Pollination
Pollination is a building performance simulation platform that exports valid energy model geometry from Revit and Rhino to EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, IES VE, and other engines without redrawing from scratch.
Energy modelers often inherit Revit rooms that were drawn for documentation, not simulation, then spend days tracing plans in a separate tool. Pollination targets that handoff by pulling rooms, spaces, or areas into a Model Editor where automated cleanup commands fix the gaps that usually break exports (Pollination Revit plugin page, 2026).
The same platform spans Rhino and Grasshopper workflows, so teams that already model in Ladybug Tools can keep parametric studies and daylight scripts tied to geometry that also ships to downstream engines. Vendor materials list exports to OpenStudio (.OSM), EnergyPlus (.IDF), DesignBuilder (.gbXML), IES VE (.GEM), eQuest (.INP), and several other formats from one Pollination model (Pollination homepage, 2026).
Licensing is split between concurrent plugin seats and authorized user pools, which lets larger offices give many staff access while only paying for simultaneous sessions. Grasshopper stays free, Rhino and Revit plugins include a 30-day trial with no credit card, and published annual prices start at $125 per month for a single Rhino concurrent license (Pollination pricing page, 2026).
Pollination is developed by Ladybug Tools LLC, the team behind the open-source Ladybug, Honeybee, and Dragonfly libraries. That lineage matters when you need forum support, documented interoperability with Honeybee JSON, and a commercial path when cloud simulation or managed licensing becomes part of the workflow.
Specifications
Pricing
Platforms
Used for
Used by
Tasks
Pros and cons
Pros
- Exports directly from Revit rooms without manual redrawing
- Supports many downstream simulation engines from one model
- Grasshopper plugin is permanently free
- 30-day Rhino and Revit trials require no credit card
- Transparent published pricing instead of quote-only sales
Cons
- CAD plugin licenses do not include cloud simulation credits
- Revit models still need cleanup before export, though Pollination automates much of it
- No native IFC import; IFC must pass through Revit first
- No Dynamo plugin and none planned in the near term
- Single Sign-On is not available today
Key features
Revit energy model export: Load rooms or spaces as Pollination snapshots, clean geometry in the Model Editor, and export simulation-ready models without retracing 2D drawings.
Rhino geometry authoring: Build and repair energy models inside Rhino with commands that find common topology issues before export.
Grasshopper integration: Connect Pollination Rhino with Ladybug Tools for parametric studies, daylight workflows, and automated preprocessing.
Multi-engine export: Ship the same Pollination model to EnergyPlus (.IDF), OpenStudio (.OSM), DesignBuilder (.gbXML), IES VE (.GEM), eQuest (.INP), IDA ICE (.IDM), and other listed formats.
Program types and constructions: Assign program types and construction sets inside the CAD plugins when your target format supports those properties.
Hybrid licensing model: Combine concurrent plugin licenses with authorized user subscriptions so teams can share seats without buying a seat for every modeler.
Model translation guarantee: Vendor policy offers a full refund if valid Pollination models cannot be translated to the promised target formats after support.
Web organization console: Manage license pools, users, and cloud resources from app.pollination.solutions alongside in-plugin license managers.
Pricing
Grasshopper plugin
per year
Free
Always free. Confirm on vendor site.
Rhino concurrent license (monthly)
per month
$125.00
One concurrent session. 30-day trial available. Verify on vendor site.
Revit concurrent license (monthly)
per month
$250.00
One concurrent session. 30-day trial available. Verify on vendor site.
Rhino concurrent license (annual)
per year (12 mo)
$1,375.00
One month free vs monthly billing. Verify on vendor site.
10 authorized users (annual)
per year (12 mo)
$1,375.00
First authorized user seat included with concurrent licenses. Verify on vendor site.
Revit concurrent license (annual)
per year (12 mo)
$2,750.00
One month free vs monthly billing. Verify on vendor site.
Rhino and Revit bundle (annual)
per year (12 mo)
$3,575.00
Combined concurrent license. Verify on vendor site.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Pollination Revit plugin cost?
Pollination publishes a Revit concurrent-use license at $250 per month or $2,750 per year on its pricing page (Pollination pricing, 2026). Teams also buy authorized user subscriptions so more staff can access the shared concurrent seats; the first authorized user seat is included, and a 10-user pack is $125 per month or $1,375 per year.
Does Pollination work on Mac or Linux?
The Pollination Revit and Rhino CAD plugins run on Windows hosts where Autodesk Revit 2020 through 2026 or Rhino 7 and 8 are installed (Pollination plugin pages, 2026). Organization management and licensing use the Pollination web app at app.pollination.solutions, which is browser-based.
What file formats can Pollination export for energy simulation?
Pollination exports to OpenStudio (.OSM), EnergyPlus (.IDF), DesignBuilder (.gbXML), IES VE (.GEM), eQuest (.INP), Honeybee (.HBJSON), Dragonfly (.DFJSON), IDA ICE (.IDM), TRACE gbXML, and CBECC (.SDDXML) among others listed on the vendor site (Pollination homepage, 2026). Construction and program data export depends on the target format.
Can Pollination export a complete energy model from Revit?
Yes, that is the core Revit workflow: place missing rooms per level, create Pollination snapshots from rooms, spaces, or areas, clean them in the Model Editor, then export. Vendor case studies cite exporting the advanced Revit sample model as a valid energy model in under 40 minutes after cleanup (Pollination Revit plugin page, 2026).
Pollination vs Ladybug Tools: which should an energy modeler choose?
Ladybug Tools provides free open-source Grasshopper libraries for climate, daylight, and energy analysis inside Rhino. Pollination adds commercial Revit and Rhino CAD plugins plus cloud services for faster model translation, licensing, and organization management from the same Ladybug Tools team (Ladybug Tools and Pollination sites, 2026). Many offices use both: Ladybug for analysis graphs and Pollination when Revit export or managed seats matter.
Who is Pollination designed for?
Pollination targets building performance engineers, sustainability consultants, and computational designers who need to move architectural geometry into EnergyPlus, IES VE, OpenStudio, or similar engines. Vendor testimonials highlight firms such as SmithGroup, Arup, Stantec, and Page using it to cut manual geometry rebuild time on real projects (Pollination homepage, 2026).
Is there a free trial for Pollination plugins?
Rhino and Revit plugins include a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, started from each plugin's license manager after creating a Pollination account (Pollination documentation, 2026). The Grasshopper plugin remains free without a trial limit.