Four ways to go solar, one comparison. See the total cost and net benefit of cash, loan, lease and PPA side by side.
Net benefit = total avoided utility spend minus what you actually pay under each option, over the comparison period.
Further reading: Cash vs. Loan vs. Lease vs. PPA: Which Solar Financing Actually Wins?
All four paths deliver roughly the same energy offset — what differs is what you pay to get it. Cash has no financing cost at all. A loan adds interest but you still own the asset. Lease and PPA need no upfront capital but you're paying a third party's margin indefinitely and never build equity in the system — which is why they typically show a smaller, though still often positive, net benefit.
Access to capital and risk tolerance. If $15-20k upfront isn't available and financing isn't attractive, a lease/PPA with $0 down can still beat doing nothing — it just captures less of the total value than ownership does.
Often, yes — many leases/PPAs must be transferred to the buyer or paid off at sale, which can complicate a home sale. Owned systems (cash or paid-off loan) are usually simpler and can add resale value.
Yes — the "Lease" column above is exactly what a dedicated solar panel lease calculator computes: escalating monthly lease payments compared against the utility bill savings the system offsets, over the same time horizon as the cash, loan and PPA columns.
An installer's lease and purchase quotes usually show year-one numbers only. This tool projects all four paths — cash, loan, lease and PPA — across the full comparison horizon with bill escalation applied, so you're comparing lifetime net benefit, not just the first year's sticker price.