility matter more than speed and polish. It is not a sales proposal tool, and it is not built to make a homeowner say yes at the kitchen table. It is built to model PV performance with a level of control that lets you explain why a number is what it is, then change assumptions and understand exactly what moved. That’s why PVsyst remains a reference point for reputability in production modeling conversations, especially on commercial projects where third-party review is normal.
The practical value of PVsyst is not that it gives “the one true answer,” it’s that it forces discipline around losses. When performance questions come up later, PVsyst outputs give a structured way to show temperature assumptions, inverter and clipping behavior, soiling, shading, IAM, mismatch, availability, and more. That turns a heated argument into a quantifiable review. For planning an installation, this becomes your “verification layer” when the project economics are tight and the design cannot rely on optimistic defaults.
PVsyst publishes PVsyst 8 Professional licensing at CHF 700 per year, with a 30-day free trial and updates included, plus education and classroom options at lower prices with watermarks. The licensing model is straightforward compared with per-seat SaaS pricing, and many teams treat it as a specialist tool used by engineering leads rather than every rep. In a mature workflow, that’s a sane allocation: proposals can come from Aurora, HelioScope, or OpenSolar, and PVsyst signs off the modeling before financing or final production commitments get locked.
Best fit: engineering teams, C&I and utility-style diligence, and any project where “bankability-grade” modeling discipline is expected.
Watch-outs: not a proposal platform, training requirement, and it works best when upstream tools feed it clean geometry and assumptions.
5. NREL PVWatts
PVWatts is the tool you keep open in another tab because it prevents self-inflicted mistakes. It is fast, free, and respected, and it gives you a production estimate based on a small set of inputs. That makes it ideal for sanity-checking outputs from your primary design platform before you present numbers to a customer or lock an internal estimate. When the estimate from a proposal tool looks unusually high or low, PVWatts helps you verify whether the issue is a data entry problem, a loss assumption issue, or a location/weather dataset issue.
PVWatts has another strength that matters for teams building internal tooling: the PVWatts API. If a company wants automated pre-qualification, lead scoring, or portfolio screening, PVWatts provides an accessible estimation engine that can be embedded into internal workflows. That lets you standardize a baseline production methodology across markets, then layer on business-specific adjustments for utility rates, incentives, or sales rules. When used that way, PVWatts becomes the “common baseline” that keeps everyone honest, even when different design tools are used across teams.
PVWatts Version 8 includes updates that matter in modern estimates, including a bifacial module option, inputs for albedo and monthly irradiance losses, and weather data updates to 2020 TMY data for NSRDB-covered locations, plus model updates for module, inverter, and thermal effects. Those details matter because teams still compare numbers from older spreadsheets, older PVWatts versions, or legacy proposal settings. When stakeholders argue over whose number is correct, aligning on the same PVWatts version and inputs prevents wasted cycles.
Best fit: quick validation, early-stage quoting checks, portfolio screening, and internal automation via API.
Watch-outs: it will not replace detailed layout tools, shade scene modeling, or permit documentation, it is a baseline estimator.
How Do You Choose The Best Solar Design Software For Your Installation?
Start by deciding what “planning” means in your shop, because residential planning and C&I planning are different jobs. If planning means accurate roof geometry, shade impacts, a customer-ready proposal, and a clean handoff to install, prioritize platforms that combine design and proposal outputs with repeatable assumptions. Aurora Solar tends to cover that all-in-one requirement well, and OpenSolar covers it when cost control and fast rollout matter. If planning means producing disciplined layouts on big roofs, ground mounts, and carports, with outputs that carry into engineering review, HelioScope generally fits better.
Then map the last 20 projects that caused pain and identify the real failure point. If deals died because proposals were slow, a sales-ready tool with good visuals is the lever. If projects slipped because the shade picture was wrong, LIDAR-assisted modeling and stronger shade reporting matter more than proposal polish. If the biggest pain was year-one underperformance claims, invest in a PVsyst validation step and standardize losses across the stack. Tool selection gets easy when the buying criteria come from actual post-mortems, not feature checklists.
Finish by locking a two-tool minimum: a primary platform and a baseline validator. PVWatts is the simplest validator because it is free, fast, and consistent, and it catches input mistakes before they become signed contracts. PVsyst becomes the validator when project sizes, financing expectations, or engineering review standards demand deeper modeling. Running that dual-track approach prevents overconfidence in any single platform’s estimate, and it also protects the business when a primary platform has downtime or support delays.
How Much Does Solar Design Software Cost Per Month?
Published pricing varies by platform and business model, and the real number is the one that matches how many people need access. Aurora Solar lists Basic at $159 per user per month and Premium at $259 per user per month on monthly billing, with annual billing discounts and an Enterprise option with custom pricing. HelioScope lists Basic at $159 per license per month and Pro at $259 per license per month, with Enterprise priced per project and designed for larger teams and larger project sizes. Those two platforms land in a similar published pricing band, so the decision usually comes down to workflow fit rather than sticker price.
OpenSolar positions the core platform as free for solar professionals, which shifts cost from subscriptions to operational discipline. You still invest time in configuration, training, and consistent loss assumptions, and that time becomes the real “cost.” PVWatts is free to use and also offers an API, which makes it attractive for teams building internal pre-design and screening processes. PVsyst uses a license model and lists PVsyst 8 Professional at CHF 700 per year, which many teams treat as a specialized engineering seat rather than a platform everyone uses daily.
When budgeting, don’t stop at license fees. Add the cost of rework when estimates drift, the internal labor of plan set coordination, and the cost of sales-cycle delays when a tool is slow or access is limited. A platform that costs more but cuts revision time and produces repeatable outputs can reduce total cost per job. A cheaper tool that forces manual cleanup can end up costing more once volume picks up.
Which Software Is Most Accurate For Production And Shading?
Accuracy is not a brand name, it’s the result of geometry quality, weather data selection, and loss assumptions. PVsyst is widely treated as a reference tool for reputable modeling because it gives tight control over losses and reporting structure, which is why engineering teams and reviewers often compare against it. HelioScope is widely used in commercial design workflows and explicitly supports PVsyst export at the Enterprise level, which makes it easier to keep models aligned across tools. Aurora Solar, on the residential side, emphasizes design accuracy and includes higher-tier shade reporting features intended to support more defensible production claims.
Real-world user discussions highlight the most common reason estimates differ: configuration. OpenSolar users have reported seeing estimates that look conservative, with at least one discussion mentioning in-production systems producing 15 to 20 percent more than OpenSolar estimates in some cases, and replies pointing out that teams can manipulate assumptions to be more conservative. That story shows the core point: if the tool is configured to protect against complaints, the estimate may be intentionally low. If the tool is configured aggressively to close deals, the estimate may be too high. The estimate reflects the business decision unless governance locks it down.
PVWatts is the cleanest cross-check when disagreements start. PVWatts Version 8 adds modeling and weather data updates, including 2020 TMY data for NSRDB-covered locations, and it adds inputs that can materially move results when bifacial, albedo, or irradiance loss assumptions change. When a proposal tool estimate and a PVWatts estimate diverge, treat it as a diagnostic exercise: verify tilt and azimuth, confirm DC/AC ratio, check system losses, and confirm the weather dataset assumptions. The goal is not matching numbers perfectly, it is explaining differences with inputs that can be defended.
Can These Tools Generate Permit-Ready Plan Sets And Single-Line Diagrams?
Some platforms can produce pieces of what permitting teams want, yet full permit packages remain a separate problem. HelioScope’s plan comparison lists CAD export and single-line diagrams, which helps for internal engineering and documentation handoffs. Aurora Solar offers add-on services for plan sets and engineering stamps, and it also advertises an AHJ database that can reduce friction when dealing with jurisdiction-specific requirements. Those features can reduce the amount of custom drafting and admin time, especially when a business runs consistent equipment and installation standards.
Still, permit readiness is the place where many teams get surprised. A tool can generate a clean layout and a plausible production number and still leave gaps in electrical design detail, structural specifics, or jurisdiction formatting. That gap grows on ground mounts and more complex commercial projects where racking, trenching, equipment placement, and structural notes become central. DIY and small contractor discussions also show frustration when online permit-pack tooling changes ownership or shifts features, including reported loss of ground-mount support in at least one workflow after a tool change, which forced users to search for alternatives.
The reliable operating model is: design software produces a design intent and early documentation, and a permit workflow produces final deliverables with jurisdiction rules applied. If the business depends on instant permit packs, validate ground-mount support, inverter library coverage, and AHJ outputs before standardizing a platform. When permitting is the revenue bottleneck, run a pilot using real projects and real jurisdictions, not demo designs, then measure revisions and resubmittal rates before committing.
What Do Installers Complain About Most?
Complaints usually cluster around three areas: pricing, speed, and support. Pricing complaints tend to come from small teams that need professional-grade outputs but can’t justify multiple paid seats. That’s why OpenSolar’s “free for solar professionals” positioning has traction, and it’s why many shops keep a baseline tool like PVWatts available to reduce dependence on any one paid platform. When the sales cycle is tight, every recurring cost gets scrutinized against “minutes saved per design” and “revision cycles avoided per job.”
Performance complaints show up when designs get revised repeatedly, when the project has complicated roof geometry, or when the team pushes high volume through the same workflow. Revision speed is not a vanity metric, it controls how fast a project reaches contract-ready scope. If a tool drags, reps create workarounds, and that introduces inconsistency across proposals. That inconsistency comes back later as install friction, project margin erosion, and customer dissatisfaction.
Support complaints become existential when they block billing fixes, account access, or key deliverables during peak sales periods. One Trustpilot review for Aurora Solar describes good software paired with very slow responses during billing issues, and it recommends maintaining a backup design tool to avoid operational standstill. That kind of feedback should drive process design: keep PVWatts as a baseline estimator, keep exported artifacts locally, and document configuration assumptions so a second platform can be stood up quickly if needed. Redundancy is not paranoia, it is operational maturity.
How To Build A Two-Tool Workflow That Prevents Bad Installs
Pick one platform as the system of record for geometry and proposals, then pick a second tool as the independent check. For residential-heavy pipelines, Aurora Solar or OpenSolar can serve as the system of record depending on budget, and PVWatts should serve as the check. For commercial-heavy pipelines, HelioScope often becomes the system of record for layout and simulation outputs, and PVsyst becomes the check when the project size or review expectations justify it. This setup prevents the most common failure mode: trusting a single number without a baseline sanity test.
Standardize inputs before comparing outputs. Lock defaults for system losses, DC/AC ratio ranges, tilt rules, azimuth conventions, and shading treatment. Then train the team to treat deviations as exceptions that need documentation, not as “designer preference.” When production estimates vary from tool to tool, document why: weather data, shading model, horizon assumptions, bifacial treatment, albedo, soiling, availability. That documentation becomes the shield when a customer asks why year-one looks different than the proposal.
Run governance like a contractor, not like a software user. Maintain a written “modeling assumptions sheet” per market and per project type, and store exports of key reports and layout files at proposal time. If a platform changes a model, updates datasets, or shifts features, the business still retains the basis of design that supported the contract. This habit also improves lender and third-party reviewer conversations because the project file tells a consistent story from first layout to final commissioning.
Best Solar Design Software For Planning Your Installation
- Aurora Solar: best all-in-one residential design, proposals, shade reports
- HelioScope: best C&I layouts and simulations, PVsyst export on Enterprise
- OpenSolar: best no-subscription option for proposals and design
- PVsyst: best engineering validation and defensible loss modeling
- PVWatts: best free baseline production cross-check
Make Your Designs Defensible, Not Just Fast
Planning an installation means controlling three things: geometry accuracy, production assumptions, and the paperwork path to permits and interconnection. Aurora Solar and HelioScope cover most primary design needs, OpenSolar lowers the barrier to scaling access, PVsyst anchors engineering validation, and PVWatts keeps every estimate honest with a fast baseline. A reliable shop standardizes assumptions, validates numbers with a second tool, and keeps exports and documentation outside any one platform. That operating method protects margins, reduces revisions, and keeps performance conversations calm after commissioning.
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