Best portable power stations: Anker, EcoFlow, Bluetti, Jackery, and DJI

Read our full review of the Anker Solix C1000 portable power station

The Anker Solix C1000 is for anyone who wants a no-fuss portable power station that gets the job done, and does it well. Packing 1,056Wh of capacity, this model is perfect for a weekend at the campground, outdoor movie nights in the backyard, or an occasional power outage. Like most Anker products, this Solix C1000 offers a seriously impressive features-to-price ratio. We often see it on sale, but even at full price, it’s one of the most budget-friendly models that refuses to skimp on features or performance despite the affordable price.

In testing portable power stations, the Anker Solix C1000 earns top marks for being an all-around great model. It's intuitive to use, not massively heavy, and it simply does what it’s designed to do. You get six standard AC ports, two USB-C, two USB-A, and one car socket.

Of course, the Anker Solix C1000 can be recharged via a solar panel (up to 600W input), normal AC wall power, or your car’s power socket. Anker says this model can go from 0 to 100 percent charged in 58 minutes with standard AC wall power.

If we’re getting picky, we love a portable power station with an external light, and the Anker Solix C1000 delivers. The light bar that spans the top of the power station has several light options that are perfect for getting the C1000 up the stairs without falling or providing warm light at the campsite.

Details

With 286Wh of capacity, the EcoFlow River 3 Plus could be your new favorite camping accessory. It excels in portability, weighing just a bit over 10 pounds with an overall design and built-in handle that make carrying it around the campground effortless. Connect to a solar panel for a perfect camping experience. There’s also connectivity to the EcoFlow app, which is great for monitoring power output or recharging status while you’re not near the power station. Its quiet operation can also be great for home use during power outages to keep a lamp on and recharge phones.

EcoFlow makes some of the best portable power stations available, and the brand has a massive lineup of options. The River series focuses on portability, which makes them ideal for camping and outdoor adventures. The River 3 Plus has 286Wh of battery capacity, which will be great for keeping phones topped up on a weekend camping trip and keeping the Thermacell anti-mosquito device operational.

Because it’s so compact and lightweight, the EcoFlow River 3 Plus doesn’t come with a massive amount of charging ports, but it should be sufficient for most campers. It has three standard AC ports, one USB-A, one USB-C, and one car output option. There’s also a light strip at the bottom of the portable power station that can help light up camp come nightfall. Connect the EcoFlow River 3 Plus to a 220W solar panel and you’ll be in for a full recharge in as little as 90 minutes. Assuming there’s sun power to harness while camping, the EcoFlow River 3 Plus will easily be able to fully recharge every day.

Details

Not everyone wants a portable power station simply for camping. You might want something that ensures your home stays powered up should the lights go out. The Bluetti Apex 300 could be just the model for keeping your home online during a power outage. It can handle dual 120V and 240V output from the single unit, comes with plenty of ports, and has a second-generation LiFePO4 battery, which can last for up to 17 years.

Bluetti also added advanced features on the Apex 300, like scheduling recharging during off-peak hours to get the best rate and giving alerts for upcoming extreme weather, which kicks on auto-charging.

For plenty of (usually awesome) reasons, not everyone stays on grid all the time, but you probably want power. For other people, unpredictable weather can knock out power for days. The Bluetti Apex 300 is a beast of a power station that provides 2,764.8Wh on its own, but can be expanded to a whopping 58,000Wh. Bluetti says that’ll keep an entire house powered up for one week. It’s more than capable of powering appliances that need serious juice, like the washing machine, refrigerator, EV charger, and plenty more.

During a power outage, the Bluetti will keep the refrigerator cooling, coffee maker brewing, lamps turned on, a CPAP machine working, and keep the WiFi router online. Another benefit of the Bluetti Apex 300 is that it comes with the ability to receive up to 2,400W of solar charging.

The Bluetti Apex 300 is unique in its distinct lack of USB-A or USB-C ports. To get those, you’ll need to grab the Hub D1 Power accessory, which gives two USB-A, two USB-C, a 50W Anderson for solar panels, and two car cigarette lighter ports. 

Since it weighs almost 84 pounds, this is portable but only barely. It’s certainly not something you want to move around often, honing in that the Apex 300 is ideal for RV trips, van life, off-grid homes, or for whole-home backup during power outages. It’s probably not a great option for a weekend at the campground unless you want a strength workout, too.

Details

Read our full review of the DJI Power 2000 portable power station.

Content creators have a lot to keep charged up, like cameras, mics, drones, lights, and probably a coffee maker. Creators also often work in locations that don’t have standard grid power. The DJI Power 2000 packs in 2,048Wh capacity with great features for content creators. It comes with three standard AC ports, a 30-amp plug, four USB-A ports, four USB-C ports, and two SDC ports for quick recharging of drones. Paired with its quiet operation, which won’t disrupt work, the DJI Power 2000 is optimal for creators using on location or in the studio.

DJI is great when it comes to offering high-quality creator gadgets like drones and the wireless mics found all over YouTube and TikTok lately. The brand’s largest portable power station is the DJI Power 2000, which can keep all of the essential content creator devices charged up and ready to roll. 

DJI also made sure the Power 2000 operates at a quiet decibel level. Maxing out at 29 decibels, it’s quiet enough that you could sleep next to it when powering up a CPAP machine or using it while filming in the studio. 

When testing the DJI Power 2000, it proved its worth as a multi-tasker, charging up a phone and camera battery and cooking dinner in the air fryer at the same time. Major points to DJI for the expansion ability on the Power 2000. It would get spendy and incredibly heavy, but the DJI Power 2000 is compatible with up to 10 DJI Expansion Battery 2000s, which would make for a total of 22,528Wh. That kind of capacity could make it a contender for whole-home backup.

Details

The Jackery Explorer 300 is a great model for those who are curious about owning a portable power station but don't feel like spending a bunch of cash to make it happen. With 293Wh of capacity, the Explorer 300 is perfect for a weekend at the campground or for keeping phones and laptops in business during a power outage. Plus, it's made with super durable materials, and it's easy to carry around.

Jackery's lineup of Explorer portable power stations focuses on providing juice while out adventuring. The Explorer 300 gives you access to two AC ports, one USB-A, and one USB-C from its lithium-ion battery and 293Wh of capacity. That's all housed in a fairly small power station that weighs about seven pounds and has a super convenient built-in handle. It's one of the lightest portable power stations we recommend, and its durable materials make it more suitable for outdoor adventures or use in the backyard.

As a bonus, we often see excellent sale prices on Jackery models, especially those that come with lithium-ion batteries, which is an older technology. Boiled down, that means the Jackery Explorer 300 will last for about 800 life cycles before it'll only be able to recharge to 80 percent capacity. On the surface, that might seem like a red flag, considering that lithium iron phosphate batteries drop to 80 percent after about 3,000 cycles, but 800 cycles works out to depleting this battery every single day for over two years. With the speed of battery advancement, it's highly likely something much better and fancier will be on the market in a few years anyway.

Considering that, and given the lower price on the Jackery Explore 300, we believe this model is a heck of a good deal for those who are curious about getting a portable power station or those who plan to use it on a handful of camping trips each year. You can recharge the power station from standard wall power, solar, or a car.

Details

If your part of the country deals with power outages that can last for days, it might be worth investing in a whole-home backup system. This will give you reassurance that the refrigerator will keep cooling, the lights will be on, and you'll be able to keep the HVAC system running. The Anker Solix E10 is the brand's first whole-home backup system, and it comes with major customization benefits. The system is simple to use with Anker's app, and prices start at under $6,000.

At its base level, the Solix system will come with the Solix E10 Power Module and one Solix B6000 Battery Module. Plug this stackable system into your home's transfer switch or inlet boxes, and you'll get 7.6kW output with 6,000Wh of capacity. Should you need extra juice for an extended power outage, you can add up to two more Solix B6000 batteries. Alternatively, you can hook it up to your own generator or the Anker Solix Smart Generator 5500 with fuel options that include gas, propane, and natural gas. The E10 system is also happy to harness the power of an existing solar panel setup, should you have that at your house.

Both the Solix E10 Power Module and batteries come with a NEMA 4 waterproof rating, which means you can put the system outside, should you desire. You can also mount it on the wall of your garage, which is preferred if you live in an area prone to flooding.

Getting more complex (in a good way), you can also grab an Anker Power Dock or a Smart Inlet Box that connects the system to your home's grid power. Both options give you more control over how the E10 and batteries perform and when the system recharges off your home's grid power, and come with storm warnings that automatically prep the system for a potential outage.

While the E10 system isn't inexpensive, it could be well worth the peace of mind if you deal with several prolonged outages each year. With it, you can keep the lights on, the refrigerator cooling, the heat or A/C running, and more.

Details