Prepaid solar vs. lease vs. loan: what's the difference?
Prepaid solar means you pay once at a locked price with no escalator, and our financing partner owns and maintains the system for six years before it transfers to you at no additional cost — unlike a lease, a loan, or paying cash outright.
Six questions, four ways to pay
The Prepaid column is exactly what GreeMpower's own prepaid page says, nowhere softened or added to. The other three describe how a lease, a loan and a cash purchase typically work in the solar industry generally — not a quote from any specific company.
| Prepaid (GreeMpower) | Lease / PPA | Solar loan | Cash purchase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the system | Our financing partner, for the first six years — then it transfers to you in year 6 at no additional cost. | Typically the leasing or PPA company, for the full term — often 20 to 25 years. | You, from day one — you're the borrower and the owner. | You, immediately. |
| What you pay up front | The prepaid amount, once, at the milestones written into your agreement. | Usually little or nothing up front. | Usually little or nothing up front — the system is loan-financed. | The full system price, paid at once. |
| Monthly payment | None. | Yes — a fixed lease payment, or a per-kWh rate for the power the system produces. | Yes — a fixed loan payment, typically over 10 to 25 years. | None. |
| Price escalator | None — your price is locked for the term. | Most agreements include one, commonly around 1% to 3% a year. | None on the loan payment itself, though your utility's own rates can still rise. | None. |
| What happens when you sell | The agreement is assumable and transfers with the property for a $250 assignment fee. | Typically transfers to the buyer or gets paid off — a buyer unwilling to assume it can complicate the sale. | The loan is typically paid off or transferred at closing; until then it is usually a lien on the property. | The system typically adds to the home's value; there's no loan or lease balance to carry into the sale. |
| Who maintains it | Our financing partner, for the first six years — maintenance, monitoring, insurance and the equipment warranties are included. You take over at the year-6 transfer. | Usually the leasing company, for the life of the agreement. | You, from day one — equipment and workmanship warranties may cover parts of the system for a period. | You, from day one, though equipment and workmanship warranties typically apply for a period. |
We don't publish lender rates for the loan column, and we don't name a specific lease or PPA company here — those numbers vary by lender, credit and offer, and quoting a headline figure would tell you nothing reliable about your own.
Frequently asked
- Is prepaid solar the same as a lease?
- No. A lease rents you equipment for a payment that usually rises every year. Prepaid solar is prepaid energy: you pay once, at a locked price, with no escalator, and the system transfers to you in year 6 at no additional cost.
- What happens to a prepaid agreement if I sell my house before year 6?
- It's assumable: the agreement transfers to the buyer for a $250 assignment fee, so you don't have to pay it off or renegotiate it before closing.
- Who maintains the system during the first six years?
- Our financing partner does — maintenance, monitoring, insurance, the production guarantee and the equipment warranties are included, at no additional cost to you, for the first six years. Responsibility moves to you at the year-6 transfer.
- Which option is cheapest overall?
- It depends on your utility rate, how long you stay in the home, and your own cost of money — this page compares how each option works, not which one wins for you. Ask us to run your specific numbers before you decide.
See what prepaid actually costs for your home.
Enter your ZIP and average monthly bill in the estimator on the prepaid page for a size and price range built from the same numbers on this page — before you talk to anyone.