Best Portable Generators of 2023

What, exactly, is a “portable” generator? That designation can include everything from a little generator of under 40 pounds that you’d use at a campground to charge your phone all the way up to a 300-pound behemoth capable of powering your entire house through a sustained outage.

Bottom line: Think of a portable generator as any model that’s not a home standby generator.

Below, we’ve compiled ratings and reviews of the best portable generators from our tests. We split the portable generators into the three common styles you’ll find, with some notes on what each can do. If you’re just beginning to shop for a generator, start with our generator buying guide to get a sense of the differences among types and tips on how to use a generator safely. CR members can access our full generator ratings to see how all the ones we’ve tested compare.

These workhorses provide 7,000 to more than 8,000 watts of power and usually weigh upward of 200 pounds. They’re what you want to power most or all of your home’s essentials during a prolonged outage. Prices currently range from just under $1,000 to nearly $2,000.

These midsized generators provide 2,500 to 4,900-plus watts of power, and they weigh about 80 to 180 pounds. They pack plenty of power for a boat, an RV, or a camper, or they can power a few household essentials. Despite their lower power output, the inverter models can be pricier than higher-output traditional portables. Among the two types—inverters and traditional portables—prices range from around $400 to $2,400.

These generators provide up to 2,500 watts of power and usually weigh around 50 pounds, making them perfect for campsites. In a pinch, you can power a fridge and a few lights with these, but for anything more, look to the generators above. These more modest units are fuel-efficient and quiet, and you’ll pay around $500 to $1,200.

While safety is essential, our performance testing ensures that a generator will work as promised when you need it most. To do that, our expert engineers load up every generator we assess with a variety of essentials you might want to power during an outage, like a space heater, refrigerator, or window air conditioner. (Check out our guide to which size generator can power which appliances.) We make sure the generator can handle the load it’s supposed to and also determine what happens when a sudden spike in voltage hits, which is what would happen if the compressor in your refrigerator kicked on when the generator was already close to capacity.

The best models take these spikes in stride, while others bog down or even stall. We also look at how easy it is to move and use a generator, as well as how efficiently it uses gasoline and how long it runs on a single tank.