Public 2026 prices show three distinct models: HOMER Pro publishes single-user annual tiers from $1,575 to $4,650; Xendee DESIGN publishes per-user plans at $440 or $540 per month billed annually; MicrogridModeler publishes a free browser modeler, a $199/user/month solo plan, and a $1,200/month unlimited-seat team workspace. The right comparison is total workflow cost, not license price alone.
Key takeaways
- HOMER Pro Standard is explicitly sold as a single-user license; its public annual tiers differ by modules and training.
- Xendee DESIGN Gold and Platinum are per-user annual contracts with materially broader power-flow, multi-node, and enterprise features.
- Workspace pricing becomes economically different—not automatically cheaper—when many contributors, reviewers, or API workflows share the same project pipeline.
- Procurement should price operating-system friction, handoffs, duplicate licenses, data export, support, and engineering scope alongside the license.
Comparison matrix
| Criterion | MicrogridModeler | HOMER Pro | Xendee DESIGN | Procurement note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / entry access | Interactive modeler and current launch access: $0. | 14-day free trial; paid Base is $1,575/year. | Demo available; paid Gold is $440/user/month billed annually. | Trials and launch offers are not substitutes for contract pricing. |
| Professional individual | Solo consultant: $199/user/month. | Base $1,575/year; Professional $3,100/year; Expert $4,650/year, single user. | Gold $440/user/month; Platinum $540/user/month billed annually. | Compare included modules, services, power flow, sharing, and API—not just price. |
| Team model | Team workspace: $1,200/month, published as unlimited seats. | Shared and volume licenses are available by contact; public page notes 25% off 4+ licenses. | Cross-team sharing is listed for Platinum; enterprise includes multiple licenses. | Ask who may author, review, share, and run automation under the contract. |
| Delivery / OS | Browser; local engine runs on current Mac, Windows, and Linux browsers. | Native Windows desktop; official guidance says Mac requires a Windows environment and is unsupported. | Cloud SaaS; no local installation required. | Include VM, desktop management, and remote-access cost where applicable. |
| Scope purchased | Focused microgrid screening, audit exports, benchmarks, and public API. | Mature hybrid simulation, optimization, sensitivity, and optional technology modules. | 25+ DER technologies, finance, power flow, one-line, multi-node, mobility, and services. | A broader tool can be better value even at a higher price if the project needs that scope. |
What the public price pages actually say
HOMER Pro’s July 2026 pricing page labels its Standard plans “Single User License.” Base is $1,575 billed annually, Professional is $3,100, and Expert is $4,650. The tiers differ in modules and training. The same page points buyers to shared licenses, volume discounts, and enterprise terms by contact.
Xendee DESIGN publishes Gold at $440 per user per month billed annually and Platinum at $540 per user per month billed annually. Gold includes 25+ DER technologies, power flow, one-line diagrams, multi-year optimization, and detailed financials. Platinum adds support and sharing features; Enterprise combines several licenses, API runs, services, and custom terms.
MicrogridModeler currently publishes a free interactive tier, a $199 per-user-per-month solo tier, and a $1,200 per-month team workspace with unlimited seats. The public API is in open beta. Future features and launch access should be separated from what is available in the browser today.
Sources for this section: HOMER Pro pricing · Xendee DESIGN pricing · MicrogridModeler pricing
The team-cost equation procurement should use
The annual license bill is only one term. A practical total cost of workflow is: license and modules + virtual-desktop or device administration + onboarding and training + analyst time lost to file handoffs + duplicate licenses for reviewers + integration and API cost + external engineering required beyond the software boundary.
Workspace pricing changes the first and fifth terms by allowing a shared environment to cover many contributors. Desktop or per-user tools may still win when only one specialist authors models, the broader technical modules eliminate other software, or the organization already standardizes the desktop environment.
| Example team | HOMER Pro Base | Xendee DESIGN Gold | MicrogridModeler Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 author | $1,575/year | $5,280/year | $14,400/year workspace |
| 4 licensed authors | $6,300/year before published volume discount | $21,120/year | $14,400/year workspace |
| 10 licensed authors | $15,750/year before published volume discount | $52,800/year | $14,400/year workspace |
Operating-system friction is a measurable cost
UL’s support material says HOMER Pro and HOMER Grid are native Windows applications. It says users may run HOMER on a Mac through a Windows environment, but that configuration is not supported. Teams with Mac or Linux engineers should therefore include the cost of a Windows VM, device image, remote desktop, or a designated Windows analyst rather than treating platform support as a checkmark.
Xendee describes itself as cloud SaaS with no local installation. MicrogridModeler’s interactive local engine runs in the browser. Browser delivery lowers installation friction, but procurement should still review browser support, data residency, security, offline requirements, identity controls, and service availability.
Sources for this section: HOMER Mac and operating-system guidance · Xendee FAQ
Do not compare a focused screen with a full DER platform as if scope were equal
Xendee’s higher public price accompanies a substantially broader published scope: many DER technologies, power flow, one-line diagrams, multi-node design, automatic cable and transformer sizing, mobility, detailed finance, and services. If those functions remove separate tools or consulting work, price-per-seat alone understates value.
HOMER Pro has a mature hybrid-system workflow, sensitivity analysis, and optional modules for technologies such as hydro, hydrogen, biomass, advanced storage, multi-year analysis, and MATLAB linking. MicrogridModeler is intentionally narrower: transparent chronological screening and auditable PV, wind, battery, generator, tariff, and resilience calculations. The right economic comparison starts with the deliverable.
A procurement checklist that prevents false savings
Before multiplying a list price by headcount, define who creates models, who only reviews, what must be automated, and which engineering studies still happen elsewhere.
- Count authors, reviewers, occasional users, students, customers, and API service accounts separately.
- List required modules, time resolution, network studies, finance, reporting, and controller workflows.
- Price Windows VMs or remote desktops for non-Windows users when required.
- Verify whether project sharing, concurrent use, API runs, exports, and SSO are included.
- Ask how model versions, assumptions, and hourly outputs are archived for audit.
- Verify current prices, discounts, tax, renewal terms, support, and services directly with each vendor.
Bottom line: price the collaboration pattern
A named-seat license is efficient when a small number of specialists own the model and its technical breadth matches the work. A workspace becomes attractive when many people review assumptions, branch scenarios, reuse templates, and automate portfolios. A broader per-user SaaS platform can justify a higher price when it replaces power-flow, mobility, finance, or services elsewhere in the stack.
The honest conclusion is not that named seats are obsolete. It is that engineering software should be compared on annual workflow cost per completed, reviewable study—not on the cheapest visible license line.
Keep exploring
Sources and review notes
This comparison is based on current public product and documentation pages. Verify licenses, modules, and pricing before making a procurement decision.
FAQ
How much does HOMER Pro cost in 2026?
The public HOMER Pro Standard pricing page reviewed July 20, 2026 lists single-user annual prices of $1,575 for Base, $3,100 for Professional, and $4,650 for Expert. Modules and included training differ; verify current terms directly.
How much does Xendee DESIGN cost in 2026?
The public Xendee DESIGN page reviewed July 20, 2026 lists Gold at $440 per user per month billed annually and Platinum at $540 per user per month billed annually. Enterprise terms are customized.
Is workspace pricing always cheaper than per-seat pricing?
No. It depends on active user count, author-versus-reviewer roles, modules, integrations, services, and what other tools the platform replaces. A workspace is economically different because marginal reviewers or collaborators may not require another seat.
Choose by workflow, then verify the math
Compare the public methods and pricing, then run the same reference case before making a procurement decision.