Professional Tool Reviews for Pros
When hurricane season rolls around, we always get a ton of questions about the best generator for a lot of different needs and prices. Even as hurricane season begins to wind down, winter storm season warms up and the reality is every season is generator season.
We got our team of experts together including contractors, outdoorsmen, and hurricane veterans to recommend the best generators in 2021. Since our list includes portable units, whole-home devices, and even models designed for camping and tailgating—peruse the list to land on the specific recommendation you’re looking for.
To determine the best portable generator for home use, we wanted a model that has a balance of everything: power, quality, portability, price, and with the understanding that it’s going to be used on an occasional basis. There was one feature we required for the list: carbon monoxide detection.
Generac’s GP6500 is an all-around great generator. Its 6500 running watts and 8125 starting watts are more than you get from the small 5000-watt class. It provides plenty of power and enough outlets to run just about anything on 120V. Plus, it has a 120V/240V plug if you need it.
While the total harmonic distortion is too great for sensitive electronics, it has the carbon monoxide sensor we’re looking for and wraps it up for less than $800.
The best generator for camping and tailgating has to be one that’s small enough to easily transport and quiet enough not to disrupt the party. Everything else—like USB ports and GFCI outlets—is a bonus.
We like the Westinghouse iPro2500 thanks to its combination of a very manageable 48-pound dry weight and whisper-quiet 52-decibel operation on the low end. Kicking it over the top even more, it has a THD under 3% so your electronics won’t have any issues.
When you’re looking for the best whole generator—also known as a standby generator—it’s a different device altogether. These turn on automatically when the power goes out, and they’re not at all portable. Some people (my neighbor included) bury an LP tank to keep it out of the landscape view when they don’t have a natural gas line already in place.
As you shop for these systems, keep in mind that you need to add the cost of a transfer switch and professional installation to the price.
The Generac Guardian series ranges from 10kW (10000 watts) to 24kW (24000 watts) and comes with a pretty reasonable price tag. Generac’s Mobile Link also lets you monitor the status of your system from anywhere in the world using cell data or WiFi.
One thing to keep in mind as we start considering watt-specific generators: manufacturers often use the peak, or surge, wattage rather than the running watts to classify them. As a result, 10000-watt generators may only have 8000 running watts.
When you get to 10,000 watts, you’re pretty much at the top of what portable generators offer while still being readily available. The best 10,000-watt generator in our book needs to have a powerful engine and a top-tier feature set to make using such a beast easier.
The Honda EB10000AG is a true commercial-grade generator. The Honda GX630 powerplant includes 688cc of displacement. Newly updated for 2020, this model now has CO-Minder carbon monoxide detection to go along with an electric start and low noise/high efficiency for its muscular class.
5000-watt portable generators sit in the sweet spot between power, portability, runtime, and price. You can still find a nice feature set, and it’s a versatile power level that is relevant just about anywhere except camping and tailgating.
No one puts together a better package than Honda does here. It starts with a commercial-grade Honda iGX390 engine with electric start and CO-Minder carbon monoxide detection. Wrapping up the major highlights, it’s also compatible with Honda’s My Generator app where you can monitor or turn on/off the generator remotely. Overall, it’s the most complete package we’ve seen.
We see 3000-watt generators primarily around RVs and with smaller crews on residential jobsites. With plenty of quiet models in this range, they also crossover into camping and tailgating.
If you’re looking for a life of portable generator luxury, Honda’s EU3000S1AG is the best 3000-watt generator. Powered by Honda’s GX200 commercial engine, it’s one of few in this class to offer an electric start.
Running 50–57 decibels depending on the load, it’s super-quiet. It runs more than 13 hours at 50% load on a full 3.4-gallon tank and has CO-Minder to monitor carbon monoxide levels. It’s also parallel capable if you want to connect 2 together.
The best small generator is typically in the 2000-watt class. These are highly portable and our picks all include an inverter to give you “clean power” that’s appropriate for sensitive electronics. As the smallest in power, they also tend to be the most affordable inverter generators.
Great for camping and tailgating, the Westinghouse iPro2500 is also our top pick for the best 2000-watt generator. Reasonably priced in this group of inverter generators, it has 2200 running watts, super-low noise level (52 decibels), is less than 50 pounds, and gets 6 hours of 50% load runtime on a gallon of gas.
In determining the best gas generator, we pulled cost out of the equation. We tasked our team to tell us about the generator they think is the best based on their experience and why it outshines others.
Two brands really set themselves apart for our team: CAT and Honda. After a few tense words and a damaged ego or two, Honda came out on top thanks to its use of a seemingly bullet-proof GX engine and some extra features.
Of the choices available, the Honda EU7000iS puts together the best package with a GX390 EFI engine at its heart. With 5500 running watts, it’s impressively powerful for a generator that includes an inverter to deal with electronics and maintain and quieter noise level. How else do we love thee? Let us count the ways!
Dual fuel generators can use either gasoline or propane to run the engine. After a storm, it may still be possible to find propane even after fuel stations run out of gas. They also tend to run cleaner on propane. The trade-off is the power level typically drops slightly but it has excellent runtime compared to a tank of gas.
The best dual fuel generator our team selected is the DuroMax XP10000EH. Coming in just under $1,100, this is a power play on our part—an 8000-watt power play. You can actually go with a bit more with the DuroMax XP12000EH, but we like that you get nearly 2 hours more runtime with the same 8.3-gallon fuel tank.
One feature that drastically changes your generator experience is electric start. There’s no hassle of pulling a cord—as long as you remember to charge the battery. These come with both lead-acid and lithium-ion power sources and we prefer lithium-ion. The nice thing is you can find them across a pretty wide range of power levels.
Cat has several electric start models that feature a lithium-ion battery instead of lead-acid. There’s less natural energy drain, making it ideal for occasional use. At the same time, the generator charges the pack, so daily use is just fine, too. Of the Cat models that come with this feature, we like the 6500-watt model as a good balance for both jobsite and emergency power use.
Generators are definitely not quiet by nature but they can improve greatly with smaller engines (and power) and full enclosures. Most models are in the 2000–3000-watt range, though you can find a handful that reach a little higher.
Honda’s EU3000S1AG takes home another accolade from our team, this time as the best quiet generator. Powered by Honda’s GX200 commercial engine, it’s one of few in this class to offer an electric start.
We like it’s super-quiet 50 – 57-decibel noise level, making it one of the quietest available. Other highlights include 13-hour runtime at 50% load on a full 3.4-gallon tank and CO-Minder to monitor carbon monoxide levels. It’s also parallel capable if you want to connect 2 together.
Not everyone needs a solar recharging option for their battery-powered inverter. With the average power outage lasting just 3 hours, most folks don’t need a full off-the-grid solution.
If that sounds like you, go for the EGO Nexus Power Station. It’s capable of running 2000 continuous watts with 3000 surge watts, giving you more flexibility than the Goal Zero Yeti.
Also helping its flexibility, the unit runs on up to four EGO 56V batteries that attach on the outside. In the event that you do run through the power you have on board, there’s always the possibility of keeping an extra set of batteries on hand. Plus, they run EGO’s exceptional line of lawn care equipment, making them more valuable than just as a backup power supply.
Now that solar charging is an option, this is the most versatile option available.
Price: $799 bare or $1,299 with four 56v, 5.0Ah batteries
Okay, so if you really want a quiet generator, nothing beats a battery inverter. Noise level is only part of the equation, though. Because there are no emissions, this is the only way to have a generator for indoor use.
There are a couple of trade-offs, though. You need to have enough batteries to cover the length of time you’re going to be without power (solar charging can help with that). You also won’t get near the power you can from a gas, propane, or diesel generator.
They’re also more expensive on a watt-to-watt basis.
This was another really tough choice with 3 quality competitors that have major plusses but also a caveat or two. Goal Zero’s Yeti 3000 ended up with the most votes by our Pro team thanks to its massive 3075Wh capacity and available solar panels.
The downside? It’s expensive and we didn’t get as much startup wattage in our testing as our other recommendations.
Price: $3,199 bare, $3,499 with 200-watt solar panels
When we sat down to discuss the best generator brand, we thought through a lot of different characteristics. In the end, we all agreed that the number 1 consideration is that it has to work reliably. It can have all the features and power in the world, but that doesn’t mean anything if it won’t start when you need it to. But, hey, we still want those features.
Given those parameters, we feel the best generator brand is Honda. Their engines are incredibly long-lasting and start reliably for both consumer and commercial uses. They have available features that compete against what anyone else has to offer. Plus, they are committing to adding carbon monoxide detectors on their entire line of generators.
You’re going to have to pay premium prices, though. Honda generators tend to run hundreds of dollars more than others.
We put together a comprehensive buying guide that you can read here for full details. If you just want the summary of what to look for, here you go:
On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.
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If money is not an issue, how about Onan as best manufacturer of generators
Doesn’t seem quite right to rank Honda portable generators with everyone else’s, when they cost 3-4 times as month.
Y’all oughta run a couple out to SWLA, I could help do some real world testing for ya
Good read and thank you for your review. How about a dual fuel generator review?
Wrong! The Harbor Freight “Predator “ series generator is best by far!
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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros