Ladybug Tools
Free open-source Grasshopper plugins for climate analysis, energy modeling, daylighting, CFD, and urban simulation, with a commercial cloud layer via Pollination.
4.0 /5 composite score
C1 4/5 reflects the freemium model, C2 4/5 reflects the CLI plus Python and Pollination SDK surfaces, and C4 5/5 reflects HBJSON, gbXML, IDF, epJSON, .rad, IFC, and GEM workflows. Integrations include Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit, EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, IES VE, Radiance, and URBANopt; firm-size fit is solo to small-team.
Worth it
Rubric Scorecard
| Criterion | Score | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Value for the price | 4/5 | Freemium, free tier Source → |
| Agent Friendliness | 4/5 | CLI, API: https://pollination.github.io/pollination-apps/modules.html (Pollination REST API + SDKs) |
| Ease of adoption | 3/5 | -- |
| Portability & lock-in | 5/5 | 7 file formats |
| Interoperability | 4/5 | 8 integrations |
Pricing
ModelFreemium
Free tieryes
How we verified this: we checked Ladybug Tools against its live site and an independent source — energy.gov. Nothing on this page is listed from memory. See how we grade. Verified 2026-06-30.
Evidence
File formats
| Format | Direction | Support |
|---|---|---|
| HBJSON | unknown | unknown |
| gbXML | unknown | unknown |
| IDF | unknown | unknown |
| epJSON | unknown | unknown |
| .rad | unknown | unknown |
| IFC | unknown | unknown |
| GEM | unknown | unknown |
Integrations
Rhino Grasshopper Revit EnergyPlus OpenStudio IES VE Radiance URBANopt
Sources
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