Enphase IQ8 against Fronius side by side
Both brands are approved for the same job: one inverter on a residential roof, sized under the 133 per cent rule so a 5 kW unit carries a 6.6 kW array. The lines that differ on a quote are the list price, the warranty term and who services it, and whether the unit is ready for a battery. List prices are public Australian supply-site figures read 27 October 2026, with GST added; installers buy below list and sell above it.
| Line | Enphase IQ8 | Fronius |
|---|---|---|
| List price, inc GST, supply only | $1,500 to $2,000 over a string system (no per-unit price) | $2,688 (Primo GEN24 5.0 SC, 5 kW) |
| Dollars per watt at list (ex GST) | n/a | $0.49 |
| Warranty | 25 years as standard | 5 years, 10 on registration |
| Type | microinverter | string and hybrid |
| Residential series | IQ8AC; IQ8HC; IQ8X | Primo GEN24 3.0 to 6.0 SC; Primo GEN24 Plus 5.0 to 10.0; Symo GEN24 5.0 to 10.0 SC; Symo GEN24 Plus 5.0 to 10.0 |
| Peak efficiency (datasheet) | 97.4 per cent | 97.6 per cent |
| Maximum PV input, 5 kW unit | n/a | 7.5 kW |
| Battery-ready (hybrid) version | No | Yes |
| Sold new in Australia | Yes | Yes |
Price
Enphase sells IQ8 microinverters through its distributor and publishes no Australian per-unit price, so the comparison is at system level: $1,500 to $2,000 over a string-inverter system in the one dated Australian estimate. Against a Fronius Primo GEN24 5.0 SC at $2,688 inc GST, a 6.6 kW array of fifteen or sixteen IQ8 units replaces the one string unit and the premium is the whole of that estimate. Every priced unit on the site is on the inverter prices page, and the quote check reads a whole quote against the index.
Warranty and efficiency
Enphase IQ8: 25 years as standard. The May 2023 ANZ datasheet stated 15 years extendable to 20 and 25; the 25-year term applies to units activated from 1 October 2024. Fronius: 5 years, 10 on registration. 5 years Fronius Warranty Plus from dispatch, extendable to 10, 15 or 20 years; Krannich Australia lists GEN24 units as 5 plus 5 years after free registration (27 October 2026). The documents are linked in the sources. A string inverter is the part of a solar system most likely to be replaced inside the panels' 25-year warranty, so the registered term and local service matter more than the sticker price; the inverter replacement page prices the swap.
Datasheet efficiency: IQ8AC / IQ8HC 97.4 per cent peak (96.8 European weighted) against Primo GEN24 5.0 97.6 per cent peak (97.0 weighted). The difference of 0.2 points is worth about 18 kWh a year on a 6.6 kW system making 9,000 kWh, a rounding error beside the price gap.
Share of a 6.6 kW quote by capital: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin
Inverter list prices are national; what changes by city is the whole-system offer the unit sits inside, so the same gap is a bigger share of a Perth quote ($5,294 standard, 6.6 kW) than a Sydney one ($6,170).
| City | Standard 6.6 kW | Premium 6.6 kW | Enphase IQ8 share | Fronius share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | $6,170 | $7,284 | 24% to 32% | 44% |
| Melbourne | $6,218 | $7,234 | 24% to 32% | 43% |
| Brisbane | $6,756 | $8,020 | 22% to 30% | 40% |
| Perth | $5,294 | $6,522 | 28% to 38% | 51% |
| Adelaide | $5,812 | $7,126 | 26% to 34% | 46% |
| Canberra | $6,144 | $7,310 | 24% to 33% | 44% |
| Hobart | $7,544 | $8,886 | 20% to 27% | 36% |
| Darwin | $10,250 | $12,260 | 15% to 20% | 26% |
Source: Solar Choice Price Index, October 2026, standard and premium installer offers after STCs. Basis of each figure: 3, 5 and 10 kW cells are published by Solar Choice; 6.6 kW and 8 kW are interpolated and 13 kW and 20 kW scaled by Solar Scorecard at the same dollars per watt (derived); cities Solar Choice does not index use the nearest indexed capital. Where our own quotes series holds ten or more checks for a city and size, that cell is replaced by the quotes median and marked with its count.
Which one, and when
Enphase IQ8. One microinverter under each panel, so each panel works alone (shade on one does not pull down the others), the roof carries AC not DC, and a system can grow a panel at a time; the cost is 15 to 16 units in place of one string inverter.
Fronius. Austrian-made string and hybrid inverters with the widest installer base in Australia; the GEN24 Plus hybrid takes BYD Battery-Box HV and Fronius Reserva batteries, and every GEN24 has a basic backup output (PV Point) without a battery.
For a battery now or later: Enphase IQ8: the IQ8 pairs with the IQ Battery 5P through its own system, no hybrid inverter; Fronius: Primo GEN24 Plus 5.0 to 10.0 (single phase, 5 to 10 kW, hybrid). The solar with battery page prices the package and the three-phase page the export limits that decide the larger units.
Related cost guides
Every price on Solar Scorecard comes from the Solar Scorecard Price Index, read monthly from installer offers after the STC discount. These guides apply it to enphase IQ8 vs Fronius: inverter price, warranty and fit compared, October 2026.
- The best solar inverter: six brands ranked from list price, warranty and datasheet efficiency.
- Inverter replacement cost: supply and labour by inverter type, and the 2027 standards.
- Three-phase solar cost: the inverter upcharge, distributor limits and the phase-conversion fee.
- Anatomy of a solar quote: a real quote taken apart line by line, including the STC audit.
Enphase IQ8 vs Fronius questions
Is Enphase IQ8 cheaper than Fronius?
$1,500 to $2,000 over a string inverter for Enphase IQ8 microinverters on a residential system, the one dated Australian estimate, against $2,688 inc GST at list for the 5 kW Fronius Primo GEN24 5.0 SC, so the comparison is a class or a system-level estimate rather than two list prices; the side-by-side table above sets both out.
Which has the longer warranty, Enphase IQ8 or Fronius?
25 years for Enphase IQ8 against 10 years for Fronius at the registered term; as standard it is 25 against 5. The warranty section above gives the conditions and the documents are in the sources.
Is Enphase IQ8 better than Fronius?
Both are approved for the same job and both carry the same panels. What differs is set out above: the list price (+$1,500 to $2,000 against $2,688), the warranty (25 years as standard against 5 years, 10 on registration), datasheet efficiency (97.4 against 97.6 per cent), the hybrid versions and where each brand sits in the market, which the brand pages describe.
Enphase IQ8 or Fronius for a battery?
Enphase IQ8: the IQ8 pairs with the IQ Battery 5P through its own system, no hybrid inverter; Fronius: Primo GEN24 Plus 5.0 to 10.0 (single phase, 5 to 10 kW, hybrid). A hybrid version at list costs more than the string version of the same brand; the inverter prices page lists both where a price is public.
Does Enphase IQ8 or Fronius cost more in Perth than in Sydney?
$0 difference at list: both brands price nationally. The 6.6 kW system around the unit is $5,294 in Perth and $6,170 in Sydney at the standard offer in October 2026, so either inverter is a larger share of a Perth quote; the table by capital above gives each brand's share.