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The Powerwall Lost Its Best Discount. The TITAN Never Needed It.
It starts at $3,199, less than the $4,042 the 30% credit used to take off a typical installed Powerwall 3. The IRS ended that credit for anything installed after December 31, 2025, though some installers still advertise it. Per kilowatt-hour the two land close; what changed is the first bill, and which home needs which.
By Wenny Zheng, Portable Power TesterAdd as a preferred source on GoogleThe short answer
The 30% credit ended with 2025, for every home battery
Installed in 2025
Tesla Powerwall 3
- Installed
- $13,473
- 30% tax credit
- −$4,042
What the credit used to take off.
Installed in 2026
Tesla Powerwall 3
- Installed
- $13,473
- 30% tax credit
- $0
The same system now costs $4,042 more.
On sale Nov 3
EcoFlow TITAN 5000
- Unit, from
- $3,199
- Panel, install
- TBA
A smaller first step: 5 kWh, add batteries later.
In 30 seconds
- The 30% federal credit is gone for any home battery installed after December 31, 2025, Powerwall and TITAN alike.
- The Powerwall 3 is the bigger machine: 13.5 kWh, 11.5 kW and 20 kW of solar input, installed by Tesla’s network.
- The TITAN starts smaller: 5 kWh and 7.2 kW, grows to 30 kWh, rolls into a utility space, and moves with you.
- Per kWh installed they may land close; the TITAN’s edge is a much smaller first bill.
The IRS is plain about it: the Residential Clean Energy Credit, the one that took 30% off a home battery, “is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025.” What counts is the day the system is installed, not the day you ordered it. A Powerwall 3 installed this year gets no federal credit if you buy it, and neither does an EcoFlow TITAN or any other home battery.
Several installer sites still advertise the 30%. Tesla’s own incentives page no longer lists a federal credit, and its $500 Powerwall rebate closed to new orders on June 30. What is left is local: utility and state programs such as PG&E (up to $7,500), SMUD (up to $8,000) and NYSERDA (up to $6,250), all per Tesla’s page, plus bill credits for joining a virtual power plant. Leases and power-purchase agreements may still carry a commercial credit for the company that owns the system, according to EnergySage; the IRS page does not cover that route.
That matters for this comparison because the credit used to fall hardest on the biggest bill. Thirty percent off a typical installed Powerwall was $4,042, more than EcoFlow’s $3,199 starting price for a whole TITAN 5000. Without it, the gap between the two is simply the gap between the two.
Side by side
One is a house battery. The other is a battery that can live in your house
They overlap on the job, keeping a home running through an outage and shifting power to cheaper hours, but they are built for different houses. The Powerwall 3 is a permanent, installed system with a solar inverter built in. The TITAN is a 5 kWh unit you roll into a utility space and wire to EcoFlow’s pre-wired Smart Home Panel 10, then grow one battery at a time.
| Tesla Powerwall 3 | EcoFlow TITAN 5000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 13.5 kWh | 5 kWh (5,017.6 Wh) |
| Grows to | Up to 94.5 kWh (4 units + 3 Expansions; our sum of Tesla’s limits) | 30 kWh (5 extra batteries) |
| Continuous output | 11.5 kW | 7.2 kW (Classic 4 kW; Plus up to 10 kW with solar or AC flowing in) |
| Motor start | 185 A LRA for 1 second | Not published |
| Solar input | 20 kW across 6 inputs | 4 kW (Plus 8 kW, Classic 3.2 kW) |
| Charging from the grid | 5 kW (8 kW with Expansions) | Up to 7.2 kW (Plus 7.66 kW, Classic 4.2 kW) |
| Weight and placement | 287 lb, wall or floor, indoor or outdoor (NEMA 3R) | 119 lb (TITAN 5000), indoor utility space, on wheels |
| Noise at 1 m | Under 50 dB(A) typical | Under 39 dB at 3,600 W (Classic under 30 dB at 2,000 W) |
| Installation | Tesla or a Tesla Certified Installer only, with permits | Pre-wired panel; EcoFlow sells a 7-day installation service |
| Warranty | 10 years, 70% capacity at year 10 | 5 years |
| Safety listing | UL 9540, tested to UL 9540A | UL 9540, tested to UL 9540A |
| Price | About $13,473 installed (EnergySage average; Tesla publishes no price) | From $3,199 for the unit (EcoFlow’s starting price; panel and installation extra) |
Power is the cleanest line between them. At 11.5 kW continuous and a 185 A motor-start rating, one Powerwall 3 can carry a central air conditioner and the rest of a house on its own. One TITAN 5000 gives 7.2 kW, which EcoFlow says runs a 3-ton air conditioner with the essentials; the Plus reaches 10 kW only while solar or grid power is flowing in alongside the battery.
Solar is the other. The Powerwall 3 takes 20 kW of panels on 6 inputs, a whole roof, through its own inverter. The TITAN 5000 takes 4 kW and the Plus 8 kW. Both can work with a solar system you already have: Tesla through its installer, EcoFlow through AC coupling with the Smart Home Panel 10 and a CT sensor.
The money
Per kilowatt-hour, the gap is smaller than the sticker
EnergySage puts a typical installed Powerwall 3 at $13,473 before incentives, about $998 per kilowatt-hour, from real quotes on its marketplace. Tesla itself publishes no price; its order page asks for an address and quotes the installation.
EcoFlow lists the TITAN 5000 from $3,199, about $638 per kilowatt-hour, but that is the unit alone: the Smart Home Panel 10 and the installation come on top, and EcoFlow posts exact configuration prices on November 3. 9to5Toys reports the TITAN 5000 Classic “in the $5,000 range” with panel and installation, which would put an installed 5 kWh Classic near $1,000 a kilowatt-hour, close to the Powerwall’s.
So the TITAN’s real price advantage is not the rate, it is the entry point. You can start at 5 kWh for a few thousand dollars and add batteries later, where a Powerwall starts at 13.5 kWh and a five-figure install. With no federal credit to shrink that first bill, the smaller first step counts for more than it did last year.
Which one
Who should pick which
The Powerwall 3 fits a homeowner putting solar on a whole roof, running central air and an electric range together, or wanting the battery outside on the wall. It suits a long-term house: a ten-year warranty, a permanent install, and utility programs that pay for joining a virtual power plant.
The TITAN fits a smaller budget, a home that needs backup more than a rooftop system, or an owner who may move: EcoFlow’s point is that you take it with you. It starts at 5 kWh, grows to 30 kWh, charges from the grid at up to 7.2 kW, and EcoFlow’s quoted noise figure is lower, though the two makers measure at different loads. Read our TITAN launch story for which of the three to pick, and the full TITAN spec sheet for every figure EcoFlow has published.
Sources
Where the figures come from
- IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit, reviewed July 4, 2026, and Instructions for Form 5695.
- Tesla, Powerwall 3 datasheet and install manual (energy, output, motor start, solar input, charging, weight, dimensions, environment, noise, certifications); tesla.com/powerwall.
- Tesla, Powerwall limited warranty (US); Tesla support pages on incentives, the ended $500 rebate and installation.
- EnergySage, Tesla Powerwall cost (installed average, updated May 2026) and its page on storage incentives (leases and PPAs).
- EcoFlow US store, TITAN 5000, Plus and Classic launch pages and FAQ, October 13, 2026. TITAN “from” prices read on the three product pages, October 19, 2026.
- 9to5Toys, coverage of the TITAN launch, October 13, 2026 (installed Classic price range).
Specifications are as of October 13, 2026, and TITAN prices as of October 19, 2026. We’ll update this page when EcoFlow posts configuration prices on November 3.