Picking a solar installer means picking the crew that will spend a couple of days on your roof, and the company that will pick up the phone for the next twenty years. Price matters, but it tells you nothing about the quality of the fitting or what happens the day your output drops. This ranking compares four companies operating across France, Murfy, EDF Solutions Solaires, Hellowatt and Otovo, on concrete points you can check before you sign.
The outcome: Murfy takes first place, ahead of EDF Solutions Solaires, Hellowatt and Otovo. Each position is explained below.
Our selection criteria
The four installers were ranked using the information they publish, on these five points:
- Who fits the panels: the company’s own salaried technicians or partner installers.
- Price transparency: whether a starting price is published, and how detailed it is by system size.
- Monitoring and warranties: how long monitoring lasts after commissioning, how long the warranties run, and whether there is a commitment on output.
- Project support: what the company handles between signing and commissioning (paperwork, project management, stated lead time).
- Payment options: outright purchase, leasing, or both.
Solar installers ranked at a glance
| Rank | Installer | Who fits the panels | Starting price | Monitoring and warranties | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murfy | Salaried technicians, no subcontracting | From €6,000 (3 kWp) | 3 years of monitoring, output guarantee | Purchase |
| 2 | EDF Solutions Solaires | Qualified installers, 9 regional branches | €6,000 to €12,000 (3 kWp) | Lifetime panel warranty under conditions (Performance offer), 15-year battery warranty | Purchase |
| 3 | Hellowatt | RGE partners selected after an audit | From €6,750 | Up to 40 years | Purchase |
| 4 | Otovo | Local partners | Leasing from €53/month | 20 years on panels and labour | Purchase or leasing |
1. Murfy: installs with its own teams
Why this rank: Murfy is the only one of the four to install exclusively with its own staff, it lists prices for every system size and it backs its monitoring with a measurable output commitment, which puts it ahead on three of the five criteria.
Founded in 2018, this French company repairs and installs home equipment. Its solar business comes from bringing in MC est Solaire, a specialist photovoltaic installer. There are no subcontractors on site: salaried technicians trained in-house fit the panels, handle maintenance and come back if something breaks. The company holds the RGE QualiPV Elec and QualiPV Bat qualifications.
Murfy is one of the few installers to publish a starting price for each system size:
- 3 kWp, or 6 panels: from 6,000 euros including VAT;
- 6 kWp, or 12 panels: from 9,000 euros including VAT;
- 9 kWp, or 18 panels: from 12,500 euros including VAT.
The hardware comes from well-known manufacturers, with DualSun panels and Huawei, Sigenergy or Enphase inverters. Paperwork is handled by the company, and an online simulator estimates savings and checks feasibility for a given address.
What sets it apart most is the aftercare. For 3 years, output is checked every week and maintenance visits are scheduled. Murfy also commits to performance: if actual output falls more than 5% short of the estimate given before the work, the customer is compensated. Most installers cover the hardware, far fewer guarantee how much electricity it will produce.
Best for: homeowners who want one accountable contact from installation through to maintenance.
2. EDF Solutions Solaires: nationwide coverage
Why this rank: it offers the most detailed paperwork support in this comparison and long warranties, but installation goes through network installers and its published price ranges start at Murfy’s entry prices and go well beyond them for 6 and 9 kWp.
Formerly known as EDF ENR, the group’s solar arm relies on 9 regional branches and qualified installers. It takes care of all the admin: the planning declaration at the town hall, the Enedis grid connection and the Consuel certificate. Its Performance offer includes a lifetime panel warranty, under conditions, and a 15-year battery warranty.
EDF Solutions Solaires publishes price ranges by system size: 6,000 to 12,000 euros for 3 kWp, 12,000 to 20,000 euros for 6 kWp, and 16,000 to 22,000 euros for 9 kWp.
Best for: people who want to hand over all the paperwork to a company backed by a major group.
3. Hellowatt: a platform that vets its installers
Why this rank: it advertises the longest warranties in the ranking and its partners go through a quality audit, but Hellowatt does not install itself and only publishes a single starting price, with no breakdown by system size.
Hellowatt acts as a coordinator. The platform picks RGE partner installers after a quality audit, then manages the project from start to finish. Installations start at 6,750 euros and warranties run up to 40 years.
Best for: homeowners who prefer centralised support without choosing the tradesperson themselves.
4. Otovo: leasing with no upfront cost
Why this rank: Otovo is the only one offering leasing, a real plus if you would rather not pay upfront, but installation is handled by local partners and its warranties (20 years) are shorter than Hellowatt’s.
Like Hellowatt, Otovo works through a network of local partner installers. Where it differs is financing: on top of outright purchase, you can lease the panels from 53 euros a month. More than 4,000 households in France have opted for it. Commissioning usually happens 60 to 90 days after the project is approved, and the warranties cover panels and labour for 20 years.
Best for: households that want to generate their own power without an upfront payment.
What an installation costs and which incentives apply
System size, measured in kilowatt-peak (kWp), drives most of the bill. Expect around 6 panels for 3 kWp, suitable for a small house, and 18 panels for 9 kWp.
| System size | Panels | Murfy (starting price) | EDF Solutions Solaires (range) | Self-consumption bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 kWp | 6 | €6,000 | €6,000 to €12,000 | €240 |
| 6 kWp | 12 | €9,000 | €12,000 to €20,000 | €480 |
| 9 kWp | 18 | €12,500 | €16,000 to €22,000 | Depends on size |
Two more levers bring the cost down. VAT at 5.5% instead of 20% has applied since 1 October 2025 to installations of up to 9 kWp that meet environmental criteria. And electricity you produce but do not use can be sold to EDF Obligation d’Achat at a rate set by the State. Confirm the incentive amounts when you get your quote.
Payback then depends on your self-consumption rate, meaning the share of your output used directly in the home. The better you know your consumption, the more accurately you can size the system.
What to check before you sign
All of these incentives have one thing in common: they require an RGE-qualified installer. A system fitted by a company without that qualification loses the bonus, the reduced VAT and the surplus resale contract.
To find a professional near you, the public France Rénov’ directory run by the State is the go-to source. Enter your postcode, a radius of 5, 10 or 20 km, then select “photovoltaic solar panels” as the type of work. Only companies whose RGE qualification is currently valid are listed.
Before signing anything, go through these five points:
- Qualifications: QualiPV Elec covers the electrical side, QualiPV Bat covers roof mounting.
- Ten-year liability insurance: the certificate must explicitly mention photovoltaic work.
- What the quote contains: system size in kWp, number and brand of panels, inverter model, expected annual output.
- Included paperwork: planning declaration at the town hall, Enedis connection, Consuel certificate.
- Who does the fitting: an employee of the company or a subcontractor.
If your roof needs work before the panels go on, our ranking of the best roofers in Île-de-France can help you find the right tradesperson.
Finally, be wary of cold calling, whether at your door or over the phone. A serious installer never rushes you into signing and gives you time to compare several quotes.
The bottom line
Murfy comes out on top because it combines installation by its own staff, prices published by system size and a commitment on output. EDF Solutions Solaires suits those who want a nationwide network to handle everything, Hellowatt those after the longest warranties, and Otovo those who would rather lease than buy. Whichever you choose, RGE certification and a detailed quote are the two things to insist on.