Every European solar design and proposal software tool reviewed
Chur, Switzerland
Not published; see website
Free trial offered
Best for: Installers in DACH and neighbouring markets who want design, quote and delivery in one tool
Eturnity AG, registered in Chur, is the platform that draws a roof once and reuses the model everywhere. The 3D modeller accepts satellite images, orthophotos, LiDAR and drone data, and the roof plan, the string plan and the single-line diagram are generated from that one project. Shading is assessed and inverters, batteries and strings are sized before anyone climbs the roof.
The quote sits on the same model, with 3D visuals, costs and savings, sent online or as PDF.
Eturnity names distributors whose prices and catalogues it syncs, among them Krannich, Solarmarkt and Solexis in Switzerland, Tepto in Germany, UK Greentech and Aprilice, and it exports to mounting-system software such as K2. The site states 13 years of industry experience and more than 2,500 professionals using the software, which are vendor figures. Prices are not published and no hosting location is given, so both go on the demo checklist.
What Eturnity does well
- One model produces roof, string and single-line plans
- Distributor price sync and one-click ordering in listed markets
- Mounting system exports (K2, Solar.Pro Tool and others)
- Covers PV, batteries, heat pumps and charging
- Swiss company with multi-language interface
Where Eturnity falls short
- Pricing not published
- Distributor integrations limited to named partners
- Not a dedicated bankable yield tool
- Data location not stated on pages checked
Standout feature. Eturnity names the distributors (Krannich, Solarmarkt, Solexis, Tepto and others) whose price lists sync into its quotes.
Augsburg, Germany
On request (demo booking)
Demo on request
Best for: Installers that want sales, design and delivery in one tool instead of a stack of separate ones
Reonic GmbH describes its product as an operating system for installers, and design is one module among several. A lead arrives in the CRM, gets scored, becomes a project, is planned in 3D with a module layout and leaves as a branded quote with variants and a digital signature. The same record then continues into installation planning, field reporting and invoicing.
Reonic is registered at the Augsburg commercial register under HRB 36147, with offices in Augsburg and Berlin, and states more than 3,000 customers. Its AI layer includes agents that draft follow-ups, a WhatsApp assistant and a component assistant for part and error-code questions. A heat load calculation covers heat pump jobs, and an MCS compliance module is listed for the UK. Prices come through a booked demo, and the hosting location was not stated.
What Reonic does well
- CRM, design and quoting on one project record
- Heat pump and solar jobs in the same tool
- MCS compliance module listed for UK work
- AI assistants for follow-ups and technical questions
- German company with registered imprint
Where Reonic falls short
- Pricing only via demo
- Broad suite, more than a design tool
- Hosting location not verified
- Design depth versus specialist yield tools not documented on the pages checked
Standout feature. Reonic begins the workflow at the incoming lead and ends it at the invoice, with the roof design in the middle.
Zwolle, Netherlands
On request (free demo)
Free demo
Best for: Dutch, Belgian and German installers who want one chain from inspection to service
Sollit is the new trading name of 2Solar, operated by Seed2Lead B.V. in Zwolle under Dutch law. Its chain opens with an inspection module, simple forms filled in remotely or on location that give a first view of roof suitability and flow into the quote. The PV design module then works on aerial imagery with yield and shade calculation.
From the design, Sollit can calculate the substructure, suggest an inverter from your own product range and produce a quote in one click. After the job, it lists installation planning, a material list, delivery forms, service contracts and monitoring. The interface comes in English, German, Spanish, Dutch and Belgian Dutch. The site also presents the zolar lead marketplace, a separate commercial model, and no prices are published beyond a free demo.
What Sollit does well
- Covers inspection to service in one platform
- Aerial-image design with yield and shade
- Substructure and inverter suggestions
- Dutch company with registered terms and DPA
- Interface in five languages
Where Sollit falls short
- No published pricing
- Supplier connections not itemised
- Large commercial design depth unclear
- Marketplace and software branding overlap
Standout feature. Sollit puts a roof inspection form in front of the design step and a service contract behind the installation.
Berlin, Germany
See website (rental and perpetual licence models)
Downloadable trial version
Best for: Planners and installers who need detailed shading and simulation rather than a sales CRM
PV*SOL premium, made by Valentin Software GmbH in Berlin (HRB 84016), is a desktop program for planners who care about what a shadow does to a string. It draws roofs and open-field sites in 3D, computes shading from surrounding objects, and handles systems of up to 7,500 mounted modules or 10,000 roof-parallel modules. The Google Solar API supplies orthophotos and elevation data.
Climate data comes from a German procedure based on DWD data, Meteonorm 9, PVGIS, Solcast and SolarAnywhere, and the product database holds more than 30,000 modules. The program models batteries, electric vehicles and heat pumps, runs a 20-year financial analysis and exports reports in 24 languages to PDF or Word. Licences are rental or perpetual, shop prices were not read, and no CRM is described.
What PV*SOL does well
- Detailed 3D shading analysis
- Large manufacturer-maintained product databases
- Reports in 24 languages
- Storage, EV and heat pump scenarios
- Free trial version
Where PV*SOL falls short
- Desktop program, no CRM or quoting pipeline
- Prices not shown on product page
- Two licence models to compare
- Learning curve for full feature set
Standout feature. PV*SOL writes customer-ready reports in 24 languages from a program that runs on your own PC.
Satigny, Switzerland
PVsyst 8 Professional CHF 700 per year; PVsystCLI CHF 3,000 per year; PVsystBasic CHF 25 per year (checked 27 October 2026)
One month for PVsyst 8; two months and 250 runs for PVsystCLI; 30 days for PVsystBasic
Best for: Engineers who need a yield simulation for permits, financing or technical reports
PVsyst SA, at Route de la Maison-Carree in Satigny, sells the simulation program that financiers and authorities tend to ask for. PVsyst 8 models grid-connected and stand-alone systems with hourly and sub-hourly simulation, large equipment databases and a profitability calculation. It has no CRM, no proposals and no lead handling.
The shop is unusually open. PVsyst 8 Professional costs CHF 700 per year with updates included and access to PVsyst 7, groups get 5, 15 or 20 percent off, and education licences run from CHF 25 to CHF 560 per year. PVsystCLI, at CHF 3,000 per year, runs simulations and weather-file conversions from the command line, and PVsystBasic handles off-grid pumping for CHF 25 per year. Support comes by email, forum and video, in English and French.
What PVsyst does well
- Published annual price in the shop
- Volume discounts on grouped licences
- Hourly and sub-hourly simulation
- Command-line automation available
- One-month free trial
Where PVsyst falls short
- No quoting or CRM features
- Priced in CHF per user per year
- Desktop only on pages checked
- Narrow focus on simulation
Standout feature. PVsyst prints its yearly licence price and group discounts in the vendor shop, which most desktop programs here do not do on the pages we read.
Winterthur, Switzerland
See website; prices not shown on the pages read
30-day free trial for Standard, Designer and SPT
Best for: Planners who combine PV with heat pumps and thermal systems in one simulation
Vela Solaris AG in Winterthur makes Polysun in four forms: Standard, Designer, SPT and an enterprise API. Only SPT targets PV roofs. It selects the roof from Google Maps, Bing or uploaded aerial images, builds an automatic 3D view with terrain, analyses near-field shading and outputs CAD roof plans of fixing points, 3D string plans and a circuit diagram.
The other editions simulate heat pumps, solar thermal, CHP units, district heating and cooling, which is why Polysun fits projects where a building's heating and its PV system are sized together. The feature table lists more than 1,000 system templates and databases of 40,000 PV modules, 2,900 inverters and 750 batteries. Each edition has a 30-day trial. Prices were not visible, and picking the right edition is part of the work.
What Polysun does well
- Dedicated SPT edition for PV roofs
- Heat pump and thermal systems in the same family
- Large module and inverter databases
- 30-day free trial for each edition
- API for embedding calculations
Where Polysun falls short
- Four editions to choose between
- No quoting or CRM described
- Prices not visible on pages read
- Website offered mainly in German and English
Standout feature. Polysun extends from PV roofs to heat pumps, solar thermal and district heating inside one product family.
Saint-Romain-de-Colbosc, France
On request (contact page)
Best for: Engineering and design offices that work in BIM or SketchUp and need probability-based yield figures
archelios PRO is published by Trace Software International S.A.S., registered in Le Havre (RCS 507 704 716), the company that also makes the elec calc electrical software. Version 2025.1 added production indicators in steps from P50 to P95, and the Platinum and Gold licence tiers differ in how many of them are displayed. Platinum shows P50, P75 and P90 plus five custom indicators.
The program is built to sit inside existing CAD and BIM work. A Revit plugin compatible with Revit 2026 exports to the web version, a SketchUp plugin allows detailed 3D simulation on the architect's model, and mounting systems imported from the layout land in the bill of materials with an Enstall report attached to the PDF. Meteonorm 9 is the default weather source with more than 4,000 stations. Pricing is on request, and no sales workflow is described.
What archelios PRO does well
- Pxx indicators from P50 to P95
- Revit and SketchUp plugins
- Mounting system import into the bill of materials
- Meteonorm 9 with 4,000+ stations
- Training courses offered by the vendor
Where archelios PRO falls short
- Pricing only on request
- No sales or CRM features described
- Some profiles specific to France
- Operating system support not stated
Standout feature. archelios PRO shows P50 to P95 production indicators inside the Revit and SketchUp models that design offices already use.
Bagnoli Irpino (AV), Italy
See website; Power Pack upgrade listed at EUR 599
One month of free use
Best for: Italian engineers and installers who already work with BIM and CAD formats
Solarius-PV is the photovoltaic program of ACCA software S.p.A., a Bagnoli Irpino company with a family of BIM tools. A project can start blank, from a DXF or DWG file, or from an IFC model made in Edificius, Revit or ArchiCAD, and dedicated 3D objects represent roofs, obstacles, panels, inverters and storage. A block library covers canopies, shelters and agrivoltaic structures for ground installations.
Irradiation comes from ENEA, UNI 10349 or PVGIS, including imported TMY files. Distant shading is read from a photo survey on the solar diagram, and near shading is computed over annual to hourly periods, with minimum row spacing worked out automatically. The vendor offers one month of free use, a EUR 599 Power Pack and a five-instalment plan. The product page is in Italian only and the base price is not shown.
What Solarius-PV does well
- BIM and DXF/DWG import
- Shading from photos and solar diagram
- Ground-mount and agrivoltaic structures
- One month of free use
- Italian vendor with BIM ecosystem
Where Solarius-PV falls short
- Product page in Italian
- Grid-connected scope
- No quoting or CRM
- Base price not visible
Standout feature. Solarius-PV reads IFC building models directly from Revit and ArchiCAD and turns them into a PV plant design.
Vilnius, Lithuania
Pricing pages per product; demo on request
Demo on request
Best for: Developers and EPCs designing ground-mounted and large commercial solar projects
PVcase, UAB, registered in Vilnius under company code 304839853, sells four connected products to solar developers and engineers. Prospect screens land around interconnection points, Ground Mount automates utility-scale layout on AutoCAD and adapts it to terrain, Roof Mount covers rooftop design and Yield models the energy production.
The homepage claims more than 1,900 customers in over 88 countries and a 4.7 average from 479 reviews, which are vendor-presented figures. It also promotes site analysis for data centres, so the scope is widening beyond solar. Residential proposals, CRM and homeowner financing are outside what PVcase compares itself with. Design products need AutoCAD, pricing sits on per-product pages we could not read, and the hosting location is not stated.
What PVcase does well
- Covers site selection through yield
- Automated terrain-aware layout
- EU-registered company with GDPR policy
- Whistleblower and trust centre pages published
- Rooftop and ground mount both offered
Where PVcase falls short
- Needs AutoCAD for design products
- Not for residential sales workflows
- Pricing not read
- Broad scope with data-centre focus
Standout feature. PVcase starts before the design, with screening of land near grid connection points for early due diligence.
Wuerselen, Germany
Founded 2010
On request (presentation, quotation or demo version via the contact form)
Demo version on request
Best for: Engineering firms and EPCs planning large ground-mounted PV on uneven terrain
HELIOS 3D has been developed since 2010, by the vendor's account, for large ground-mounted PV plants, and runs inside Autodesk Civil 3D. The contact address belongs to STOHR+SAUER CAD- und Computersystem GmbH in Wuerselen. Racks are placed on a detailed digital terrain model, a TIN surface, without interpolation.
The distinctive step is local grading: the program calculates the ground under each rack with user-defined cut and fill tolerances to limit earthworks. The electrical layout runs from modules to grid connection with cable lengths, voltage drop and losses, and a built-in yield tool uses Meteotest weather data. Sales go through presentations, quotations or a demo version via the contact form, so no price or trial terms are public. The legal notice page did not load.
What HELIOS 3D does well
- Real terrain handling with TIN surfaces
- Local grading under racks
- Electrical layout and loss calculation
- German vendor with direct contact
- In development since 2010
Where HELIOS 3D falls short
- Requires Autodesk Civil 3D
- Not for rooftop or residential work
- No published pricing
- Presentation-led sales process
Standout feature. HELIOS 3D calculates cut and fill grading under every rack on the terrain model, which roof-first tools do not attempt.
London, United Kingdom
Individual plan $1,899 per user per year; 3 users $1,499 per user; 5 users $1,299 per user (listed in dollars plus 18% GST, checked 27 October 2026)
Best for: Installers and EPCs wanting a single cloud subscription for design and proposals
SurgePV bundles AI roof modelling from satellite imagery, shading analysis, electrical design, financial modelling and proposals into a web platform. Strings are checked against inverter limits under NEC or IEC voltage rules, the single-line diagram exports to PDF or DXF, and the financial model reports CAPEX, LCOE, NPV, IRR and payback with P50, P75 and P90 scenarios.
The contracting party named in its terms and privacy policy is SurgePV Technologies Ltd with a London address, and the service is for business users only. All listed plans include unlimited projects, shading analysis and proposals, with free onboarding. Prices are in dollars plus 18 percent GST, which raises the question of the invoicing entity and VAT treatment, and the standards library leads with NEC and AS/NZS. EP lists it last because the billing arrangement still needs confirming.
What SurgePV does well
- Published per-user annual prices
- Unlimited projects on all plans
- SLD export to PDF and DXF
- P50/P75/P90 financial scenarios
- Free onboarding included
Where SurgePV falls short
- Priced in dollars plus GST
- Standards library leads with US and Australian codes
- Younger vendor
- Billing entity to confirm
Standout feature. SurgePV is the only tool here priced as a per-seat annual subscription that falls from $1,899 to $1,299 as seats are added.
