2021 test8 productsOutdoor Power Equipment
Which Pressure Washer Brand Wins?
We compared 8 pressure washer options head to head. Cat came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Cat
Price shown in test: $225, the most expensive pressure washer tested
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Runner-up
Stanley
Price shown in test: $96
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Budget pick
Wen
Price shown in test: $81, just $2 more than the Sun Joe
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Weight | Baseline Noise And Current | Low Pressure High Flow_3.7gpm Tip | Higher Pressure_3.0gpm Tip | Total Cleaning Units | Soap Apply Rinse Time | Wood Cleaning Test | Durability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cat$225, the most expensive pressure washer tested | 23 lb with accessories | 7 amps, 75.5 dB, pumped 2.76 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 1,150 PSI (nearly 400 PSI better than Stanley/Karcher), 12.35 amps, 1.77 gallons per minute | 1,625 PSI (best of all brands), 14.55 amps (near the limit of what the circuit breaker could handle), 1.56 gallons per minute (best of all brands) | 2,533, best of all brands | 18 seconds to apply (fastest of all), 23 seconds to rinse (fastest of all), 41 seconds total (best of all brands) | did by far the best job removing build-up and permanent marker stains, confirmed consistent on a second test board | no damage from the 36 inch drop test or from a vehicle driving over the gun handle |
| 2Stanley$96 | 15 lb | 6.3 amps, 73 dB (tied with Wen), pumped 2.11 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 800 PSI (tied 2nd with Karcher, best yet at that point in testing), 9.7 amps, 1.58 gallons per minute, took the pressure lead from the Wen | 1,250 PSI (2nd best of all brands, by far the best at that point in testing), 11.9 amps, 1.37 gallons per minute (2nd best) | 1,709, 2nd best of all brands | 19 seconds to apply (fastest yet at that point), 30 seconds to rinse, 49 seconds total (2nd best) | performed nearly the same as the Wen, removing quite a bit of build-up after one pass | no damage from either the drop test or the vehicle weight test |
| 3Karcher$170 | 18 lb | 9.5 amps (highest baseline current of any brand), 77.5 dB, pumped 1.82 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 800 PSI (tied 2nd with Stanley), 11.6 amps, 1.44 gallons per minute; experienced a big pressure drop at the start of the test that quickly recovered | 1,220 PSI (3rd best), 13.25 amps, 1.27 gallons per minute; needed about 10 seconds to recover from an initial pressure drop before reaching full pressure | 1,551, 4th best | 24 seconds to apply, 28 seconds to rinse (tied with Ryobi), 52 seconds total (3rd best) | consistent spray pattern but did not remove as much build-up as the top performers | survived the drop test, but sustained a lot of cracking damage on both sides of the handle from the vehicle weight test, though it still worked |
| 4Worx$98 | 15 lb | 8.2 amps, 74 dB, pumped 1.75 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 725 PSI, 10.7 amps, 1.53 gallons per minute | 1,200 PSI (4th best), 13 amps (pushing the limit of the circuit), 1.34 gallons per minute (tied 3rd with Ryobi), took over 4 seconds to build to full pressure | 1,612, 3rd best | 23 seconds to apply, 33 seconds to rinse, 56 seconds total (5th of the ranked group) | regular (non-adjustable) tip gave a consistent spray pattern, performed better than Sun Joe but not as well as Wen or Stanley | no damage from either the drop test or the vehicle weight test |
| 5Ryobi$149 | 20 lb | 7.5 amps, 85 dB, by far the loudest of any brand at baseline; pumped 1.77 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 700 PSI (tied with Wen), 9.7 amps, 1.51 gallons per minute, loudest yet at 76.5 dB with a tip attached | 1,140 PSI (5th best), 12 amps, 1.34 gallons per minute (tied 3rd with Worx); took about 10 seconds to reach full pressure | 1,531, 5th best | 26 seconds to apply, 28 seconds to rinse (tied with Karcher), 54 seconds total (4th best) | removed most of the build-up and the permanent marker stain, finishing 4th | survived the drop test, but the handle cracked with some inner-side damage from the vehicle weight test, though it still worked fine |
| 6Wen$81, just $2 more than the Sun Joe | 17 lb | 6.3 amps, 73 dB, pumped 1.97 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 700 PSI (tied with Ryobi), 10.5 amps, 1.46 gallons per minute | 1,125 PSI, 12.9 amps, 1.25 gallons per minute | not included in the video's named top-5 cleaning-units ranking (implies 6th or lower) | rinse time 37 seconds (3 seconds faster than the Sun Joe's 40); apply time is captioned as '3 seconds faster than the Sun Joe at 25 seconds', which is internally inconsistent since the Sun Joe's own apply time was also stated as 25 seconds - based on the same '3 seconds faster' pattern used consistently elsewhere in the video (which checks out arithmetically for every other brand), the intended apply time was likely around 22 seconds, but the literal captioned figure is kept here and flagged rather than silently corrected | finished in 2nd place, removing a lot of build-up from a narrow portion of the board, though its adjustable nozzle pattern varied a lot | no damage from either the drop test or the vehicle weight test |
| 7Yard Force$113 | 20 lb | 8.1 amps, 74 dB, pumped 1.56 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 650 PSI (next-to-last place, ahead of only Sun Joe), 9.85 amps, 1.44 gallons per minute, loudest yet at 75 dB with a tip attached | 975 PSI, 12.1 amps (pretty much maxed out), 1.29 gallons per minute | not included in the video's named top-5 cleaning-units ranking (implies lowest or near-lowest) | 29 seconds to apply, 36 seconds to rinse, both longer than average | consistent spray pattern but did not remove as much build-up as the top performers, grouped with the weaker-performing brands | no damage from either the drop test or the vehicle weight test |
| 8Sun Joe$79, the least expensive pressure washer tested | 12 lb with accessories, the lightest of all brands (packaging claimed 13 lb) | 5.64 amps, 77 dB, pumped 1.92 gallons in 1 minute with no spray tip | 620 PSI, reached in a fraction of a second, 8.5 amps, 1.39 gallons per minute | 980 PSI (this figure is not stated directly in the Sun Joe's own passage, where the transcript cuts off mid-sentence after '...went from 620 to'; the 980 PSI value is recovered from a later sentence describing the Wen's result, which explicitly compares the Wen's 1,125 PSI 'to only 980 for the Sun Joe'), 10.1 amps, 71.5 dB, 1.1 gallons per minute | not included in the video's named top-5 cleaning-units ranking (weakest pressure and flow numbers of all 8 brands) | 25 seconds to apply, 40 seconds to rinse, both the slowest recorded | removed only a small amount of build-up, with an adjustable nozzle pattern that concentrated most of the pressure in the center rather than an even spray | no damage from either the drop test or the vehicle weight test |
How it was tested
- baseline noise (dB) and motor current (amps) without a spray tip
- baseline water pump flow (gallons per minute) without a spray tip
- pressure (PSI), current, noise, and flow rate using a shared 3.7 GPM low-pressure spray tip
- pressure (PSI), current, noise, and flow rate using a shared 3.0 GPM spray tip
- total cleaning units (PSI times gallons per minute)
- soap application and rinse time on a vehicle
- wood surface build-up/mold removal using each brand's own hose and nozzle
- spray gun drop durability (36 inch drop)
- spray gun crush durability (vehicle driven over the gun handle)
“The Cat is the best pressure washer, but it's also very expensive at $225.”