A solar quote is really three deliverables: a roof model, a shade study and a proposal a homeowner will sign. It used to take a designer most of a day.
AI is now pointed at that work, and pricing has split two ways: per-seat subscriptions for design platforms, per-project fees for pay-as-you-go tools. Here are eight platforms that publish what they cost.
What changed in solar software this year
The core job has not changed: prove the system will perform, then make the numbers easy to sign. What moved is how much layout work happens without a designer: Aurora Solar, Solargraf and SurgePV all advertise designs generated from an energy target.
Price shape matters as much as features. Aurora Solar and Enact charge per user per month, Solargraf and SurgePV per user per year with a project allowance, and Pylon per project with the CRM separate. That decides which stays cheap at your volume.
1. Aurora Solar - design automation as the core product
Aurora Solar is the reference point for residential design: roof modelling, shade analysis, battery sizing and bankable production estimates, with the AI built into the design layer.
Basic is $159 per user per month billed monthly, or $135 billed annually. Premium is $259 monthly or $220 annually, and Enterprise is quoted per project. Tiers are published at aurorasolar.com. Aurora AI generates a roof model and a code-compliant panel layout in minutes, and AutoDesigner builds an optimal system from an energy target.
Why it made the list: the most complete design stack, with the AI bundled in rather than sold back to you.
2. Solargraf - design, proposals and permitting together
Solargraf covers design, proposals and permitting rather than leaving permit plan sets to a third party, which is why installers pick it over a pure design tool.
Pricing is annual with a project allowance: Starter $2,799 a year for 240 projects and two users, Small Business $4,799 for 480 and four, Teams $6,399 for 720 and six, Enterprise $12,999 for 1,500 with unlimited users. Extra projects cost $9 to $11 and extra users $960 to $1,440 a year. See solargraf.com.
The site advertises AI-powered design and is launching an agentic AI feature that creates projects from a single command. The pricing page does not break AI out separately, so treat it as included.
Why it made the list: the only platform here that prices design and permitting together on a project allowance.
3. Enact - fast proposals for sales teams, CAD for engineers
Enact targets installers that need quotable proposals fast, and adds an engineering path for teams already in AutoCAD or PVCAD. That split shows up plainly in the price list.
Design and proposals is $279 a month billed annually, or $299 monthly, for two users. Engineering is separate: the PVCAD plug-in is $267 annually or $347 monthly, and the PVCAD plus AutoCAD bundle is $333 annually or $433 monthly. Asset Management is quote-only. See enact.solar.
The AI is not in the design plans. It sits in the monitoring tier, described as solar monitoring software with AI driven insights, which has to be quoted.
Why it made the list: the clearest example of AI attached to monitoring rather than to design.
4. SurgePV - an AI copilot aimed at small teams
SurgePV is an AI-first newcomer built around 3D roof modelling from satellite imagery and a branded proposal layer, aimed at small installers and EPCs.
Prices are per user per year and fall as the team grows: $1,899 for one user, $1,499 per user for three, $1,299 per user for five, plus 18% GST, with unlimited projects on every tier. The table is at surgepv.com.
Clara AI is sold as a copilot for design and workflow automation that reads project data, flags risks and surfaces the next action on each deal.
Why it made the list: the most AI-forward feature set at a price a two-person crew can justify.
5. Pylon - pay per project, not per seat
Pylon bills per project instead of per seat, with the CRM that holds leads and follow-ups sold separately. For lumpy volume, that removes the cost of quiet months.
Standard is $4.00 per project with imagery, financial projections and instant web and PDF proposals; Pro is $10.00 with the heavier design features. The CRM starts at $49.00 per user per month, and card processing is 2.50%. All at getpylon.com.
"AI Assistance" is named as a CRM feature rather than a design one, so the AI here is closer to a sales assistant than a designer.
Why it made the list: the cheapest way to try AI-assisted solar selling without a design subscription.
6. Arka360 - design and estimation for smaller markets
Arka360 sells residential and commercial design, shade analysis, quotations and CAD export, with SketchUp and PVSyst integrations. It is widely used outside North America.
The US list is Basic $159 a month or $1,699 a year, Premium $199 or $1,999, Enterprise $999 or $9,999; India runs from 7,500 to 16,500 rupees a month. Both are at arka360.com.
One caveat: the page also carries a conflicting per-user block, Basic at $199 for one user and Professional at $358 for two, so confirm which applies before budgeting.
AI-optimised designs within five minutes is the headline promise, with AI-assisted modelling on the Premium tier.
Why it made the list: real AI design automation at a low monthly price, once you know which list applies.
7. OpenSolar - free core, paid support
OpenSolar is the outlier: design, sales and project management are free, and the paid tiers buy support and customisation rather than features.
The core platform is free. Support is US$500 a month for guided setup and faster response, and Customize is US$1,350 a month for exclusive templates and custom work; Enterprise is quoted. Published at opensolar.com.
Be precise about the AI: an Auto Design feature lays out systems automatically, but the site does not brand it as AI and the paid tiers are support packages. Treat it as a capable free tool rather than an AI tool.
Why it made the list: the only free platform here that a small installer can run real projects on.
8. Sunbase - the CRM layer, priced from the entry tier
Sunbase is the sales and operations layer rather than a design tool: leads, pipeline, scheduling and follow-up.
It publishes one number: plans start at $59 per user per month, with final pricing configured around users, workflows, modules and integrations, so everything above that is a sales conversation. See sunbasedata.com.
No AI feature is named on its site, which makes it a fair benchmark for what a plain solar CRM costs before any AI premium.
Why it made the list: a transparent entry price for the sales layer, with no AI markup attached.
What the quote-only platforms are hiding
Several larger names publish nothing. Enerflo charges a flat monthly subscription based on average volume, with a twelve-month minimum and an implementation fee, and does not charge per seat, design or job. Its FAQ says so, but the number only comes out on a call.
Solar-Log sells modular hardware with device-bound licences and tiered portal subscriptions, free up to 30 kWp and quoted above it. SolarNexus does publish: from $90 a licence with a three-licence minimum, a $270 a month floor, and no AI named on its site.
One trap: scoopsolar.com no longer belongs to the vendor it is named after and resolves to a parked domain, so check that a vendor you shortlist is quoting for what you think you are buying.
How to choose without a six-week evaluation
Start with volume, not features. Divide your annual project count by each plan's allowance: Solargraf's Starter suits a two-person team at 20 projects a month, while 50 pushes you into small business pricing or a per-project tool like Pylon.
Then decide whether you are buying design or selling. Aurora Solar and SurgePV are design platforms that produce proposals; Sunbase and the Pylon CRM are sales systems. One vendor for both is convenient and usually dearer.
Finally, test the AI on one real job: an awkward roof, a shading problem, a battery you have actually quoted. Vendors charging per user are betting the design survives an engineering review; those charging per project are not.
The Honest Takeaway
AI in solar software has arrived as design automation rather than as a new category. The useful question is not whether a platform has AI, but whether it removes a step you were paying a person to do. Automated roof modelling and layout generation pass that test; a chat assistant bolted to a CRM usually does not.
Pricing is unusually transparent for trade software. Budget per user if your team is the constraint, per project if your volume is, and treat any vendor that will not put a number on a page as the most expensive option.
Cover photograph: GlacierNPS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.