There's an old line about free products: if you aren't paying, you're the product.
It's a good instinct, and every dealer owner should bring it to the first call with us. A platform that hands you a CRM, canvassing, proposals, e-sign, hiring, training and commission tracking for $0 is either lying about the price or making its money somewhere you can't see.
We'd rather you could see it. This is how GRID gets paid.
The mechanics, in three sentences
GRID buys install capacity from our installer network at a negotiated rate. You sell above it. The difference between those two is how GRID is paid, on the install side of the deal, and only when the deal funds.
That's the whole model. It's on our pricing page under a heading that reads "Here is the catch."
There are no seat fees, no onboarding fee, and no charges for core tools. Nobody on your team gets a login that costs you money.
What that means when a deal doesn't happen
Follow the incentive through, because the incentive is the part worth trusting.
- You sign up and never fund a deal. GRID earns nothing.
- You add twenty reps. GRID earns nothing extra until those reps produce funded installs.
- A deal cancels before install. GRID earns nothing on it.
A subscription company gets paid when you log in. We get paid when a system goes on a roof. Those two businesses build different products. One is rewarded for seats. The other is rewarded for deals that survive from the door to funding, so that's where our effort goes: the installer network, the pipeline, the pieces that keep a signed deal from dying.
The reasonable objection
Here's the pushback we hear, and it's the right one:
"So you're in the pricing. How do I know what you're taking?"
Two answers.
First, you see your numbers before you commit to anything. Deal-specific economics, including the exact pricing you sell against, are visible in the platform per deal, before submission. We don't publish a rate sheet on a marketing page because the app is the rate sheet. It's always current, and it's yours to look at.
Second, compare it to what you have now. We wrote about why the same system can cost double depending on who sells it. Most of that spread is margin set layers above the rep, by people the rep never meets, on pricing the rep can't see. Margin isn't the problem. Somebody has to fund the sale and stand behind the work. Hidden margin is the problem.
A dealer who can see what they're pricing on top of can decide whether the deal is good. A dealer who can't is guessing.
Why pooled volume matters
The other half of the model is who does the negotiating.
An installer prices a three-rep org like a three-rep org: uncertain volume, unknown paperwork quality, worst lane on the menu. A network sending steady volume gets priced differently. Install pricing on GRID is negotiated on the network's pooled volume rather than each org's own, so a small dealer isn't penalized for being small.
That's the trade. We bring the volume and the vetted installers. You bring the sales. We're paid out of a rate that a small org generally couldn't have reached by itself.
What does cost money
"Free" should come with a complete list of what isn't. Ours is short, and nothing on it is required:
- AI Concierge. Answers your inbound calls and texts and books appointments onto your calendar. $99.99 a month per org, not per rep, with 250 voice minutes included and $0.20 a minute after that. Your Twilio and Vapi usage is billed to you by those providers, separately from GRID.
- Deal Save. At-risk deal recovery, priced during onboarding.
- Purchased leads. You earn free leads at milestones. Buying more through our vendor partners is optional.
One more honest note: payroll processing isn't live yet. It's in development.
Five questions to ask any "free" platform
Ask us these. Ask everyone else too.
- Where exactly does your revenue come from? If the answer takes more than three sentences, keep asking.
- Do you get paid if my deal doesn't fund? This tells you whose side they're on when a deal is in trouble.
- Can I see what I'm pricing against before I submit? Not after. Before.
- What happens to my price when I add reps? Per-seat pricing means your growth is their revenue whether or not your reps sell.
- Can I export my data and leave? A platform that's confident in itself lets you take your book with you.
The bottom line
GRID isn't free because we're generous. It's free because we decided to be paid by funded installs instead of by logins, and that model only works if dealers on the platform actually win.
You should check that claim rather than take it from a blog. The intro call is 20 minutes, there's no hard pitch, and we run your numbers live so you can see the economics on your own deals.
GRID is a dealer operating platform and does not sell solar to homeowners. AI Concierge pricing is $99.99/month per organization with 250 voice minutes included and $0.20/minute after that; Twilio and Vapi are third-party accounts billed separately by those providers. Actual economics depend on market conditions, product mix, deal structure, volume and other factors. Nothing here is a guarantee of results.
Selling solar in this market? Run your numbers with us.
GRID is the $0 operating platform for solar dealers — tools, training, commissions, e-sign, and installer pricing negotiated on pooled network volume. One 20-minute intro call. No pressure, no runaround.
Book the intro call →