People search for HelioScope pricing to find out what a seat costs before they talk to sales. HelioScope now publishes list prices for its Basic and Pro plans, and quotes Enterprise on request. For a C&I designer, the list price is only the start: the real number is the seat plus everything the seat does not include.
This guide sets out the published HelioScope plan prices, the four gaps that usually add cost after purchase (proposal tool, AHJ presets, plan limits, enterprise terms), and whether a single-licence alternative covers the bankability bar.
This guide breaks down the real HelioScope plan tiers, the hidden costs that surface after the contract closes, and where SurgePV (a sister brand of Heaven Designs; see our disclosure) lands as an alternative for installers who want simulation plus proposal in one license.
Quick answer. As published on the HelioScope pricing page in October 2026, Basic costs $159 per user per month or $1,620 per year, Pro costs $259 per month or $2,640 per year, and Enterprise is custom-quoted. SurgePV lists $1,299 per user per year on its five-seat tier and includes an interactive proposal. Over three years, five Pro seats cost $39,600 against $19,485 for five SurgePV seats, before any proposal tool.
TL;DR
- HelioScope publishes Basic at $159/month ($1,620/year) and Pro at $259/month ($2,640/year) per licence, with Enterprise quoted on request (as published, October 2026).
- Four costs hide behind the sticker: no interactive proposal, a limited AHJ preset library, entry-tier simulation caps, and a separate AutoCAD DXF export workflow.
- SurgePV runs about $108 per user per month equivalent ($1,299/year on the 5-seat tier) and bundles the proposal, DXF export, and AHJ overlays that HelioScope charges extra for.
- Five annual Pro seats cost $39,600 over three years; five SurgePV seats cost $19,485. Add a separate proposal tool and the gap widens.
- HelioScope's simulation is still the bankable reference for many project finance teams, so some shops are better off keeping HelioScope for simulation and pairing it with a cheaper proposal layer.
- A four-question stack test (proposal, AHJ presets, simulation overage, pipeline commit) tells you whether negotiating the renewal or switching saves more.
What HelioScope Costs in 2026
The figures below are from the official HelioScope pricing page, as published in October 2026. Prices are per licence in US dollars and change without notice, so confirm them before you buy. For what each tool actually delivers, see our HelioScope vs Heaven Designs comparison.
$159
HelioScope Basic, per licence, per month
$1,620 billed annually (Oct 2026)
$259
HelioScope Pro, per licence, per month
$2,640 billed annually (Oct 2026)
Custom
HelioScope Enterprise
Quoted per contract
$108
SurgePV per user, per month equivalent
$1,299 annual on the 5-seat tier
The three HelioScope plans
| HelioScope plan | Price (as published, Oct 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $159/month or $1,620/year per licence | Entry plan; check the pricing page for current feature and project limits |
| Pro | $259/month or $2,640/year per licence | Adds the higher-tier features listed on the pricing page |
| Enterprise | Custom | Quoted per contract |
Neither published plan includes a consumer-facing interactive proposal, and AutoCAD drafting remains a separate workflow.
Enterprise terms are negotiated, so ask how the quote scales with seat count and contract length, and read the renewal clause.
Five-seat C&I team, three-year total
A five-seat commercial team on annual Pro pays $2,640 multiplied by 5, multiplied by 3, which equals $39,600 over three years before any add-on. On annual Basic the same team pays $24,300. A separate proposal tool, such as Aurora Sales Mode or Solargraf, adds to that.
By comparison, a five-seat SurgePV pricing stack runs $1,299 multiplied by 5, multiplied by 3, which equals $19,485 with the proposal already included. That is $20,115 less than five Pro seats and $4,815 less than five Basic seats over three years, before counting a proposal tool.
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What the Sticker Hides
HelioScope’s published plan prices cover simulation and layout. Four real costs surface after the contract is signed.
1. HelioScope ships no interactive consumer proposal
HelioScope produces an excellent bankable yield PDF. It does not produce a shareable, e-signable, interactive proposal that a homeowner or facilities director can click through. The usual workaround is to buy a separate proposal tool such as Solargraf or Aurora Sales Mode, priced per rep, and re-key the design into it. SurgePV ships an equivalent white-label solar proposals builder in every paid tier.
2. AHJ presets are not 50-state
HelioScope’s simulation is bankable, and that is what most buyers care about. Where it lags is the jurisdictional overlay library. For installers permitting in California, Hawaii, or New York City, the SLD overlay that meets the AHJ usually comes from a separate AutoCAD workflow.
That adds engineering hours to every project in those jurisdictions. SurgePV offers a US-mode AHJ overlay library; check its current coverage for your jurisdictions.
Watch out. An Enterprise quote is negotiated, so its terms can include volume commitments or renewal repricing. Read the renewal clause carefully before signing a multi-year contract.
3. Plan limits on Basic
Basic is the entry plan, and teams that grow into larger commercial work often need Pro features, which raises the seat from $1,620 to $2,640 a year. Check the pricing page for the current limits on each plan. SurgePV ships unlimited 8,760-hour simulation on every paid tier with no overage.
4. AutoCAD export is a separate workflow
HelioScope exports a design PDF and a simulation report. The DXF or DWG layout that an electrical engineer uses to draft the NEC SLD is a separate export. Most C&I shops keep a dedicated AutoCAD seat for one or two engineers, which is a separate annual subscription. SurgePV bundles AutoCAD DXF export in every paid tier.
HelioScope vs SurgePV: The Real Comparison
| Line item | HelioScope Pro + proposal tool | SurgePV (5-seat tier) |
|---|---|---|
| Per user, per year (as published) | $2,640 plus a proposal tool | $1,299 |
| Bankable 8,760-hour simulation | Yes | Yes |
| Module-level shading | Yes | Included on all paid tiers |
| Interactive consumer proposal | No, requires Solargraf or Aurora Sales Mode | Included |
| AI 3D roof design | No (drone or external 3D required) | Included on all paid tiers |
| NEC 2023 single-line diagram | Not native, AutoCAD bolt-on | Included native |
| AutoCAD DXF export | Separate workflow | Included |
| 50-state AHJ overlay | Limited preset library | Included (US mode) |
| Five-seat, three-year seat cost | $39,600 (Pro) or $24,300 (Basic), plus proposal tool | $19,485 |
On seats alone, the three-year delta for a five-seat team is about $20,000 against Pro and about $4,800 against Basic. A separate proposal tool widens it.
For the feature-by-feature view, see the HelioScope vs SurgePV comparison, and for the migration playbook the HelioScope to SurgePV migration guide walks through how to port simulation history and AutoCAD overlays.
The HelioScope Stack Test
If you are sitting on a HelioScope renewal quote and trying to decide whether to negotiate or switch, this is the four-question test we run for installers who hire us for engineering support. Score one for each “yes.”
Proposal tool question
Are you paying for Solargraf or Aurora Sales Mode purely to produce the consumer-facing proposal that HelioScope does not generate? If yes, that is between $60 and $80 per rep per month that disappears with a tool that bundles the proposal.
AHJ preset question
How many of your top three AHJs require an SLD overlay or label that HelioScope's preset library does not generate? If your engineer redraws the SLD in AutoCAD every project, the AHJ savings are smaller than the sticker implies.
Simulation overage question
Did you upgrade from the entry tier purely because you hit the simulation cap? If yes, the tier delta is paying for capacity that competitor tools ship unlimited at the base tier.
Enterprise pipeline commit question
Did you sign an enterprise contract with a pipeline minimum tied to the discount? If your projected megawatts miss the minimum, the renewal will reprice. A flat per-seat tool removes that risk entirely.
A score of two or higher means a switch will likely save more than it costs to migrate. A score of three or four means you are leaving thousands of dollars per seat per year on the table.
Pricing Comparison: Stack vs Stack
C&I teams rarely run HelioScope alone. The full stack usually includes a proposal tool, an AutoCAD seat, and either a CRM or a sales-led tool that doubles as a CRM. Stack-vs-stack is the comparison that matters.
| Stack | Annual cost, 5-seat shop | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| HelioScope Pro (5 seats) + proposal tool + AutoCAD (1 seat) | $13,200 plus proposal and CAD subscriptions | Simulation, proposal, DXF |
| HelioScope Basic (5 seats) + proposal tool + AutoCAD (1 seat) | $8,100 plus proposal and CAD subscriptions | Simulation, proposal, DXF |
| SurgePV 5-seat tier (all-in) | $6,495 | Design, shading, NEC SLD, proposal, DXF, AI 3D, simulation |
The SurgePV vs Aurora Solar comparison runs the same stack math for shops weighing Aurora Grow instead of HelioScope.
On thin commercial installer margins, a five-figure annual saving on the software stack is real money back to the business.
The IEA PVPS Task 13 research on PV performance modeling is a useful reference for what “bankable” actually means across simulation engines. Our breakdown of how accurate PVsyst yield predictions affect project economics digs into that downstream financial impact in more detail. If your lender asks for PVsyst, our PVsyst vs Aurora Solar comparison explains the trade-off.
See the C&I design samples we ship for HelioScope and SurgePV clients
Download the Heaven Designs sample pack. C&I three-line diagram, structural placement, 8,760-hour yield report, and an AutoCAD-exported SLD overlay.
Download the sample pack →When HelioScope Is Still the Right Call
There are three scenarios where staying on HelioScope is the cheaper outcome.
Scenario 1: You ship bankable yield to project finance teams
HelioScope’s simulation is widely used in US project finance underwriting. If your buyer is a tax-equity investor or a debt provider who specifically asks for HelioScope output, switching simulation engines introduces underwriting friction that costs more than the seat savings. The right move is to run HelioScope alongside a cheaper proposal tool. SurgePV runs alongside HelioScope without conflict, and the bankability glossary explains what bankers actually look for.
Scenario 2: You are on a 50-plus MW pipeline commit
If you signed a multi-year Enterprise contract at a per-seat rate well below the published Pro price, the migration math may take years to break even. Negotiate the renewal and switch on the next contract cycle.
Scenario 3: Your engineers run shared simulation workflows
HelioScope’s collaboration model (shared project view, comment threads, sim history) is well-developed for teams of five-plus engineers running the same project. Browser-native competitors are catching up on collaboration.
How Heaven Designs Helps
Heaven Designs is an outsourced solar engineering team that ships permit-ready packets for US installers and developers regardless of which design tool they run. We work in HelioScope, Aurora, PVsyst, OpenSolar, and SurgePV. The tool is the buyer’s choice; the engineering output is what we deliver.
When a C&I installer hires us during a HelioScope-to-SurgePV migration, we run two services:
- The rooftop detailed engineering design service. We produce the NEC 2023 SLD, the structural overlay, and the AHJ packet from whichever simulation engine the installer is running, then re-issue from the destination tool once the migration completes.
- The 3D pre-design service. We produce the 3D roof model and the conceptual layout that drives the HelioScope or SurgePV simulation, so the design engineer is not also doing the roof measurement.
For installers shopping the broader market, our guides on commercial solar design software, utility-scale solar design software, and the HelioScope alternatives breakdown cover the trade-offs in depth, and the best solar design software ranking scores ten platforms including HelioScope and SurgePV side by side.
For a direct three-way comparison, the Aurora vs HelioScope vs Heaven Designs buyer’s guide puts all three head-to-head on price and features, and the HelioScope vs Heaven Designs deliverable comparison shows what each one hands over at every project stage. The US solar design software roundup walks through every meaningful option.
The solar proposal software guide is useful if you are specifically shopping for the proposal layer to bolt onto HelioScope. The PVsyst glossary and AHJ glossary are useful when comparing simulation output and permit reviewer expectations across tools.
If you want to talk through a specific HelioScope renewal quote, the contact form is the fastest path. Enterprise contracts are timed, so the eight to twelve weeks before auto-renew is when negotiation works.
Disclosure and accuracy note
Commercial relationship. Heaven Designs and SurgePV are part of the same group. Treat our recommendation of SurgePV as a vendor making its own case, not an independent verdict. We have tried to describe every other product fairly, and to say plainly where a competitor is the better choice.
Pricing. All prices are indicative, compiled from public sources when this page was written. They vary by tier, region, contract term and exchange rate, and change without notice. Several vendors quote rather than publish, and some price in currencies other than the US dollar, so a converted figure moves with the exchange rate. Confirm current pricing with the vendor before you decide anything.
Trademarks and corrections. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners, and are used here for identification and comparison only. Their use does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by those companies. If anything here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
FAQ
How much does HelioScope actually cost per user in 2026?
As published on the HelioScope pricing page in October 2026, Basic costs $159 per licence per month or $1,620 per year, and Pro costs $259 per month or $2,640 per year. Enterprise is custom-quoted per contract.
Does HelioScope publish its pricing?
Yes, for Basic and Pro. HelioScope is now part of Aurora, and its pricing page lists both plans; Enterprise is quoted on request. Compare it against SurgePV pricing on the same seat basis.
Does HelioScope include an interactive consumer proposal?
No. HelioScope produces a bankable yield PDF and a simulation report, not an interactive proposal that a homeowner or facilities manager can click through and e-sign. Most installers buy Solargraf or Aurora Sales Mode as a separate proposal tool. These are priced per rep. SurgePV bundles the white-label proposal builder in every paid tier.
Is HelioScope’s simulation bankable?
Yes. HelioScope’s simulation is widely accepted by US project finance teams. The simulation engine is not the place HelioScope loses on price; the proposal gap is. Our bankable PVsyst reports guide covers what underwriters actually check for in more detail.
Does HelioScope ship a 50-state AHJ overlay library?
The preset library covers the most common US jurisdictions but is not exhaustive. For California, Hawaii, parts of New York City, and the strictest Florida counties, the SLD overlay typically comes from a separate AutoCAD workflow. SurgePV’s US mode includes an AHJ overlay library.
What is a lower-cost alternative to HelioScope?
SurgePV, our sister brand, at $1,299 per user per year on the five-seat tier, which works out to roughly $108 per user per month equivalent. It ships 8,760-hour simulation, module-level shading, AI 3D roof design, NEC 2023 SLD, AutoCAD DXF export, and an interactive proposal in one license. The HelioScope alternatives guide covers six others.
Will switching off HelioScope break our existing simulation history?
HelioScope’s project files do not export cleanly into other simulation engines, but the underlying inputs (weather file, module spec, inverter spec, array layout) do. SurgePV’s HelioScope to SurgePV migration guide walks through how to re-run the simulation from the same inputs and validate the yield delta sits within the 1 to 3 percent band that most underwriting allows.
How much can a five-seat C&I team save by switching?
On seats alone, about $20,000 over three years against five annual Pro seats ($39,600 vs $19,485), or about $4,800 against Basic. A separate proposal tool widens the gap. The savings come from the proposal being bundled rather than added, AutoCAD DXF being bundled rather than added, and the AHJ overlay being native rather than redrawn.