Canadian solar proposals fail on one number more than any other: winter. A tool built for Phoenix models a January that produces two thirds of a July. A tool that has never seen a Canadian roof models a January where snow cover takes an array to near zero output for days at a time, then reports an annual figure that looks fine because the summer carried it. The customer notices in February.
Add provincial net metering rules that vary from genuinely generous to barely worth having, and the Canadian proposal problem is clear. Here is what actually works.
Direct answer. The best solar proposal software in Canada for most installers is OpenSolar or SurgePV. OpenSolar wins on cost, being free at the seat, and handles Canadian utility rates adequately. SurgePV wins when the same license also has to produce the design, single-line diagram, and CAD export a Canadian inspector will accept. No platform models snow cover losses properly, so that adjustment stays manual.
TL;DR
- Snow soiling loss is the biggest modelling gap in Canadian proposals. Standard simulation defaults understate it, sometimes badly.
- Net metering is provincial. Alberta, Ontario, BC, and Saskatchewan have materially different rules, credit treatment, and annual reconciliation dates.
- Electricity prices vary more across Canada than across almost any comparable market, from very cheap hydro provinces to expensive ones. Payback follows the rate, not the sunshine.
- Alberta and Ontario carry most of the market. A proposal tool that handles those two utility landscapes well covers most of the addressable business.
- Every vendor quotes in USD. Factor the exchange rate into the seat cost.
What Canada Actually Changes About Proposal Software
Snow. This is the modelling issue no US-built tool handles well. Snow affects a Canadian array in two ways: direct cover, which takes output to near zero until it sheds, and reduced winter irradiance. Standard soiling loss defaults in simulation tools are set for dust, not for a 20 cm accumulation that sits for a week. The practical consequence is that a default simulation can overstate annual production in snowy locations. Steeper tilt sheds faster, which is one of the few design levers, and it is a levers a proposal tool will not suggest.
Net metering is provincial and materially different. Alberta’s Micro-Generation Regulation, Ontario’s net metering, BC Hydro’s program, and Saskatchewan’s each treat credits, annual reconciliation, and system sizing limits differently. Most cap system size relative to the customer’s historical consumption, which means the proposal has to justify array size against past usage, not just roof space.
Electricity price spread. Canadian residential electricity rates vary enormously by province. A system that pays back in 9 years in one province pays back in 20 in another with better sun, purely on rate. Any proposal tool has to be pointed at the right rate schedule, and a national average is useless.
Financing. Federal and provincial programs have shifted over recent years, and program availability changes. Any incentive stated in a proposal should be checked against current program status rather than a value cached in the tool.
Canada had roughly 6.5 GW installed entering 2025, with Alberta and Ontario carrying most of it, according to the Canada Energy Regulator.
The 7 Platforms Ranked for the Canadian Market
| Platform | Best for | Canadian utility rates | Snow loss handling | Design output included | Price per seat per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSolar | Most Canadian residential installers | Good | Manual override | Basic | $0 plus transaction fees |
| SurgePV | Proposal plus design and CAD export | Yes | Manual override | Full, with DWG | $1,299 to $1,899 USD |
| Aurora Solar | Larger teams, complex roofs | Good | Manual override | Good, US-oriented | $1,908 to $3,108 USD |
| HelioScope | Commercial layout and yield | Not a proposal tool | Manual override | Layout and yield only | ~$1,188 USD |
| PVsyst | Lender and utility yield studies | Not a proposal tool | Configurable soiling | No | ~$500 USD |
| RETScreen | Feasibility and screening | Native Canadian data | Better than most | No | Free tier |
| Pylon | Value-tier residential | Partial | Manual override | Basic | ~$1,000 USD |
OpenSolar
The pragmatic default for Canadian residential. Free at the seat, competent utility rate handling, and a good customer-facing proposal. The transaction-based monetisation is thinner in Canada than in the US, which arguably makes the deal better for the installer. Crossover math is in OpenSolar pricing.
SurgePV
The pick when the proposal is only half the job. One license covers 3D roof modelling, 8,760-hour shading, string design, the single-line diagram, editable AutoCAD DWG export, and a white-label interactive proposal. For a Canadian installer, the DWG export matters more than it does elsewhere, because every US-built tool needs Canadian Electrical Code corrections applied before submission and a flattened PDF makes that expensive. We cover the full technical comparison in best solar design software in Canada.
Aurora Solar
Strong on complex roof geometry, which is useful on older Canadian housing stock. Priced for a US market with more headroom. See Aurora Solar pricing and Aurora Solar alternatives.
HelioScope
A commercial layout and yield tool rather than a proposal tool, and a good one. Canadian C&I teams run it to produce the technical numbers that feed a proposal built elsewhere. HelioScope pricing covers the tiers.
PVsyst
The yield model Canadian lenders and utilities accept on larger projects. Its soiling loss parameter is at least configurable, which makes it the most honest tool on this list for snow, provided you set it deliberately. PVsyst price is roughly $500 per seat.
RETScreen
Built by Natural Resources Canada, free at the entry tier, and genuinely strong on Canadian climate data. It is a feasibility and screening tool, not a customer-facing proposal generator, but it is the best sanity check available for a Canadian production estimate.
Pylon
Lower-cost residential tooling, thinner on Canadian specifics. Reasonable if budget is the binding constraint and OpenSolar does not suit.
Try the software behind this guide
Quote the customer, then hand the inspector a real DWG
SurgePV covers 3D roof modelling, 8,760-hour shading at Canadian latitudes, string design, single-line diagrams, editable AutoCAD DWG export, and a white-label interactive proposal.
Book a free SurgePV demo →No credit card. 20-minute walkthrough on one of your own projects.
What a Canadian Proposal Has to Contain
- System specification with CSA-certified or accredited-mark modules and inverter, and total capacity.
- Production estimate with the weather data source named and a stated snow loss assumption.
- Monthly production profile, not just an annual figure. Canadian customers need to see the winter months explicitly, because otherwise February arrives as a surprise.
- Utility rate schedule named, with the current and post-solar bill modelled.
- Net metering terms for the specific province and utility, including the annual reconciliation date and what happens to unused credits.
- System sizing justification against the customer’s historical consumption, since most provincial programs cap size relative to usage.
- Structural note flagging that snow and drift loading under the National Building Code of Canada requires assessment, and whether an engineer’s stamp is included.
- Incentives with current program status, not a cached value.
- Assumptions for rate escalation and degradation.
Item 3 is the honesty test. An annual production number hides the seasonality that defines the Canadian experience of owning solar. Showing the monthly curve up front costs a deal occasionally and prevents a complaint frequently.
Pricing in Canadian Dollars
| Stack | USD per year | Approx. CAD at 1.36 | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSolar | $0 plus fees | Transaction-linked | Proposal and basic design |
| Pylon | ~$1,000 | ~C$1,360 | Proposal |
| SurgePV | $1,299 to $1,899 | ~C$1,767 to C$2,583 | Proposal plus design, SLD, DWG |
| Aurora | $1,908 to $3,108 | ~C$2,595 to C$4,227 | Proposal plus design |
| Add PVsyst for commercial | +$500 | +~C$680 | Yield report only |
Exchange rate is illustrative. A few vendors will invoice in CAD if asked.
What Most Canadian Installers Get Wrong
They accept the simulation’s default soiling loss.
The default in most tools is set for dust accumulation in a temperate or arid climate. Applied to a location with three months of intermittent snow cover, it understates the loss. The result is a proposal that promises production the array will not deliver, and a customer who checks their monitoring in March and concludes they were misled. The fix is not complicated: set the soiling parameter deliberately by region and tilt, show the monthly curve, and say plainly that snow cover reduces winter output.
The second mistake is sizing to the roof instead of to the consumption history. Most provincial net metering programs cap system size against historical usage, so an array sized to fill the roof can be rejected or partially derated at application. That conversation is much better had before the customer signs.
When Proposal Software Is Not the Constraint
If the deals close and then sit waiting on a structural assessment for snow and drift loading, or on a code-correct single-line diagram, the constraint is engineering, not sales.
That work is what our solar civil and structural engineering team delivers, with calculation packages produced as STAAD Pro report calculations against Canadian load combinations. For the electrical and layout side, solar rooftop detailed engineering design covers the full issued-for-construction pack. Canadian installers under roughly 15 projects a month generally find that routing engineering out costs less than licensing a full stack and carrying an engineer. See the sample design pack or talk to our team.
Conclusion
- Set the snow loss deliberately and show the monthly curve. The default soiling parameter was not written for a Canadian winter, and an annual-only figure hides the season that generates complaints.
- Size to consumption history, not roof area. Provincial net metering caps generally key off historical usage, and the application is a bad place to discover that.
- Buy for CAD export if you also permit. Canadian corrections to a US-built design are unavoidable, so the value is in how cheaply you can make them.
In this country series: solar software in Canada, best solar design software in Canada, shading analysis software in Canada, Pvcase review. Tool deep dives: Pvsyst review, Helioscope review.
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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
What is the best solar proposal software in Canada? OpenSolar for most residential installers on cost and adequate Canadian rate handling, and SurgePV when the same license also has to produce the design, single-line diagram, and editable DWG for inspection.
Does any proposal software model snow losses in Canada? None model snow cover properly out of the box. PVsyst at least exposes a configurable soiling parameter you can set deliberately. RETScreen, built by Natural Resources Canada, is the best free sanity check on a Canadian production estimate.
How does provincial net metering affect the proposal? Substantially. Credit treatment, annual reconciliation dates, and system size caps relative to historical consumption all differ by province and utility. The proposal has to state the specific program terms, not a generic net metering description.
How much does solar proposal software cost in Canada? From C$0 with OpenSolar’s transaction model to roughly C$4,200 per user per year at Aurora’s higher tiers. Most Canadian installers land under C$2,600. Cross-platform math is in our solar design software pricing breakdown.
Why is my payback so different from a US quote on a similar roof? Almost always the electricity rate, not the sunshine. Canadian residential rates vary enormously by province, and payback follows the rate more than the irradiance.
Should the proposal include the structural assessment? It should at least state whether snow and drift loading under the National Building Code of Canada has been assessed and whether a professional engineer’s stamp is included. Leaving it unstated creates a dispute later.
What about the design software decision separately? Covered in our companion ranking, best solar design software in Canada.
