Aurora alternative
Replace Aurora. And the rest.
Aurora designs the system and builds the proposal. TradeMade builds the whole solar company into one system: leads and canvassing, a sales-ready design for every address, proposals and contracts, site surveys, permits and installs, crews and rep pay, and AI calls and chat. One system, built around how your company works.
Free, no pitch deck. Bring your Aurora invoice and the list of everything else you pay for.
Credit where it's due
Great at the design. Only the design.
What solar pros say about Aurora on Reddit, and what its own pricing page shows.
A design tool solar pros trust
In solar threads, people describe Aurora as a leading design tool, with layouts and production estimates they trust more than free alternatives.
One installer called it a game-changer for residential solar.Solar · summarized from Reddit, 2026
But it's still the design
After the design and the proposal, the lead, the contract, the permit, the install schedule, the crew and the pay still live in other tools, or on spreadsheets.
Per user, plus per project
Basic is $159 and Premium $259 a user each month, with 50 projects a month. Enterprise is custom priced per project, and on-demand site models start at $9.99 each.
The first card is summarized from what people posted on Reddit; the words are theirs, not ours, and we leave out names and links to protect the posters. The posters are not our clients and do not endorse us. The third card is from aurorasolar.com/pricing.
Side by side
One job, or the whole company.
What Aurora lists on its own website, against what a TradeMade system covers.
Aurora column from the Basic, Premium and Enterprise plans on aurorasolar.com/pricing, read October 26, 2026, in US dollars at monthly billing. “Not listed” means the feature is not on that page; Aurora may offer it another way or through a partner. Aurora Solar is a trademark of its owner. TradeMade Software is not affiliated with or endorsed by Aurora Solar.
What we build, and what it replaces
What we build instead.
One system built around how your company already works, replacing the separate tools you rent today. These are the layers trade companies lean on most.
- Layer 02 · Pipeline
Leads and CRM
Every door, call, web form and referral lands in one record, and nobody re-types it. Leads from your online ads go to your call center or reps in seconds.
Replaces- Rented CRMs
- Lead spreadsheets
- Layer 04 · Paper
Quotes, proposals and e-signature
Priced from your own price book and signed at the kitchen table, inside the system, with the signed copy filed on the job.
Replaces- E-signature services
- Proposal tools
- Layer 05 · Jobs
Projects, scheduling, dispatch and crews
From sold to installed: schedules, crews, materials, photos and change orders on one job record.
Replaces- Field service apps
- Project management apps
- Layer 07 · Talk
Phones, call center, texts and reviews
Call routing and dialing for your call center, texts, email and a customer portal. Confirmations, reminders and review requests go out on their own, with consent on record.
Replaces- Texting and review apps
- Dialers
- Layer 08 · Money
Billing, commissions and pay
Invoices and service plans that bill themselves, and every rep's pay worked out the moment the deal closes.
Replaces- Add-on billing modules
- Commission spreadsheets
- Layer 11 · AI team
Agents that answer while your team is in the field
Voice and chat agents pick up calls and chats, answer from your own records and book the appointment. How our AI works.
Replaces- Answering services
- Chat widgets
- The whole stack
TradeMade. One system.
Every layer works as one, with your data moved over for you. You pick the layers your business needs, and the full list is on the home page.
What it really costs
Per user. Per project.
Aurora publishes its prices. Here's how they add up for a sales and design team, from its own pricing page.
- $159 · $259Basic and Premium, per user, per month, billed monthly. Annual plans save 15%.Aurora pricing page, October 2026
- 50 projectsA month, on Basic and Premium.Aurora pricing page, October 2026
- ~$2,590/moPremium for ten users, worked out from the page's own price.Worked out from the Aurora pricing page, October 2026
- $9.99+Each on-demand site model, a starting price.Aurora pricing page, October 2026
From aurorasolar.com/pricing, read October 26, 2026, in US dollars; prices change. Add the CRM, the e-signature tool, the install scheduler and the commission spreadsheet you still rent alongside it.
The math
Less from month one.
An example: a solar company paying $5,000 a month for Aurora and everything around it, the CRM, the e-signature tool, the install scheduler, the commission spreadsheet. The build is about $42,000, paid over the first year, so about $3,500 a month. After that, running it is $1,500 a month. They pay less from the first month, with one system that does far more and the busywork automated.
Bigger company? The gap grows. At $20,000 a month, the build is about $168,000 and running it is $2,000 a month: about $264,000 over five years against $1.2 million. At $50,000 a month, it's about $660,000 against $3 million.
Example only, using our typical figures: the build is about 70% of one year of your current software spend, paid over the first year, with a $35,000 minimum; running it is 10% of that spend, never less than $1,500 a month. Not a promise for any one business; your Blueprint gives your real number. Work out yours.
What it costs
Priced against what you pay now.
Not a cheaper copy of what you rent. One system that does far more, with the work your team does by hand today automated, priced against what you already pay.
Percentages are typical figures from our builds and proposals, not a promise for any one business. AI usage is billed at cost and depends on how much your agents do.
Switching from Aurora
Straight answers.
Is TradeMade an Aurora alternative?
Yes, and a wider one. Aurora is software you rent. TradeMade builds one system around your company that covers the work Aurora does and the parts most companies rent from other vendors or run on spreadsheets: canvassing, sales and crew pay, call center phones, your website, mailers, and AI that answers calls and chats.
Can you move our data out of Aurora?
Yes. We move your customers, projects and proposals over from Aurora and check them before anything is switched off. Aurora is billed monthly or annually, so we plan the switch around your billing date, and on a TradeMade system your data sits in accounts in your name.
Is it cheaper?
Compare what you get, not just the bill. One system replaces Aurora and the tools around it, does far more and automates work your office does by hand. The build is about 70% of one year of what you spend on software today, paid over the first year, with a $35,000 minimum. After that, running it costs 10% of that spend, never less than $1,500 a month, plus AI usage at cost. A company spending $5,000 a month pays about $3,500 a month in the build year, then $1,500 a month. The calculator on our home page shows your own number.
How long does it take to switch?
The Blueprint session gives you a real timeline for your company. For comparison, one of our home improvement clients went from a blank page to daily use in eighteen days.
Do we lose anything Aurora does today?
The Blueprint maps every Aurora feature you actually use, and the build covers those before Aurora is canceled. If something you rely on isn't covered yet, you keep Aurora until it is.
Who owns the system?
Your data is always yours. You hold a license to run, repair and change your system for your own business, for good, or you can own it outright, quoted case by case. Our trained AI agents stay ours and run as a service.
Bring your Aurora invoice.
Free, and a few quick questions. See what replaces it, and what it costs. If we can't beat it, we'll say so.
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