Our business model:
How DIALux is funded
We value good lighting. We believe that a tool for good lighting design should be available to many and not just a few. DIALux is accessible to everyone. Whether student or professional, whether with a technical or a design background. DIALux is available and used all over the world. In 26 languages, with regional and international standards included, supporting small and large manufacturers.
DIALux is a powerful software for professional lighting design. You can use it for personal, educational, and commercial purposes – completely free of charge. How this works is explained in our frequently asked questions:
Who is behind DIALux?
The company behind DIALux is DIAL GmbH from Lüdenscheid in Germany. We have 87 employees – developers, engineers, designers, architects – who are primarily involved in the development of DIALux evo. DIAL GmbH is owned by an association of leading companies in the lighting and automation industry, which does not withdraw any profits, but keeps them entirely within the company. Although DIALux evo is free of charge for you, we generate most of our revenue with DIALux and our profit is fully invested in development. Learn more about DIAL here.
How do you fund the development of DIALux?
The development of DIALux is essentially funded by membership fees from luminaire manufacturers, our DIALux Members. We cooperate with all leading brands in the lighting industry. As DIALux Members, manufacturers can make their brand visible in DIALux and their products available for planning. Only DIALux Members can offer detailed, comprehensive and trusted product data in DIALux that users can easily and safely apply in their designs. Only DIALux Members will keep you posted about product updates via their catalogues or will gladly receive your product inquiries directly from the software.
Why did you introduce DIALux Pro/DIALux Pro Features?
Since DIALux 12, we have been offering a purchase version in addition to the free version of DIALux: DIALux Pro. DIALux Pro contains special functions with which users can significantly increase the productivity and efficiency of their work. DIALux Pro combines all previously released DIALux Pro features and will be further developed in parallel to the free version of DIALux. DIALux Pro is very useful for users who regularly and frequently plan with DIALux in a commercial context. From now on, DIALux Pro or the separately available Pro feature Unlock Non-Members is also a prerequisite for using luminaires from manufacturers who are not DIALux Members in your lighting design projects.
How can I support DIALux as a user?
The main aim of DIALux is to provide you with the best possible support in your daily work as a lighting designer, lighting technician or architect. The development of DIALux requires a lot of time, money and hard work. You can support DIALux by using products and data from DIALux Members. We work with all leading brands worldwide, currently over 260 (you can find an overview here). In this way, you give the manufacturers important feedback that they invest in a lively and active community. And if DIALux Pro helps you in your work, we will be very happy if you buy a subscription. Thank you for your support!
Why do you only allow products from DIALux Members in the free version of DIALux evo?
We are able to offer DIALux evo free of charge because manufacturers, as DIALux Members, ensure the financing of development with their membership fees. It is important for us to secure this financing model for the future and thus make DIALux evo even more powerful and better. We can only achieve this if more manufacturers get involved as DIALux Members. Since March 2024, the free version of DIALux evo only allows planning and calculation with luminaires from DIALux Members. If you want to continue using luminaires from manufacturers who are not DIALux Members, you can purchase the Pro function Unlock Non-Members as a subscription from us. As a DIALux Pro user, nothing will change for you: the function is already included here at no extra charge.
Do you sell my personal data?
We know that this is a common scheme to make money but our business model is simple: we collect membership fees from manufacturers and sell DIALux Pro to users. This is the only way we make money. We don't sell your personal data to anyone.