Arka360 Review (2026): Pricing, Features & Honest Verdict

TLDR

Arka360 is solar design software that generates AI-assisted 3D PV designs, runs shading analysis, builds proposals, and includes a CRM. It bundles the whole sales workflow into one platform priced below Aurora Solar. Best for: small and mid-size solar installers. Price: From $199/mo, Free plan: no. Rating: 6.7/10.

What is Arka360?

Arka360 is a cloud platform that helps solar installers go from a customer address to a signed contract. It generates 3D solar designs, analyzes shading on the roof, models the financials, and produces a polished proposal, all inside one tool. On top of the design engine sits a built-in CRM for managing leads, tasks, and the sales team, so the work that usually spans three or four separate apps lives in one place.

The company operates from offices in Allen, Texas and Bengaluru, India, and says it is trusted by more than 5,000 solar professionals across 25 countries, with over 900,000 designs created on the platform. Its roots and strongest user base are in India, though it actively markets to the US residential and commercial market. The core promise is speed and consolidation: generate a design in roughly five minutes, close more deals with premium 3D visuals, and stop paying for a stack of disconnected tools.

That consolidation angle is what sets Arka360 apart from the design-only tools that dominate the category. Most solar software makes you choose between a powerful design engine and a sales pipeline, then forces you to wire them together. Arka360 treats the design, the proposal, and the customer relationship as one continuous workflow, which is exactly the friction a small installer feels most acutely when juggling quotes, follow-ups, and engineering all at once. The company reports the platform saves teams roughly four hours per employee each week, mostly by collapsing that tool-switching.

What Are Arka360’s Key Features?

AI-Powered 3D Design and Shading

Arka360’s headline feature is fast, AI-assisted 3D design. You input an address, the system pulls imagery, and it helps place panels and produce a 3D model with a shading analysis in about five minutes. Shade reports matter because they directly affect the energy yield numbers you put in front of a customer, and getting them wrong erodes trust. The design tooling covers both residential and commercial projects, so a single installer can quote a home or a warehouse roof from the same workspace.

Proposal Generation

Once the design is done, Arka360 turns it into a customer-facing proposal with financial analysis: system cost, projected savings, payback period, and financing options. Premium 3D visuals are the selling point here, and the company claims they help boost closure rates by around 30%. Customizable proposals and dealer-fee and loan-product configuration sit on the higher tiers, so the proposal becomes a sales document rather than just a technical spec sheet.

Built-In CRM and Lead Management

Unlike pure design tools, Arka360 includes lead and task management so installers can track prospects through the pipeline without bolting on a separate CRM. For a small installer, that consolidation is a real cost and workflow win: the same platform that designs the system also reminds you to follow up with the homeowner who has not signed. Channel and team management tools let a growing business assign work and watch the pipeline.

Battery Modeling and Exports

Higher tiers add battery and energy-storage sizing, which is increasingly central as more customers pair solar with storage. The platform also supports CAD export and integrations like PVsyst for the more technical end of the workflow, so engineering teams are not boxed in. These are the features that let Arka360 follow a customer beyond a simple residential rooftop into storage and commercial work as a business grows.

How Much Does Arka360 Cost?

Arka360 starts at $199/month for the Basic plan, which includes one user, the core design software, lead management, and shade reports, and is aimed at solo installers and freelancers. Premium is $358/month for two users and unlocks AI-assisted modeling, battery storage sizing, CAD export, and customizable proposals. Enterprise is custom-priced and adds API integration, advanced user management, and custom development. Annual billing runs roughly $1,699 to $9,999 per year depending on tier.

On price, Arka360 sits comfortably below the category leader. Aurora Solar typically runs in the $135 to $220 per user per month range, with basic residential tiers often starting around $159/month but moving features behind a credit-based system that can push the real cost higher. OpenSolar, by contrast, is genuinely free for the full design and sales feature set, monetizing through hardware-related commissions instead. So Arka360 is the paid middle ground: more affordable and more bundled than Aurora, but not free like OpenSolar.

The thing to weigh is value rather than headline price. Because Arka360 folds the CRM and proposal tools into the subscription, a small installer who would otherwise pay separately for design and pipeline software can come out ahead. There is no free plan and no public self-serve trial, so you evaluate it through a demo rather than a sign-up. For a team comparing it to free OpenSolar, the question is whether the CRM, proposals, and support justify paying at all, and for many growing installers they do.

Who is Arka360 Best For?

Use Arka360 if you are a solo, small, or mid-size solar installer who wants design, shading, proposals, and a CRM in one affordable platform. It fits teams that are scaling past spreadsheets and a free design tool but are not ready to pay enterprise prices, and that value having the sales pipeline attached to the design engine. The five-minute design speed is a genuine time-saver for installers churning through quotes.

Skip Arka360 if you are a large US enterprise that needs the deepest, most battle-tested 3D modeling and the broadest domestic compliance coverage, where Aurora Solar still leads. Also skip it if your budget is zero and your needs are basic, since OpenSolar delivers a capable free design-and-sales platform. And note that the lack of a public free trial means you cannot quietly test it before talking to sales.

• Best fit: small and growing installers wanting an all-in-one design-to-CRM workflow at a mid-tier price.
• Poor fit: large enterprises needing maximum modeling depth, or zero-budget teams happy with a free tool.

Best Arka360 Alternatives

Aurora Solar

Aurora Solar is the premium leader in solar design and proposals, known for advanced 3D modeling, detailed shading simulations, and accurate production estimates that enterprises rely on for complex sites. It runs roughly $135 to $220 per user per month, with many features now on a credit-based system that can raise the effective cost. It is the pick for large, design-heavy teams that need maximum precision and polish. Arka360 undercuts it on price and bundles a CRM, but does not match its depth or US track record.

OpenSolar

OpenSolar is the standout free option, offering a full design and sales platform at $0 by earning money through hardware commissions instead of subscriptions. Its AI design engine can produce a residential layout from just an address, and it bundles proposals, financing, and a hardware marketplace. For startups and small teams that want to get going without spending anything, it is the obvious starting point. The trade-off versus Arka360 is a thinner CRM and a model built around steering you toward its marketplace.

Pylon

Pylon is a streamlined design and proposal alternative aimed at smaller residential installers who want a clean, fast workflow without enterprise complexity. It focuses on quick designs and attractive customer-facing proposals, similar in spirit to what Arka360 offers, and competes on ease of use. For a small residential team deciding between paid tools, it is worth a side-by-side look against Arka360 to see which interface and pricing fit your pipeline better.

Final Verdict: Is Arka360 Worth It?

Arka360 earns its 6.7 rating as a solid, good-value all-in-one for the installers who fit its profile. Bundling 3D design, shading analysis, proposals, and a CRM into a platform that starts at $199/month is a genuinely appealing package for a small or growing solar business, and the fast AI design and 25-country, 900,000-design footprint show it is far from a toy. For teams that want their design tool and sales pipeline in one place, it punches above its price.

The reasons it lands at 6.7 rather than higher are real: it is younger and less polished than Aurora Solar, its deepest roots are in the India market so US compliance depth may trail domestic specialists, and the absence of a public free trial makes evaluation slower. For small and mid-size installers, we recommend putting Arka360 on the shortlist and booking the demo. Large enterprises should still lead with Aurora, and zero-budget teams should try OpenSolar first.