Solar Installation Profit Calculator
Work out what a solar install earns you after materials, labor, commission and overhead, and what price you need for the margin you want.
A solar job can look good on the quote and still lose money once labor, commission, a dealer fee and overhead come out. This calculator shows where the sale price goes on one job, and what’s left at the end.
It’s for installers, small contractors and sales managers who price jobs by the watt. Enter the system size and your sale price, then your costs. You get net profit, profit per watt, your break-even price and the price that would give you the margin you aim for, next to what homes in your state actually paid.
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Planning estimates only. Your own costs, prices and overhead decide the real result. This is not accounting or tax advice. Data as of October 2026.
How this calculator works
The tool starts with your sale price per watt times the size of the job. From that it takes your direct costs: panels, inverter, racking, other parts, crew labor, permits and other job costs. What’s left is gross profit. It then takes commission, any financing or dealer fee, a warranty reserve and overhead, each as a share of the sale price. What remains is net profit, before income tax.
Break-even is the price where net profit is zero. Because commission and overhead rise with the price, the tool divides your direct costs by the watts and by one minus those percentages. Take an 8 kW job with $17,500 of direct costs, 7% commission, a 1% warranty reserve and 12% overhead. Those percentages take 20% of every dollar of sales, so break-even is $17,500 divided by 8,000 watts and 0.80, or $2.73 per watt. Aim for a 10% net margin and the price becomes $17,500 divided by 8,000 watts and 0.70, or $3.12 per watt.
Comparing with the market
The tool sets your price beside the typical price in your state, from the Berkeley Lab Tracking the Sun records of home installs. It adjusts the typical price for the size of your job and shows the range that the middle 60% of recorded installs fall in. If the price you need for your target margin lies above that range, the market may not pay it. Look at which cost lines are heavy before you raise the price.
Tip: the cost lines start with example numbers, so you see a result straight away. They aren’t market data, and the tool warns you while they’re unchanged. Fill in your own supplier prices, your payroll cost per hour and your overhead. To get the overhead share, divide a year of overhead by a year of sales.
The Solar Cost Calculator shows what a customer is likely to be quoted in the same area, which helps when you’re testing a price.
What it doesn’t do
- It covers one job at a time. A slow month with fixed overhead needs a look at your whole books.
- It stops before income tax and doesn’t count financing costs you carry yourself.
- The market comparison is for home-size systems. Above about 16 kW it no longer adjusts for size, so give it less weight on larger jobs.
Where the numbers come from
- The U.S. Department of Energy and its national labs publish a yearly solar cost benchmark that models the price a company must charge to stay in business. It is a useful check on your own numbers.
- Your cost lines are your own inputs. The calculator starts with example numbers that are not market data.
- Berkeley Lab, Tracking the Sun (public data file of 28 July 2026, installs through 2025), data as of July 2026.
Questions
What is a good profit margin for a solar installer?
It depends on your overhead, how you sell, and how many jobs you do. This tool doesn’t assume a figure. It shows your net margin and the price for the margin you set, so use your own books to choose that target.
What is the difference between gross profit and net profit?
Gross profit is the sale price minus the direct cost of the job: parts, labor, permits and other job costs. Net profit also takes out commission, any financing fee, the warranty reserve and overhead. Net profit is what’s left for the business.
How do I work out my overhead percentage?
Add up a year of costs that aren’t tied to one job: office, vehicles, insurance, marketing, software and admin pay. Divide that by a year of sales. Enter the result as a percentage.
Should I enter the price before or after incentives?
Before. Enter the price on your quote, before any rebates or tax credits. The recorded prices the tool compares it with are on the same basis.
Why does a financing fee matter so much?
Lenders often take a percentage of the loan out of what you receive, and that comes straight off your profit. If you sell mostly on loans, add the fee here and see what it does to your break-even price.
Where do the market prices come from?
From the Berkeley Lab Tracking the Sun records of installed home systems. The page shows how many installs the figure for your state rests on. When a state has too few recent records, it uses the national figure and says so.
Can I use this for commercial jobs?
The profit arithmetic works at any size. The market comparison is built from home installs and stops adjusting for size above about 16 kW, so don’t lean on it for large commercial jobs.
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