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Zorowatt vs PVsyst

Where PVsyst is strong, where it falls short, and what changes if you switch. Every number can be checked on their site.

PVsyst is PV yield simulation software with a profitability calculation, sold as an annual licence. Zorowatt is not a PV yield tool: it rebuilds a business's electricity bill from its meter data and sizes a battery against it. (pvsyst.com)

Short answer
When to pick PVsyst
Pick PVsyst when you need a detailed PV yield simulation for a solar project, the job it is built for.
When to pick Zorowatt
Pick Zorowatt when the question is whether a battery pays on a business site: peak charges, kW contracts, connection limits and arbitrage, worked out from the site's own 15-minute data and bill.

Facts about the other tool read on 2026-10-28 from the pages linked in each cell. Prices and features change; check the vendor's page before you rely on one.

FeatureZorowattPVsyst
PriceFree €0 · Starter €49 / month · Pro €149 / month · Enterprise on requestProfessional CHF 700 / year; Training / Research CHF 560; Education CHF 420; Student / Classroom CHF 25; PVsystCLI CHF 3,000 / year; volume discounts of 5–20%pvsyst.com · 2026-10-28
SolarPlanned solar modelled from PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre) and laid on the meter data; existing PV is in the meter data (import and export)Bankable PV yield simulationpvsyst.com · 2026-10-28
Battery dispatchRule-based, with the optimal (LP) dispatch as the upper bound; every saving is billed by the same bill engineGrid-storage strategies: self-consumption, peak shaving, weak-grid islanding and power shifting; no demand-charge tariff documentedpvsyst.com · 2026-10-30
FinancialsNPV, IRR and payback, with degradationProfitability calculationpvsyst.com · 2026-10-28

In short

These tools answer different questions. PVsyst simulates what a PV system will produce; Zorowatt works out what a battery saves on one business's bill. Zorowatt's solar model (PVGIS) is there to size the battery, not to replace a PV yield study, so a project that needs both will often use both.

Price per year

PVsyst
Professional CHF 700 a year
Zorowatt
Starter €588 a year (€348 at the founding price) · Pro €1,788 a year for 3 seats · single analyses €15

As each vendor's page states it; prices in other currencies are not converted.

How to switch

Upload the site's meter export; an hourly load file with no dates is read as a year from 1 January.

  1. Upload the site's meter data to the free data checker or the Workspace: every assumption made reading the file is listed.
  2. Pick the site's tariff and enter the invoices: the bill check shows whether the baseline matches before anything is sized.
  3. Size the battery, compare it with your earlier study, and send the client the PDF report.

Questions

How much does PVsyst cost?
The PVsyst shop lists the Professional licence at CHF 700 a year, with Training / Research, Education and Student editions for less and PVsystCLI at CHF 3,000 a year (read on 2026-10-28). Zorowatt Starter is €49 a month for 3 site analyses, then €15 each; Pro is €149 a month with a white-label report and 3 seats. Your first site analysis is free, with no card.
Does PVsyst size batteries for peak shaving?
Its release notes list grid-storage strategies including self-consumption and peak shaving (read on 2026-10-30); its economics cover feed-in and self-consumption pricing, and a demand-charge tariff is not documented. Zorowatt rebuilds the peak charge from 15-minute data under the operator's tariff and sizes the battery against it.
Does Zorowatt replace PVsyst?
No. Zorowatt models planned solar from PVGIS so it can size a battery; it is not a detailed PV yield simulation. If the PV yield has to stand on its own, keep PVsyst for it. Zorowatt gives feasibility estimates, not bankable guarantees or investment advice.

Looking for a PVsyst alternative?

Zorowatt runs in the browser, reads the site's own meter data and rebuilds its bill before it sizes anything.

Switching?

Bring a site you already studied: upload its meter data and bills, and set the result next to your old one.