Neara vs RatedPower (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
Neara is our pick, scoring 6.8/10 against 6.7/10 for RatedPower on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Integration score (6/10 vs 5/10). Neither Neara nor RatedPower lists a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
Neara
6.8/10
Neara builds physics-based 3D digital twins of electric utility networks from LiDAR, imagery and GIS data, used for resilience, wildfire, vegetation and capacity planning.
RatedPower
6.7/10
Cloud software that automates feasibility, layout, electrical engineering, and energy yield studies for utility-scale solar, storage, and hybrid power plants.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.8/10 | 6.7/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Cost | 3/10 | 4/10 |
| Analytics | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Engineering Simulation | ||
| GIS and Mapping | ||
| Asset Registry | Not listed | |
| Digital Twin | Not listed | |
| Engineering Design | Not listed | |
| LiDAR Processing | Not listed | |
| Power Line Inspection | Not listed | |
| Work Orders | Not listed | |
Who Neara and RatedPower suit
Neara fits utilities better; RatedPower fits engineering firms better.
| Audience | Neara | RatedPower |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 10/10Built specifically for electric network operators, with many named utility customers. | 7/10It suits utilities that develop their own large solar and BESS assets. |
| Engineering Firms | 7/10Engineering contractors such as Empact Engineering use it for pole loading analysis at volume. | 9/10EPCs and engineering consultancies use it to automate layouts, electrical design, and deliverables. |
| Energy Companies | 9/10Used for grid capacity, hardening and connecting renewables. | 10/10It is built for solar and storage developers working on utility-scale plants. |
| Enterprise | 8/10Customers are large utilities on custom enterprise agreements. | 7/10The Enterprise tier adds SSO, team management, and a dedicated consultant. |
| Small Business | 2/10No self-serve plan or public pricing, and it is aimed at network operators. | 3/10Quote-only multi-year contracts and a utility-scale focus make it a poor fit for small installers. |
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Neara
- Higher Integration score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for utilities (10/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose RatedPower
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for engineering firms (9/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
Neara
Pros
- Physics-based simulation of wind, ice, thermal and flood loading on real network geometry, beyond simple clearance checks
- Reuses a utility's existing LiDAR, imagery and GIS data instead of requiring new capture
- Strong customer evidence, including close to 90 percent of Australian network utilities and large US and European utilities
- Reported results such as reassessing condemned poles, cutting planned replacements from 25,000 to 4,000 at one US utility
- Brings planning, design, vegetation and wildfire workflows into one model
Cons
- No public pricing, and sold only as an enterprise agreement
- Narrowly built for overhead electric networks
- Results depend on the quality and coverage of the LiDAR or imagery data
- Almost no independent user reviews on G2, Capterra or Reddit
RatedPower
Pros
- Every plan is a single per-company subscription with unlimited users, projects, and designs, so large teams pay no per-seat costs.
- It takes a project from layout through electrical design, yield, and CAPEX to editable deliverables in a single run.
- A vendor-published Black & Veatch audit found its simplified yield model within +0.24% to +1.08% of PVsyst.
- Layouts round-trip through DWG for CAD editing, and shading data exports to PVsyst.
- It covers standalone BESS and hybrid PV plus storage dispatch, not only PV.
- G2 reviewers rate it about 4.4 out of 5 and most often praise its ease of use and the time it saves.
Cons
- No list prices are published, and contracts are typically multi-year.
- Standard support is email-only, with responses of up to 48 working hours.
- It is not suited to rooftop, commercial, or residential solar design.
- G2 reviewers cite layout issues and missing features as their most common complaints.
- Many users still need PVsyst for the bankable P50/P90 reports lenders request.
Not sold on either?
Air Inspection Automation (AiA)Our product
Plans DJI drone inspection missions for power line towers from LiDAR scans: it finds the towers, places photo stops, checks clearance, and splits the route into battery flights.
Made by the team behind b stack radar. Shown here because it fits this topic. It is not part of our rankings. How we rank tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Neara scores higher on our Industrial & Infrastructure Software criteria: 6.8/10 against 6.7/10 for RatedPower. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 6/10 for Neara and 8/10 for RatedPower.
No, neither Neara nor RatedPower lists a free plan.
Neara is the better fit for utilities: we rate it 10/10 for them, against 7/10 for RatedPower.
