What are the best portable power stations?

To help you decide, I tested the efficiency, in a variety of scenarios, of the best portable power stations from Jackery, EcoFlow, Anker, Goal Zero, Bluetti, Dakota Lithium, Lion Energy, Vtoman, and Ugreen. What to Know Before Purchasing a Portable Power Station

What is a portable power station?

Portable power stations are basically large batteries in protective boxes, with AC outlets and other charging ports built in. They’re generally much bigger, heavier, more powerful, and more rugged than power banks and portable laptop chargers.

Should you buy a portable power station?

Portable power stations have enough bells and whistles to justify adding one to your everyday life as a backup in emergencies. They can also be an inexpensive stand-in for generators when you need to keep your necessities up and running during an emergency like a tornado or general outage.

How much power does a portable power station hold?

On the small end, portable power stations hold around 300 Wh (like the little Goal Zero Yeti 300, our Best Budget pick). These little ones are generally smaller than a lunch box and good for tasks like recharging laptops and speakers, LED lighting, and small fans.

What is the best portable power station for backup?

Anker Solix F1200 (1,229Wh): This unit was previously known as the PowerHouse 757 from Anker, and was also CNET's previous pick for "best portable power station for backup." Its UPS mode was one of the earlier units to boast "less than 20ms" switchover time in the event of a power outage. It's also currently $500 off on Anker's site.

How much does a portable power station cost?

When choosing portable power stations for this list, we wanted to offer a variety of choices that will fit both your needs and your budget. Small, basic power stations start around $500, but larger models can cost over $3,000. We included options at both ends of this range, as well as a few middle-of-the-line choices.