Aurora Solar alternatives: 10 solar design tools compared
Installers weigh other tools than Aurora Solar when the per-seat fee, the 50-project monthly ceiling or the pay-per-service add-ons start to outweigh the design accuracy they came for. Some want a free or cheaper designer, some want finance and quoting in the same screen, and others want ground-mount or utility-scale modelling that a residential tool does not target.
Short answer: Looking for a replacement for Aurora Solar? SurgePV, OpenSolar and Eturnity come first in our solar design software ranking. Where a category has smaller vendors worth recommending, they occupy the first three places and the big brands come below them. Start with SurgePV if you want a published per-seat price and no monthly project cap. The 10 entries that follow are all ranked in Best Solar Design Software in 2026; each one explains what sets it apart from Aurora Solar.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Pricing: Published per-user plans billed monthly or annually; Enterprise quoted per project
Established in: Not stated by the vendor
Built for: Residential installers who want design and sales modes with a visible per-user price
Not for: High-volume teams that dislike monthly project caps
01
Why buyers look past Aurora Solar
01
Each seat carries a monthly fee
Aurora lists Basic at 159 dollars per user a month, or 135 dollars on an annual contract, and Premium at 259 dollars monthly or 220 annually. A crew of five designers and sales reps therefore pays for five licences, and the annual route means a one-year commitment.
02
Project allowance and add-ons
Basic and Premium each allow one user and 50 projects a month, and the pricing page says extra licences are bought in the app or by moving to Enterprise. Nearmap imagery, expedited site models, plan sets and engineering stamps are listed as add-ons, with on-demand site models starting at 9.99 dollars.
03
Higher design tiers sit behind Premium or a quote
LIDAR-assisted modelling, bankable shade reports and battery modelling start at Premium, while AI-assisted site models, drone mapping, APIs and unlimited users appear only on Enterprise, priced per project on request. Teams that need those pieces compare how other vendors package them.
storage economics and monitoring matter more than roof layouts
#11
03
What each one does differently
1
SurgePV
United Kingdom · Published
SurgePV Technologies Ltd publishes three annual per-user plans where the seat price drops as a team grows from one to five, and the page shows unlimited projects. Shadow analysis, 3D roof modelling and a financial generation tool are named. Prices exclude 18 percent GST, and a demo replaces any trial.
Switch from Aurora Solar if you want a published per-seat price and no monthly project cap.
OpenSolar describes its design and sales software as free of charge, with Auto Design, Auto BOM, proposals, finance tools, e-signature and a project CRM on offer. The API is sold as an add-on, and a separate page explains how the vendor earns revenue. The pages we read state no country or owner.
Switch from Aurora Solar if licence cost is the main reason you are looking beyond Aurora.
Eturnity AG puts heat pumps, batteries and EV charging into the same quotation flow as panels. Its System Designer builds a 3D building model with shading and string assignment, and distributor price synchronisation supports ordering. Trial buttons lead to a booking page and no prices appear.
Switch from Aurora Solar if your offers combine solar with heat pumps or storage in one quote.
Scanifly splits work between PrelimDesign, which uses satellite imagery and LiDAR-based shading, and DroneDesign, which builds onsite models from drone flights. A Field Ops app for iOS and Android handles surveys. Plan sets can be outsourced, and the site offers only a demo booking.
Switch from Aurora Solar if site surveys by drone or phone are central to how you design.
Solargraf bills in dollars on four annual plans that differ by project and user counts, with extra projects charged separately. Its homepage mentions an assistant called Sol, Propel financing and an Express Editor. The pricing page contradicts itself on API access, so get the terms in writing.
Switch from Aurora Solar if you prefer a tiered plan structure with clear project allowances.
Arka360 offers Design Studio, Sales Design, Lead Management and Advanced Battery Modelling as modules. The pricing page shows plans in rupees and dollars, and the dollar figures appear twice with different values, so confirm what you would pay. Its footer lists addresses in Texas and Bengaluru, not a country of establishment.
Switch from Aurora Solar if you want lead handling and battery modelling as separate modules.
PV*SOL comes from Valentin Software GmbH in Berlin and simulates photovoltaic systems together with consumers, batteries and electric vehicles. A module and inverter database is linked. The homepage shows no price. The pages we read name no proposal or CRM tool, so quotes and customer follow-up need another product.
Switch from Aurora Solar if the energy simulation matters more than the sales proposal.
PVcase is headquartered in Vilnius and splits its work into Prospect for site selection, Ground Mount for utility-scale design, plus Roof Mount and Yield. Ground Mount is built on AutoCAD. The pricing page lists tiers by team size and scope, with a request form, so costs cannot be compared upfront.
Switch from Aurora Solar if you design ground-mount or utility-scale sites, not only rooftops.
Enerflo calls itself the operating system for residential solar, covering CRM, financing, contracting and project management. Design is not built in: its Integrated Solar Design module connects Aurora Solar, Scanifly and Solargraf. It is aimed at US residential solar companies, shows no prices and asks you to book a discovery call.
Switch from Aurora Solar if you want one workflow around a design tool, not a replacement for it.
Energy Toolbase sells ETB Developer for financial analysis, ETB Controller hardware packages and ETB Monitor for real-time monitoring, plus consulting. Panel layout is not among the products named, so it works as a finance and storage companion. Controller and monitor packages show starting prices, and the developer software shows none.
Switch from Aurora Solar if storage economics and monitoring matter more than roof layouts.
OpenSolar: The vendor calls its design and sales software free of charge, with an API add-on and a CRM included.
02
You want a published seat price without a project cap
SurgePV: Annual per-user plans fall as the team grows, with unlimited projects shown, and a demo replaces any trial.
03
You sell heat pumps and batteries beside solar
Eturnity: The quotation flow covers heat pumps, batteries and EV charging, with a 3D building model for shading.
04
You design ground-mount or utility sites
PVcase: Ground Mount is built on AutoCAD, with Prospect for site selection; pricing is quoted on request.
05
You already have a design tool and need the sales workflow
Enerflo: It connects Aurora Solar, Scanifly and Solargraf for design, and covers CRM, financing and contracting.
04
When Aurora Solar is still the right choice
Aurora Solar stays the right choice when residential design accuracy and a polished sales flow are what you pay for. Design Mode, Sales Mode, Contract Manager and Aurora AI sit in one product, with an AHJ database of more than 25,000 jurisdictions, financing partners such as GoodLeap and Dividend, and expert plan-set services for crews that outsource drafting. If your volume fits 50 projects per seat a month, compare prices carefully before leaving.
05
What moving off Aurora Solar involves
01
Designs and proposals stay in Aurora
Projects, site models and proposals live in your Aurora account, so a move means rebuilding the important designs in the new tool. Keep PDF proposals and plan sets for jobs still in progress, and finish open quotes where they started before you switch the team over.
02
Check financing, rates and component data
Aurora lists financing partners and a utility rate database from Genability and its own sources. A new tool may use different component libraries and rate sources, so compare yield estimates on three or four finished projects before you trust the numbers for new quotes.
06
Questions about replacing Aurora Solar
6 answers
How much does Aurora Solar cost per user?
The pricing page lists Basic at 159 dollars a month billed monthly or 135 dollars a month billed annually, and Premium at 259 monthly or 220 annually. Enterprise is custom per project. Add-ons such as site models, plan sets and stamps are charged on top.
Is there a cheaper or free solar design tool than Aurora?
OpenSolar describes its design and sales software as free of charge, and SurgePV publishes per-seat annual plans whose price falls as the team grows. We did not compare accuracy, so test yield results on your own projects.
Which alternative handles ground-mount projects?
PVcase names Ground Mount for utility-scale design and builds it on AutoCAD, with Prospect for site selection and Yield for energy modelling. Its pricing is quoted by team size and scope on request.
Can I cancel an Aurora plan at any time?
The pricing page says yes. Monthly plans end at the close of the billing period, and annual Basic and Premium plans carry a one-year commitment that ends at the close of the annual period. Enterprise commitments are set by sales.
Does Aurora limit users or projects?
Basic and Premium each list one user and 50 projects a month. The page says more licences can be bought in the app, or you can ask sales about Enterprise, which lists unlimited users.
Which alternative covers heat pumps as well as panels?
Eturnity puts heat pumps, batteries and EV charging in the same quotation flow as solar. Its trial buttons open a booking page and no prices are shown, so cost is known only after talking to the vendor.
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Sources
Checked 10 November 2026
Aurora Solar pricing: Basic 159 and 135 dollars, Premium 259 and 220 dollars, 50 projects and one user, Enterprise custom, add-ons, cancellation and commitment terms, AHJ database of 25,000 jurisdictions.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 10 November 2026. How we review.
