Aurora Solar is a US-based market leader in solar design software, known for advanced simulation and polished proposals. But it was built for the American market, which raises a fair question for installers here: is Aurora Solar a good fit for Australian installers? This review looks at its strengths, its Australian gaps, and who should consider it.
What is Aurora Solar?
Aurora Solar is a cloud platform for solar design, performance simulation and sales proposals, widely used across the United States. It is best known for AI-assisted site modelling that can build a 3D roof model in seconds, LIDAR-assisted design, bankable shade reports and strong battery-storage modelling.
What Aurora does well
- Design and simulation depth. Aurora's modelling and shade analysis are among the most advanced available, which matters for complex projects.
- AI site modelling. Automatic 3D roof generation speeds up the design step.
- Proposal polish. Its customer-facing proposals are well regarded.
- Bankable reports. Useful where financiers require validated shade and production data.
The Australian gaps
Aurora's strengths are tuned to the US market, and that shows here:
- No native Australian compliance. STCs, CEC-aligned workflows, AS/NZS 5033 SLDs and the Federal Battery Rebate are not built in the way they are in Australian tools.
- US-oriented financials. Incentive and tariff modelling is built around US net metering and rebates, not Australian schemes.
- Cost. Per-user monthly pricing in USD is well above the per-project pricing common in Australia.
- Access. API is Enterprise-only and there is no full free trial, so evaluating it takes more effort.
Who Aurora suits in Australia
Aurora can make sense for large Australian operations doing complex work that genuinely needs its simulation depth, and that have the budget for premium US-priced software. For those teams, the design power can be worth it.
Who should consider an alternative
For most Australian residential and small-commercial installers, a purpose-built local tool will fit better and cost far less. Solar Proof applies STCs and the Federal Battery Rebate inside quotes, includes a browser-based AS/NZS 5033 SLD editor, and uses pay-as-you-go pricing from around four dollars per project. It does not match Aurora's heavy simulation depth, and we will say so, but for everyday Australian quoting it covers what installers actually need. Compare them directly in our Solar Proof vs Aurora Solar comparison.
The bottom line
Aurora Solar is a genuinely powerful, US-first platform. For Australian installers, its gaps are local compliance, Australian financials and cost. If you need its simulation depth and can justify the price, it is excellent; if you want Australian compliance and per-project pricing, a local tool will serve you better.
