Best LCA Software for SMEs: How to Choose the Right Life Cycle Assessment Tool
Compare LCA software for small and mid-sized companies — openLCA, SimaPro, One Click LCA, Sphera and EasyLCA — and learn what matters when choosing a tool.
Choosing LCA software is one of the most important decisions a product company makes when it starts working with Life Cycle Assessments. The right tool decides whether LCAs become a routine part of product development — or an expensive consultant project you run once a year.
This guide explains what to look for in Life Cycle Assessment software as a small or mid-sized company (SME), gives an honest overview of the most common tools, and shows where EasyLCA fits in. New to the topic? Start with what a Life Cycle Assessment is.
What Is LCA Software?
LCA software helps you model a product's life cycle, connect materials and processes to environmental datasets, and calculate impacts such as climate change, resource use and acidification according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. Most tools also help you document assumptions and report results.
What SMEs Should Look For in an LCA Tool
Large corporations often have dedicated LCA experts. Most SMEs don't. That changes what matters:
- Ease of use: can a sustainability, product or quality manager run an LCA without being an LCA specialist?
- Speed: how long from Bill of Materials to result — hours, or weeks?
- ISO 14040/14044 alignment: are methodology, system boundaries and assumptions documented?
- Datasets included: are relevant background datasets part of the subscription, or an extra cost?
- Supplier data: can you collect and use supplier-specific data?
- Reporting: can you share results as reports, product pages, EPD input or Digital Product Passport data?
- Price: is the total cost (licence, databases, training, consultants) realistic for an SME?
Common LCA Software Compared
Here is a short, neutral overview of well-known tools and who they are typically built for.
openLCA
A free, open-source desktop application with a large community. Very flexible, but it assumes LCA expertise, and many professional databases must be licensed separately.
SimaPro
One of the most established professional LCA tools, widely used by consultants and researchers. Powerful and detailed, with a learning curve that suits dedicated LCA practitioners.
One Click LCA
A well-known platform with a strong focus on construction, buildings and construction products, including EPD workflows.
Sphera (GaBi)
Enterprise-grade product sustainability software and data, often used by large manufacturers with in-house LCA teams.
EasyLCA
Built specifically for small and mid-sized companies that want to run full ISO 14040-aligned LCAs in-house. You upload a Bill of Materials, AI matches materials to datasets, and you get cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave results — together with supplier data collection, packaging/PPWR data and Digital Product Passport support in one platform. Developed in Sweden.
Which LCA Software Is Right for You?
- You have LCA experts and need maximum modelling freedom: openLCA or SimaPro
- You work mainly with buildings and construction: One Click LCA
- You are a large enterprise with a dedicated team: Sphera
- You are an SME that wants to do LCAs in-house, quickly, without becoming LCA specialists: [EasyLCA](/product)
Try EasyLCA
See how fast you can go from BOM to LCA. Check pricing or book a demo and we'll run an LCA on one of your own products.
Frequently Asked Questions About Life Cycle Assessments
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