Free for homeowners · Licensed local installers
Make solar installers compete for your roof.
We measure your roof, licensed local installers bid, and you see every quote side by side. Your phone number stays private until you choose an installer.
We collect your address, roof and energy details, and contact information to get you solar quotes from installers you choose. We don't sell your contact information. See the Notice at Collection in our Privacy Policy for what we collect, why, how long we keep it, and your choices. Privacy Policy
Free for homeowners · No spam calls · About 3 minutes
- Installers can't see your name, phone, email or street address until you choose one.
- Every quote shows the installer's license number and when we last verified it.
- Installers pay us a fee when you connect with one. That never changes the order.
How it works
Four steps. One honest comparison.
You do the first step. We and the installers handle the rest, and nobody gets your contact details until you pick someone.
- Step 01
Enter your address
Start with your home address. A few quick questions about your bill, roof and plans come next.
- Step 02
We measure your roof
Imagery and solar data map your roof's size, pitch, direction and shade, then estimate how many panels fit. You can adjust it.
- Step 03
Installers bid
Up to 4 licensed local installers get a de-identified project profile and send written quotes. They don't see your name, phone, email or street address.
- Step 04
You compare and choose
See every quote side by side on the same assumptions. Pick one, and only then do we share your contact details with that installer.
Privacy first
Built to be the opposite of a lead farm.
Most solar lead sites make money by selling your number to as many companies as possible. We make money only when you choose to connect with an installer.
| Topic | Typical lead sites | SunBid |
|---|---|---|
| Your phone number | Often sold to several companies at once. | Shared only with the one installer you choose, and only after you say so. |
| What happens next | Pushy sales calls, sometimes within minutes. | Written quotes side by side, on your schedule. No calls unless you ask for them. |
| Comparing offers | Apples to oranges: different system sizes, prices and terms. | Normalized: what each option really costs per useful kWh over 25 years, cash, loan, lease or PPA. |
| Loan and contract fine print | Dealer fees buried inside the loan amount. | We flag dealer fees, high escalators and production claims that don't add up. |
- Your phone number
- Typical lead sites: Often sold to several companies at once.
- SunBid: Shared only with the one installer you choose, and only after you say so.
- What happens next
- Typical lead sites: Pushy sales calls, sometimes within minutes.
- SunBid: Written quotes side by side, on your schedule. No calls unless you ask for them.
- Comparing offers
- Typical lead sites: Apples to oranges: different system sizes, prices and terms.
- SunBid: Normalized: what each option really costs per useful kWh over 25 years, cash, loan, lease or PPA.
- Loan and contract fine print
- Typical lead sites: Dealer fees buried inside the loan amount.
- SunBid: We flag dealer fees, high escalators and production claims that don't add up.
Satellite roof measurement
We measure your roof before anyone visits.
Installers need the same basic facts to quote remotely. We gather them once, so you don't have to host a parade of sales visits just to compare prices.
Find the roof
We locate your home and trace the roof's outline from aerial and satellite imagery.
Split it into planes
Each section gets a direction and pitch, because a south-facing plane can produce far more than a north one.
Subtract what can't hold panels
Edges, vents, chimneys and heavy shade come out, leaving the usable area.
Estimate panels and production
We estimate how many panels fit and how much electricity they could make in a year.
You can adjust the measurement, or enter your home's size if imagery isn't available. Installers see rounded numbers, never the image of your home, and the one you choose confirms everything on site.
Example comparison
Apples to apples, finally.
A cash price, a loan, a lease and a PPA can't be compared by monthly payment alone. We put every offer on the same 25-year footing and point out the fine print.
- One number to compare: lifetime cost per useful kWh.
- Dealer fees, escalators and inflated production claims called out in plain English.
- Your utility's price on the same kWh, so you can see whether solar pencils out at all.
Same house, four quotes
8.0 kW · uses 11,000 kWh a year · sorted by lifetime cost per useful kWh
- Rank 1
Installer A · Cash purchase
$20,800 ($2.60 per watt)
Lowest lifetime cost. Production claim within 5% of our estimate.
15.7¢ /kWh
- Rank 2
Installer D · Lease
25 years, 1.9% yearly increase
You don't own the system. Escalator is under our 2.9% warning line.
18.6¢ /kWh
- Rank 3
Installer B · Solar loan
Cash price $22,000, advertised 3.99% APR
Owned system, paid over 25 years.
Warning: The loan amount includes a $6,600 dealer fee (30% of the cash price). Counting it, the 3.99% rate is really about 6.7%.
19.2¢ /kWh
- Rank 4
Installer C · Power purchase agreement
15¢ per kWh, 2.9% yearly increase
You pay for the power, not the panels.
Warning: The 2.9% escalator takes the rate to about 29.8¢ per kWh by year 25.
20.0¢ /kWh
Your utility, for the same kWh
18¢ per kWh, rising 3% a year
24.2¢ /kWh
What “best deal” means
The lowest sticker price isn't always the best deal.
We publish exactly how we rank quotes, and it's the same for every installer.
How each quote is scored (default weights)
Lifetime cost per useful kWh
40%
Everything you'd pay over 25 years (price, loan or lease payments, escalators, upkeep) divided by the electricity you can actually use. Cash, loan, lease and PPA are compared on the same footing.
Installer reputation
20%
Active license, years in business, install volume, certifications and verified reviews, weighted so a handful of perfect reviews doesn't beat hundreds of good ones.
Equipment
15%
Panel and inverter warranties, warranted output after 25 years, and battery warranty and capacity when a battery is quoted.
Warranties and guarantees
15%
Workmanship and roof-leak warranties, and whether the installer guarantees how much the system will produce.
Production credibility
5%
We check each production claim against our own estimate for your roof. Claims far above it lose points.
Timeline
5%
How quickly the installer expects to finish, and whether they quoted on time.
A quote can't be ranked best if:
- It subtracts the expired federal homeowner tax credit (Section 25D) from a system you'd own.
- The loan amount is higher than the cash price and the difference isn't disclosed.
- The installer's contractor license is missing or not active.
We also flag high escalators, large dealer fees, inflated production and prices far from the local market, in plain English, right on the quote.
How we get paid
Installers pay us a fee when you connect with one. That never changes the order. Our ranking code doesn't read what any installer pays, and we don't sell placement.
FAQ
Straight answers.
The questions homeowners ask us most.
Is this a government program?
No. SunBid is run by 5207418 LLC, a private company. We aren't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any government agency or utility. Be wary of anyone who says the government or your utility will give you panels at no cost: the Federal Trade Commission says offers of free or no-cost panels are scams.
Who sees my phone number?
Only the installer you choose, and only if you pick "phone and email" when you connect with them. You can share just your email instead.
Before you choose, installers see a de-identified project profile: your city and ZIP code, rounded roof measurements, your rounded electricity use and bill range, your timeline, your battery and financing preferences, and your self-reported credit range (as a broad band). They never see your name, phone number, email, street address or any photo of your home, and they agree by contract not to try to figure out who you are.
Do you check my credit?
No. We never check credit. The credit range question is optional and self-reported, and "Prefer not to say" is always an option. Installers see it only as a broad band. If you later apply for financing through an installer or lender, they may check your credit, with your permission.
How do you make money?
Installers pay us a fee when you connect with one. That never changes the order. We don't take money from lenders, and homeowners never pay us. More detail
Can I still get the federal solar tax credit?
Not for a system you buy with cash or a loan, if it's installed now. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) doesn't apply to systems whose installation is completed after December 31, 2025. Paying a deposit in 2025 doesn't help if the system was finished in 2026.
If you have unused credit from a system installed in 2025 or earlier, you can generally keep carrying it forward. We're not tax advisors, so talk to a tax professional about your situation.
See what installers will actually offer for your roof.
Enter your address, answer a few questions, and get written quotes side by side. Your phone number stays private until you choose.
Free for homeowners · No spam calls · About 3 minutes