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Guide
How much do solar panels cost in 2026?
Home solar costs about $3.00 per watt installed, which is the residential benchmark from NREL and SEIA. A typical 6 to 11 kW system therefore runs $18,000 to $33,000. For a 2026 buyer that is also the net cost: the 30% federal tax credit that used to cut it to roughly $12,600 to $23,100 ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, and only a lease or PPA still captures a federal credit. Hardware is usually less than half the bill; the rest is design, permits, labor and the installer's margin.
What a system costs by size
Cost scales almost directly with system size, measured in kilowatts (kW). The table below applies the $3.00 per watt benchmark. The last column shows what a buyer used to pay after the 30% federal credit, which ended for systems placed in service after 2025, so for a 2026 cash or loan purchase the number that leaves your bank account is the gross cost.
| System size | Cost (2026 buyer pays) | Old net after 30% credit (pre-2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 kW | $18,000 | $12,600 |
| 7 kW | $21,000 | $14,700 |
| 8 kW | $24,000 | $16,800 |
| 9 kW | $27,000 | $18,900 |
| 11 kW | $33,000 | $23,100 |
These are benchmark figures, not quotes. Real prices vary with your roof, your region's labor rates, and the equipment tier. The point of the benchmark is to give you a yardstick to hold real quotes against, which is the same $3.00 per watt figure our methodology uses.
What is actually in the price
A common surprise is how little of a solar bill is the panels themselves. A rough breakdown of an installed residential system looks like this:
- Panels: the modules on the roof, often a modest share of the total.
- Inverter: converts panel DC into home AC; string inverters are cheaper, microinverters and optimizers cost more but handle shade better.
- Racking and wiring: the mounts, conduit and electrical balance-of-system.
- Permits and inspection: jurisdiction fees and utility interconnection.
- Labor: the crew's time on your roof and in your panel box.
- Overhead, sales and margin: the installer's business costs and profit.
The last three items are why two quotes for identical hardware can differ by thousands. It is normal, but it is also where you have room to compare.
How to tell a fair quote from a bad one
The single most useful check is the per-watt price. Take the total cost before any incentives and divide by the system size in watts (an 8 kW system is 8,000 watts).
Fair-quote test: total price before incentives divided by watts should land near $3.00. A quote at $2.70 to $3.50 per watt is broadly in line with the national benchmark. Well above $4.00 deserves hard questions. A price that looks too cheap can signal budget equipment or a thin install.
Two more habits protect you: get the price quoted before incentives, because some sellers show only the post-credit number to make it look smaller, and read every line item. Our guide to how to read a solar quote walks through the traps in detail.
What about batteries and add-ons?
A home battery is a separate purchase, often adding several thousand dollars, and it changes the math rather than just the price. Whether it pays off depends on your net-metering rules and your rate plan, which we cover in are solar batteries worth it and net metering explained. Keep battery cost separate when you compare panel quotes so you are comparing like with like.
Cost is only half the question
A low price on a system that barely produces is not a bargain, and a fair price in a sunny, high-rate state can pay back fast. What matters is cost set against the electricity the system will actually save you, which is the payback period. The report combines the cost benchmark with your state's NREL production and EIA rate to give you that number for your ZIP, before you talk to a single salesperson.
Skip the estimates. Get your actual payback year for your ZIP.