---
title: "Canadian Solar vs Solar-Fabrik - Brand Comparison | ComparePV"
description: "Compare Canadian Solar vs Solar-Fabrik solar panels: full portfolio, efficiency, cell technology breakdown, warranty terms and company background."
source: "https://comparepv.com/canadian-solar-vs-solar-fabrik"
---

# Canadian Solar vs Solar-Fabrik

Canadian Solar has the broader catalog (292 vs 43 models). Canadian Solar leads on peak efficiency at 24.40%. Solar-Fabrik leans bifacial (100% of lineup).


## The two companies


| Attribute | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Country | Canada | Germany |
| Headquarters | Kitchener | Laufach |
| Founded | 2001 | 1996 |
| Employees | 17,113 | 50-200 |
| Annual capacity | 51 GW/year | \<1 GW/year |
| Tier 1 | yes |  |
| Listed | NASDAQ: CSIQ |  |
| Website | [https://www.canadiansolar.com](https://www.canadiansolar.com) | [https://solar-fabrik.de](https://solar-fabrik.de) |

Canadian Solar Inc. is a global renewable energy company founded in 2001. Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, it manufactures solar PV modules and provides battery energy storage solutions. The company also develops utility-scale solar power and battery energy storage projects.

Solar Fabrik is a German family-owned manufacturer of photovoltaic modules, specializing in high-quality glass-glass panels with N-TYPE/TOPCon technology and a 30-year product and performance warranty. Originally founded in Freiburg in 1996 as Solar-Fabrik AG, the brand was revived in 2016 after insolvency and...


## Catalog & Power


| Measure | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Panel Models | 292 | 43 | +249 |
| Max Power | 730 W | 625 W | +105 W |
| Avg Power | 472 W | 450 W | +22 W |


## Efficiency


| Measure | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Max Efficiency | 24.40% | 24.27% | +0.13 pp |
| Avg Efficiency | 20.66% | 21.96% | +1.31 pp |


## Reliability & Warranty


| Measure | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Avg Temp Coefficient | -0.331%/°C | -0.285%/°C | +0.046 |
| Bifacial Share | 133 (46%) | 43 (100%) | +54 pp |
| Avg Warranty | 28.2 yrs | 29.8 yrs | +1.5 yr |


## Efficiency distribution

Solar-Fabrik skews to higher efficiency: 49% of lineup is 23%+


| Efficiency band | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \<20% | 128 (43.8%) | 5 (11.6%) |
| 20-21% | 36 (12.3%) | 3 (7.0%) |
| 21-22% | 41 (14.0%) | 3 (7.0%) |
| 22-23% | 50 (17.1%) | 11 (25.6%) |
| 23%+ | 37 (12.7%) | 21 (48.8%) |


## Power distribution

Canadian Solar offers more 600W+ panels (24% of lineup)


| Power band | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \<400W | 104 (35.6%) | 6 (14.0%) |
| 400-499W | 72 (24.7%) | 35 (81.4%) |
| 500-599W | 45 (15.4%) | 0 |
| 600-699W | 64 (21.9%) | 2 (4.7%) |
| 700W+ | 7 (2.4%) | 0 |


## Cell technology

Dominant cell tech: **PERC** (67%)

Dominant cell tech: **TOPCon** (63%)


| Technology | Canadian Solar | Solar-Fabrik |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PERC | 195 (66.8%) | 1 (2.3%) |
| TOPCon | 85 (29.1%) | 27 (62.8%) |
| HJT | 12 (4.1%) | 0 |
| Back Contact | 0 | 13 (30.2%) |
| N-type | 0 | 2 (4.7%) |


## Top panels, Canadian Solar


| # | Model | Power | Efficiency | Temp. coefficient | Technology |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [CS7N-730TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-730tb-ag) | 730 | 23.5 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 2 | [CS7N-725TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-725tb-ag) | 725 | 23.3 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 3 | [CS7N-720TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-720tb-ag) | 720 | 23.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 4 | [CS7N-715TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-715tb-ag) | 715 | 23.0 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 5 | [CS7N-710TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-710tb-ag) | 710 | 22.9 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 6 | [CS7N-705TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-705tb-ag) | 705 | 22.7 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 7 | [CS7N-700TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-700tb-ag) | 700 | 22.5 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 8 | [CS7N-695TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-695tb-ag) | 695 | 22.4 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 9 | [CS7N-690TB-AG](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-690tb-ag) | 690 | 22.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 10 | [CS7N-675MS](https://comparepv.com/panel/csi-solar-co-ltd-canadian-solar-cs7n-675ms) | 675 | 21.7 | -0.340 | Monocrystalline |


## Top panels, Solar-Fabrik


| # | Model | Power | Efficiency | Temp. coefficient | Technology |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [S4-DG625-132TMax](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-s4-dg625-132tmax) | 625 | 23.1 | -0.300 | Monocrystalline |
| 2 | [S4-DG620-132TMax](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-s4-dg620-132tmax) | 620 | 22.9 | -0.300 | Monocrystalline |
| 3 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC White 490](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-white-490) | 490 | 24.0 | -0.260 | Monocrystalline |
| 4 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC Series White 490W](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-series-white-490w) | 490 | 24.0 | - | Monocrystalline |
| 5 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC White 485](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-white-485) | 485 | 23.8 | -0.260 | Monocrystalline |
| 6 | [Mono S4 Quartercut Premium DE Series 485W](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-quartercut-premium-de-series-485w) | 485 | 24.3 | -0.260 | Monocrystalline |
| 7 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC White 480-490W](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-white-480-490w) | 485 | 23.8 | -0.260 | Monocrystalline |
| 8 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC Series White 485W](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-series-white-485w) | 485 | 23.8 | - | Monocrystalline |
| 9 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC Full Black 480W](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-full-black-480w) | 480 | 23.5 | -0.260 | Monocrystalline |
| 10 | [Mono S4 Halfcut BC White 480](https://comparepv.com/panel/solar-fabrik-mono-s4-halfcut-bc-white-480) | 480 | 23.5 | -0.260 | Monocrystalline |


## Summary

Canadian Solar is a Canadian manufacturer founded in 1996 and listed on Nasdaq, operating at a global manufacturing scale of tens of gigawatts per year, with module capacity around 51 GW and confirmed Tier 1 bankability status, including inclusion on S&P Global Commodity Insights premier cleantech lists. Solar-Fabrik, by contrast, is a German brand also dating back to 1996 that went through bankruptcy in 2015 and shifted production to China in 2018, and is now rebuilding its European manufacturing footprint with a new roughly 300 MW factory in Hosbach, Bavaria, which broke ground in 2025. In terms of institutional footprint and financial scale, Canadian Solar is by far the stronger and more established player, while Solar-Fabrik remains a niche manufacturer absent from Tier 1 bankability lists.

Canadian Solar covers a broad product range, from residential TOPHiKu6 panels built on TOPCon cell technology, delivering up to 470 W at around 23 percent efficiency, to commercial and utility-scale TOPBiHiKu6 modules reaching 660 W and 24.4 percent efficiency, making the brand suitable for rooftop residential systems as well as large ground-mount solar farms. Solar-Fabrik instead focuses on premium and specialty applications, including panels designed for heritage and listed buildings and building-integrated photovoltaics, backing its products with 30 year warranties on both product and linear performance, with manufacturing since 2018 outsourced to Chinese partners operating under German specifications and TUV oversight.

For a typical buyer prioritizing bankability, financing eligibility, and predictable cost per watt, Canadian Solar is the safer default choice given its production scale and recognized Tier 1 standing. Solar-Fabrik can be a reasonable option for buyers who value German quality control, design, or specialty projects such as heritage buildings and BIPV facades, but the two brands operate at very different scales and should not be considered interchangeable.

Written by claude-sonnet-5 from the figures above.


## Other comparisons

- [Canadian Solar vs A.B. Energy](https://comparepv.com/canadian-solar-vs-a-b-energy)
- [AE Solar vs Solar-Fabrik](https://comparepv.com/ae-solar-vs-solar-fabrik)
- [Canadian Solar vs AEET](https://comparepv.com/canadian-solar-vs-aeet)
- [AIKO vs Solar-Fabrik](https://comparepv.com/aiko-vs-solar-fabrik)
- [Canadian Solar vs AKCOME](https://comparepv.com/canadian-solar-vs-akcome)
- [ARTsolar vs Solar-Fabrik](https://comparepv.com/artsolar-vs-solar-fabrik)


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Source: https://comparepv.com/canadian-solar-vs-solar-fabrik

Not in this file, on the page: the distributions above drawn as charts.