Free
€0
- Database search Try-it-out queries
- Conversation memory —
- Cortex Cowork —
- File read/write —
- Skills marketplace —
Plans
§ I
Self-serve. Cancel any time.
Three tiers. Self-serve via Desktop Settings → Billing. Cancel any time through the billing portal.
Pro
€99 /month · or €297/quarter
- Database search 14 LCA databases
- Conversation memory Yes
- Cortex Cowork —
- File read/write —
- Skills marketplace —
Plus
€299 /month · or €897/quarter
- Database search 14 LCA databases
- Conversation memory Yes
- Cortex Cowork Yes
- File read/write Yes
- Skills marketplace Yes
Quarterly billing is three months at the monthly rate. No additional discount. Prior-period proration applies when upgrading mid-cycle.
What each tier includes
§ II
Plain numbers.
Free is the way in. A handful of queries to feel what Cortex Chat does — ask a methodology question, look up one material, see how a candidate is sourced. Not sized for ongoing LCA work. No credit card required.
Pro (€99 / month) is the working tier for individual LCA practitioners. All 14 LCA databases Cortex searches across, including Ecoinvent, CarbonMinds, and HiQLCD-AL. Conversation memory persists across sessions and syncs across devices. Pro does not include Cortex Cowork — Chat is the surface.
Plus (€299 / month) is for project work. Adds Cortex Cowork: the desktop agent that reads and writes files on your machine, runs multi-step workflows, and loads skills from the marketplace. Cowork sessions are local — the agent runs on the same machine as the desktop app, not on a remote server.
A necessary clarification
§ III
Database licensing.
Cortex searches commercial LCA databases — Ecoinvent, CarbonMinds, and others — on your behalf. A Cortex subscription does not include a license to those datasets. Each one requires an independent license purchased directly from the provider.
HiQLCD and HiQLCD-AL are HiQ-AI's own; access is included for every Cortex subscriber. The EU-authorised EF reference data is publicly available.
Without a license — you can still discover. Cortex returns the dataset name, source, version, region, system model, and a link to the original record. You can confirm a dataset exists, see what it covers, and decide whether the license is worth bringing.
With a license — the numbers appear. The full data the license entitles you to: emission factors, inventory detail, broader impact assessment results. Cortex never substitutes a literature estimate or a model-generated number to fill a gap.
API access
§ IV
For integrators.
Developers integrating Cortex into external tools access the platform via x.hiqlcd.com/api/cortex/* with an API key. Capacity is sized to the integration; ranges from individual exploration to high-throughput backend pipelines.
Pricing is tailored to the use case. To apply: info@hiqlcd.com.
Common questions
§ V
Can the subscription be cancelled?
Yes. Cancellation is self-serve through the customer billing portal, accessible from Desktop Settings → Billing → Manage subscription. The plan reverts to Free at the end of the current billing period.
Is there a discount for quarterly payment?
No. Quarterly billing is three months at the monthly rate.
Does Plus include Cortex Chat?
Yes. Plus includes everything in Pro (Chat, 14 databases, conversation memory) plus Cortex Cowork.
What about team or enterprise plans?
Team and enterprise configurations exist and are provisioned by the HiQ team directly. Contact info@hiqlcd.com to discuss.
Start with one question.
Free is the way to feel out the product — a handful of queries on the house. For ongoing LCA work, Pro is the entry point. No credit card required to begin.