The home battery market in Australia has never had more options, and honestly, that’s both good and bad. Good because competition is driving prices down. Bad because choosing between them has become genuinely confusing.

I’ve spent the past month talking to installers, checking warranty claim data where I can find it, and comparing spec sheets. Here’s where things stand heading into 2026.

The contenders

I’m focusing on four batteries that dominate the Australian residential market right now:

1. Tesla Powerwall 3 — The name everyone knows
2. BYD Battery-Box HVS/HVM — The installer favourite
3. Sungrow SBR Series — The value play
4. Alpha ESS SMILE5 — The modular option

There are plenty of others — Enphase IQ, sonnen, Redback — but these four represent probably 70% of what’s going into Australian homes right now.

Price per kWh of usable storage

This is what matters, not the sticker price. Here’s where things sit as of late 2025 (fully installed, including gateway/meter where needed):

• Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh): $12,500-14,500 installed. That’s roughly $925-1,075/kWh.
• BYD HVS 10.2 (10.2 kWh): $9,800-11,500 installed. Roughly $960-1,130/kWh.
• Sungrow SBR128 (12.8 kWh): $9,200-10,800 installed. Roughly $720-845/kWh.
• Alpha ESS SMILE5 (10.1 kWh): $8,800-10,200 installed. Roughly $870-1,010/kWh.

The Sungrow is notably cheaper. But price isn’t everything.

Real-world performance

Here’s where I get opinionated, because I’ve lived with a Powerwall 2 for years and I’ve been monitoring data from friends’ systems.

Tesla’s software is genuinely the best. The app is polished, the storm watch feature works (saved my bacon during last year’s February storms), and the integration with their virtual power plant program is smooth. The Powerwall 3 adds an integrated inverter, which is great for new installs but means you can’t pair it with an existing inverter as easily.

BYD batteries are boring. And I mean that as a compliment. They just work. Installers love them because the failure rate is extremely low. The monitoring isn’t as pretty as Tesla’s, but you’re buying a battery, not an Instagram feed.

Sungrow has improved massively. Two years ago I’d have warned people off their batteries. The early firmware was buggy and their customer support was patchy. But they’ve invested heavily in their Australian operations and the SBR series is genuinely solid now. The price-to-performance ratio is hard to beat.

Alpha ESS is the one I know least about in practice. On paper it’s competitive, and the modular design is appealing if you want to start small and add capacity later. But I’ve heard mixed reports about their monitoring platform stability.

Warranty comparison

All four offer 10-year warranties, but the details vary:

• Tesla: 10 years, unlimited cycles, guaranteed 70% capacity retention
• BYD: 10 years, unlimited cycles, guaranteed 60% capacity retention
• Sungrow: 10 years, 6,000 cycles, guaranteed 60% capacity retention
• Alpha ESS: 10 years, 6,000 cycles, guaranteed 80% capacity retention

Tesla’s warranty is the strongest on paper. Alpha ESS promises the highest capacity retention but limits cycles. For a typical household cycling once daily, 6,000 cycles covers about 16 years, so the cycle limit isn’t really a concern.

Which one should you buy?

If budget is tight and you want the most storage per dollar: Sungrow SBR. It’s not the sexiest option but it’s good value.

If you want the best overall experience and don’t mind paying a premium: Tesla Powerwall 3, especially if you’re doing a new install and can use the integrated inverter.

If you want reliability above all else and your installer recommends it: BYD HVS/HVM. There’s a reason installers keep choosing it.

If you want to start small and expand later: Alpha ESS SMILE5, but do your homework on installer support in your area.

The bigger picture

Battery prices are still falling. Not dramatically, but consistently. If you don’t need backup power urgently and your solar export rate is still decent, waiting 12-18 months could save you 10-15%.

But if you’re on a time-of-use tariff and you’re buying power at 35-45 cents during peak and exporting at 5 cents during the day, the maths already works. Stop overthinking it and get quotes.