See through the glass industry. Find the equivalent in seconds.
Pick any glass and GlassRef shows you what matches it from every manufacturer — compared on published performance data, with the source of every number on the page.
Free to search · Supplier-neutral · Every value shows its source
Equivalents for: 6 mm low-e, coating on surface #2 Matched on visible light, appearance and thickness
| Product | VLT | Thickness | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-e Neutral 70Manufacturer A | 70% | 6.0 mm | IGDB data |
| Clear Low-E 68Manufacturer B | 68% | 5.7 mm | IGDB data |
| Solar Control 71Manufacturer C | 71% | 6.0 mm | Mfr. published |
Illustrative example — not real product data.
GlassRef is open. Every new company gets Pro free for 14 days, no card. Then Free, keeping everything. Start free
Every maker’s tool starts with its own glass. GlassRef starts with your job.
Substituting a glass — for lead time, for budget, or because the spec names a product you can’t get — usually means jumping between tools and data sheets and lining the numbers up by hand, in different units and different rating methods. GlassRef puts every maker in one place, on equal terms.
One reference, on every screen you work from
The glass library on your desk, a makeup calculated in the truck, the spec sheet on the tablet in the meeting. Same data, same sources, wherever you open it.
Real screens from GlassRef. The company shown, Beachside Glaziers, is a made-up sample.
Light or dark. Inches or millimeters. English or Spanish.
Find it. Match it. Compare it.
The whole job, from “what is this glass?” to “what else will do?”, in one search.
Find a glass
Search by manufacturer, product name, thickness, appearance or visible light — coated, laminated, monolithic and applied films.
See its equivalents
The closest matches from every other manufacturer, ranked on the properties that matter for the substitution you’re making.
Compare side by side
Same units, same rating method, and the source of every value — so the comparison is fair before anyone signs it off.
Build it. Know the numbers.
Stack glass, interlayers and spacers into any laminate or insulating unit and get its real U-factor, SHGC and light — calculated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Windows-CalcEngine from measured data.
Any makeup, layer by layer
Laminates and insulating units built to scale, with coated surfaces, gas fills and spacers — on a computer or a phone.
Custom laminates, even security glass
Any glass, polycarbonate, PVB and polyurethane, any number of plies — calculated the way NFRC’s laminate procedure builds them.
Meet the spec, from every maker
Type the spec — U-factor, SHGC, light — and see every coated glass from every maker that meets it in a standard insulating unit, each one already calculated. 1" and 1-1/8" units, impact included.
Sheets that look like yours
Lay out your own spec sheets: rows and columns of boxes, the data in each box, your brand color and footer. Drag blocks into place and watch the real sheet change as you go. Every value prints with its source, and the sheet carries a code anyone can scan to check it.
Read the glass in front of you
The stamp in the corner, the label on the window, the openings on the drawings: GlassRef turns each into an answer you can save to the project.
Safety-glass stamp
What the stamp means
Tempered, heat-strengthened or laminated; CPSC category, ANSI Z97.1 and other marks; the date code and who made it. It reads the mark; it never certifies glass.
NFRC label
Does this window meet code?
The label’s U-factor, SHGC and light, checked against ENERGY STAR for your zone and the IECC for your climate zone.
Takeoff
Openings, square feet, glass weight
List each glass type’s openings and get the count, the square feet and the pounds of glass, from your basis-of-design glass.
The industry’s own submissions, in one place
GlassRef starts from the products manufacturers submit to the International Glazing Database (IGDB), maintained by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
GlassRef is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by LBNL. Counts are from the IGDB snapshot GlassRef was built on and grow as the library is re-synced.
Every number on a glass has a story. GlassRef tells it.
Where a value came from, which method produced it, and in which units — shown, not assumed.
Six principles we build to
A reference is only worth using if you can trust it. These are the rules GlassRef doesn’t bend.
Supplier-neutral
Every manufacturer is searched the same way and ranked on the same terms. The best match wins, whoever makes it.
Every number shows its source
Each layer says where its data came from, and every assembly rolls that up into a badge — all IGDB data, partial, or manufacturer-entered.
Your units, your rating method
Metric or imperial, and NFRC, EN or ISO — shown on every sheet. Converting units never quietly converts the method.
AI helps. It never invents a number.
AI can find glass, draft words and explain a value. Performance figures come only from the data and the calculation engine.
Works on the job site
On a phone in the truck or a tablet on site: read a safety-glass stamp or an NFRC label, list the openings, pull up a sheet. Offline use is on the way.
Built for the trade, worldwide
Multilingual from the first screen, for the glass, window and door industry wherever it works.
For the people who specify, sell and set the glass
Architects & specifiers
Spec it with confidence
Find the look you want, see who makes it, and keep a fair alternate ready before the bid comes back with a substitution.
Glaziers & installers
Answer the substitution call
When the specified glass has a twelve-week lead time, see what else meets the numbers — from your phone, in the truck.
Fabricators & distributors
Match a competitor’s product
Show a customer the equivalent from your line, on the same data and the same terms they’ll check it against.
Pricing
Free to look things up and calculate. Companies that produce documents every day pay per company, not per seat.
Free
$0
For looking things up and checking numbers
- The glass library, equivalents and compare
- Every calculation: U-factor, SHGC, light, custom laminates, sound
- 5 saved makeups
- 3 saved spec sheets
Basic
$49 a month per company
For companies that send documents every day
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited saved makeups and spec sheets
- Your own logo on every sheet
- Submittals to the architect
- Up to 3 users
Pro
$149 a month per company
For teams that manage approvals and submittals
- Everything in Basic
- Spec-sheet templates
- Ratings and approvals with expiry alerts
- Comparison sheets and one-file submittal packages
- An approved catalog for your team
- Alerts when LBNL changes a glass on your sheets
- Up to 10 users
Pay yearly and get two months free. Every new company gets Pro free for 14 days with no card; after that you’re on Free and keep everything you made.
Questions
Is GlassRef free?
Yes: the glass library, equivalents, compare and every calculation (U-factor, SHGC, light, custom laminates, sound) are free, with 5 saved makeups and 3 saved spec sheets. Companies that produce documents every day pay per company: Basic ($49 a month) for unlimited saved makeups and spec sheets with your own logo, submittals to the architect and up to 3 users; Pro ($149 a month, up to 10 users) adds spec-sheet templates, ratings and approvals with expiry alerts, comparison sheets, one-file submittal packages, an approved catalog for your team, and alerts when LBNL changes a glass on your sheets. Pay yearly and get two months free.
Where does the data come from?
From manufacturer submissions to the International Glazing Database (IGDB), maintained by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, plus values published by manufacturers — and every value is labeled with which one it is. GlassRef is independent and not affiliated with LBNL.
Does GlassRef certify glass?
No. GlassRef publishes reference data and shows where it came from; product certification is the job of bodies such as NFRC, and the specifier of record signs off on what goes in the building.
How do I start?
Create a free account at app.glassref.com — it works in any browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. Every new company gets Pro free for 14 days with no card; after that you’re on Free and keep everything you made.
One reference. Every manufacturer. Every number sourced.
Start free today. Every new company gets Pro for 14 days — no card, and you keep everything after.
Start freeNo card · Pro free for 14 days · Then Free, keeping everything