What watermakers cost.
30 of the 35 systems in our table carry a published price, from $4,402 to $15,089. Below they are grouped by what you would spend and, inside each group, ranked by the energy they use — because the number on the invoice is the smaller half of what a watermaker costs you.
The entry to the market, and almost entirely conventional high-pressure pumps. Plenty of litres per hour for the money; the energy to make them is where you pay.
Where the two pump technologies meet. Energy recovery becomes available here, and so do the higher-output conventional units — the same money buys either.
Automated framed systems and the largest energy-recovery units. Bought for unattended operation and volume rather than for value per litre.
About these prices. They are manufacturer list or dealer figures recorded when the dataset was last checked (5 September 2026), converted to Australian dollars where the source publishes in another currency. They are indicative and exclude freight, installation and any local dealer margin — a landed quote is the only number that decides anything. 5 systems in the table publish no price at all and are absent from these pages.