Expert LCA modelling, without the desktop tool
SimaPro has been the default for rigorous life cycle assessment for decades. If you are reviewing your stack after the One Click LCA acquisition, or you simply want a fully web-based modeller for your team, RangeLCA is built for the same job: serious modelling, parameters, scenarios and sensitivity, with results you can defend.
Pilario is independent of One Click LCA and SimaPro. This is a product comparison for practitioners evaluating tools, and SimaPro is a trademark of its owner.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Why teams are comparing them now
In September 2025, One Click LCA acquired SimaPro and PRé Sustainability. Both continue as distinct products, but licences, roadmap and total cost of ownership are naturally under review. Existing users also report a database licence increase passed through from January 2026, which is another reason teams are weighing their options earlier than they planned.
RangeLCA does not replace every SimaPro workflow overnight. It does offer a modern path for expert modelling: collaborative, browser based, and designed so models feed product assessments and supplier data collection on the same platform.
One Click LCA acquires SimaPro and PRé Sustainability. Both continue as distinct products.
Existing users report a database licence increase being passed through.
Licences, roadmap and total cost of ownership are under review at teams that had not planned to look yet.
Is RangeLCA a serious tool for experts?
It is the right question to ask, and it deserves an answer before anything else on this page. Three things back it up.
Monte Carlo, sensitivity analysis, characterisation and raw LCI, with parameters and scenario sets on top. Export a multi-scenario Excel workbook including the full LCI, so a reviewer can check the numbers instead of taking the tool at its word.
Ecoinvent, ILCD and EF datasets are built in, niche or industry-specific databases can be added on request, and the platform supports formats like ECOSOLID and ELCD.
RangeLCA was built with over thirty years of LCA practice behind it. The people who set the methodology are the people who built the canvas.
Our partner RDC Environment, an LCA consultancy with over thirty years of methodological experience, has its consultants and experts serving their customers on Pilario every day.
How the two tools line up
A practitioner view of where each tool sits today, written for someone who already knows what an LCA model is.
| Comparison point | RangeLCA (Pilario) | SimaPro |
|---|---|---|
| Primary product | Web LCA model builder | Expert LCA software (Craft desktop, Synergy SaaS) |
| Access | Fully browser based | Craft is a desktop install, Synergy is the cloud option for scale |
| Modelling | Collaborative visual canvas, parameters, scenarios | Deep expert modelling, the long-standing industry standard |
| Results | Statistical ranges, not only a single average | Typically point results, with uncertainty handled in the tool where configured |
| Sensitivity | Iterative sensitivity inside one workflow | Strong expert workflows, implementation varies by product |
| Collaboration | Share models, plus a simpler view for colleagues working on eco-design | Desktop centred for Craft, Synergy aimed at governed enterprise use |
| Databases | Ecoinvent, ILCD and EF, with niche datasets on request | Broad, established database ecosystem |
| Standards focus | ISO 14040/44, ISO 14067, PEF, GHG Protocol | Broad LCA methodology support |
| Getting models across | CSV import from your current desktop tool, Excel export including the full LCI | Established import and export across its own ecosystem |
| AI assistance | Atlas is built into the platform, optional, with organisation-level controls | Joint investments in AI announced, no native assistant in the Craft modelling workflow today |
| Beyond the modeller | Same account: Lens for assessments and reports, Origin for supplier primary data | Synergy and the wider One Click LCA ecosystem |
| Hosting and data | AWS Europe (Ireland), on an ISO/IEC 27001-aligned ISMS | Craft runs on your own machines, Synergy is vendor hosted |
| Commercial model | Annual licence per app, seats included in the plan with extra users added on top | Per-user licences, annual or perpetual, priced on request |
| Vendor | Pilario, an independent company based in Brussels | Part of One Click LCA since September 2025, continuing as a distinct product |
| Best fit | Teams that want expert modelling on the web, ranges for decisions, and a path from model to assessment to suppliers | Teams deeply embedded in SimaPro Craft, or needing that specific method and library stack |
Details change with each vendor release. Use this as a starting point, then validate on your own models in a demo.
Where RangeLCA tends to win
SimaPro Craft is not a limited tool. It has advanced modelling, strong uncertainty handling and a very wide method library. What follows is where RangeLCA takes a structurally different approach, not a list of things SimaPro cannot do.
No desktop install for day to day modelling. That makes life easier for distributed teams, client reviews and onboarding new practitioners.
Model with statistical ranges so decisions reflect uncertainty. It matters the moment R&D or leadership asks how sure you are.
Run iterative sensitivity in one workflow, then share a simpler view when non-LCA colleagues need eco-design options.
Hand models into Lens for product assessments and reports. Close data gaps with Origin, where suppliers submit through a link without creating an account.
Activate expert-built models, or build your own on the canvas. Atlas, the AI assistant inside the platform, helps with modelling questions and file to data workflows.
Moving your models across
Changing modelling tool is a real project, not a download. Here is what makes it easier and what you should plan for.
How the licence works
The difference from a desktop tool is less the number than the shape of it. You licence apps your team signs into, not seats installed on machines.
RangeLCA, Lens and Origin are licensed separately, each with a Basic, Pro and Advanced plan, billed yearly.
Every plan includes seats and extra users are added on top of those, so a team can grow without reopening the whole contract. Prices exclude VAT.
There is no desktop install and no licence key to move between machines. A new practitioner signs in and starts modelling.
Universities, research groups and students can apply for an education licence. Tell us about the course or project and we will come back with terms that fit.
Ask us for the current price list and we will put numbers against your team size. Get in touch.
Where your data lives, and who answers for it
When a tool changes hands, the questions that follow are about data and roadmap. Pilario is independent of One Click LCA and SimaPro, and the people who decide what gets built are the people you talk to.
When SimaPro may still be the right choice
That is fine. The goal of this page is a clear choice, not a forced migration. If you are in a university or a research group, ask about the education licence and compare on one of your own studies.
Compare on a model you already trust
Choose a product or client model you have already built in SimaPro and know well enough to challenge.
We rebuild it with you on a short call, about twenty minutes focused on the model rather than a pitch deck.
Time to first result, collaboration, range outputs, and how you would hand work over to non-experts or to suppliers.
Pilot on one category, keep SimaPro for research, or run both for a period. Any of those is a valid outcome.
Questions we get asked
Is SimaPro going away now that One Click LCA owns it?
No. One Click LCA acquired SimaPro and PRé Sustainability in September 2025, and states that both products continue as distinct products and that SimaPro users can keep using their software with confidence. The acquisition is a reason to review your stack, not a reason to assume the tool disappears.
Can I bring my existing models across?
You can import models through CSV, exported from the desktop tool you use today. Expect complex models to need checking and adjustment rather than landing perfectly, which is why we rebuild one of your models with you on the first call before you commit to anything.
Which databases and methods are supported?
Ecoinvent, ILCD and EF datasets are built in, and niche or industry-specific databases can be added on request. The platform also supports formats like ECOSOLID and ELCD.
Is it solid enough for a critical review?
The statistical layer is Monte Carlo, sensitivity analysis, characterisation and raw LCI, and we support workflows aligned with ISO 14040/44, ISO 14067, PEF and the GHG Protocol. You can export a multi-scenario Excel workbook including the full LCI, so a reviewer checks the numbers rather than trusting the interface.
What does it cost?
RangeLCA, Lens and Origin are licensed per app on an annual basis, each with a Basic, Pro and Advanced plan. Every plan includes seats, extra users are added on top, and prices exclude VAT. Ask us for the current price list, or for an education licence if you are at a university or research group.
Where is our data hosted?
In the EU. Pilario is based in Brussels and the platform runs in AWS Europe (Ireland), eu-west-1, with data encrypted in transit and at rest. Security runs on an ISO/IEC 27001-aligned ISMS, with annual penetration tests by external experts.
Who is this for?
In-house LCA and sustainability teams, R&D groups that need interpretable eco-design scenarios, and consultancies that want faster client collaboration without giving up modelling depth.
Which one is your tool?
Start your journey to sustainability
Book a free consultation with an LCA expert, or send us your questions.