Two solar quotes for the same roof can look almost identical on the first page and turn out to be nothing alike. One may be priced as a straight purchase; the other may bury dealer fees, a step-up payment and an assumed tax credit inside a loan. Comparing them requires one shared number, and the most useful one is the cash price of the system and installation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends asking a salesperson directly for the cash price, and treating an evasive answer as a reason to look elsewhere — for example, by bringing a loan offer from a bank or credit union to the installer instead. A written breakdown of the work, materials and cost of each is the other piece of that advice.

Why the cash price is the anchor

The cash price is what the installer charges for the equipment and labor, independent of how you pay. Once you have it, every financing offer can be expressed relative to that figure: how much of it you are financing, what the loan costs on top, and when payments change.

This matters because the CFPB's Issue Spotlight on solar financing describes lenders who build substantial markups and fees into a loan principal, raising it by 30 percent or more above the cash price. The report says these fees — often called dealer fees within the industry — are frequently not presented as a markup from the total cash price the consumer pays for the installation. A financed quote that arrives as a single monthly payment figure gives you no way to see whether that has happened.

Dealer and finance fees inside the loan principal

Dealer fees do two things at once. They increase the amount borrowed, and because the monthly payment looks reasonable for that larger balance, the CFPB advisory notes they can make the interest rate appear artificially low. A low advertised APR on a loan with a large built-in fee is not the same deal as a low APR on the system's cash price.

The practical test is a subtraction. Take the loan principal you are being asked to sign for and subtract the cash price of the same system. Anything left over is financing cost bundled into the principal, whether or not the paperwork calls it a fee. Ask for the loan principal as a number in dollars, not just the payment.

A second figure that is not the principal

The CFPB describes sales pitches that subtract a projected federal tax credit from the loan amount and present a so-called "net cost." That figure can be lower than what you actually borrow. The report is explicit that the tax credit is non-refundable and depends on your federal tax liability: a household with no federal tax liability cannot claim any of it. The credit's size has varied over time and has never exceeded 30 percent; the report sets out a schedule that steps down in the 2030s. We do not assume a percentage for you here — check the current rule and your own tax position with a qualified tax professional.

Downpayment, APR and term side by side

Place these four inputs in columns for each quote: downpayment, loan principal, APR and term. Then add the two items that decide whether a payment will change later.

The first is the step-up clause. The CFPB advisory describes a common structure in which the required monthly payment rises after 18 months unless the borrower makes a payment matching the projected tax credit — whether or not that credit ever arrives. The Issue Spotlight puts the typical prepayment at 30 percent of the loan principal, described as the presumptive tax credit amount, and notes that many borrowers are surprised by it, do not receive that amount, or do not have the funds to pay it, and so face large payment increases.

The second is the total of payments. A longer term lowers the monthly figure while raising what you hand over across the life of the loan. Comparing two quotes by monthly payment alone hides that.

Hypothetical worked example, clearly marked as hypothetical

The numbers below are invented to show the method. They are not a market rate, a quote, or an offer, and they do not reflect any particular installer or lender.

Imagine a system with a cash price of $20,000. Quote A is a cash purchase. Quote B is a loan with a $1,000 downpayment, a $24,000 principal, a 7 percent APR and a 20-year term, including a step-up clause requiring a 30 percent prepayment at month 18.

  • Cash price, both quotes: $20,000. This is the shared baseline.
  • Quote B principal minus cash price: $24,000 − $20,000 = $4,000 of financing cost bundled into the balance before any interest is counted.
  • Quote B principal minus downpayment: $23,000 actually financed.
  • Step-up exposure: 30 percent of $24,000 is $7,200. Without that prepayment, the required monthly payment rises at month 18.

Now the comparison has a shape. Quote A costs $20,000. Quote B costs $4,000 more than the system before interest, plus the interest on $23,000 over 20 years, and carries an obligation to find $7,200 at a fixed point or accept a higher payment. If a bank offered a loan at a lower rate on the $20,000 cash price, that offer could be tested in the same columns.

PACE loans: a different product with different risks

Property Assessed Clean Energy financing is not an ordinary solar loan. It is repaid through the property tax bill. In its announcement on PACE protections, the CFPB reported that PACE loans raised borrowers' property taxes by about $2,700 a year, an 88 percent increase; that most PACE borrowers were eligible for cheaper financing; and that PACE loans ran roughly five percentage points higher than first mortgages. The same page states a rule applying residential mortgage protections to PACE loans was effective March 1, 2026, requiring standard mortgage disclosures. Treat that date as something to verify with the lender or a housing counselor rather than settled fact.

What to do next

Get the cash price in writing for each quote, then get the loan principal, APR, term, downpayment and the exact prepayment amount and month for any financed version. Put them side by side at our comparison tool and use the line-by-line reading guide to check each field against the paperwork. Read what the comparison can and cannot estimate before drawing conclusions about savings.