The short answer: after the federal Cheaper Home Batteries discount, most Australian households pay around $7,000 to $10,000 fully installed for a typical 10kWh solar battery, with the exact price driven by capacity, brand, backup capability and your state's incentives.
Solar battery prices by size
Battery cost scales mostly with usable capacity (kWh). Here's what Australian households typically pay after the federal discount, fully installed. These are indicative ranges, and your free rebate check returns a figure specific to your postcode and setup.
| Battery size | Suits | Indicative installed (after rebate) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kWh | Smaller homes, modest evening use | $4,000 to $6,000 |
| 10 kWh | Typical family home (most popular) | $7,000 to $10,000 |
| 13.5 kWh | High evening use, some backup | $10,000 to $13,000 |
| 15 kWh | Larger homes, more backup | $11,500 to $14,500 |
| 20 kWh | Big homes, whole-home backup | $13,500 to $17,000 |
As a rough rule of thumb, installed battery storage works out to about $700 to $1,200 per usable kWh after the federal discount, and bigger systems cost less per kWh: a 20kWh system lands closer to $650 to $850 per kWh, because the install labour and hardware are shared across more storage. Note that battery size is measured in kWh (how much energy it stores), not kW, so a "10kW battery" almost always means a 10kWh one. Each size above has its own detailed breakdown, with brand options and after-rebate figures by state.
What drives the cost of a solar battery?
- Usable capacity (kWh): the single biggest factor. More storage to run more of your home overnight costs more, so it pays to work out what size solar battery you actually need before you compare quotes.
- Brand and chemistry: premium brands like Tesla, Sungrow and Enphase sit higher, value brands lower. Most are lithium-based (usually LFP) with 10-year warranties, see how long solar batteries last. See how the main battery brands compare.
- Backup capability: keeping the house running through a blackout needs a backup gateway, which adds hardware and labour.
- Inverter setup: if your existing solar inverter isn't battery-ready, you may need a hybrid inverter or an AC-coupled battery. See adding a battery to existing solar and which batteries work with your inverter.
- Install complexity: switchboard upgrades, meter changes and difficult access all add to the labour. Here's what a battery installation involves.
- Buying solar at the same time: a solar and battery package shares one install and one inverter, which often costs less than doing them separately.
How rebates change the price
The federal Cheaper Home Batteries discount knocks roughly 30% off the upfront price, applied by your installer at the point of sale, so you simply pay less, rather than claiming it back later. Some states add their own incentive on top, always as a separate number:
- NSW & SA: a separate incentive for connecting your battery to an approved Virtual Power Plant (here's how to compare VPPs).
- WA: the WA Residential Battery Scheme rebate, which depends on your retailer and requires joining its VPP.
- ACT: a low-interest loan through the Sustainable Household Scheme (see battery finance options).
- VIC, QLD, TAS & NT: no state battery incentive is open right now (Victoria's interest-free loan and the Queensland, Tasmanian and NT schemes have closed), so it's the federal discount plus any VPP income.
See exactly what stacks in your state on our solar battery rebate pages.
Solar batteries in your city
What you finally pay depends on the state incentive that applies where you live, on top of the federal discount. For the rebates and installers in your area, see solar batteries in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Newcastle.
Is it worth the cost?
For most homes with solar, a battery pays for itself in roughly 3 to 5 years, then keeps saving for the rest of its 10-year-plus life, faster again if you have high evening usage or join a VPP, and the lower your feed-in tariff, the more a battery earns you. We break down the full picture in are solar batteries worth it?