PVsyst Price 2026: CHF 700/Yr + The Real Total Cost

If you have searched for PVsyst price in 2026, here is the number straight from the PVsyst shop: the Professional licence is CHF 700 per user per year, billed as an annual subscription rather than a perpetual licence. That is Swiss Francs, not euros, and it is still the cheapest serious PV simulation software in the market. At Heaven Green Energy our 12-person engineering team has used PVsyst for over a decade on lender-grade C&I and utility-scale yield reports, and the honest 2026 reality is more painful. PVsyst produces the yield report lenders are used to seeing, but it is also Windows-only, desktop-only and single-purpose. Its published scope does not extend to a design UI, a proposal generator, AutoCAD integration, or Indian tariff modeling. The real-world PVsyst stack for a 5-engineer Indian EPC team includes PVsyst Professional licences, a separate proposal tool (Solargraf, Enact, or a custom template), a CAD seat (AutoCAD or BricsCAD) for SLD and layout export, a 3D modeling source (SketchUp or Skelion), and the Excel workbooks that wrap Indian PM Surya Ghar tariffs. Total cost-of-ownership for that stack lands at ₹8 to 20 lakh per year (roughly $9,500 to $23,000), not the CHF 3,500 PVsyst headline for five seats.

Be blunt about the licence line before anything else: on price per seat, PVsyst is much cheaper than SurgePV and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Five PVsyst Professional seats cost CHF 3,500 a year, roughly $4,400 at approximate mid-2026 rates, against $6,495 for a SurgePV 5-User Team plan. If a bankable simulation report is the only thing you ship, PVsyst is the better buy on price and you should buy it. The argument for SurgePV at $1,299 per user per year on the 5-User Team plan, or $6,495 all-in is about scope, not cost: PVsyst is a desktop simulation engine with no proposals, no CRM, no AI 3D roof from satellite, no white-label output, and a 2 to 4 week learning curve, so the tools you buy to fill those gaps are what move the total.

Direct answer. PVsyst price in 2026 is CHF 700 per user per year for the Professional licence, an annual per-user subscription (not perpetual). Cheaper tiers exist but carry restrictions: Education CHF 420/year and Training/Research CHF 560/year both watermark reports, Student and Classroom are CHF 25/year and also watermarked. PVsystCLI is CHF 3,000/year Standard. PVsyst is desktop-only, Windows-only, and its published scope is PV simulation. As of August 2026 the published feature set does not list a design UI, proposal generator, AutoCAD integration, or PM Surya Ghar tariff modeling. Per seat, PVsyst is cheaper than SurgePV: five seats are CHF 3,500/year against SurgePV’s $6,495. The case for SurgePV’s 5-User Team plan at $1,299/user/year ($6,495 total) is that it replaces the surrounding stack (proposal tool, CAD seat, 3D source, India tariff workbook) with one cloud license carrying bankable P50/P75/P90 yield, AI 3D roof, branded proposals, and native PM Surya Ghar.

This guide is written for solar engineers, EPC firms, and design leads who need bankable yield reports and want a complete read on what PVsyst actually costs once you tally the surrounding stack. We cover the published PVsyst Professional price, the hidden cost of the surrounding tools (proposal, CAD, 3D, India workaround), the realistic 5-engineer team budget, and the SurgePV alternative that replaces the full stack in one cloud license with bankable P50/P75/P90 yield. You can compare SurgePV pricing directly, or book a free SurgePV demo and bring two real PVsyst projects to the call.

What the CHF 700 Headline Price Does and Does Not Cover

PVsyst Professional at CHF 700 per user per year is genuinely cheap, and the price is real, not a teaser. It is the lowest published price in the bankable PV simulation segment and it undercuts every cloud platform in this category on a per-seat basis, SurgePV included. What it buys you is narrower than most buyers assume, because PVsyst is a single-purpose tool: it runs the PV simulation, generates the P50/P75/P90 yield outputs, and produces a PVsyst-format PDF report. As of August 2026 its published feature set does not list a customer-facing branded proposal, a design UI for residential roof layouts, an AutoCAD-compatible SLD generator, a BOQ builder, an India DISCOM net metering library, a PM Surya Ghar tariff block, or AI-led design entry. Every one of those is a separate tool, license, or Excel workbook in the typical PVsyst-led stack.

The first hidden cost is the proposal tool. PVsyst’s PDF report is engineer-facing and designed for lender submission, not for customer sales. Almost every PVsyst-using EPC pairs it with Solargraf, Enact, or a custom proposal template at ₹6,500 to ₹12,000 per seat per month. On a 5-engineer team, that adds ₹4 to 7 lakh a year.

The second hidden cost is the CAD seat. PVsyst can export some layout data, but the SLD, structural layout, and final issued-for-construction drawings need AutoCAD or BricsCAD. A single AutoCAD LT seat is roughly ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 a year, AutoCAD full is ₹1.5 to 1.8 lakh. On a 5-engineer team with at least 2 CAD seats, the CAD line item is ₹1 to 4 lakh a year.

The third is the 3D modeling source. PVsyst’s 3D scene editor covers the essentials, and in our own use it is slower to work in than a dedicated modeller. Most C&I designers model the surroundings in SketchUp or Skelion and import. SketchUp Pro is billed in US dollars at $399 per seat per year on the annual plan (roughly ₹33,000 at ₹83 to the dollar, approximate). Skelion ships a free version, and its Skelion Pro and Support package is an annually renewing subscription whose price Skelion does not publish. Two to three SketchUp Pro seats adds ₹66,000 to ₹1 lakh a year for a small team.

The fourth is the India PM Surya Ghar workaround. As of August 2026 we have not found native PM Surya Ghar subsidy calc or Indian DISCOM net metering documented in PVsyst. Indian EPCs typically wrap PVsyst outputs in an Excel financial model maintained by a finance analyst. That is either time cost (1 to 2 hours per project) or tool cost (₹50,000+ for a custom workbook).

Add it up: a realistic 5-engineer Indian EPC PVsyst stack lands at ₹8 to 20 lakh per year ($9,500 to $23,000), against a PVsyst-only line of CHF 3,500. SurgePV’s pricing page shows three published plans where the entire stack (cloud simulation, AI 3D, proposals, SLD, BOQ, PM Surya Ghar) is bundled into one license. There is no separate proposal contract, no CAD seat, no SketchUp dependency, no Excel template.

The Stats: PVsyst Price and Real Stack Cost in 2026

Here is the cost picture for a 5-engineer Indian EPC team running a PVsyst-led stack in 2026, normalised to the realistic annual budget. Numbers are from publicly visible PVsyst references, verified reseller quotes through Q2 2026, and cross-checked against Mercom India and pv magazine market data.

The headline stat, stated honestly, is that SurgePV’s all-in $6,495 per year for a 5-seat team is more expensive than the bare PVsyst-only line item of CHF 3,500, and cheaper than the realistic PVsyst stack. Anyone can check the first half of that sentence on the PVsyst shop page in one click, so there is no point dressing it up. The reason the second half holds is structural. PVsyst is a desktop simulation engine that needs three to four surrounding tools to ship a complete project. SurgePV is a cloud platform that ships the same bankable P50/P75/P90 yield plus all the surrounding workflow in one license.

For an EPC running commercial solar and industrial solar workloads in parallel, the saving compounds. PVsyst’s Windows-only desktop dependency also adds a hardware floor that SurgePV’s browser-first cloud workflow eliminates. Bridge to India tracks 12 GW of C&I solar pipeline through 2027 and the IEA ranks India as one of the fastest-growing solar markets globally, which is exactly the market where the PVsyst stack overhead hurts most.

The 4-Point Heaven Green Design-Tool Bench Test

This is the named framework we use internally at Heaven Green Energy to evaluate every solar design platform we deploy across our solar EPC workflow. We score each tool from 1 to 10 on four criteria and refuse to standardise on anything under 32 of 40.

1. Engineering rigour. Does it run 8,760-hour, module-level shading? P50/P75/P90 yield reports in the format lenders typically ask for? Soiling, snow, albedo, temperature coefficient? PVsyst scores 10 of 10 on this axis. It is the gold standard. SurgePV’s solar simulation software also scores 10, with the same 8,760-hour engine and bankable outputs.
2. Full workflow coverage. Can one designer go from address to signed branded proposal inside the platform? SLD, BOQ, DXF/DWG AutoCAD export, white-label proposals, e-signature? PVsyst scores 2 of 10. It is single-purpose. SurgePV scores 10 because proposals, SLD, BOQ, and AutoCAD export are bundled.
3. Total cost of ownership. Annual license plus proposal tool plus CAD seat plus 3D source plus India workaround across a 5-engineer team. On the licence line alone PVsyst wins outright at CHF 700 a seat, cheaper than any cloud platform here. It scores 4 of 10 on this axis only because the realistic stack around it is ₹8 to 20 lakh a year. SurgePV scores 10 at $6,495 bundled.
4. Global code coverage. NEC for US, IEC for EU, IS for India, AS/NZS for Australia, plus built-in tariff structures including PM Surya Ghar. PVsyst scores 7 of 10 (strong global irradiance data, weak local tariff modeling). SurgePV scores 9 with native IS code and PM Surya Ghar blocks.

When we run this 4-point bench on PVsyst, PVsyst scores 23 of 40 for a complete-workflow installer team. SurgePV scores 38 of 40. PVsyst is unbeatable on bankability rigour for utility-scale 100 MW+ projects where the engineer only needs the simulation output. For everyone else, on our bench the stack overhead outweighs the cheaper seat.

Verdict. PVsyst is gold for pure bankable simulation and it is the cheapest seat in this market at CHF 700 a year. If simulation is all you need, buy PVsyst. The pricing argument for SurgePV is not the headline, it is the stack: if you ship complete C&I or residential projects, the surrounding tools PVsyst forces you to buy cost more than the difference.

PVsyst Pricing Breakdown: What You Actually Pay

This is the published pricing for PVsyst 8 in 2026, taken from the PVsyst shop. All tiers are annual per-user subscriptions in Swiss Francs.

Two things follow from that table. First, the only commercially usable tier is Professional at CHF 700, because every cheaper tier stamps a watermark on the report and is licensed for education or research. Second, CHF 3,500 for five commercial seats is genuinely less than SurgePV’s $6,495 for five seats, at roughly $4,400 approximate. That gap is real and it is a point in PVsyst’s favour.

What the CHF 700 line does not buy is a stack. You cannot ship a complete C&I or residential project on that line item alone. The realistic stack adds 3 to 4 more line items, each of which costs as much or more than PVsyst itself, and that is where the total flips.

The second trap is the Windows-only, desktop-only architecture. PVsyst’s published system requirements list Windows only, with no native macOS or Linux build. Most teams that try run it through Parallels or a remote Windows VM, which adds hardware cost, IT cost, and an additional Microsoft Windows license. SurgePV runs in any browser on any operating system, with no install.

The third is the lack of native team collaboration. PVsyst project files live on a designer’s local machine. Team sharing requires file-server discipline or a workaround like Dropbox. SurgePV’s cloud workflow ships team collaboration, project sharing, and version control natively on every paid plan.

Hidden Costs of PVsyst Beyond the CHF 700 Headline

The published PVsyst Professional line is not the full bill. Five hidden costs catch most installer engineers.

Proposal tool stack. PVsyst’s PDF report is engineer-facing. Customer-facing branded proposals require Solargraf, Enact, or a custom template. Neither vendor bills per seat: Solargraf sells project-volume plans from $2,799 a year (240 projects, 2 users) up to $12,999 (1,500 projects), and Enact is $279 a month for 2 users on annual billing, or $3,348 a year. On a 5-engineer team that is roughly ₹2.5 to ₹11 lakh a year depending on project volume.

CAD seat (AutoCAD or BricsCAD). SLD, structural layout, and IFC drawings need AutoCAD or BricsCAD. AutoCAD LT is ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 per seat per year. AutoCAD full is ₹1.5 to 1.8 lakh per seat. Typical 5-engineer team needs 2 to 3 CAD seats. Budget ₹1 to 4 lakh a year.

3D modeling source. In our own use, PVsyst’s 3D scene editor is slower to work in than a dedicated modeller. Most designers model surroundings in SketchUp Pro ($399 per seat per year on the annual plan, roughly ₹33,000 at ₹83 to the dollar) and import. Skelion has a free version plus an annually renewing Pro and Support package whose price is not publicly listed. Budget ₹66,000 to ₹1 lakh a year for two to three seats.

India PM Surya Ghar workaround. As of August 2026 we have not found native PM Surya Ghar or Indian DISCOM net metering modeling documented in PVsyst. Most Indian EPCs maintain an Excel workbook that wraps PVsyst output with local tariffs. Either build time (1 to 2 hours per project) or a custom workbook subscription (~₹50,000 a year).

Windows-only hardware floor. PVsyst requires a Windows desktop with reasonable RAM and a discrete GPU for 3D scene work. Mac-using engineers need Parallels or a remote VM. Budget ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh per engineer per year for the hardware refresh and OS license.

Adding it up: a realistic 5-engineer Indian EPC PVsyst stack in 2026 is CHF 3,500 PVsyst (~₹3.7 lakh) + ₹2.5 to 11 lakh proposal stack + ₹1 to 4 lakh CAD + ₹66K to 1 lakh 3D + ₹50K India workaround + ₹2.5 to 5 lakh hardware year 1 = ₹11 to 25 lakh in year 1, or roughly $13,000 to $29,000. The same SurgePV 5-User Team budget is $6,495 license + $2,500 onboarding + no proposal stack + no CAD + no SketchUp + no India workaround + no Windows hardware floor = $9,000 in year 1. Note what is doing the work in that comparison: it is the four surrounding line items, not PVsyst’s own licence, which stays the cheapest single item in the whole budget.

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SurgePV vs PVsyst on Pricing: Side-by-Side

The four PVsyst pricing pains map cleanly to four bundled SurgePV features. This is the side-by-side our engineers use when they switch.

Published price, one tier shows the whole stack. SurgePV’s 5-User Team plan is $1,299 per user per year, published. The plan includes AI 3D roof, Clara AI, 8,760-hour shading, financial modeling with PM Surya Ghar, branded proposals, SLD, BOQ, DXF/DWG export, and a 70,000+ module / 12,000+ inverter database. PVsyst’s equivalent path requires PVsyst Professional + Solargraf + AutoCAD + SketchUp + Excel workbook, four to five separate contracts.

8,760-hour shading on every plan. SurgePV’s solar shading analysis software runs the same hour-by-hour, year-long simulation PVsyst is the gold standard for. Module-level and string-level results land in under 30 seconds for residential, under 5 minutes for a 1 MW C&I roof. Same engineering depth, in the browser, no Windows desktop required.

Bankable yield and financial reports. SurgePV’s generation and financial tool covers cashflow, IRR, NPV, payback, country-specific tariffs including native PM Surya Ghar, plus loan, lease, and PPA modeling. Carbon offset reports are built in. PVsyst’s economic outputs are limited, and in our workflow a customer-facing financial summary still gets built in Excel.

Branded proposals in 5 minutes. SurgePV’s solar proposal software ships PDF and interactive web proposals with shareable URLs and e-signature. Multilingual support spans 9 languages. PVsyst’s published scope does not include customer-facing proposals. Pair with QuickEstimate, the sister-brand solar CRM, for lead routing, PM Surya Ghar paperwork, and follow-up automation.

AI 3D roof modeling and AutoCAD handoff. SurgePV’s AI 3D solar design module builds a 3D roof model from satellite in under 60 seconds, with obstructions detected automatically. The AutoCAD integration exports SLD and layout as DXF/DWG, ready for IFC drawings. PVsyst requires SketchUp for 3D and AutoCAD for SLD, two more tools to license and integrate.

Clara AI, natural-language design assistant. Clara takes plain English commands and executes design changes visually. PVsyst’s interface is built around deep manual configuration by an expert user rather than guided entry. Industry analysts at pv magazine have described natural-language design as one of the biggest workflow shifts of 2026, and we have not found a comparable feature documented in PVsyst as of August 2026.

Common Mistakes Buyers Make With PVsyst Pricing

We have helped multiple installer partners audit their PVsyst stack. These are the five pricing mistakes that cost the most, scored by frequency.

1. 1
   Comparing the CHF 700 PVsyst line to a cloud platform headline in either direction. On seats alone PVsyst wins, CHF 3,500 for five against $6,495. But PVsyst alone does not ship proposals, AutoCAD, 3D, or India tariffs. The like-for-like comparison is the full PVsyst stack at ₹8 to 20 lakh vs SurgePV at $6,495.
2. 2
   Underbudgeting CAD seat licenses. SLD and structural drawings need AutoCAD. A typical 5-engineer team budgets ₹1 to 4 lakh a year on CAD seats. SurgePV bundles SLD generation and DXF/DWG export.
3. 3
   Ignoring the Windows hardware floor. PVsyst is desktop, Windows-only. Mac-using engineers need Parallels or remote VM, which is real cost.
4. 4
   Maintaining the India tariff workaround in Excel. A finance analyst's time wrapping PVsyst output in PM Surya Ghar Excel is silent overhead. SurgePV models PM Surya Ghar natively.
5. 5
   Not running a SurgePV pilot before renewal. SurgePV's free trial has no credit card. Run a 30-day pilot in parallel with PVsyst and compare time-to-finished-project on the same design. The stack overhead becomes obvious.

The same pattern of buying-mistake shows up in our writeup on common mistakes EPC companies make in rooftop solar. The discipline is the same: model the realistic annual cost of the full stack, not just the headline.

How the Migration From PVsyst to SurgePV Works (5 Steps)

The cutover from PVsyst to SurgePV takes about 5 working days for a 5-engineer team. Run it in this order.

1. Start a free SurgePV trial. Go to surgepv.com, click “Start free trial”. No credit card. Full access to design, AI 3D roof, 8,760-hour shading, and proposals, in the browser.
2. Export PVsyst’s active projects. Export the project list and the yield report PDFs. SurgePV’s onboarding team handles re-running the simulation in SurgePV with your tilt, azimuth, module, and inverter selections preserved.
3. Book the SurgePV onboarding call. Book a free SurgePV demo and bring two real PVsyst projects, one C&I and one residential. The team walks engineers through the cloud workflow on your actual designs, including PM Surya Ghar tariff modeling.
4. Re-create your proposal template. Replace the Solargraf or Excel proposal step with SurgePV’s white-label editor (about 90 minutes). Pair with QuickEstimate for CRM and PM Surya Ghar paperwork.
5. Cancel PVsyst and the surrounding stack at renewal. Once each engineer has shipped 2 to 3 SurgePV projects (typically within 5 working days), cancel PVsyst, Solargraf, SketchUp, and the India Excel workaround at their next renewals. The combined annual saving on a 5-seat team is ₹4 to 10 lakh, and essentially all of it comes from the tools around PVsyst rather than PVsyst itself.

PVsyst Stack vs SurgePV: Full Pricing Table

This is the realistic stack comparison for a 5-engineer Indian EPC team in 2026. All figures are 2026, annualised, sourced from published pricing, reseller quotes, and Q2 2026 vendor references, cross-checked against Bridge to India and Mercom India market trackers.

Read that table in both directions. The first row is the one PVsyst wins: five PVsyst seats at CHF 3,500 (roughly $4,400) cost about $2,100 less a year than SurgePV’s $6,495. If that row is your whole workflow, stop here and buy PVsyst. SurgePV at $6,495 only pulls ahead against the full PVsyst stack, which lands between $9,500 and $23,000 a year depending on project volume, a gap of roughly $3,000 to $16,500 a year, before counting integration overhead and Windows hardware. For broader context, see our solar design software pricing comparison, our PVsyst alternative guide, our best solar design software ranking, and our solar proposal software guide.

Who Should Stay on PVsyst (Honest Pros and Cons)

We recommend the SurgePV switch for most teams, but the honest pros and cons matter. Here is the side-by-side.

In every scenario except the engineering-only utility-scale edge case, we make SurgePV the winner on realistic stack price. The Indian market specifically, where Mercom India projects 25 GW of new rooftop installations through 2027 and IRENA tracks India as one of the fastest-growing solar markets globally, rewards installers who can collapse the PVsyst stack into one cloud license.

How Heaven Green Energy Helps

Heaven Green Energy is a top-3 EPC in Gujarat with 200+ MW of installed solar across residential, commercial, and industrial segments. Our 12-person engineering and design team used PVsyst for over a decade, and moved to SurgePV in 2025 because the cloud workflow plus native PM Surya Ghar plus bundled proposals collapsed our 4-tool stack into one license at a fraction of the cost. We recommend SurgePV to channel partners and EPC customers when they ask which platform to standardise on.

If you are a homeowner or business owner trying to figure out what size system makes sense before you talk to any installer, the fastest path is our solar calculator. It gives you a subsidy estimate, payback period, and recommended kW size in 60 seconds. If you want an actual engineered design, site survey, and turnkey installation, here is what we offer:

• Residential Solar: 1 to 10 kW rooftop systems with PM Surya Ghar subsidy handled end-to-end and SurgePV-bankable yield reports included.
• Commercial Solar: 10 to 100 kW with custom ROI modelling, AD tax planning, and SurgePV-generated financial models.
• Industrial Solar EPC: 100 kW+ turnkey projects with performance guarantees, solar EPC workflow built around SurgePV.
• Solar Calculator: see your subsidy plus 25-year savings in 60 seconds.

For installer partners and EPC firms looking to collapse a PVsyst stack into one cloud license, see SurgePV for solar installers, explore the solar designing workflow, or book a free SurgePV demo and bring two real PVsyst projects to the call. Engineers who care about solar simulation depth and AutoCAD-compatible DXF/DWG export will find both wired in. For switch-intent reading, see our Aurora Solar alternative, HelioScope alternative, OpenSolar alternative, solar design software guide, and 2026 top solar inverter companies in India.

Related Solar Design Software Guides

• HelioScope vs PVsyst 2026: Price, Accuracy, Verdict
• 3D Solar Design Software 2026: Top Tools Compared
• Agrivoltaic Design Software 2026: Top Tools
• AI Solar Design 2026: How AI Is Changing Design Workflow
• AI Solar Design Software 2026: Top Tools (SurgePV)

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does PVsyst cost in 2026?

PVsyst price in 2026 is CHF 700 per user per year for the Professional licence, an annual subscription rather than a perpetual one. Note the currency: Swiss Francs, not euros. The restricted tiers are cheaper but watermark every report, Training/Research at CHF 560/year, Education at CHF 420/year, and Student and Classroom at CHF 25/year each. PVsystCLI is CHF 3,000/year Standard and CHF 1,500/year for Education or Research. PVsystBasic 1.0 is CHF 25/year with a 30-day trial. The PVsyst-only line item for a 5-engineer commercial team is CHF 3,500 per year, roughly $4,400. The realistic stack (PVsyst + proposal tool + CAD + 3D + India workaround) hits ₹8 to 20 lakh per year ($9,500 to $23,000).

Is SurgePV cheaper than PVsyst?

No, not per seat, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. PVsyst Professional is CHF 700 per user per year, so a 5-seat team pays CHF 3,500 (roughly $4,400) against $6,495 for a SurgePV 5-User Team plan. PVsyst is the cheaper licence and you can verify that on the PVsyst shop page in one click. SurgePV only becomes the cheaper route once you count what PVsyst does not do: no proposals, no CRM, no AI 3D roof from satellite, no white-label output, no SLD or BOQ, no PM Surya Ghar modeling, and a 2 to 4 week learning curve. Buying a proposal tool, a CAD seat, and a 3D source to fill those gaps puts a 5-engineer PVsyst workflow near ₹8 to 20 lakh a year. If you only need the simulation, PVsyst is the better buy on price.

Why is PVsyst so cheap on the headline?

PVsyst is a single-purpose simulation tool, not a complete design platform. It runs the bankable PV simulation, generates P50/P75/P90 outputs, and produces an engineer-facing PDF report. It does not ship a design UI, branded proposals, AutoCAD integration, BOQ builder, AI 3D, or PM Surya Ghar tariff modeling. The CHF 700 headline reflects that narrow scope, and for that scope it is a fair price and the cheapest in the category. To ship a complete project, you stack PVsyst with Solargraf, AutoCAD, SketchUp, and an Excel workbook. SurgePV at $1,299 per user per year bundles all of that in one cloud license, at a higher per-seat price than PVsyst.

What is the realistic 5-engineer PVsyst stack cost in 2026?

The realistic 5-engineer Indian EPC PVsyst stack in 2026 is PVsyst Professional (CHF 3,500 / ₹3.7 lakh) + Solargraf from $2,799 a year or Enact at $3,348 a year (₹2.5 to 11 lakh depending on project volume) + 2-3 AutoCAD seats (₹1 to 4 lakh) + SketchUp Pro at $399 per seat per year (₹66,000 to 1 lakh for two to three seats) + Windows hardware refresh + India PM Surya Ghar Excel workaround, totaling ₹11 to 25 lakh ($13,000 to $29,000) in year 1. The same SurgePV 5-User Team budget is $6,495 license + $2,500 onboarding = ~$9,000 year 1, with the entire stack bundled.

Is PVsyst still the gold standard for bankable yield reports?

Yes for utility-scale 100 MW+ projects where lender contracts explicitly require the PVsyst PDF format. PVsyst’s 8,760-hour, module-level simulation engine remains the engineering benchmark. SurgePV runs the same 8,760-hour engine and produces P50/P75/P90 outputs in the format lenders typically ask for, though acceptance of any given report is always the lender’s own call. For C&I projects up to 5 MW and for residential, installers we work with have put SurgePV output in front of the same lender pools, and on our bench the cloud workflow plus proposal bundle wins on total project economics.

Does PVsyst work on Mac?

No. PVsyst is Windows-only, desktop-only. Mac-using engineers run PVsyst via Parallels Desktop or a remote Windows VM, which adds licensing, hardware, and IT cost. The hardware floor (Windows desktop with reasonable RAM and a discrete GPU for 3D scene work) adds another ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh per engineer per year. SurgePV runs in any browser on any operating system (Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS) with no install, no GPU requirement, and no remote VM.

Does PVsyst include customer-facing proposals?

No. PVsyst ships an engineer-facing PDF report designed for lender submission. It does not include white-label branded proposals, interactive web proposals, e-signature, multilingual support, or any customer-facing sales output. Standard practice is to pair PVsyst with Solargraf, from $2,799 a year for 240 projects and 2 users, or Enact at $3,348 a year for 2 users on annual billing. SurgePV bundles branded proposals with e-signature and 9 languages on every paid plan, eliminating the proposal-tool line item entirely.

How does PVsyst handle PM Surya Ghar in India?

As of August 2026 we have not found native PM Surya Ghar subsidy calculation or Indian DISCOM net metering tariffs documented in PVsyst. Indian EPCs using PVsyst typically wrap PVsyst output in an Excel workbook maintained by a finance analyst, or use a third-party tool that translates PVsyst yield into PM Surya Ghar-compatible financial summaries. SurgePV’s IS code library and PM Surya Ghar tariff blocks are native, built against the rules published by MNRE and the PM Surya Ghar portal. Those rules change, so check the current version before you submit. Indian C&I installers in our network give that native modeling as a reason they moved to SurgePV in 2026.

Can I migrate PVsyst projects to SurgePV?

Yes. The standard migration path is to export the PVsyst project list and yield report PDFs, then re-run the simulation in SurgePV with your original tilt, azimuth, module selection, and inverter selection preserved. The SurgePV onboarding team handles the re-run on your first call. Most engineers complete the migration of in-progress projects within 5 working days. The cleanup of templates and the cancellation of the surrounding tools (Solargraf, SketchUp, India Excel) takes another 90 minutes per engineer.