United States

Getting solar quotes

Solar quotes span $3.0-5.2/W depending on financing and inclusions. Sourced guidance on what to check so quotes are actually comparable to each other.

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Why do solar quotes vary so much between companies?

Because they're often not measuring the same thing. 2024 residential prices spanned roughly $3.0 to $5.2/W (20th to 80th percentile) per LBNL, and financing method alone accounts for a documented $1.2/W gap between cash and loan-financed systems. A lower headline number may simply be excluding a cost category another quote includes.

Solar Panel Answers connects you with licensed local solar companies. We are not a solar contractor.

What should every quote clearly state?

System size in kW, total price before any credit, and whether that price is cash, loan, lease, or PPA — this brief doesn't have sourced figures on lease or PPA pricing specifically, but the distinction changes who owns the equipment and who can claim any applicable tax benefit, so it needs to be explicit rather than implied by a low monthly number.

Should I ask what's included in the per-watt price?

Yes — NREL's own modeled cost breakdown shows soft costs (permitting, labor overhead, customer acquisition, margin) making up just over half the total price, more than the module and inverter combined. A quote that's meaningfully lower than another's may be handling permitting, roof work, or financing fees differently, not necessarily doing the job more efficiently.

What should I ask about after the price itself?

The workmanship warranty term specifically (commonly just 1-5 years, versus 20-25 years for the panels themselves), and whether the quote assumes the now-repealed 30% federal tax credit — it shouldn't, for any installation completing after December 31, 2025. Confirming both prevents two of the most common ways a quote turns out to look different once you dig into it.

Sources

4 cited

2024 price range and financing gap: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage — 2025 Data Update, October 2025 (checked 2026-08-18).
Soft-cost share of total price: NREL/TP-7A40-92536, January 2025 (checked 2026-08-18).
Workmanship warranty term: NREL/TP-7A40-73822, December 2018 (checked 2026-08-18).
Federal credit repeal date: CRS Insight IN12611, 2025-09-25 (checked 2026-08-18).

How it works

From “is it worth it?” to a number you can check

Start with your power bill

The kilowatt-hours you used over the last year is the number every honest quote is built from. Without it, any price is a guess.

See what the roof can actually make

Pitch, orientation and shade decide how much of that usage a system can realistically cover. This is the step door-to-door pitches skip.

Put the quotes on one basis

Cash, loan and lease are three different products. Compare system size and total price first, then compare the financing separately.

Matched with a licensed local company

The work is done by licensed local solar companies. We do not sell panels and we do not fit them.

How we work

What to expect from this site

Every figure here carries its source and the date it was checked.

Answer first, then the working

Each page opens by answering its own question in a couple of sentences, then shows the arithmetic underneath for anyone who wants to check it.

Ranges, not one confident number

Solar pricing moves with the roof, the state, the utility and the financing. A single national figure fits almost nobody, so we publish the spread our sources support.

We say when the maths does not work

A shaded roof on a low tariff can be a poor buy. That is a legitimate answer to the question and you will find it here rather than a reason to keep reading.

We are not the contractor

We do not sell panels and we do not fit them, so nothing here depends on you signing. Licensed local companies do the work.

Questions

Frequently asked

The questions homeowners actually ask before they sign anything.

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How many quotes should I get?

This brief doesn't have a sourced recommended number. What is sourced is that quotes commonly differ by financing structure and included cost categories, so comparing more than one on a consistent basis (same size, same price basis) is how you'd actually see genuine differences.

Why is one quote so much cheaper than another for the same system size?

Financing method is one documented driver (a $1.2/W gap between cash and loan in 2024), and differing treatment of soft costs like permitting and customer acquisition is another — both can produce a meaningfully different headline number for a similarly sized system.

Should a quote include the federal tax credit already subtracted?

For any installation completing after December 31, 2025, no federal §25D credit applies at all — a quote assuming one for a new system now would be using an outdated figure.

What warranty question actually matters most when comparing quotes?

Ask for the specific workmanship (installer) warranty term, not just the panel warranty — the sourced range for workmanship coverage is just 1-5 years, dramatically shorter than the 20-25 year panel performance warranty, and it's easy to conflate the two.

Get matched with a licensed local solar company

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