2024 test9 productsJump Starters & Car Power
Which Solar Generators Brand Wins?
We compared 9 solar generators options head to head. Jackery came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Jackery
Price shown in test: $259 before the coupon or $229 with it
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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 | Specs | Cooling fan noise | AC outlet / drill soft start test | USB-C charging test | Max continuous wattage before shutdown | Watt hour capacity (60 W drain test) | Solar panel charging speed (100 W panel) | 12V (200W socket) charging speed | 120V wall charging speed | Max 12V port output | USB-A port output | Wireless charging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jackery$259 before the coupon or $229 with it | 7.185 lb; claims 300 W continuous / 600 W surge, 293 Wh capacity, recharge to 80 percent in 2 hours, can charge up to six devices simultaneously; 2 AC outlets, one 60 W USB-C port, one fast charge port, one USB-A, one DC port; does not include a light; made in China | 47.4 dB, the quietest of all brands at the time it was measured, and confirmed as second place overall behind the Bluetti (45.7 dB) in the final fan-noise recap | 111.1 V under the 250 W heat lamp load, watt meter closely matched the reference energy meter; more than enough power for the drill, reaching full RPM in about 1 second | just over 60 W at 20 V, right on target for its 60 W rating; 14.62 W at 5 V; a reading described as 25.75 W 'at 12 volts' called right on target, but the transcript then immediately says the Jackery 'is not cooperating with the analyzer for the 12 and 20 volt settings,' a direct contradiction in the same passage; kept both statements verbatim and flagged rather than resolved | 385.9 W, the best result of all the 300 to 330 W rated units | just under 283 Wh, the highest of all 9 brands tested, moving into the lead over the Grecell | 66 W, third place behind the Bluetti (82 W) and Tomon (68 W) | 86.7 W, described as more than twice as fast as the ZeroKor | around 91 W; can be charged while powering a device | 155.5 W, first place | about 20 W on a single port, tied with the Grecell and Tomon | not tested |
| 2Bluetti$270 without the coupon or right at $200 with it | 10.84 lb, by far the heaviest of all 9 units; claims 600 W continuous / 1200 W surge, 0 to 80 percent charge in 30 minutes, 268 Wh peak capacity, supports up to 200 W of solar input, a single cable can charge it at 350 W; 3 DC 12V ports, 2 USB-A, 1 USB-C, two 120V outlets; made in China | measured around 47 dB during the intro section, but cited as 45.7 dB and first place (quietest of all) in the later fan-noise recap; both figures kept, discrepancy flagged rather than reconciled | 120.3 V under the heat lamp load, notably higher than most other brands' roughly 110 to 112 V; watt meter closely matched the reference meter; reached full drill RPM the fastest of all brands on the first attempt, in about half a second, but the dashboard showed an overload warning on a second attempt; using the drill's adjustable trigger for a soft start worked fine | just over 92 W, performing as well as the Anker; 14.48 W at 5 V, 27.1 W at 9 V, 36.61 W at 12 V, 94.56 W at 20 V, described as almost as good as the Anker | overload protection triggered at 614 W against a 600 W rating | 236.17 Wh against a 268 Wh peak capacity claim, described as running out of juice earlier than most of the other brands | 82 W, first place, by far the best of all brands | 83.5 W, almost as fast as the Jackery | has an internal power supply and charged at 269 W, described as very impressive; while powering lights under load it drew 635 W in and delivered 362 W out, confirming it can charge while powering a heavy load | not tested | not tested | one of only two units (with the EBL) that support wireless charging |
| 3VTOMAN$280 retail or $230 with the coupon | 14.1 lb, the heaviest of all 9 units, even more than the Bluetti; claims 600 W continuous / 1200 W peak, 299 Wh total capacity, power for up to nine devices simultaneously, recharge to 80 percent in 2.7 hours; 3x12V ports, one 60 W USB-C, 3 USB-A, 2 AC outlets, and a jump starter port (cables not included); made in China | around 57.8 dB | 110.8 V under the heat lamp load; watt meter was off by about 10 W, the largest discrepancy of any brand tested; drill reached full RPM in about half a second, tied with the Bluetti for fastest | 56.52 W charging the power bank; transcript states it 'is not cooperating with the analyzer for the 9, 12, and 20 volt settings,' so those readings are incomplete and omitted rather than guessed | never powered itself down, but experienced a large voltage drop above 600 W; cited in the summary alongside the Bluetti as offering a maximum output of 620 W (versus the Bluetti's 614 W) | 271.27 Wh, third place overall behind the Jackery and Grecell | 68 W, second place behind the Bluetti | just below 86 W, close to the Jackery's result | 105 W, the fastest wall-charging speed recorded; can be charged while in use | 141 W, second place behind the Jackery | about 20 W on a single port, tied with the Grecell and Jackery; 39 W using multiple ports simultaneously | not tested |
| 4GRECELL$190 before the coupon or $150 with the coupon | just under 8 lb; claims 330 W / 288 Wh, overload/overcharge/short circuit protection, three USB-A ports, one 60 W USB-C, three DC outlets, pure sine wave AC, 600 W surge handling, includes a 60 W power supply, 12V car charging, solar adapters, and a bright flashlight; made in China | 49.1 dB, quieter than the Bailibatt; finished third in the fan-noise recap | 110 V at around 223 W under the heat lamp; drill reached full speed in only 1 second; built-in watt meter accurate within 1 W of the reference tester | right on target at 60 W at 20 V for its 60 W rating; 13.57 W at 5 V, 26.89 W at 9 V, 33.26 W at 12 V, 60.5 W at 20 V, the best result recorded up to that point in the video | 276.5 W against a 330 W rating, described as the extra weight not helping | 272.57 Wh against a 288 Wh claim, second place overall behind the Jackery | 49 W | around 48 W | around 47.5 W; does not allow the device to be used while charging | not tested | about 20 W on a single port, tied with the Jackery and Tomon; 50 W using all three ports simultaneously, the best combined USB-A result recorded | not tested |
| 5EBL$200 regular price or $160 with the coupon | just over 7.4 lb; claims up to 330 W pure sine wave, 600 W peak power, 3 DC ports, 3 USB-A, 1 USB-C, a pure sine wave 110V outlet, solar charging port, fast charging, more than 1,000 recharge cycles; includes a 110V AC wall adapter, 12V car charging cable, and one MC4 connector cable; made in China | 58.2 dB; the transcript's description here reads 'is allowed as yet at 58.2 decibels,' an apparent caption garble, most plausibly intending 'is the loudest yet'; kept close to verbatim and flagged rather than rewritten with confidence | about 225 W and 110.5 V under the heat lamp, about the same as the Bailibatt, with roughly a 6 W discrepancy between meter and tester; best drill result recorded up to that point in the video at 0.7 seconds to reach full RPM | about 29 W charging the power bank, about half the rate of the Grecell and Allwei; 14.9 W at 5 V, 27.8 W at 9 V, 37.73 W at 12 V, 64.55 W at 20 V, the best result recorded up to that point in the video | 260 W against a 330 W rating, described as the least amount of all the brands tested | 264.16 Wh, second place behind the Grecell; no specific watt-hour rating claim for the EBL was stated earlier in the transcript to compare against | 48 W (peak) | close to 53 W, about the same as the Grecell | around 59 W, about 10 W slower than the Allwei; does not allow pass-through charging while in use | not tested | 45 W using multiple ports simultaneously | one of only two units (with the Bluetti) that support wireless charging |
| 6ALLWEI$199 before the discount or $159 with the coupon | 6.73 lb; claims 300 W continuous / 600 W surge, 280 Wh capacity, AC/car/solar recharging, a 100 W solar panel can charge it in 3 to 4 hours; 2 AC ports, 3 DC ports, 2 USB-A, 1 USB-C, a cigarette-lighter-style port, and a DC in; made in China | 56.2 dB, a little louder than the Grecell | 112.1 V, about 1.5 V higher than the Bailibatt; watt meter (mounted upside down) measured 2 W different than the reference tester; the drill test FAILED, the unit powered itself down when the drill was activated ('said no way and it powered itself down') | rated 60 W but came up short at 56 W; 13.63 W at 5 V, just over 24 W at 9 V, just over 34 W at 12 V, almost 60 W at 20 V, about the same performance as the Grecell | 354 W against a 300 W rating, described as holding steady just over 300 W for a while before shutting down, a solid overperformance | 255.85 Wh against a 280 Wh claim | 56 W, described as the best yet at that point in the video | 66 W, described as by far the best job yet at that point in the video | around 68 W; can charge the device while it is also being charged | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Anker$200 before the coupon or $170 with the coupon | 6.34 lb; claims up to 288 Wh, recharge via an 18 W or higher USB-C wall charger, fast charge via two 140 W two-way USB-C ports, a 30 percent smaller design than similar power stations, fast recharge to 80 percent in 1 hour via dual USB-C, solar or vehicle recharging; includes a 140 W USB-C to USB-C cable and an innovative light design; 2 USB-A, a 12V car socket, a solar input, a 15 W USB-C, a 100 W USB-C, and two 140 W USB-C ports; does NOT include an AC outlet; made in China | not tested | skipped entirely; the unit has no AC outlet to test | by far the best result of all brands at 92 W charging the power bank, consistent across all of its USB-C ports; charging three devices simultaneously delivered 86 W, 95 W, and 32 W for a combined 213 W; single-port voltage sweep: almost 14 W at 5 V, just over 24 W at 9 V, 38.1 W at 12 V, 97.3 W at 20 V, the best result recorded up to that point in the video | not tested; no AC outlet | just over 262 Wh against a 288 Wh claim, described as coming up short | not tested; the host did not have the correct adapter for the Anker | not tested; the Anker does not offer a 12V charging port | using two 140 W charging blocks, by far the best result of all brands at 213 W; can be charged while in use | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8ZeroKor$230 before the coupon or $215 with it | very light, just under 5 lb; claims 300 W design, 280 Wh capacity, two AC outlets rated pure sine wave, one 12V output, one 12V input, one USB fast charging port, three USB ports; includes a 60 W solar panel, wall charger, cigarette lighter adapter, 12V charging cable, solar charging cable, and several adapters; made in China | just under 54 dB | FAILED the heat lamp test; rated for 300 W but could not power the 225 W heat lamp; also FAILED the drill test, powering itself down when the drill was activated quickly even using the drill's variable speed trigger for a soft start attempt | not applicable; this unit has no USB-C port | overload protection triggered at 346 W against a 300 W rating, after holding up well at 300 W for a while | 222.38 Wh against a 280 Wh claim, described as coming up way short | confirmed to charge, but the unit's display did not show a charging speed reading, so no numeric figure is available | around 37 W, described as going to take a really long time to charge | around 47 W; can be charged while in use | 135 W, third place | allows three ports to be used simultaneously (grouped with Grecell, EBL, and Tomon), no combined wattage figure given | not tested |
| 9Bailibatt$180 before the coupon or $110 with the coupon | very light at 4.62 lb; claims 257 Wh total capacity, built-in pure sine wave AC outlets, includes a light; made in China | 57.4 dB, described as pretty loud | outlet meter close to the multimeter reading at 112.7 V; 225 W and around 110.5 V under the heat lamp; drill test passed with a built-in soft start, about 2.5 seconds to reach full speed | 17.5 W at 12 V; powered itself down after reaching 14.7 W at 5 V; powered itself down at 27.1 W at 9 V; powered itself down again at 28.1 W at 12 V (a second, different 12V reading than the first); not able to charge at all at 20 V; the weakest USB-C performance of any brand tested | 368.7 W, exceeding its stated rating (rating not explicitly restated at this point, but the intro states all units are rated for at least 300 W) | 192.41 Wh against a 257 Wh claim, described as coming up way short, the worst capacity retention of the 9 brands tested | around 38 W | only around 25 W, described as a very slow pace | around 32 W; allows the unit to be used while charging, but only if the load being drawn is under 32 W | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- AC outlet output and voltage accuracy under a 250 W heat lamp load
- drill startup surge / soft start test
- cooling fan noise in decibels
- USB-C charging speed at 5V, 9V, 12V, and 20V using a 240 W capable cable
- maximum continuous AC wattage before overload shutdown, using a variable fan load
- measured watt hour battery capacity via a controlled 60 W discharge test
- solar panel charging speed using a 100 W solar panel
- 12V (car outlet style) charging speed using a 200 W 12V socket
- 120V wall charging speed, and whether the unit supports pass-through use while charging
- sine wave quality / clean power check with and without an electrical load
- maximum 12V port output
- maximum combined USB-A port output
- wireless charging support
“I've converted raw performance scores into a first to ninth place ranking. And the Jackery came in on top with the best average finish of 2.5.”