One of the first questions Australian installers ask about OpenSolar is simple: what does it actually cost? The short answer is that the core platform is free. The longer answer is that "free" comes with a business model worth understanding before you build your whole operation on it. Here is how OpenSolar pricing works in 2026.
Is OpenSolar free?
Yes. OpenSolar's core design, proposal and CRM tools are free to use, with no per-seat fees, no design caps and no lock-in contracts. This applies to unlimited users and projects on the core platform, which is genuinely unusual in solar software and is the main reason OpenSolar is so widely adopted.
How does OpenSolar make money if it's free?
Instead of charging installers a subscription, OpenSolar is funded through its partner ecosystem, hardware manufacturers and finance providers who integrate with the platform. In practice that means the software is paid for by the companies whose products and finance options appear inside it, rather than by you.
This is a fair trade for many installers, but it is worth being aware of the implication: project data flows to those partners by design, and the product roadmap is partly shaped by partner priorities rather than purely by installer needs.
What is not free?
A few things sit outside the free core, and these are the ones to budget for:
- API access. From April 2026, OpenSolar began charging for external API connections. If your business relies on integrating OpenSolar with other systems, this is now a paid feature rather than a free one.
- Premium imagery. High-resolution imagery bundles can carry additional cost depending on your region and usage.
- Single-line diagrams. OpenSolar does not generate compliant SLDs the way a dedicated tool does. In many markets installers pay for separate CAD software to produce them, which is an indirect cost in both licence fees and time.
What does this mean for an Australian installer?
For straightforward residential work, OpenSolar's free core genuinely can run your whole sales process at no software cost, which is a strong position. The hidden costs appear when you need things the free platform does not focus on: AS/NZS 5033 single-line diagrams, precise STC and Federal Battery Rebate handling, and integrations once API access is paid.
If those Australian-specific needs are central to your work, it is worth weighing the free platform against a paid Australian-built tool. Solar Proof, for example, is not free, it uses pay-as-you-go pricing from around four dollars per project, with monthly plans for higher volume, but it includes a browser-based SLD editor and applies STCs and the battery rebate inside quotes. For some installers that saves enough time to justify the cost; for others, OpenSolar's free tier is the smarter call.
The bottom line
OpenSolar's core platform is free and likely to stay that way, funded by hardware and finance partners. The real cost questions are around API access (now paid), premium imagery, and the separate tooling some installers need for compliant single-line diagrams. Understand the partner-funded model, budget for what sits outside the free core, and you will know whether free is genuinely free for your business. For a full feature-by-feature view, see our Solar Proof vs OpenSolar comparison.
