SAM (System Advisor Model)
by National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) — formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) · United States (laboratory; no street address published on the SAM site)
Design & simulation · Open source
- Entry price
- Free
- Charged
- Free
- Try before buying
- Free tier
- Runs on
- Desktop
- Built for
- Residential · C&I · Utility-scale
- Named integrations
- 0
- Last verified
against the vendor’s own pages
What is SAM (System Advisor Model)?
The US national laboratory's free, open-source desktop techno-economic model — PV, CSP, wind, marine, geothermal, biomass, solar water heating and storage, each wired to a full project-finance model (PPA, partnership flip, leaseback, TPO, community solar, merchant plant).
It publishes 0 USD free desktop application. We recorded 21 verified capabilities and 1 the vendor claims but we could not confirm.
Verified against the vendor’s own pages.
The two questions vendors rarely answer
Free or paid?
Free
Published
Dependencies & lock-in
Has platform constraints
not stated beyond 'desktop application'
Our editorial assessment — not a user review
Who it is for — and who it is not for
For analysts, researchers, policy people and developers who need a transparent, auditable, free model and a real financial structure behind the kWh. Not for installers who need a roof capture, a proposal or a plan set — SAM has no satellite imagery workflow, no proposal output and no CRM, and it registers users with a free software key rather than selling a licence.
Editorial assessment from the research recordSourcesam.nlr.govVerified
Pricing
0 USD free desktop application
Free tier, no time limit
Sourcesam.nlr.govVerifiedfirst-hand
Prices are shown exactly as the vendor writes them and are never converted between currencies — a converted figure would be a number we invented. How we verify pricing
Feature detail
30 normalised data points across 7 capability areas. Every row carries its evidence state; hover any chip for what that state means.
Solar design & simulation 4 verified 1 claimed 7 not found
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Array design | ||
| Automatic module layout ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Ground-mount / tracker layout ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Electrical design | ||
| Inverter sizing ⓘ | Basic | Vendor claim |
| Single-line diagram ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Interoperability | ||
| CAD export (DXF/DWG) ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Shading & irradiance | ||
| Shading analysis ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Site capture | ||
| Remote site capture from imagery ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Storage design | ||
| Battery sizing and modelling ⓘ | Advanced | Verified |
| Yield simulation | ||
| Annual energy yield simulation ⓘ | Advanced | Verified |
| Bankable / IE-accepted simulation report ⓘ | — | Not found |
| Loss and uncertainty modelling (P50/P90) ⓘ | Advanced | Verified |
| Named weather / irradiance data source ⓘ | advanced | Verified |
Estimation & financial modelling 1 verified
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Financial modelling | ||
| ROI / payback calculation ⓘ | Advanced | Verified |
Reporting, data & BI 1 not found
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Output | ||
| Report / deliverable export ⓘ | — | Not found |
Integrations & extensibility 2 verified
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Extensibility | ||
| Public API ⓘ | Advanced | Verified |
| Named integrations | ||
| Named, documented integrations ⓘ | 0 | Verified |
Platform & deployment 3 verified
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | ||
| Delivery model | open-source | Verified |
| Desktop OS support ⓘ | not stated beyond 'desktop application' | Verified |
| Web application | No | Verified |
Pricing & commercial terms 5 verified
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | ||
| Currency | USD | Verified |
| Entry price ⓘ | 0 USD free desktop application | Verified |
| Price published ⓘ | Published | Verified |
| Pricing model | free | Verified |
| Trial | ||
| Free tier | free-forever | Verified |
Market fit & availability 6 verified
| Capability | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | ||
| Geographic availability | US; global | Verified |
| Buyer | ||
| Target buyer ⓘ | engineering-firm; developer | Verified |
| Lifecycle | ||
| Product status | active | Verified |
| Segment | ||
| C&I ⓘ | — | Verified |
| Residential ⓘ | — | Verified |
| Utility-scale ⓘ | — | Verified |
AI capabilities
No AI claim on the vendor’s own pages
We found no explicit AI or machine-learning claim. Words like “smart”, “one-click automatic” and “magic” are automation claims and are deliberately not counted as AI — coding them as AI would fabricate a capability the vendor never asserted.
Integrations
No integration named on the vendor’s own site
We searched and found no named third-party product. Integration information has not been verified for SAM (System Advisor Model).
Collected from users — none yet
Verified user reviews
No verified user reviews yet
We publish only reviews we collect and verify ourselves. No review of SAM (System Advisor Model) has cleared identity verification and moderation yet, so there is no score — and there will be none until eight verified reviews exist.
Third-party ratings from G2, Capterra and TrustRadius are never mixed into our score or our structured data; where we cite them they are attributed and dated. How our review system works · Write a review
Third-party review presence recorded during research: G2, Capterra, TrustRadius. Cited in prose only, never in our markup.
Compare SAM (System Advisor Model)
Only pairs where the database holds a real, stateable difference are published. Every one of these was generated from the same feature data shown above.
SAM (System Advisor Model) alternatives
All alternativesProducts in Design & simulation, free and lower-cost options first.
Easy PV
Midsummer
Design & simulation · Web
SolarEdge Designer
SolarEdge Technologies
Design & simulation · Web
KACO blueplanet PV-designer
KACO new energy GmbH
Design & simulation · Web
Explore what SAM (System Advisor Model) does
Each link shows every product we researched with that capability or selling to that buyer, so you can see who else is in the running.
Capabilities it carries
Who National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) — formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) sells it to
Frequently asked
How much does SAM (System Advisor Model) cost?
SAM (System Advisor Model) publishes 0 USD free desktop application, charged free. Read on the vendor's own pricing page on 28 September 2026.
Is SAM (System Advisor Model) free?
Free tier, no time limit.
What does SAM (System Advisor Model) integrate with?
No third-party integration is named on SAM (System Advisor Model)'s own site. A logo wall is not an integration list.
Sources and verification
Primary source
Data coverage
21 verified · 1 vendor-claimed · 8 not found
70% of the 30 applicable data points were confirmed on National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) — formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)’s own pages.
Last verified
Vendors change pricing and features without notice. Check the vendor’s own page before deciding.