Ladybug Tools

What Ladybug Tools does

Ladybug Tools is the developer of a suite of free, open-source computer applications that connect parametric 3D CAD interfaces (Grasshopper/Rhino) to validated building performance simulation engines including Radiance, EnergyPlus/OpenStudio, OpenFOAM, Therm, and Window. Founded in 2013 as a Grasshopper plugin and now operating as Ladybug Tools LLC in Fairfax, Virginia, the company maintains five core tools: Ladybug (climate analysis and visualization), Honeybee (daylight and energy simulation), Butterfly (CFD via OpenFOAM), Dragonfly (district-scale energy and electrical modeling), and EPWMap (weather file visualization). The suite has accumulated over 500,000 downloads and is the 3rd most downloaded plugin on the Food4Rhino marketplace, with adoption across leading architecture and engineering firms including Foster + Partners, SOM, HOK, BIG, Arup, Perkins+Will, and BuroHappold, as well as academic institutions such as MIT and the Architectural Association London.

The platform's architecture is Python-based, modular, and runs natively within Grasshopper's visual scripting environment, enabling real-time parametric exploration of environmental design alternatives. Underlying simulation engines are integrated through Honeybee and Dragonfly rather than rebuilt, positioning Ladybug Tools as the canonical wrapper layer that lowers the accessibility barrier to high-fidelity simulation. The business model is hybrid: the core tools remain free and open source under community development, with revenue (if any) accruing through Pollination Cloud, a commercial SaaS platform launched in the 2020s for cloud-based building energy modeling. No funding rounds are disclosed, and the company operates with 11-50 employees.

The go-to-market is community-led and capital-efficient: adoption spreads organically through academic curriculum integration (10+ university partnerships globally), practitioner-to-practitioner recommendation, and the Ladybug Tools Academy learning platform. Distribution occurs primarily through Food4Rhino marketplace and GitHub, eliminating traditional enterprise sales friction. The company holds registered trademarks on Ladybug Tools (2017-2025) and is led by founder Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari. Customer segments are horizontal, spanning architects, building performance engineers, MEP consultants, academics, and urban energy analysts.

Name

Ladybug Tools

Legal name

Ladybug Tools LLC

Website

https://ladybug.tools

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ladybug Tools develops free, open-source computer applications (Ladybug, Honeybee, Butterfly, Dragonfly, EPWMap) that connect Grasshopper/Rhino CAD interfaces to validated building performance simulation engines. It serves architects, engineers, academics, and urban planners globally, with over 500,000 downloads and a commercial SaaS offering called Pollination Cloud.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Performance Simulation Software

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Building Software Platforms (IWMS/CAFM Integration, Digital Twin, Command Center) (BPABAGAG)

Keywords

• Building performance simulation
• Environmental design software
• Parametric design tools
• Open source CAD plugins
• Climate analysis tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairfax

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Free Open Source Software: Ladybug Tools is completely free and open source. The software is provided at no cost with all core tools available for download. Revenue is not generated from software licensing. The project is supported by community contributions, patron support, and institutional partnerships that provide teaching materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ladybug Tools is a collection of free, open-source computer applications (Ladybug, Honeybee, Butterfly, Dragonfly, EPWMap) that connect 3D CAD interfaces (Grasshopper/Rhino) to validated simulation engines for environmental design and building performance simulation. The suite covers climate analysis, daylight and energy simulation, CFD airflow modeling, and district-scale urban energy analysis. The company also operates Pollination Cloud, a commercial SaaS platform for building energy modeling.

Product overview

Ladybug Tools is a collection of five free, open-source computer applications (Ladybug, Honeybee, Butterfly, Dragonfly, and EPWMap) that support environmental design and education. The suite connects 3D CAD interfaces (Grasshopper/Rhino) to validated simulation engines including Radiance, EnergyPlus/OpenStudio, OpenFOAM, Therm, and Window. Ladybug handles climate analysis and visualization; Honeybee manages daylight and energy simulations; Butterfly performs CFD analysis; Dragonfly enables district-scale urban modeling with URBANopt, OpenDSS, and REopt integration; and EPWMap provides weather file mapping. Pollination Cloud serves as the cloud platform for model building. All tools are written in Python, run within Grasshopper, and have been downloaded over 500,000 times.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ladybug: Performs detailed analysis of climate data to produce customized, interactive visualizations for environmentally-informed design. Imports EPW weather files and provides climate graphics, solar studies, and view analyses.
• Honeybee
• Butterfly
• Dragonfly
• EPWMap
• Pollination

Products and services

• Ladybug A Grasshopper plugin that performs detailed analysis of climate data to produce customized, interactive visualizations for environmentally-informed design. Imports standard EnergyPlus Weather (.EPW) files and provides 2D/3D climate graphics, sunpath diagrams, shadow studies, solar radiation studies, psychrometric charts, and outdoor thermal comfort models for architects, engineers, and academics.
• Honeybee A Grasshopper plugin that creates, runs, and visualizes daylight simulations using Radiance and energy models using OpenStudio/EnergyPlus. Supports detailed daylighting and thermodynamic modeling including illuminance studies, annual daylight metrics (DA, cDA, UDI, ASE), glare analysis, solar radiation studies, HVAC sizing, heating/cooling energy use, and indoor thermal comfort analysis.
• Butterfly A Grasshopper/Dynamo plugin and Python library for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using OpenFOAM. Supports indoor airflow, outdoor wind patterns, buoyancy-driven simulations, indoor/outdoor thermal comfort studies, and HVAC draft analysis for architects and engineers.
• Dragonfly Enables creation of district-scale energy models through abstracted building geometry schema. Supports integration with URBANopt for urban energy simulation, OpenDSS for electrical infrastructure, REopt for renewables optimization, and the Urban Weather Generator (UWG) for urban heat island modeling.
• EPWMap A web tool for visualizing and selecting EPW (EnergyPlus Weather) files for building performance simulation. Provides interactive mapping of global weather data locations for use with the Ladybug Tools suite.
• Pollination Cloud A cloud platform developed by Ladybug Tools that provides the fastest way to build models for Ladybug Tools and other building energy modeling (BEM) platforms. Enables cloud-based model building and simulation execution for Ladybug Tools and related BEM workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ downloads
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MIT - Massachusetts Institute of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMIT uses Ladybug Tools extensively in their architecture and building technology programs. The tools are integrated into their Masters program and used for research across all project stages from climate analysis to detailed energy modeling.
• Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA), LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAA London integrates Ladybug Tools into their MSc/MArch Sustainable Environmental Design program, using the tools for teaching climate-responsive design and building performance simulation.
• Georgia Institute of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeorgia Tech's design program incorporates Ladybug Tools for environmental design education.
• University College London (UCL) - Bartlett School of Environmental DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCL's Bartlett School uses Ladybug Tools in their environmental design curriculum.
• University of Toronto - Daniels FacultyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaniels Faculty at University of Toronto uses Ladybug Tools for architectural education.
• Swinburne University of TechnologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwinburne University's built environment and architecture programs use Ladybug Tools.
• Thomas Jefferson UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThomas Jefferson University's College of Architecture and the Built Environment uses Ladybug Tools for teaching.
• TUM - Technical University of Munich (Energy Design)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTUM's Energy Design program uses Ladybug Tools for building performance education.
• Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerITB's architecture program in Indonesia uses Ladybug Tools for environmental design education.
• Bina Nusantara University (BINUS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBINUS in Indonesia integrates Ladybug Tools into their architecture curriculum.
• Radiance (radiance-online.org)coreTechnology or IntegrationLadybug Tools integrates the Radiance ray-tracing engine for daylighting and radiation simulations. Radiance is one of the core validated simulation engines underlying the suite.
• EnergyPlus/OpenStudiocoreTechnology or IntegrationLadybug Tools (specifically Honeybee and Dragonfly) integrates EnergyPlus and OpenStudio for energy modeling simulations.
• OpenFOAMcoreTechnology or IntegrationButterfly uses OpenFOAM, the most rigorously-validated open source CFD engine, for computational fluid dynamics simulations including indoor and outdoor airflow modeling.
• URBANoptcoreTechnology or IntegrationDragonfly enables creation of district-scale models for energy simulation using the URBANopt SDK.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ClimateStudio (Solemma): ClimateStudio is a Rhino/Grasshopper plugin for environmental performance analysis (daylight, energy, thermal comfort) that directly competes with Ladybug Tools' Honeybee and Ladybug tools for the same parametric-design audience.
• cove.tool: cove.tool is a cloud-based building performance analysis platform for architects that targets the same early-stage energy and daylight modeling workflow Ladybug Tools supports, offering a more polished SaaS experience without requiring Grasshopper.
• Sefaira (Trimble): Sefaira provides early-stage energy and daylight modeling software for architects and is now part of Trimble; it competes directly with Ladybug Tools for performance-driven schematic design workflows, particularly among Revit-using firms.
• DesignBuilder: DesignBuilder is a building energy performance simulation tool built on EnergyPlus with a graphical interface; it competes with Honeybee/Dragonfly for the same energy modeling consultants and offers a more polished commercial alternative to the open-source workflow.
• EQUA Simulation (IDA ICE): IDA ICE is a multi-zone building performance simulation tool used by engineers for detailed thermal, energy, and comfort analysis; it overlaps directly with Honeybee's energy and comfort analysis scope in consulting engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES): IES Virtual Environment is a comprehensive commercial building performance simulation suite covering energy, daylight, HVAC, and CFD; it overlaps with Honeybee, Butterfly, and Dragonfly's analytical scope and targets many of the same engineering consultancies.
• Autodesk Insight: Autodesk Insight is an energy analysis capability embedded in Revit and FormIt that competes with Ladybug Tools for architects' early-stage performance modeling, leveraging Autodesk's dominant BIM installed base as a distribution channel.

Emerging players

• OpenStudio (NREL): OpenStudio is an open-source energy modeling platform from NREL that underlies Honeybee's energy simulation and competes as an alternative standalone interface for the same building performance simulation community.
• SimScale: SimScale is a cloud-based simulation platform offering CFD and thermal analysis in the browser; it overlaps with Butterfly's CFD capabilities and targets architects and engineers seeking open or low-cost simulation without local compute.

Others

• McNeel (Rhino/Grasshopper): McNeel develops Rhino and Grasshopper, the 3D modeling and visual scripting platform on which Ladybug Tools runs; while not a competitor, McNeel is the critical distribution platform and ecosystem host for all Ladybug Tools plugins.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/ladybug-tools
• Xx.com/ladybug_tools

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ladybug Tools