Portable power station vs generator for home backup: a data comparison

A power station stores energy in a battery and gives it back through an inverter. A portable generator makes electricity from fuel for as long as you keep fuelling it. For home backup that means they fail differently: a station runs out of stored energy, a generator runs out of fuel and must stay outdoors. This page compares them using only figures from the makers' pages behind our cards.

What the money buys: $ per Wh vs $ per running watt

A station's price buys stored energy (Wh) and an output limit (W). A generator's price buys an output limit only; the energy comes from fuel you buy separately. That is why we show $ per Wh for stations and $ per running watt for generators. For a like-for-like look at output, the table also divides each station's price by its rated watts. Prices are the maker's list prices read on 2026-10-31; several cards note a lower sale price shown at the same time.

Across the priced, current stations in our data, $ per Wh runs from $0.43 (Bluetti AC180, Elite 200 V2) to $1.67 (DARAN R100). Among priced generators, $ per running watt runs from $0.12 (DuroMax XP13000EH, at its sale price) to $1.08 (Honda EU3200i). On output alone, the cheapest station per rated watt is the Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 at about $0.25 (at its current offer price); seven of the eleven priced generators come in below that, at $0.12–0.17, while Honda's inverters sit at $0.67–1.08.

Energy per charge vs per tank

A station's energy is its capacity times a runtime factor for inverter and other losses. With the 0.85 factor Jackery and EcoFlow publish (see station runtime), the Explorer 2000 v2 gives about 1,736 Wh per full charge and the DELTA Pro 3 about 3,482 Wh.

A generator's makers publish hours per tank at stated loads. The WGen9500DFc lists 12 hours at 25 % load and 8 hours at 50 % on its 6.6-gallon gasoline tank. Reading the load percentage as a share of the 9,500 W running rating, those points work out to about 28,500 Wh and 38,000 Wh per tank. The Honda EU2200i lists 8.1 hours at 25 % and 3.2 hours at rated load on 0.95 gallons — about 3,645 Wh and 5,760 Wh on the same reading. Two things stand out: a large generator's tank holds several times the energy of the largest battery in our data (4,096 Wh in the DELTA Pro 3) while a small inverter's tank is in the same range, and how much you get from a tank depends on the load. Neither maker publishes a point at a light load, such as a lone refrigerator, so we cannot say what a tank delivers there.

Recharging vs refuelling

Station recharge times from the cards: the DELTA Pro 3 0–80 % in 50 minutes, the DELTA 3 0–100 % in 56 minutes, the Explorer 2000 v2 1.75 hours on its AC adapter, and the NMC Goal Zero Yeti 1500X 14 hours on its included 120 W supply. All of these need a working outlet. In an outage, recharging means solar input (the Explorer 2000 v2 accepts up to 400 W, the DELTA Pro 3 up to 2,600 W across two ports), a car, or a generator.

A generator refills from a can or a propane cylinder. Our records hold tank sizes, not refuelling times, so we do not compare the two on speed. On dual-fuel models the propane run time depends on the cylinder size, which the WGen9500DFc EFI and DuroMax XP13000EH pages do not state (the other three Westinghouse pages tie their propane figure to a 20 lb tank).

Where each can run

A fuel generator runs outdoors only. CPSC: “NEVER operate a portable generator inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace, shed or other enclosed spaces,” and “Operate portable generators outside only, at least 20 feet away from the house” (CPSC release 26-149). A CO sensor does not change that; see the CO safety guide.

A station burns no fuel and makes no exhaust, so it can sit next to the appliance. Two limits remain: the operating temperature range on its card (the Explorer 2000 v2 lists 14–113 °F for discharge), and recall status. Stations are recalled too — CPSC notice 26-010 covers the EcoFlow DELTA Max (2000) because the units “may overheat and ignite” (CPSC recall 26-010).

Noise, where makers publish it

Noise figures are not comparable across makers unless distance and load match, and most pages give neither. The table keeps each maker's condition as printed.

Only Champion's generator figures in our data carry a distance; no other generator page in our records states one.

Weight and upkeep

From the cards: Explorer 2000 v2 39.5 lb, HomePower 3000 59.52 lb, DELTA Pro 3 113.54 lb; Honda EU2200i 47.4 lb dry, WGen9500DFc 212.1 lb dry, Champion 201241 361 lb. Generator weights are dry, before fuel and oil.

For upkeep, CPSC advises: “Regularly check and maintain your portable generator to ensure it will work properly when needed,” and to follow the owner's manual. Our records carry no maintenance schedules for either type, so we do not compare them.

Which fits which job

• A refrigerator overnight. The top-freezer fridge in our data runs at 360 W, starts at 1,200 W and averages 47 W over a year. The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 covers both limits, and at the average draw its usable energy lasts about 19 hours. A generator works too, but it has to run outdoors through the night, and its published run times start at 25 % load or higher — above one fridge's 360 W on every generator in our data.
• A CPAP. ResMed lists 53 W typical and 104 W peak for the AirSense 10 AutoSet. A station can sit by the bed; a generator must run outside, 20 feet from the house. See EcoFlow DELTA 3 and a CPAP, and confirm power figures with the device manufacturer.
• A sump pump. The 1/3 HP pump runs at 400 W and starts at 1,600 W. The Bluetti AC180 (1,800 W / 2,700 W surge) covers both; how long it lasts depends on how often the pump cycles.
• A well pump. The 1/2 HP pump's 7,056 W start rules out most stations. The EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 covers it; the generators above 7,056 W starting in our data do too.
• Whole-house loads. A 1,500 W space heater for eight hours is 12,000 Wh, against about 1,736 Wh usable in an Explorer 2000 v2 — about 1.2 hours. On the WGen9500DFc that heater is 16 % of the gasoline running rating, below the 25 % point Westinghouse publishes, so the site's bracket reads “at least 12 hours” per tank of gasoline. See Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 vs Westinghouse WGen9500DFc.

The pattern in the data: stations fit small, steady, indoor loads; generators fit large loads and long outages, outdoors. To test your own mix, use the calculator, and read running vs starting watts for how the starting check works.