LCA software in 2026: the 7 best life cycle assessment tools compared

LCA software, also called life cycle assessment software, calculates the environmental impact of a product from raw materials to disposal. Its results feed product carbon footprints, environmental product declarations (EPDs) and the product data that customers and regulators increasingly ask for.

Seven LCA tools are worth comparing for UK teams, and they differ more than the shared method suggests. Some are free and built for LCA specialists, while others connect to the engineering and ERP systems of large manufacturers. The best LCA software depends on who will run the assessments and what the results must be used for.

Most LCA software follows the four steps set out in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044: goal and scope, inventory, impact assessment and interpretation. The tools differ in how much of that work they automate, which databases they include and which outputs they can generate, and those differences shape the comparison below.

openLCA suits LCA practitioners on a budget, Sphera fits expert LCA teams, EC3 serves construction teams comparing materials, and Greenly or Ecochain suit manufacturers that need product footprints at scale. The table sets the seven side by side.

Greenly suits manufacturers and retailers that need product carbon footprints across a large catalogue. Its LCA platform is audited by ADEME for ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067 compliance, so a third party has checked the method.

Key features

EcoPilot, the LCA assistant. Users describe a product in plain language, and EcoPilot builds an ISO-aligned LCA template with lifecycle stages, activities and emission factors matched from Greenly's database, which includes ecoinvent. It proposes each action, and the user confirms it before anything is calculated.

Data import. A bill of materials can be imported from CSV, ERP or PLM, and suppliers can be sent automated questionnaires. Where primary data is missing, enrichment workflows add estimates that are flagged with a confidence level.

Scale. Greenly offers 250+ pre-made templates and matches shared parts once for reuse across the portfolio. ManoMano has run 2M+ product LCAs on the platform, and Lyreco processes 8,000+ a month, fully automated.

Reports. One-click reports cover ISO 14040/44/67, EPD (ISO 21930 and EN 15804), PEF/PEFCR, PEP, DPP, CBAM and Catena-X.

Link with carbon accounting. Completed LCAs are saved as custom emission factors, so they feed Scope 3 reporting without manual export.

In a Greenly case study, Alchemy found that a refurbished smartphone emits 98% less than a new one, or 65% less when use and end of life are included.

Pricing

LCA pricing is on request. Want to find out whether the Greenly LCA platform is right for you? Book a demo!

openLCA suits LCA practitioners and researchers who want a free, open-source tool and are ready to build their own models. Developed by GreenDelta in Berlin, it can model in compliance with ISO 14040 and 14067, the GHG Protocol and the Environmental Footprint method, and can create EPDs compliant with EN 15804.

Key features

Modelling. openLCA works with parameters, nested models and regionalised modelling, simulates uncertainty, and groups results by life cycle stage.

Scope. Beyond environmental LCA, the software covers social LCA and life cycle costing.

Data. All major LCA databases work in openLCA, whether large or small.

Open source. The source code is open to inspection, and because openLCA is a desktop application that shares no data with outside parties unless the user chooses to, models and data stay with the user.

Sharing and scale. Full models can be shared, or pushed to onlineLCA for colleagues to use. Libraries make calculations fast and handle large background databases, and scripts scale the work up.

Pricing

The software itself is free. GreenDelta also sells additional databases, priced as low as it can make them, so data can add a cost. Some data is free: Agribalyse 3.2 Core, released in June 2026, needs no ecoinvent licence.

LCA for Experts suits expert LCA teams. It evolved from GaBi, which became part of Sphera in 2019, and its companion LCA Automation module applies lifecycle methodologies aligned with ISO 14040/14044 and, where relevant, EN 15804 or PEF requirements.

Key features

Data. Managed LCA Content covers 20,000+ datasets verified by DEKRA, an independent certification body, along with 500+ plant models and roughly 500,000 emission factors.

Models. LCA for Experts comes with 1,000 models.

LCA Automation. This module connects ERP, PLM, bill of materials, supplier and manufacturing data, maps them to Sphera's environmental database with AI-powered mapping that users review, and generates LCA, PCF and EPD outputs across a product portfolio.

Regulation. LCA Automation produces data that lines up with ESPR, Digital Product Passport and Construction Products Regulation requirements.

Pricing

Pricing is not published. LCA for Experts has a 45-day free trial, and demos are available on request.

Ecochain suits manufacturers producing EPDs and product carbon footprints across a portfolio, without needing LCA expertise. The software works with ISO 14040, 14044 and 14067 and EN 15804+A2, and includes the EF 3.1 and ReCiPe impact methods. What used to be sold as Mobius and Helix is now a single product, Ecochain software.

Key features

Data import. A bill of materials can be imported as CSV, XLSX or through an API feed, primary data can be added to increase accuracy, and 20+ pre-built templates cover different products. Guided data setup means no LCA expertise is required.

Datasets. Ecochain gives unlimited access to ecoinvent, PEF and World Steel datasets.

Outputs. EPDs, PCFs and LCA background reports are generated automatically in several formats, with hotspot analysis showing where the impact is highest, and the outputs are ready for CPR, CBAM, CSRD and DPP requirements.

Scenarios. Scenario modelling tests changes in materials, production and sourcing before they are made, and the comparison feature shows impact differences between products, years and production sites.

Scale. 450+ manufacturers use Ecochain for 2M+ LCAs, and a verify-once, pay-once model covers EPDs in volume.

Pricing

Pricing is on quote and depends on the use case, portfolio size and level of support. A free trial runs for 7 days and is limited to 10 ecoinvent datasets. EPD costs fall to as low as €50 per EPD at scale.

Makersite suits manufacturers that want LCAs across a large product portfolio, built from their own CAD, ERP and PLM data. Its LCAs conform to ISO 14040/44 and PEF guidelines, and the platform produces EPD-ready reporting formats.

Key features

Digital twins. AI maps bills of materials, CAD models and ERP records to Makersite's product database, builds a digital twin of each product and fills data gaps, and LCA experts review and refine all models.

Data. 150+ integrated sources cover environmental impacts, materials, substances, suppliers, energy grids and logistics.

Outputs. Makersite produces cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave impact analyses, Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, full PEF assessments and EPD-ready reporting formats.

Integrations. Makersite connects to CAD, PLM, ERP and procurement systems, so LCA results can feed design and sourcing decisions.

Scale. Portfolio-wide analysis covers thousands of products and variations, with scenario planning for supply chain changes. Customers include Microsoft, Barco and FLS.

Pricing

Makersite has three plans, all at a custom price: Pro (1 user, 2,000 material components), Teams (up to 10 users, 4,000 components) and Enterprise (10+ users, 50,000 components). A material component is a unique purchased or manufactured material, part, assembly or product. Licences run for 12 months and are paid annually upfront. No free trial is listed, and demos are available on request.

Earthster is aimed at teams that need to produce LCAs for many products without relying on LCA specialists. It works with ISO 14040 and with compatible standards such as ISO 14044 and ISO 14067, and it offers the EF 3.1, ReCiPe 2016, TRACI and IPCC 2021 impact methods.

Key features

Templates and batch uploads. Once a template LCA is built, lists of products, suppliers or bills of materials can be uploaded to produce LCAs for the whole portfolio.

Parameters. Each model defines what can vary, so anyone in the organisation can test a variation, and each test takes seconds.

Data. The database combines ecoinvent with extended metadata, USEEIO and data shared by other users such as Harvard and MIT, and primary data points can be added alongside it.

Integration and verification. An API connects Earthster to other systems, and third-party verification can take place inside the app.

Pricing

Professional costs €240 per user per month, and Collaborative costs €580 per month for 3 users plus €180 for each extra user. Corporate is priced on request. Some advanced functions require a full ecoinvent licence, and a 14-day trial is available on request.

EC3 suits construction teams that want to compare the embodied carbon of building materials when they specify and procure them. It is built on a database of digital third-party EPDs, with 50,000+ valid EPDs hosted.

Key features

Material comparison. Building materials can be found and compared using supply chain-specific EPD data.

Project planning. A project's potential and realised embodied carbon can be planned and compared, using material quantities from BIM models, construction estimates or as-builts.

EPD declaration and verification. Manufacturers can declare their products in EC3's standard format for EPD data, and digital EPDs can be audited and verified.

Integrations. EC3 integrates with Autodesk Construction Cloud, Bentley iTwin, Procore and cove.tool.

Microsoft used EC3 for its Puget Sound campus modernisation, which included 17 new buildings, and reduced embodied carbon by at least 30% against its baseline.

Pricing

EC3 is free and open access. Users sign up for an account to use it.

Whatever the profile, five checks come first: the data behind the tool, how easy it is for people without LCA training, the reports it produces, whether it models scenarios, and how it connects to your other systems. The four profiles below use them to narrow the choice for businesses to one or two tools.

What is the best LCA software for SMEs?

For an SME without an LCA specialist, the useful tools are the ones that do the modelling groundwork for the user. Greenly's EcoPilot builds an LCA template from a plain-language description and asks the user to confirm each step, while Ecochain guides the data setup and starts from 20+ pre-built templates. Earthster takes a similar route, with template LCAs that can be reused through batch uploads and parameters that let anyone on the team test a variation. openLCA costs nothing and models in depth, but it only pays off when someone in-house can build the models.

Which LCA software is best for manufacturers' product carbon footprints?

For product carbon footprints, the standard to look for is ISO 14067, which ISO confirmed in 2024 before flagging it for revision, with ISO/WD 14067.2 named as its replacement. Greenly, Ecochain and Earthster all list it, and Greenly goes further with an ADEME audit of its platform against the standard. Ecochain generates PCFs automatically, as do Sphera LCA Automation and Makersite across whole portfolios.

Which LCA software is best for construction and EPDs?

For construction teams comparing materials, EC3 is free and hosts 50,000+ EPDs. For manufacturers that must produce EPDs themselves, Ecochain lists EN 15804+A2 and Greenly's reports follow ISO 21930 and EN 15804. Makersite and Sphera LCA Automation also output EPDs or EPD-ready formats, although both are aimed at larger portfolios.

Which LCA software suits LCA experts?

Specialists who conduct LCAs regularly can choose between openLCA, Sphera LCA for Experts and Makersite, depending on what they need most. openLCA is free and open source, and it handles parameters, nested models and uncertainty simulation. Sphera LCA for Experts brings 20,000+ DEKRA-verified datasets and 1,000 models, whereas Makersite connects to CAD, PLM and ERP systems and has LCA experts review its models.

Three sets of rules arriving around 2027 make product-level carbon data more useful to UK companies: UK CBAM, the FCA's UK SRS rules and the EU's digital product passport. LCA software produces that data, product by product.

Several tools in this guide already list support for these rules. Greenly and Ecochain list CBAM-ready outputs, and Greenly, Ecochain and Sphera's LCA Automation list support for the digital product passport.

Expert suites such as openLCA and Sphera reward teams that can build models, while the rules above ask for product footprints that clients, auditors and regulators can trace. Greenly's EcoPilot takes on part of the modelling by proposing each step for the user to confirm, and every output stays traceable to its inputs. UK SRS also asks listed companies for Scope 3 disclosures, and LCAs completed in Greenly are saved as custom emission factors that feed that reporting without manual export or double entry. Greenly is trusted by 4,000 clients, from SMBs to enterprises.