The best solar batteries in Australia, October 2026

The picks, and the criterion behind each

Home battery comparison table (2026)

Ordered by installed cost per usable kWh before the rebate, our first criterion. Prices are published averages for the battery plus a standard install, not quotes.

*Modular: capacity can be expanded. Survey prices are published with the federal rebate already taken off; the before-rebate column adds the rebate back at the 6.8 factor that applied when they were collected. Where a survey gives a brand average rather than a named model, the row uses the capacity it states. State incentives are not included. Full price workings are on solar battery prices.

How we picked

We start from the batteries in our price table: the ones for which we could find a dated, published, fully installed Australian price that says which side of the federal rebate it sits. That is eight batteries today. We then compare them on four criteria, in this order:

1. Installed cost per usable kWh. The midpoint of each battery's installed band divided by its usable capacity. The bands come from solarcalculator.com.au, Isolux Solar, SolarQuotes and Solar Choice, with prices dated May 2026 and August 2026.
2. Warranty. Years, whether the warranty also ends at a cycle count or a throughput cap, and the capacity it guarantees at the end. Each term comes from the manufacturer's Australian warranty document, linked in the table, or from a named review where we could not get the document.
3. Backup type. Whole-home, or essential circuits through add-on hardware, as each manufacturer describes it.
4. Inverter. Whether the battery brings its own, or needs a separate hybrid inverter.

Everything above sits in one data file on our site, with a source and a date on every row, and every pick on this page is computed from it. If a price or a warranty changes, the picks change with it. These are not customer reviews, we do not give star ratings, and we have not bench-tested any battery. We are paid a finder's fee by the installer we match you with, if you go ahead, as set out on our about page; the order of this page comes only from the criteria above. Data checked 10 October 2026.

Best value: lowest cost per usable kWh

The GoodWe Lynx Home F G2 has the lowest installed cost per usable kWh in the table: $1,018 before the federal rebate and $748 after it, for 12.8 kWh at $8,574 to $10,574 out of pocket. Next come the Fox ESS EQ4800 (~10 kWh) at $1,025 and Alpha ESS SMILE5 at $1,039. At the other end, the sonnenBatterie Evo costs $1,498 per kWh.

Three caveats before you treat that as the answer:

• The GoodWe figure comes from solarcalculator.com.au, May 2026 , one survey, so it is less tested than the rows with two. Low end: bought with new panels. High end: added to existing solar, including a hybrid inverter. Published as a GoodWe average at 12.8 kWh, the LX F12.8 configuration.
• It needs a separate GoodWe hybrid inverter. Bought with new panels that inverter is part of the solar system; added to existing solar it is part of the battery price, which is why the high end of its band is higher.
• Its warranty is 10 years or 46.72 MWh throughput, 70% capacity at 10 years, with backup through add-on hardware. A dearer battery can be the better buy if it brings whole-home backup or a stronger warranty you will use.

Best whole-home backup

Three of the eight batteries can back up the whole home: Alpha ESS SMILE5, Sigenergy SigenStor and Tesla Powerwall 3. All three have the inverter built in. The rest back up essential circuits (fridge, lights, a few power points) through extra hardware.

On cost, the Alpha ESS SMILE5 is the lowest per kWh of the three. On warranty, the Tesla Powerwall 3 is the strongest: Unlimited cycles apply to solar self-consumption, time-based control and backup; any other use is capped at 37.8 MWh of throughput. Whichever you choose, whole-home backup needs a changeover gateway or switch, and in a blackout the battery's continuous power rating decides how many heavy appliances can run at once. Ask for both on the quote.

Best for expanding later

A modular battery lets you start with what the budget allows and add modules when you buy an EV or go all-electric. Three batteries in the table list a modular range in their manufacturer's Australian warranty document:

• GoodWe Lynx Home F G2: 6.4-28.8 kWh in one stack, priced here at 12.8 kWh ($1,018 per kWh before the rebate).
• Sungrow SBR HV: 6.4-25.6 kWh in one stack, priced here at 12.8 kWh ($1,058 per kWh before the rebate).
• BYD Battery-Box Premium HVM: 8.3-22.1 kWh in one stack, priced here at 13.8 kWh ($1,088 per kWh before the rebate).

The GoodWe Lynx Home F G2 has the widest range. All three need a separate, compatible hybrid inverter, so check that the inverter you buy now can handle the stack you might want later. The federal rebate pays in full on the first 14 kWh only and on 60% of each kWh after that, so the out-of-pocket cost of each added kWh rises past 14 kWh. Sigenergy and Fox ESS batteries also stack, but we have not listed a range for them because we have not confirmed one in an Australian warranty document.

Longest and strongest warranty

Every battery in the table carries a 10-year warranty, so the years alone do not separate them. What does is how the warranty can end early and what capacity it guarantees:

• Unlimited cycles for self-consumption and backup: Sungrow SBR HV and Tesla Powerwall 3. Each caps throughput instead if the battery is used for anything else, so check how a virtual power plant program's use of the battery is treated before you join one.
• Highest end capacity: sonnenBatterie Evo, at 80%, though its warranty ends at 10,000 cycles if that comes first. The rest guarantee 70%.
• Throughput caps: GoodWe Lynx Home F G2, Fox ESS EQ4800 (~10 kWh), Alpha ESS SMILE5, BYD Battery-Box Premium HVM and Sigenergy SigenStor end at a set amount of energy delivered. A battery cycled fully once a day uses its cap faster than one that is cycled lightly.
• Paid extension: Sigenergy SigenStor. The 10-year term needs the system to stay online; Sigenergy cuts it to 5 years if it is disconnected for over a year. A 5-year extension (60% at 15 years) is sold separately and must be bought within 12 months of install.

One battery outside the table carries a longer term: Enphase states a 15-year limited warranty up to 6,000 cycles for its 5 kWh IQ Battery 5P on its Australian product page. It is not in the table because our price table lists one configuration per battery and we have not yet added an Enphase configuration; see the Enphase brand page for its specs.

AC-coupled or DC-coupled: why the inverter matters

A battery stores direct current (DC). Something has to convert it to the alternating current (AC) your house runs on, and that is where the batteries in this table split.

DC-coupled batteries plug into the DC side of a hybrid inverter, the same inverter that runs the panels. Solar can charge the battery without a conversion step in between. The catch is that you need that hybrid inverter: if your existing solar inverter is an older model that cannot charge a battery, it has to be replaced or a battery inverter added. In our table the batteries listed without a built-in inverter are the GoodWe Lynx Home F G2, Fox ESS EQ4800 (~10 kWh), Sungrow SBR HV, BYD Battery-Box Premium HVM and sonnenBatterie Evo.

Batteries with the inverter built in (Alpha ESS SMILE5, Sigenergy SigenStor and Tesla Powerwall 3) carry their own conversion hardware, which can make them simpler to add to a house that already has solar. Some can run panels directly as well; check the datasheet for how many solar inputs the unit has, and ask the installer whether your existing inverter stays.

Neither approach is better in general. If you are buying panels and a battery together, the hybrid inverter is part of the solar quote anyway, which favours the lower cost per kWh of a modular battery. If you are adding a battery to a working solar system, compare an all-in-one unit with a modular battery plus a new hybrid inverter on the full installed price.

How to choose between them

• Size it to your evening use. Read your retailer's app for the kWh you use between 4pm and midnight. Buying much more capacity than that lengthens payback; our guide how long will a 10 kWh battery last does the runtime arithmetic.
• Decide on backup first. Whole-home or essential circuits changes which batteries are on the list at all.
• Check your inverter. If it is not battery-ready, compare an all-in-one unit with a modular battery plus a new hybrid inverter.
• Read the warranty clause on VPPs. If you plan to join a virtual power plant, check whether that use falls under the unlimited-cycle terms or the throughput cap.
• Count the rebates. The federal rebate applies everywhere and is already in the after-rebate column; state extras in NSW and WA come with conditions. Whether the numbers work for your bill is in is a solar battery worth it.

Common questions

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