Comparison

SOLARMAN Smart vs Solar Setup

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SOLARMAN Smart

This app provides intelligent energy management for global users with a focus on visual data display and comprehensive monitoring. It allows for quick plant setup, 24-hour remote monitoring of PV power plants, and efficient collaboration with business partners for operations and maintenance.

Highlights
  • Visual energy data display
  • 24-hour remote monitoring
  • Quick plant setup
  • Authorization for collaboration
  • Real-time and historical data
  • Energy consumption tracking
Features
Read full description

SOLARMAN Smart is a brand new generation of Intelligent Energy Management Application, which is specially designed for global users. With the basic features of full-on visual experience, excellent data display and all-round monitoring, it achieves the goal of convenient operation. 【Build a Plant within 1 min】 No need to fill in tedious information. SOLARMAN Big Data will help to enrich more contents. 【24-hour Remote Monitoring】 Go to SOLARMAN Smart APP to check running status of PV power plant at anytime and anywhere. Reveal all data (Production, Consumption, Battery, Grid, Real-time, Historical Data and etc,.) at a glance. 【Efficient Coordination】 Add authorization function. Users can authorize the plant you created to your business partner to do O&M cooperatively. Meanwhile, users can receive the plant from your business partner, which means users do not have to create a plant or configure the devices. 【More Functions】 Based on energy management field, SolarMAN-3.0 APP will keep the constantly innovation and bring better experience for every user. Dear Users, if you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to send us a note and let us know how we are doing. Feedback Email:zhihao.huang@igen-tech.com

About

Solar Setup

Effortlessly plan your off-grid solar system. This tool calculates panel, battery, and inverter needs based on your location, power usage, and desired backup days, providing cost and payback estimates.

Highlights
  • Off-grid solar sizing
  • Appliance catalog
  • Real sun-hours data
  • Battery science calculations
  • Inverter surge load handling
  • Cost and payback estimates
  • Save and compare setups
Features
Read full description

Plan your off-grid solar setup in minutes. Solar Setup Calculator turns your appliance list into a complete, sized system — solar panels, battery bank, inverter, and charge controller — with real-world cost estimates and payback time. No spreadsheets. No installer sales calls. Just answer three questions about where you live, how much power you use, and how many days of battery backup you want — and the app does the off-grid solar math using the same formulas professional installers use. WHY IT'S DIFFERENT * Off-grid solar sizing built for everyone, not just installers. Pick appliances from a built-in catalog of 30+ common loads (fridges, lights, laptops, AC units, water pumps) or type in your own watts and hours. * Real sun-hours data, not guesses. The app pulls NASA POWER satellite data for your exact location on demand, so your panel count reflects what your roof actually gets — not a generic regional average. * Real battery science. Lithium and lead-acid have very different depth-of-discharge limits and round-trip efficiency. The calculator handles both correctly so your battery bank is sized for what it can actually deliver, not what's printed on the label. * Inverter sizing that handles surge loads. Air conditioners, fridges, and pumps draw 3 to 5 times their rated wattage during startup. The app accounts for this so your inverter doesn't trip out on day one. * Cost and payback estimates. Add your local kWh price and see how many years until your solar setup pays for itself versus staying on the grid. * Save and compare. Try different configurations side-by-side — 12V vs 24V vs 48V, lithium vs lead-acid, 1 day vs 3 days of backup — and see which one wins on cost and reliability. * Export as PDF. Share your sized system with an installer or supplier as a clean, professional PDF — no spreadsheet attachments. BUILT FOR - RV and van life — calculate solar for your rig with realistic appliance assumptions - Tiny house and cabin — design a system sized for your real consumption - Backyard sheds, workshops, and outbuildings — keep your tools running without trenching mains - Backup power for grid-tied homes — size a battery bank for blackouts - Marine solar setups — the same off-grid math works on a boat FREE FOREVER - Unlimited setups and saved designs - Cloud sync across devices (optional) - Full off-grid sizing wizard - NASA POWER sun-hours refresh - Built-in solar education library PRO — ONE-TIME $6.99, LIFETIME - PDF export of your sized system - Side-by-side comparison of multiple setups No subscriptions. No ads. Pay once, keep forever. THE STORY Solar Setup Calculator was built by an off-grid enthusiast frustrated with calculators that sized panels for daytime use only and left batteries empty by midnight. The app uses the full daily kWh figure for panel sizing, accounts for system losses, and handles depth-of-discharge correctly — the same way a professional designer would. Whether you're planning a weekend cabin, going full-time off-grid, or just curious what it would take to cover your fridge with solar — Solar Setup Calculator gives you a real answer in 5 minutes. Download free, design unlimited setups, and pay once for Pro if you need the comparison view or PDF export.

Screenshots

SOLARMAN Smart4 screens
Solar Setup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SOLARMAN Smart at 4.6 against Solar Setup's 4.0. SOLARMAN Smart also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (5.8K vs 1). Solar Setup's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Solar Setup sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. SOLARMAN Smart asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SOLARMAN Smart holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SOLARMAN Smart has 5.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SOLARMAN Smart ships an update every 2 weeks, Solar Setup every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SOLARMAN Smart versus Solar Setup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSOLARMAN SmartSolar Setup
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5.8K ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews44.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings5.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.114.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size93 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIGEN Tech Co., Ltd.Ammar Khatib

Bugs and requests

SOLARMAN Smart

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Registration process issues
  • Frequent crashes and login problems
  • Inconsistent data display and sync issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to control battery and inverter settings
  • Improve historical data and export functionality
  • Implement push notifications for grid failures and returns
  • Provide more detailed consumption and production data

Solar Setup

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SOLARMAN Smart

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Solar Setup

One-time1
  • Solar Setup Pro$6.99

Questions

Is SOLARMAN Smart free?
SOLARMAN Smart is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Solar Setup free?
Solar Setup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SOLARMAN Smart or Solar Setup?
SOLARMAN Smart is rated higher. SOLARMAN Smart averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5.8K ratings, while Solar Setup averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SOLARMAN Smart or Solar Setup have ads?
Neither SOLARMAN Smart nor Solar Setup shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SOLARMAN Smart or Solar Setup?
SOLARMAN Smart ships an update every 2 weeks, and Solar Setup every 2 days. Most recently, SOLARMAN Smart was updated on October 24, 2026 and Solar Setup on October 25, 2026.

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