The report examines the role of Standalone Microgrids (SMs) in electrification and emissions reduction, focusing on the comparison of HOMER Pro and iHOGA PRO+ software. It assesses these tools using 22 criteria and three case studies, highlighting differences in optimization results and the importance of selecting software based on specific requirements. Despite minor discrepancies in sizing, the comparison underscores each software’s strengths and weaknesses in designing efficient and cost-effective SMs. The main authors have identified the following 3 Key Takeaways from the report: HOMER PRO and iHOGA PRO+ are publicly available software tools for the microgrid optimization process during the microgrid pre-design phase. Task 18 has defined 22 criteria (quantitative and qualitative) to help software users evaluate which software tool fits better their needs. Based on the quantitative criteria, Task 18 has found that the simulation results from both software tools are equivalent, both when simulating an existing microgrid with real measurement data and when simulating a new microgrid from scratch. However, based on the qualitative criteria, both software tools have some uniqueness in terms of their features.