What a C&I solar design stack costs in 2026
The license fee is the visible line. The stack cost is the license plus everything the license model makes you buy around it: project metering that charges for screening, a CAD seat per designer, a separate simulation product, a contracted plan set on every project that moves, and the rework when those tools disagree. On published pricing, HelioScope runs $159 to $259 a month with metered projects, PVcase quotes custom packages that presume AutoCAD, and in our conversations with C&I developers, a contracted plan set runs $1,500 to $3,500.
What do the design tools cost on published pricing?
Start with what the vendors print, because only some of them print it. HelioScope publishes tiers. PVcase publishes no figures and quotes what it calls customized packages to suit each client, and a Ground Mount or Roof Mount seat presumes a desktop AutoCAD subscription on Windows, priced separately by Autodesk. Solesca publishes its model, two licenses plus SOL Credits, and prices it in a conversation.
| Tool | Published price | What meters it |
|---|---|---|
| HelioScope Basic | $159 a month, $1,620 a year | 10 projects a month, 120 a year; 1.25 MW DC ceiling |
| HelioScope Pro | $259 a month, $2,640 a year | Same project allowance; 5 MW DC ceiling |
| HelioScope Enterprise | Custom, priced per project | 30 MW DC; PVsyst export, API and SSO live here |
| PVcase | Quote only | An AutoCAD seat per layout designer, priced separately |
| Solesca | License model published, priced on a call | Nothing. Unlimited projects on both licenses |
- Stack cost
- Stack cost is the full price of getting a design from first layout to a signed plan set: license fees, per-project metering, adjacent seats such as CAD, separate simulation products, contracted deliverables, and the engineering hours spent reconciling tools that disagree. Two stacks with the same license line can differ by thousands per project everywhere else.
How does project metering change the math?
Metering charges you for screening, and screening is most of what a C&I developer does. Most sites a team models never get built, so a 120-project annual allowance prices the decision to look at a marginal site. For scale: ECA Power ran 900+ projects through Solesca in 2024, which is more than seven times the allowance HelioScope's published Basic and Pro tiers carry.
The ceilings meter differently. A 5 MW DC cap on HelioScope Pro moves the 5 to 10 MW band, the upper half of the C&I sweet spot, onto a per-project Enterprise quote. On an unmetered license, the marginal site and the larger site cost the same thing: your engineer's time.
How much does a contracted plan set cost?
In our conversations with C&I developers, a contracted plan set runs $1,500 to $3,500, and teams tell us the wait for an interconnection plan set runs about a week. European teams tell us a stamped plan set runs about €1,800 to €2,000. On a pipeline that moves a project a week, that line item alone outweighs most license fees on this page.
This is the cost Solesca moves in-house. Plan sets and SLDs are an add-on to the Engineering License, licensed once for the organization rather than per package, and the Electric Stamp is a market-rate service through a licensed PE partner, billed in SOL Credits. Solesca does not stamp; an engineer of record reviews and signs. The drawing package is stampable because the electrical design work is already done in the same model the layout came from.
How do you keep the stack cost down?
Four checks before you sign anything. Count projects you screen, not projects you build, and price the license at that volume. Count the seats the license assumes, CAD included, not just its own fee. Ask where the plan set comes from and what each one costs contracted out. And run the candidate beside your current stack on a live project before deciding: Solesca licenses are unmetered, so the side-by-side costs no allowance, and the numbers you compare are your own.
Common questions
How much does HelioScope cost in 2026?
On pricing published 27 August 2026, HelioScope Basic is $159 a month or $1,620 a year, and Pro is $259 a month or $2,640 a year, both allowing 10 projects a month and 120 a year. Enterprise is custom and priced per project, and it is the tier that carries PVsyst export, API access and SSO.
How much does PVcase cost in 2026?
PVcase publishes no prices; it quotes customized packages per client. Budget an AutoCAD subscription per layout designer as well, since Ground Mount and Roof Mount run inside desktop AutoCAD on Windows per the published system requirements.
How much does a solar plan set cost?
In our conversations with C&I developers, a contracted plan set runs $1,500 to $3,500 in the U.S., and European teams tell us a stamped plan set runs about €1,800 to €2,000. Turnaround, teams tell us, runs about a week.
How much does Solesca cost?
Solesca publishes its license model rather than a price list: a Design License, an Engineering License, and SOL Credits for stamps, extra simulations and consulting. Both licenses carry unlimited projects, purchased SOL Credits don't expire while your account is open, and pricing is a conversation you can book in 30 minutes.
Why do some solar design vendors hide pricing?
Quote-only pricing is standard where packages vary by seat count and product mix, and PVcase says exactly that: customized packages to suit each client. The practical cost is that you cannot model your stack cost before a sales call. Published tiers and published license models let you do that math first.
Price your stack against your pipeline
Book 30 minutes with our U.S.-based engineering team. Bring your screening volume and what you pay for plan sets today, and leave with the comparison your leadership will ask for.