Pollination

per-product / per-seat subscription; Grasshopper plugin free Engineer & Analyze

Cloud-connected building-performance and environmental-simulation platform from Ladybug Tools LLC, delivered as Rhino/Grasshopper and Revit plug-ins that build and run EnergyPlus, Radiance, and OpenStudio models from CAD/BIM geometry for daylighting, energy, and CFD analysis.

4.0 /5 composite score

Actively developed (a Revit Plugin v3.0 targeted for 2026) cloud environmental-simulation platform with published per-seat pricing, a public REST API + Python SDK, and named enterprise users (Arup, WSP, Stantec), but no MCP server and no confirmed bulk-export mechanism.

Worth it

Rubric Scorecard

How we grade →

Criterion	Score	Evidence
Value for the price	4/5	per-product / per-seat subscription; Grasshopper plugin free, from $1375, free tier Source →
Agent Friendliness	4/5	CLI, API: Public REST API + Python SDK (pip install pollination-sdk), API key auth via an x-pollination-token header, OpenAPI-generated clients Source →
Ease of adoption	4/5	hybrid Source →
Portability & lock-in	3/5	5 file formats, export: api
Interoperability	5/5	12 integrations, 10+ simulation-engine integrations apps

Visit Pollination →

How we verified this: we checked Pollination against its live site and an independent source — energy.gov. Nothing on this page is listed from memory. See how we grade. Verified 2026-07-04.

Evidence

File formats

Format	Direction	Support
HBJSON	both	unknown
gbXML	both	unknown
IFC	import	unknown
IDF	both	unknown
OSM	both	unknown

Integrations

Rhino Grasshopper Revit (native) EnergyPlus Radiance OpenStudio URBANopt IES VE DesignBuilder eQuest IDA ICE CBECC

Adoption

Deploymenthybrid

Self-serve signupyes

Implementation requirednone

Training requiredtutorials

Data export

Export mechanismapi

Export scopepartial

Ecosystem

Plugin marketplaceno

App count10+ simulation-engine integrations

Pricing detail

Billing unitper-seat

Free tier scopeusable

TiersRhino plugin ($1375), Revit plugin ($2750), Rhino+Revit bundle ($3575)

Sources

Pricing API docs Signup Changelog

Alternatives in Energy Analysis

OpenStudio

Free, open-source EnergyPlus front-end from NREL with a SketchUp plugin, a Measures library for parametric analysis, and Radiance daylighting support.

4.4/5

C.Scale

SaaS whole-life-carbon data platform used by architecture and engineering firms to run rapid embodied, operational, refrigerant, and landscape carbon (LCA) assessments from concept through construction, benchmark portfolios, source low-carbon products via EPDs, and auto-generate AIA 2030 DDx compliance reports. Grew out of EHDD's in-house carbon tool (EPIC) and is separately licensed to power Autodesk Forma's Embodied Carbon Analysis feature.

4.4/5

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

EnergyPlus

Free, DOE-funded whole-building energy simulation engine with sub-hourly HVAC, lighting, and water modeling -- the engine under most commercial tools on this list.