Power stations from 600 to 1,500 W, compared on published specifications
The band where a fridge becomes possible. Between 600 and 1,500 watts a station stops being a battery with sockets and starts being able to keep something running.
We do not test power stations. The median appliance station here holds 999 Wh and runs 1h 0m at its own rated output — the figures worth carrying into any listing you read.
Every figure below is taken from the manufacturer’s published listing and measured against the rest of the class. A watt-hour capacity is published by 92% of the appliance power stations here; where a listing is silent, the page says not stated rather than filling the gap.
A small class, and worth saying so first. 25 listings is a narrow sample; a handful of new ones could move these figures noticeably.
Where the data runs out. 2 capacity bands hold too few listings for a median: under 500 Wh (5), 1,200 – 2,500 Wh (1). Below 8 a median describes the sample rather than the market.
What the numbers say about this class
| Specification | Stated | Median | Middle half | Full range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 23 | 999 Wh | 576 Wh – 1,024 Wh | 256 Wh – 2,048 Wh |
| Continuous output | 25 | 1,000 W | 600 W – 1,000 W | 600 W – 1,200 W |
| Runtime at full output (derived) | 23 | 1h 0m | 50 min – 1h 0m | 26 min – 1h 52m |
| Energy per kilogram (derived) | 18 | 92 Wh/kg | 73 Wh/kg – 102 Wh/kg | 58 Wh/kg – 121 Wh/kg |
| Weight | 19 | 21 lb | 10 lb – 26 lb | 7 lb – 32 lb |
| Solar input | 13 | 200 W | 120 W – 500 W | 100 W – 1,000 W |
The middle-half column is the more useful one. It spans the 25th to 75th percentile, so it describes where most of the class actually sits rather than being pulled about by one unusual unit.
Watts and watt-hours are not the same question
Watts decide whether an appliance runs. Watt-hours decide how long. The box prints both and rarely explains that the first is a hard ceiling: a station rated below an appliance’s draw will not start it for one second, however large its battery.
| Output class | Listings | Median capacity | Median output | Runtime at full output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials Power Stations | 64 | 231 Wh | 300 W | 52 min |
| Appliance Power Stations | 25 | 999 Wh | 1,000 W | 1h 0m |
| High-Output Power Stations | 46 | 1,843 Wh | 2,000 W | 46 min |
| Home Backup Power Stations | 33 | 3,600 Wh | 3,600 W | 51 min |
Read across that table and the pattern is the point. Outside the largest capacities, the median station runs about the same time at full output whatever class it is in — because capacity and output rise together. A bigger station does not buy you a longer run at full tilt; it buys you the ability to run more, or bigger, for about the same hour.
The runtime figure is arithmetic, and it is optimistic. It is the published capacity divided by the published output, which is the best you could ever get. Real inverters are 85 to 90% efficient, so the usable figure is lower — and no listing on this site states its inverter efficiency, so we do not estimate it. Treat the number as a ceiling and a way to compare like with like, not as a promise.
How this class spreads across capacities
| Capacity band | Listings | Median capacity | Runtime at full output |
|---|---|---|---|
| under 500 Wh | 5 | Too few for a median | |
| 500 – 1,200 Wh | 17 | 999 Wh | 1h 0m |
| 1,200 – 2,500 Wh | 1 | Too few for a median | |
| 2,500 – 5,000 Wh | 0 | None in this class | |
| 5,000 Wh and up | 0 | None in this class | |
| Not stated | 2 | The listing publishes no watt-hour figure | |
How to choose one
A fridge is a surge problem, not a running problem
A domestic fridge runs at perhaps 150 watts and demands several times that for the fraction of a second its compressor starts. A station rated 1,000 W continuous with a 1,000 W surge may refuse to start a fridge it could easily run. The surge figure is the one that decides it, and it is the one listings print smallest — where a listing does not state a surge rating at all, this site says so rather than assuming it is generous.
This is where the runtime arithmetic bites hardest
A 1,000 Wh station at 1,000 W runs for an hour. That is fine for a fridge, which cycles rather than running continuously, and it is nothing at all for a space heater. Read the runtime figure on each result as what happens at FULL output, then divide your actual load into the capacity to get the number you care about.
Pass-through charging is worth checking
Many stations in this band can charge and discharge at once, which turns them into an uninterruptible supply for a router or a desk. Many cannot, or can only at reduced power. It is inconsistently documented and worth confirming with the manufacturer if it matters to you.
Capacity and output are separate purchases
The two headline numbers describe different things and do not move together. Capacity in watt-hours decides how long something runs; continuous output in watts decides whether it runs at all. It is entirely possible to buy a much larger battery and gain no ability to power anything new — in this corpus the largest capacity band carries a lower median continuous output than the band below it, because the very large units are built as reserves rather than as inverters. Work out the watts first, because that is the gate, and only then ask how many hours of it you want.
Pass-through charging, and using one as a UPS
Many stations will run a load while charging, which turns the unit into a crude uninterruptible supply for a fridge or a router: mains in, mains out, and the battery covers the gap when the power fails. What varies is the switchover time, and whether it is fast enough matters entirely to the device. A fridge does not care about a few tens of milliseconds; a desktop computer does. Stations that advertise a UPS mode state a transfer time, and stations that merely allow pass-through generally do not.
What the listings do and do not tell you
Specification coverage is uneven, and that unevenness is worth knowing before you shop. A missing figure is not a worse product — it is a less completely described one.
| Specification | Stated | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous output | 25 | 100% |
| Capacity in watt-hours | 23 | 92% |
| Surge rating | 18 | 72% |
| Cell chemistry | 16 | 64% |
| Solar input | 13 | 52% |
| Weight | 19 | 76% |
Where a listing is silent, this site prints not stated. It never fills the gap with a plausible default.
Mistakes this data makes visible
Buying watt-hours to solve a watts problem
The most common and the most expensive. If a station cannot start your appliance, a larger battery in the same output class will not change that. Check the continuous rating against the appliance’s draw first, and the surge rating against its startup.
Reading a surge rating as a running rating
Surge is a brief peak while a motor starts, not a level anything can be run at. A fridge that runs at 150 W may demand 900 W for a fraction of a second, and a station whose surge headroom is thin will trip rather than start it.
Assuming solar means independence
A station accepting 200 W of panel gathers at best around a kilowatt-hour across a good day, and panels are almost always sold separately. Solar input is a ceiling on how fast it refills, not a promise that it will.
Find one that fits
The power station finder filters on capacity, output, chemistry and solar input, and shows each result against the median for its own capacity band — with its runtime at full output on every card.
Narrower comparisons
Same data, scoped to the group people most often shop for:
Related classes
- Essentials Power Stations — Phones, laptops, lights, a router, a CPAP.
- High-Output Power Stations — Enough to run a microwave, a circular saw, or a coffee machine — the point at which a station handles the things that briefly draw a great deal.
- Home Backup Power Stations — Household circuits rather than appliances.