How much do solar panels cost per watt?
The median home solar system installed in 2025 cost $3.60 per watt of panel capacity, down from $4.10 in 2024 after inflation. That is the up-front price the owner paid before any incentive, for systems the homeowner bought rather than leased.[1] How you pay changes the number: systems bought with cash had a median of $3.00 per watt, and loan-financed systems $4.50.[1]
| Purchase | Median price per watt | 7.7 kW system |
|---|---|---|
| All owner-purchased systems | $3.60 | $27,720 |
| Cash purchases | $3.00 | $23,100 |
| Loan-financed | $4.50 | $34,650 |
| Solar plus a battery (per watt of panels) | $4.90 | $37,730 |
Half of all systems cost more than the median and half cost less. Reading LBNL's chart, the middle 60% of 2025 systems fell between roughly $2.7 and $4.9 per watt, so a quote outside that band deserves a second look rather than an automatic yes or no.[1]
Solar cost calculator: the price by system size
Multiply the size in kilowatts by 1,000 and by the price per watt. A 6 kW system at the national median is $21,600; a 10 kW system is $36,000:
| System size | At $3.00/W (cash median) | At $3.60/W (all) | At $4.50/W (loan median) | Panels at 410 W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 kW | $12,000 | $14,400 | $18,000 | 10 |
| 6.0 kW | $18,000 | $21,600 | $27,000 | 15 |
| 7.7 kW | $23,100 | $27,720 | $34,650 | 19 |
| 10.0 kW | $30,000 | $36,000 | $45,000 | 25 |
| 12.0 kW | $36,000 | $43,200 | $54,000 | 30 |
LBNL found that bigger home systems were not clearly cheaper per watt in 2025: other factors mattered more than size.[1] The average cost of solar panels page lists the medians by size band and by state. To size the system from your electric bills first, use how many solar panels do I need. Solar shingles cost more per watt than panels; solar roof tiles compares the two.
Solar panel installation cost calculator: what the price pays for
Most of the price is not the panels. LBNL estimates that soft costs and other balance-of-system costs make up roughly 80% of the installed price of home and business systems: labor, permits and inspection, design, sales and overhead, inverters, racking and wiring.[1] The national lab's Annual Technology Baseline puts the 2024 market price of modules at $0.39 per watt,[2] which is about $160 for one 410 W panel (the module size in NREL's cost benchmark[3]). Installed, the same panel's share of a median-priced system is about $1,476.
Comparing quotesDivide each quote by its size in watts to compare them on the same basis. A 7.7 kW quote of $27,720 is $3.60 per watt. Check that each quote covers the same items: panels, inverter, any battery, roof work, permits and the electrical panel.
Is there a federal tax credit for solar in 2026?
No, not for a system you own that is installed in 2026. The residential clean energy credit paid 30% of the cost of solar panels and home batteries of at least 3 kWh installed from 2022 through December 31, 2025, and is not available for property placed in service after that date.[5] The 2025 tax law ended it for expenditures made after December 31, 2025,[7] and the IRS treats a system as paid for when its installation is completed, so a deposit paid in 2025 does not qualify a system finished in 2026.[6] Leave the tax credit at 0% unless a tax professional tells you otherwise; enter any state or utility rebate instead.
A lease or power purchase agreement is a different arrangement: the company owns the system and you pay for the power or the equipment over time. This calculator prices a system you buy.
Adding a battery
A battery adds thousands of dollars. Among systems sold with storage in 2025, the median price was $4.90 per watt of panel capacity, against $3.60 for solar alone, and the median battery held 13.5 kWh.[1] The national lab's modeled cost for a 5 kW, 12.5 kWh home battery is $885 per kWh in 2023 dollars,[4] which the calculator uses as its default: 13.5 kWh × $885 = $11,948. Size it for an outage with the solar battery backup calculator.
Worked example: pricing and paying for a system
- Size: 7.7 kW = 7,700 watts.
- Price: 7,700 × $3.60 = $27,720 before incentives.
- Panels: 7,700 ÷ 410 W = 18.78, so 19 panels, $1,459 each all-in.
- Federal credit: 0% for a 2026 installation, so the net cost stays $27,720 unless a state or utility rebate applies.
- Financing: drawn on a HELOC at 7.50% (prime plus 0.5), interest alone would be $173.25 a month during the draw period.
Whether that pays off depends on how much electricity the panels make where you live and what your utility pays for it; run the solar calculator for the payback year. To compare a HELOC with a home equity loan or a personal loan for the purchase, use the home improvement loan calculator or the HELOC payment calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 7.7 kW solar system cost?
About $27,720 before incentives at the 2025 median of $3.60 per watt.[1] Cash buyers paid a median $3.00 per watt ($23,100).
Is there a solar tax credit in 2026?
How much does one solar panel cost?
The module itself is a small part: about $0.39 per watt in 2024,[2] or about $160 for a 410 W panel. Installed as part of a median-priced system, each 410 W panel accounts for about $1,476.
How much does a solar battery add?
In 2025, solar-plus-storage systems had a median price of $4.90 per watt of panels vs. $3.60 without a battery: about $10,010 more on a 7.7 kW system.[1]
Sources
- U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage: 2026 Data Update (Tracking the Sun)
- Annual Technology Baseline 2025: Residential PV
- U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmarks, Q1 2023 (NREL/TP-7A40-87303)
- Annual Technology Baseline 2025: Residential Battery Storage
- Residential Clean Energy Credit
- FAQs for modification of sections 25C, 25D … under Public Law 119-21 (FS-2025-05)
- Public Law 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), 139 Stat. 72