The October 2026 reading
The Solar Scorecard Price Index reads $6,774 for a standard 6.6 kW solar system and $8,084 for a premium one in October 2026, installed, GST inclusive, after the STC discount at $39 per certificate, which is 1.03 to 1.22 dollars per watt. Among the capitals the standard offer runs from $5,294 in Perth to $10,250 in Darwin. October 2026 is the baseline reading; the first month-on-month change is published on 24 November 2026.
The reading is the national standard and premium installer offer for 6.6 kW, read from the monthly offer tables on or after the first of the month and interpolated between the published 6 and 7 kW figures. The premium offer sits 19 per cent above standard. Across the eight capitals the standard 6.6 kW offer spans $4,956, from $5,294 to $10,250. These are offers submitted by installers, not prices homeowners paid; a quotes series with a stated sample size follows once ten checked quotes exist for a city and size.
The index, charted
The chart is drawn from the snapshot file at build time, so it redraws with each reading. The vertical scale is dollars per watt; the horizontal scale is the reading month. A step in January 2027 is expected from the STC deeming change explained below and will be marked when it appears.
Get next month's reading by email
The Solar Scorecard Price Index is read once a month. One email on the review date, 24 November 2026 next, with the new 6.6 kW and 10 kW figures by capital city, the change on the month and anything that moved in the state schemes or the STC price. No installer calls, no other mail, unsubscribe in one click.
Readings by month
One row per month. The headline is the national standard 6.6 kW offer; dollars per watt divides it by 6,600 W. Perth and Darwin are shown because they bound the capitals in October 2026. The STC price and deeming period are the assumptions each reading was taken under; when either changes the row says so.
| Month | Standard 6.6 kW | Premium 6.6 kW | Standard $/W | Premium $/W | Perth standard | Darwin standard | STC price | Deeming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | $6,774 | $8,084 | 1.03 | 1.22 | $5,294 | $10,250 | $39 | 5 years |
The October 2026 reading by capital city
Standard and premium 6.6 kW offers for each capital, with the 10 kW figures for scale. Perth is 0.80 dollars per watt at the standard offer and Darwin 1.55; Sydney is 0.93 and Melbourne 0.94. Each city name links to that city's price page.
| City | 6.6 kW standard | 6.6 kW premium | Standard $/W | Premium $/W | 10 kW standard | 10 kW premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | $5,294 | $6,522 | 0.80 | 0.99 | $8,240 | $9,880 |
| Adelaide | $5,812 | $7,126 | 0.88 | 1.08 | $8,360 | $10,010 |
| Canberra | $6,144 | $7,310 | 0.93 | 1.11 | $8,340 | $10,100 |
| Sydney | $6,170 | $7,284 | 0.93 | 1.10 | $8,780 | $10,490 |
| Melbourne | $6,218 | $7,234 | 0.94 | 1.10 | $8,920 | $10,410 |
| Brisbane | $6,756 | $8,020 | 1.02 | 1.22 | $9,460 | $11,210 |
| Hobart | $7,544 | $8,886 | 1.14 | 1.35 | $11,460 | $13,240 |
| Darwin | $10,250 | $12,260 | 1.55 | 1.86 | $14,930 | $18,250 |
| National | $6,774 | $8,084 | 1.03 | 1.22 | $9,810 | $11,700 |
How the index is built
- What it reads: the published monthly residential installer-offer tables for eight capitals, standard and premium tiers, 3 to 10 kW, installed, GST inclusive, after the STC discount. Offers, not homeowner quotes; the publisher does not state a sample size and neither do we.
- When: on or after the first of each month, published within the month; the October 2026 reading was taken on 27 October 2026.
- 6.6 kW: interpolated between 6 and 7 kW as 6 kW + 0.6 x (7 kW - 6 kW): $6,330 + 0.6 x ($7,070 - $6,330) = $6,774. 8 kW is 7 kW + a third of the gap to 10 kW: $7,983. 13 and 20 kW are scaled from 10 kW by the commercial index ratio.
- Dollars per watt: price / 6,600 W, rounded to the cent: $6,774 / 6,600 = 1.03.
- STC assumption: $39 per certificate, 5-year deeming, zone per capital; the spot price on the reading date is recorded beside it ($39.90 in October 2026). The published offers are already net of the STC at whatever each installer credited, so the assumption affects our before-STC and certificate figures, not the headline.
- Excluded: meter exchange, switchboard work, two-storey access, tile roofs, export limiting devices, optimisers, travel, and any state rebate (Victoria's $1,400 comes off after these prices).
- Cities not indexed: shown on their pages at the nearest indexed capital, labelled as such.
- Licence: CC BY 4.0; attribute Solar Scorecard (Focus Search Pty Ltd) and the sources named in pricing.json.
What changes on 1 January 2027
The STC deeming period falls from 5 to 4 years for systems installed from 1 January 2027. A Zone 3 6.6 kW system earns 45 certificates today and 36 from January, worth $1,755 and $1,404 at $39: $351 less, or 0.05 per watt. In Zone 4 the drop is 39 to 31 certificates, $312. If installers' prices before the STC do not move, the after-STC index rises by about $351 for Zone 3 capitals in the January reading. The federal battery factor also steps down, from 6.8 to 5.7 certificates per kWh. We will keep the STC price and deeming columns in the readings table so the step can be separated from any hardware movement, and the January row will carry a note.
The superseded pre-v4 snapshot
Before 27 October 2026 this site carried a national range for each size built as plus or minus 18 per cent around a published average, at an STC price of $39.85: $5,500 to $8,000 for 6.6 kW, 0.85 to 1.35 dollars per watt, dated 19 October 2026. That snapshot is kept in the data file under superseded_snapshots for transparency. It is not comparable with the index: it was a constructed range, not a read offer, and it used a different STC price. The series starts at the October 2026 v4 reading, and no change is computed against the superseded figures.
Quotable summary and how to cite
The Solar Scorecard Price Index reads $6,774 for a standard 6.6 kW solar system and $8,084 for a premium one in October 2026, installed, GST inclusive, after the STC discount at $39 per certificate, which is 1.03 to 1.22 dollars per watt. Among the capitals the standard offer runs from $5,294 in Perth to $10,250 in Darwin. October 2026 is the baseline reading; the first month-on-month change is published on 24 November 2026.
Cite as: Solar Scorecard Price Index, October 2026, Focus Search Pty Ltd, https://solarscorecard.com.au/solar-panels-cost/price-history/ (CC BY 4.0). Data: /data/pricing-history.json (every reading, JSON) and /data/pricing.json (the current month's full price, tariff and STC inputs). Method: methodology. Quote the month with the figure; the figure changes monthly and the URL does not.
What the index does not measure
It does not measure what homeowners paid, how many offers sit behind each cell, or prices outside the eight capitals. It does not include the add-ons listed in the method, and it does not adjust for panel wattage changes between months. Use it for direction and for the band a fair quote should sit in, with the quote check for your own quote and the solar panel cost guide for what sits outside the base price. The cost per watt page carries the same reading by city and size, and the Perth and Darwin pages the two ends of the range.
Price index questions
What is the Solar Scorecard Price Index?
$6,774 for a standard 6.6 kW system and $8,084 for premium is its October 2026 reading: a monthly series of installed, GST-inclusive, after-STC solar prices for Australia's eight capitals, by size and tier, published as a table, a chart and a JSON file under CC BY 4.0.
How much have solar panel prices changed in Australia?
1 reading so far: $6,774 in October 2026 is the baseline, so no change is published yet. The first month-on-month figure appears on 24 November 2026, and every later reading is compared with the previous month and the baseline.
How is the 6.6 kW price calculated when the source publishes 6 and 7 kW?
$6,774 = $6,330 + 0.6 x ($7,070 - $6,330): the 6.6 kW figure is interpolated six tenths of the way from the 6 kW offer to the 7 kW offer. 8 kW is one third of the way from 7 kW to 10 kW, $7,983.
What STC price does the index assume?
$39 per certificate with 5-year deeming, set against a spot price of $39.90 in October 2026. The offers are already net of the STC, so the assumption drives the before-STC and certificate figures on the site, not the headline.
Will solar prices rise in January 2027?
$351 is the rise in the after-STC price of a Zone 3 6.6 kW system on 1 January 2027 if installers' pre-STC prices do not move, because deeming falls from 5 to 4 years and the certificates drop from 45 to 36. The January reading will show whether hardware prices offset it.
Which capital city is cheapest for solar?
$5,294 in Perth for a standard 6.6 kW system in October 2026, then $5,812 in Adelaide and $6,144 in Canberra. Darwin is dearest at $10,250.
Can I reuse the index data?
2 files hold every reading under a CC BY 4.0 licence: /data/pricing-history.json and the spreadsheet-ready /data/solar-scorecard-price-index.csv (one row per reading, region, size and tier). Reuse either with attribution to Solar Scorecard (Focus Search Pty Ltd) and the month of the reading. The current month's inputs are in /data/pricing.json.