Energy & Utilities · head to head
Helioscope vs AVEVA PI System
Helioscope
Energy & Utilities
Accurate solar design for commercial projects
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
AVEVA PI System
Energy & Utilities
Industrial data infrastructure for real-time insights
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Helioscope has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Helioscope licences are single user, so each designer needs their own; AVEVA PI System pricing is not published and comes through an account representative
- They diverge on capability: Helioscope covers PV system design, AVEVA PI System covers Real-time data collection.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Helioscope and AVEVA PI System actually diverge.
| Attribute | Helioscope | AVEVA PI System |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | subscription | one-time |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api |
| Founded | 2012 | 1967 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Energy & Utilities).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Helioscope
- PV system design
- 3D shade modeling
- Performance simulation
- Single-line diagrams
- BOM generation
- Proposal templates
- Component database
- Financial modeling
Only in AVEVA PI System
- Real-time data collection
- Time-series data storage
- Asset framework
- Visualization
- Analytics
- Event management
- Notifications
- Data integration
Both cover
- SOC2
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Helioscope
- Simulating photovoltaic system performance and energy yieldnot AVEVA PI System
- Laying out commercial solar arrays and producing design reportsnot AVEVA PI System
AVEVA PI System
- Collecting and historising real-time process data from plant equipmentnot Helioscope
- Operations dashboards and alerting through PI Visionnot Helioscope
- Edge data collection where connectivity is intermittentnot Helioscope
- Pulling process data into Excel analysis with PI DataLinknot Helioscope
- Utilities, pharma, mining and oil and gas process monitoringnot Helioscope
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Helioscope
- Licences are single user, so each designer needs their own
- Projects are capped at 10 a month on both Basic and Pro
- System size is capped by plan, at 1.25 MW DC on Basic and 5 MW on Pro, so a larger array forces an upgrade regardless of project count
- Trackers, LIDAR modelling and API access sit on the higher tiers
- Enterprise is priced per project with no published figure
AVEVA PI System
- Pricing is not published and comes through an account representative
- The vendor is moving to a subscription commercial model, so perpetual licence expectations no longer hold
- Made up of several separately named components, including PI Server, PI Vision, Edge Data Store and the adapters and connectors needed per data source
Pricing, plan by plan
Helioscope
Free- FreeFree
- 3 projects
- Basic design tools
- Shade analysis
- Professional$95/month
- Unlimited projects
- Advanced shading
- Custom reports
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Everything in Pro
- API access
- Custom integrations
AVEVA PI System
On request- Data Archive$undefined/license
- Time-series data storage
- High-speed data collection
- Data compression
- Operations$undefined/license
- PI Vision dashboards
- AF analytics
- Event frames
- Enterprise$undefined/license
- PI Integrator
- Cloud connectivity
- Advanced analytics
Which should you pick?
Choose Helioscope if
- You need pv system design.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want 3d shade modeling.
Choose AVEVA PI System if
- You need real-time data collection.
- You work on Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api.
- You also want time-series data storage.
Questions people ask
- Is Helioscope or AVEVA PI System better?
- Neither clearly leads. Helioscope starts at Free and AVEVA PI System at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Helioscope or AVEVA PI System?
- Helioscope has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Helioscope and On request for AVEVA PI System.
- Does Helioscope or AVEVA PI System run on more platforms?
- Helioscope runs on Web, Api. AVEVA PI System runs on Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api.
- Can I use Helioscope for free?
- Yes. Helioscope has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AVEVA PI System starts at On request.
- What is Helioscope best used for?
- Helioscope is most often used for simulating photovoltaic system performance and energy yield, laying out commercial solar arrays and producing design reports. Of those, simulating photovoltaic system performance and energy yield and laying out commercial solar arrays and producing design reports are not what AVEVA PI System is typically brought in for.
- What can Helioscope do that AVEVA PI System cannot?
- Helioscope covers PV system design, 3D shade modeling, Performance simulation, Single-line diagrams. AVEVA PI System covers Real-time data collection, Time-series data storage, Asset framework, Visualization. Both handle SOC2.