Best Solar CRM in 2026: Six Tools Compared by the Job They Do

Count the logins at a typical residential solar company: one for the design tool, one for proposals and financing, one for the sales pipeline, one for the reps knocking doors, and a spreadsheet for permits and the utility. The best solar CRM is the one that cuts that count down without losing the part of the job your company is actually good at. This comparison puts six options side by side, sorts them by the part of a solar deal each one really runs, and prices each from its own published page.

Cedar House Stack publishes this comparison and makes one of the products in it. Every competitor price and feature below was read on that company's own website on October 23, 2026. Where another product is the better fit, we say so.

What is the best solar CRM for an installer in 2026?

The best solar CRM for an installer is the one built around the step where your company wins or loses deals. A solar job has more handoffs than almost any other home service sale: the lead, the site survey, the system design, the proposal with savings and financing, the signed contract, the permit, the install, the inspection and the utility's permission to operate. No single product on this list is the strongest at every one of those steps.

That is why solar software splits into rough groups. Design and proposal tools draw the array and model production. Solar operating platforms tie design, lenders and install tracking together for high volume sellers. Field sales apps run the reps on the doors. General contractor CRMs keep the customer, the job, the paperwork and the money on one record. Most solar companies end up with one tool from two of these groups, and the real decision is which two.

Four kinds of solar software, and the job each one does

Before comparing names, decide which kind of tool you are shopping for. Here is how the products in this comparison sort:

• Design and proposal tools. Aurora and OpenSolar. They lay out the panels on the roof, estimate production and turn that into a proposal the homeowner can sign.
• Solar operating platforms. Enerflo. It connects the design tool, the lenders, the contract and the install tracker into one flow for companies running a high volume of deals.
• Field sales apps. SalesRabbit and Cedar House Field. They map territory, log every door and hand appointments to the closer.
• Contractor CRMs. Sunbase and Cedar House Stack. They hold the customer, the pipeline, the estimate, the permits, the crew and the invoices, and they are not limited to solar.

A small installer that sells by referral can often run on a design tool plus a light CRM. A company with ten reps on doors every evening needs the field app first, because that is where its leads come from.

Solar CRM comparison: prices and contract terms

As of October 23, 2026, published solar software prices run from free to $259 a user a month, and two of the six products publish no fixed price at all. The table lists what each company prints on its own site, including the contract terms, since those decide how hard it is to leave.

Sources, read October 23, 2026: Aurora Solar pricing, Enerflo FAQ, pricing and contract, SalesRabbit pricing, OpenSolar's "Why free" page, the Sunbase pricing page, and our own pricing page.

OpenSolar: free design and proposals

OpenSolar is free for solar professionals and says it will stay that way, paid for by the partners on its platform: product manufacturers, finance companies, distributors and permitting companies. Its product page lists automatic system design, customizable proposals, electronic signature, invoicing and payments, finance options, hardware ordering with a bill of materials, permitting help and a project management CRM.

Where it fits best: an installer whose deals are won on the design and the proposal, who wants to stop paying for a design seat. Ask how deep the CRM side goes for your office before you rely on it for crew scheduling, payroll or service visits after the install.

Aurora Solar: design accuracy and shade reports

Aurora is a design and sales proposal tool priced per user. Basic lists $159 a user a month billed monthly, or $135 billed annually, and includes tablet friendly proposals, HD imagery and on demand site models. Premium, $259 monthly or $220 billed annually, adds LIDAR assisted modeling, bankable shade reports and battery modeling. Enterprise is priced per project by request and adds drone mapping, APIs and integrations, dealer configurations, plan sets and engineering stamps.

Where it fits best: a company where the design has to hold up to a lender or an engineer, and the shade report is part of the sale. It is a design tool first, so most Aurora users still run a separate CRM for the pipeline and the install.

Enerflo: one flow for high volume dealers

Enerflo describes itself as an operating system for residential solar. It connects the CRM, design tools, lenders, contracts and install tracking from the first knock to permission to operate. Its FAQ lists a sales core with deal tracking, a savings forecaster, proposals, finance integrations and contracts, plus an install tracker and a branded homeowner portal. It works with outside design tools such as Aurora and OpenSolar rather than replacing them.

Enerflo does not charge per seat. The price is a flat monthly subscription based on your average monthly deal volume, quoted by request, with a one time implementation fee and a 12 month minimum contract.

Where it fits best: sales dealers, master dealers and integrated installers moving enough deals each month that financing, contracts and install milestones need one system. A small local installer will likely find it more platform than it needs.

Sunbase: a modular contractor CRM with solar workflows

Sunbase sells a modular platform for solar, roofing and construction companies. Its pricing page says plans start from $59 a user a month, with the final price set by the number of users, the industry workflows, the modules you pick and the onboarding you need. The modules include a contractor CRM, proposals and estimating, project management, inventory, financial tools and reporting dashboards.

Where it fits best: a solar EPC or a company doing solar and roofing that wants to pick only the modules it needs and is comfortable getting a quote rather than a price list.

SalesRabbit: the doors, not the install

SalesRabbit is built for field sales teams. Team lists $59 and Pro $75 a user a month billed monthly, and its solar page names integrations with GoodLeap and Sunnova. The pricing page FAQ says an implementation package is always required, contracts run one to three years, and paid plans have no free trial, though a free single user version called SalesRabbit Lite is offered.

Where it fits best: a solar sales organization with a large door to door team that already has a CRM and a design tool and needs the field side run well. Read the contract length carefully before you sign for a whole team.

Cedar House Stack and Field for solar companies

Cedar House is our product, and it is two pieces that work as one. Cedar House Field runs the reps: every door pinned with GPS, every conversation coached, and every lead sent straight into the CRM. Cedar House Stack runs the office: the pipeline, estimates with electronic signature, the permits, the crew and the money.

For a solar job, that means a door knocked on Tuesday evening shows up in the Stack as a lead with the rep's notes. The estimate can take a deposit when the homeowner signs and set a progress payment schedule at the same moment. Each job carries its permits, with solar and electrical permit types, through applied, pulled, posted, inspection, passed or failed, and closed, and the office gets a nudge when a permit has sat at applied for a week. Payroll and commissions are figured from the work, which matters on a team where reps and closers split a deal. A year after a job is finished, the customer gets one ask to book a service visit.

A proposal can show an estimated monthly payment worked out from the company's own rate range, clearly labeled as an estimate and switched off until an owner turns it on, plus apply buttons for the company's own lenders. In Field, owner lookup at the door is 29 cents a house, and permit history for a house is a $5 a month add on.

What Cedar House does not do for solar today, so you can plan around it: it does not design arrays, model production or forecast savings, it has no built in utility interconnection or permission to operate stage, and it does not start you with a solar price book. Most solar companies on Cedar House would keep a design tool such as OpenSolar or Aurora beside it.

The price is public: $99 per user a month for up to 5 Stack users, then $599 a month for 6 to 10, and $25 a month for each Field seat. Crew members who only clock in and out are free, every feature is in every seat, and the trial is 30 days with no card. Companies that also roof will find more on our roofing page, and solar crews doing their own wiring may want the electrical edition.

Solar companies that should pick something other than Cedar House

We are the newest product in this comparison, and for several kinds of solar company another choice is better today.

• An installer that wins on design. If the array layout and the production model close the deal, start with OpenSolar for free or Aurora for shade reports.
• A dealer network running hundreds of deals a month. Enerflo is built for that volume, with lenders, contracts and install tracking in one flow.
• A team that needs a solar price book and proposal on day one. Cedar House makes you build your own price book, and it has no savings forecast.
• A sales organization that only needs the doors run. If your CRM and design tool already work, a field app such as SalesRabbit may be all you add.

How to run a fair trial with your own deals

Take three real deals from last quarter and push each one through every product you are testing, from the first contact to the final payment.

1. A door knock lead. Log it on a phone, set the appointment, and check that the closer sees the rep's notes without a phone call.
2. A financed system. Build the proposal, show the monthly payment, collect the signature and the deposit, and see where the lender's paperwork lives.
3. A permit that stalls. Log the permit, leave it at applied, and see whether anyone is told.
4. The commission split. Pay the setter and the closer on the same deal and check the math.
5. The exit. Export your customers and jobs to a file yourself, and read how long the contract holds you.

If your reps knock doors for roofing too, our canvassing app checklist covers the field side in more depth. The electrician CRM buyer guide fits solar companies that also do panel upgrades and EV chargers, and the guide to the best CRM for contractors helps a company working across several trades.

What solar installers ask before choosing a CRM

Do solar companies need a CRM built only for solar?

Not always. Solar specific tools are strongest at design, production modeling, savings forecasts and lender paperwork. A general contractor CRM is often stronger at the pipeline, crews, permits, payroll and service after the install. Many installers pair one design tool with one CRM, so the better question is which two products fit together for your company.

What does solar CRM software cost?

As read on October 23, 2026, OpenSolar is free, Aurora Solar lists $135 a user a month billed annually for Basic, SalesRabbit lists $59 to $75 a user a month, and Sunbase starts from $59 a user a month. Enerflo prices by monthly deal volume on request. Cedar House Stack lists $99 a user a month up to 5 users. Implementation fees and contract length can change the real total.

Can one system handle door knocking and the install?

Some can. Enerflo describes a flow from the first knock to permission to operate. Cedar House pairs a field app for reps with a CRM for the office, so a door logged in the evening is a lead on the job record the next morning. Whatever you test, follow one real deal from the door to the final payment and count how many times someone retypes it.

Should a solar CRM track permits and the utility interconnection?

It should track permits at the least, with a status and a date on every job, because a stalled permit is one of the most common reasons an install slips. Utility interconnection and permission to operate are often handled in a solar platform or a spreadsheet. Ask each vendor to show both on a demo with a real job, not a slide.

How long are solar software contracts?

It varies widely, so read the terms before a team signs. As of October 23, 2026, Enerflo lists a 12 month minimum, Aurora's annual plans carry a one year commitment, and SalesRabbit lists contracts of one to three years. OpenSolar is free, and Cedar House offers a 30 day trial with no card and lets you export your records any time.