If you have been waiting for solar to get cheaper, 2026 is a strong entry point. Marketplace data from EnergySage puts the average US residential system at about $2.60 per watt before incentives in 2026 — among the lowest levels on record and roughly 22% below the ~$3.16/W seen a decade ago.
The cost breakdown tells the story: modules now run around $0.40/W, inverters about $0.15/W, with the rest split across racking, labour, permitting and overhead. At the same time, European module price trackers show mainstream panels around 0.10/Wp and high-efficiency panels near 0.13/Wp in early 2026 — down year-on-year as supply-chain competition keeps pressure on prices.
For homeowners, lower hardware costs translate directly into shorter payback and better lifetime returns, even after the US federal residential tax credit expired at the end of 2025. The smart move is to compare multiple local quotes on a price-per-watt basis rather than headline system price.
Source: EnergySage (updated June 2026) and Sunhub / NREL.