Head-to-head test
Anker 535 PowerHouse vs DJI Power 500
Two identical 512Wh batteries a dollar apart, so the only question left is which box refuses fewer appliances: the Anker quits at 500 watts, the DJI takes a thousand.
Full profiles: Anker 535 PowerHouse → · DJI Power 500 →
Written by Wenny ZhengUpdated
Portable Power Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
$299.99 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
$299.00 · direct from DJI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Spec deltas
The Power 500 has been run at a 905W load in testingB3. The 535 PowerHouse won't accept anything over 500W. That one line settles most of this page, because every other headline number here is a tie: 512Wh of LFP on both sides, a five-year warranty on both sides, both a shade under seventeen pounds, and prices of $300 and $299.
Identical capacity turns the spec table into a list of what each brand did with the same battery. Anker built a plain, efficient weekend box, measured at 89% round-trip efficiency and staying cool while delivering its full 500WA3, with four AC outlets, three USB-A, a USB-C and a car socketA2 and nothing to configure. DJI took the same 512Wh and wrapped it in twice the inverter, two and a half times the solar headroom, and a thousand more charge cycles.
None of that makes the Anker a bad unit, and the case against it isn't quality. It's that the usual reason to accept a 500W ceiling is paying less for it, and that reason isn't available here. You spend the same either way.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
continuous output
Capacity decides how long something runs. The inverter decides whether it starts. Anything with a heating element in it, a kettle, a coffee maker, a hair dryer, is exactly the class of load a 500W inverter turns down and a 1,000W one doesn't notice, and the Power 500 has been measured well into that territoryB3. With the batteries identical and the prices a dollar apart, the Anker is the same energy behind a narrower door.
535 PowerHouse: 500W rated AC output, with no surge rating publishedPower 500: 1,000W rated output with a 1,000W surge ratingIn testing the Power 500 ran a 905W load and briefly rode out a 1,500W spike above its ratingB3
Why it mattersIf you can't name every load you'll ever plug in, take the wider door. It isn't the more expensive box.
rated cycles
Twenty cents a lifetime kilowatt-hour against fifteen, and the only ingredient that differs is the cycle rating, because the capacity is identical and the prices are a dollar apart. In years that's 8.2 against 11 at a full cycle a day: roughly three extra summers out of hardware that costs the same.
Both units hold 512Wh and carry a five-year warranty535 PowerHouse cells are rated for 3,000 cycles; Power 500 cells for 4,000Prices are a dollar apart
Why it mattersIf you cycle a unit hard, in a van, on a jobsite, every weekend, the cycle rating is the entire difference between these two over the long run, and you don't pay extra for it.
solar input
The catch is that the DJI's solar advantage arrives as a second purchase. There's no onboard charge controller, so DJI's adapter has to be in the cart before a panel does anything at all. The Anker takes a panel straight out of the box and then plods, landing realistically between 60 and 75W of its rated 120A4, which is closer to a trickle than a recharge.
535 PowerHouse solar input caps at 120W, and its solar recharge is rated at 6.1 hoursPower 500 accepts 300W of solar inputThe Power 500 has no built-in solar charge controller and requires a separate proprietary adapter
Why it mattersSolar buyers still take the DJI, but budget the adapter alongside it. If you want to plug a panel in tonight with nothing else ordered, the Anker is the one that does that.
So the CPAP decision isn't about energy at all. It's the two specs you experience at 3 a.m.: whether the fan wakes you, and whether a flicker in the grid drops the machine. DJI published 25 dB and a 20ms handoff. Anker published no noise figure for this unit, and the 535 has no UPS mode, so the answer to 'will it be quiet' is 'find out.'
Power 500 switches to battery in 20ms and publishes a 25 dB noise level535 PowerHouse publishes neither a switchover time nor a noise figureThe CPAP profile needs 320Wh, or 74% of either unit's roughly 435Wh usable (512Wh less the ~15% the inverter takes)
Why it mattersAnyone buying this for a medical device or a desktop should take the box that put a number on the two specs they'll actually notice.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
PowerScore Breakdown
Selected because: Same battery on both sides, so this score is measuring everything except capacity.
overall power score
Two boxes, one battery size, and 2,341 against 1,813: a 528-point spread built entirely out of the parts around the cells. The inverter that's twice as big. The solar port that accepts two and a half times as much. The 100W USB-C against a 60W one. The switchover that keeps a desktop alive.
No single item on that list would move anyone on its own. Stacked, they're the entire spread, on identical energy, and nothing on the lower side of the score is cheaper, which is the only thing that would make it worth taking.
What the Specs Don't Tell You
Selected because: The differences that actually bite live here, starting with a 20ms UPS on one side and no published noise figure on the other.
rated cycles
Three of these cards name the 535 by name and a fourth exists because only the DJI has UPS, which tells you the direction before you read a word of them. The one worth pausing on is noise. DJI put 25 dB on the spec sheet. Anker put nothing, and a blank is not proof of loudness; it's proof that you learn the answer after the money leaves your account.
The app card is the least of it. The 535 has no phone app, the DJI Home app carries a 3.5/5 rating across DJI's whole product line rather than this box, and you'll be reading the front panel either way. Don't let that card carry any weight.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: Prices a dollar apart and the same 512Wh, so the 1,000-cycle difference is the whole gap: 1,536 lifetime kWh against 2,048.
cost / lifetime kWh
The honest read on 4,000 cycles versus 3,000 is that most people who buy a 512Wh box will never find out. Two dozen weekends a year and the numbers stop meaning anything: 28.8 years for the Anker, 38.5 for the DJI. Nobody is keeping either one that long.
It matters for the other kind of use. The van, the jobsite trailer, the person who runs the pack flat most days is looking at 8.2 years against 11, and since the two cost the same at checkout, those extra years arrive without a line item. That's the whole argument, and it only applies if that's you.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: Identical capacity means an identical percentage in every row, so this table can't separate the two. That's the finding.
Exactly one of these six profiles fits inside a 512Wh battery, and both units clear it identically. Everything else asks for more energy than either box holds. The eight-hour blackout wants close to four times what's usable; van life wants more than ten.
That's not a knock on either unit, it's a sizing instruction. These are day-trip and desk-and-devices boxes. If you came here to keep a fridge alive through an outage, neither row on this table is going to change its mind, and the answer is a bigger battery rather than a different brand.
Brand Trust
Selected because: The one column where Anker leads: DJI's power stations started shipping in 2024 and have no community of their own yet.
This is the section where the Anker earns its money. DJI has been selling power stations since 2024, four models deep, and the place to go with a question about one is a drone forum. Anker has years of SOLIX units already out there and a support operation with an actual history behind it.
Both halves come with an asterisk. Anker's support is thinning on the SOLIX line specifically, with AI-first first contact and hazmat shipping rules that make returning a heavy unit a project, though at 16.7 lb the 535 is small enough to dodge most of that. DJI shows up with 700+ battery patents from drone R&D and a global repair network built for a different product. If a long field record is what you're paying for, Anker has more of one, and it's the strongest thing on its side of the page.
Strengths & trade-offs
Anker 535 PowerHouse
Strengths
- Solid all-rounder with standard specs.
Trade-offs
- –Lacks smartphone app control for remote monitoring.
- –Shorter-lived battery — rated for 3,000 charge cycles vs the Power 500's 4,000, so it wears out sooner.
DJI Power 500
Strengths
- +Costs $1 less
- +Lighter by 0.6 lb
- +Higher AC output
- +Faster solar charging
- +Rated for 4,000 charge cycles — much longer battery lifespan
Trade-offs
- –No major technical downsides compared to rival.
Will It Power Your Gear?
Scenario math and per-appliance runtimes, modeled from the spec record.
Scenario verdicts
We ran the math on six real-world scenarios. Here's which unit survives your actual life.
SCN-01 · 2 nights · needs 2,100Wh
Weekend Camping
Two nights off-grid with essential comfort
Neither unit
Neither box does this weekend. The profile wants 2,100Wh and these hold 512, so you'd be looking for a wall socket by Saturday lunch on either one. As a phones-lights-and-a-fan camping unit both are fine; as a whole-weekend battery, both are a tier too small.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Phone Charger 15W×6h · LED Lights 40W×8h · Box Fan 75W×14h · CPAP Machine 40W×16h
SCN-02 · 8 hours · needs 1,645Wh
8-Hour Blackout
Keep the essentials running through a night without power
Neither unit
Eight hours of this profile needs 1,645Wh, and 512Wh isn't a third of it. Neither one is whole-house backup, so treat these as keeping the phones, the router and a lamp alive. The Power 500's 20ms switchover is the only thing here that changes your experience, and it doesn't change the arithmetic: if outages are why you're shopping, buy bigger.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Fridge 150W×8h · Router + Modem 20W×8h · LED Lights (4 bulbs) 40W×6h · Phone Charger 15W×3h
SCN-03 · 8 hours · needs 320Wh
CPAP Overnight
Sleep therapy without interruption — the #1 medical use case
Either unit
Both clear this one, and by the same margin, since the profile takes 74% of an identical tank and leaves about a quarter in the morning either way. Capacity can't break this tie. The spec that can is the one you'd notice at 3 a.m.: the Power 500 publishes 25 dB and a 20ms handoff, and the 535 publishes neither.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD CPAP Machine 40W×8h
SCN-04 · 8 hours · needs 910Wh
Remote Workday
Full work day off-grid without power anxiety
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 910Wh: the 535 PowerHouse comes up 475Wh short (about 48% covered), the Power 500 475Wh (48%). Treat this as partial cover — enough for the essentials in it, not the whole list.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Laptop 60W×8h · External Monitor 30W×8h · Router + Modem 20W×8h · Phone Charger 15W×2h
SCN-05 · 4 hours · needs 670Wh
Tailgate Party
Game day power for the crew
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 670Wh: the 535 PowerHouse comes up 235Wh short (about 65% covered), the Power 500 235Wh (65%). Either gets you most of the way, so this is a scenario you plan around rather than one you should rule them out for.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Blender 400W×0.5h · LED TV (55") 80W×4h · Bluetooth Speaker 15W×4h · Phone Charger (×3) 45W×2h
SCN-06 · 24 hours · needs 4,685Wh
Van Life Daily
A full day of mobile living — the ultimate endurance test
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 4,685Wh: the 535 PowerHouse comes up 4,250Wh short (about 9% covered), the Power 500 4,250Wh (9%). This is well outside what either unit is for; the right answer here is a larger station, not a choice between these two.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Mini-Fridge 150W×24h · Laptop 60W×4h · Phone Charger 15W×3h · LED Lights 40W×5h · Fan 75W×8h
The Load Test
RUNTIME = (Wh × 0.85) ÷ LOAD
None of the scenarios above exactly yours? Build it. Toggle what you'd plug in; both units are tested against the combined draw.
Essentials
Comfort & Convenience
High-Draw Appliances
Test duration
8h
Continuous draw
205W
Projected runtime
Dead heat — both run this 205W load for roughly 2.1h. Pick on price, weight, or ports.
Modeled from the spec record — same math as the tables below. Methodology
Runtime by appliance
Real-world runtime estimates for common appliances, modeled at 85% inverter efficiency.¹
Essentials
The basics you need runningscale 0–29hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–5.8hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–0.4h¹ Runtime = (capacity × 0.85) ÷ appliance watts. Within each group, all bars share one time scale (the group's longest runtime), so lengths are comparable across appliances; identical runtimes collapse into a single blue/orange bar. Actual runtime varies with battery age, temperature, and simultaneous loads — see methodology.
Conclusion
August 2, 2026
Verdict: the Power 500
Buy the Power 500. Same 512Wh of LFP, same five-year warranty, and a dollar between them at checkout. After that the DJI takes 1,000W continuous where the 535 PowerHouse stops at 500, runs its cells for 4,000 cycles against 3,000, and hands over to battery in 20ms when the wall power dies, which the Anker doesn't do at all. The Anker's honest counter is that it's the older, better-documented product and it accepts a solar panel with nothing else in the cart, while the Power 500 has no built-in solar charge controller and needs a proprietary adapter before a panel does anything. If solar is the entire reason you're buying and you don't want an accessory order, that's a real reason to take the Anker. For everything else, the DJI does more for the same money.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
List prices as of August 2, 2026. The links below open Anker's and DJI's current prices.
$299.00 · direct from DJI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
or check the 535 PowerHouse price$299.99 list
Written by Wenny Zheng, Portable Power Tester · Station Arena Test Desk · Updated August 2, 2026
Measured Data
Benchmark scores and the full spec record, side by side.
Benchmark scores
Not rated for both units (minimum threshold unmet): UPS, CPAP, Solar Generator.
Full specifications
ᵈ Derived: price ÷ rated capacity. See the data behind our comparisons →
Comparison ToolAdd more power stations, side by sideOpen Tool →How these numbers are produced
Numeric verification
Every figure on this page traces to our spec database or arithmetic on it — no estimated numbers.
Owner claims
Statements about owner experience are cited to published reviews — see Sources & Research Notes below.
Runtime model
Runtime = (rated capacity × 0.85 inverter efficiency) ÷ device wattage. Solar recharge estimates assume panels deliver 70% of rated output. Cold weather, battery age, and stacked loads reduce real-world results.
Power Score
Computed from 14 published spec dimensions, weighted per use-case bench. Higher is better; a unit must meet a bench's minimum threshold to be rated.
See the full weight table and data sourcing on our methodology page →Class ranking (the star rating)
Each unit's star score is a category ranking, not customer reviews — no buyer opinions feed it. We score every station on size-independent quality (value, output, portability, endurance, ports, warranty, and more), then percentile-rank it against the other units in its capacity class, so a class-leading compact unit and a class-leading whole-home unit can both earn 5★. Here, 535 PowerHouse rates 3.7/5 (21st percentile of 20 Compact-class units), and Power 500 rates 4.6/5 (74th percentile of 20 Compact-class units).
How the class ranking is computed →Test Notes & Caveats
Hidden gotchas and advantages we spotted that you won't find on the product page.
Six hours of sun for one tank
120W of solar input means 6.1 hours to put 512Wh back, which is a whole good solar day spent on a single refill. The Power 500's 300W port cuts that to roughly two and a half hours, with one string attached: it has no built-in solar charge controller, so a proprietary adapter has to be bought before any panel works. The Anker's panel port works out of the box and then plods.
No app on the Anker, and it barely matters
The 535 has no phone app, so what's on the unit is what you get. Before scoring that against it, note that the DJI Home app carries a 3.5/5 rating covering DJI's entire product line rather than this box. This is the smallest difference on the page.
Twenty milliseconds is the whole feature
When wall power cuts, the Power 500 takes over in 20ms, fast enough that a desktop, a router or a CPAP never notices. The 535 PowerHouse doesn't do this. It's a battery you plug things into, not one you plug into the wall and forget about. If anything on your list reboots when the lights flicker, this card is the reason to pick the DJI.
Warranty: No Difference
Both units carry the same 5-year warranty, so coverage isn't a tiebreaker here. The Power 500's figure is a maximum rather than a guarantee — it depends on buying from DJI's own store, which is where the full five years is advertised.
Eight years against eleven
At a full cycle a day, the Anker's 3,000-cycle rating works out to 8.2 years and the DJI's 4,000 to 11. On a weekend schedule both numbers go academic at 28.8 and 38.5 years, so this only decides anything if you plan to run the pack flat most days. If you do, it's about three extra years for the same money.
Anker didn't publish a number
DJI puts 25 dB on the Power 500's spec sheet. Anker publishes no dB rating for the 535 at all, which isn't proof it's loud, only proof that you find out after you buy. If this unit is going to live in a bedroom or two feet from a desk, that blank space is a reason to take the box that filled it in.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the Power 500.
Check Power 500 price →or check the 535 PowerHouse priceOwnership Analysis
What happens after you buy — true cost of ownership, brand trust, and growth potential.
Lifetime value
Service lifeyears at one full cycle per day
Lifetime energy delivered
Cost per delivered kWh
│ warranty ends · Reaching the cycle rating means ~80% capacity remains — degraded, not dead.
Analyst note
The Power 500 wins on both sticker price and long-term value. At $0.15/kWh over its lifetime, it's meaningfully cheaper to own. Clear value winner.
Brand trust
Anker
Ecosystem
Seven or eight SOLIX stations across the compact C-series and the flagship F-series, plus the X1 home energy system. The 535 sits at the small, self-contained end of that lineup.
Support
US-based, and historically the most no-hassle replacement policy in the category. The SOLIX line is where that reputation is thinning, with AI-first first contact and hazmat shipping rules that turn returning a heavy unit into a project. At 16.7 lb, the 535 is light enough to dodge most of that.
Community
Active and growing across r/Anker and r/AnkerSOLIXCommunity, with Anker's whole consumer-electronics audience behind it. If something odd happens, somebody has probably already posted about it.
App experience
Rated 4.5/5 iOS (~1,100 ratings) · 4.3/5 Android
Unique strength
Parent-brand trust earned entirely outside power stations, plus InfiniPower cells built for long service life.
Worth knowing
Firmware updates have removed features without warning elsewhere in the SOLIX line, and the expansion ecosystem is smaller than EcoFlow's. Neither reaches the 535, which doesn't expand and isn't app-managed.
DJI
Ecosystem
Four power stations, all of them recent: the Power 500, the 1000 V2, the 1000 Mini and the 2000. Expansion batteries exist on the 2000 and the 1000 V2 and not on this one, so check the model before assuming the family's features apply.
Support
Global repair centers and a support operation inherited from the drone business, which is a real asset. What it doesn't have yet is a power-station-specific track record.
Community
None of its own yet. Power questions land in r/dji, a room of roughly 250K members that is overwhelmingly about drones.
App experience
Rated 3.5/5 iOS and Android (DJI Home app ratings reflect entire DJI ecosystem including drones/cameras, not power-station-specific). Users report the on-device screen is more reliable than the app.
Unique strength
23 to 30 dB published across the line, at the quiet end of the category, and 700+ battery patents out of drone R&D. The SDC ports charge DJI drone batteries at a speed nothing else matches, which is decisive if you fly and irrelevant if you don't.
Worth knowing
A 2024 arrival in a category the incumbents have been in for a decade. There's no built-in solar charge controller, so a proprietary adapter is required for panels, and the SDC advantage only pays off inside DJI's own ecosystem.
Analyst note
Anker is the safer brand and DJI built the better box, which is an uncomfortable place for a page to land, but it's where the specs put it. If a decade of field history is what you're paying for, that's the Anker column. If the hardware is what you're paying for, it's the other one.
Growth path
535 PowerHouse
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 512Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 120W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Adequate ports for most setups, but heavy users may want a power strip.
Power 500
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 512Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 300W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Adequate ports for most setups, but heavy users may want a power strip.
Realistic full solar rechargeat 70% of rated panel output — see methodology
Analyst note
Neither expands, and that's no knock on either — each is a complete unit at a fixed size. They hold the same 512Wh, so capacity can't break the tie: decide on price, weight, and the rest, and know that whichever you pick is the ceiling.
What Owners Report
Patterns from published owner reports and long-term reviews — every claim cited to its source below.
Anker 535 PowerHouse
The record on the 535 is short and consistent: it does what the label says. One review desk measured 89% round-trip efficiency and found the unit stayed stable and cool while delivering its full 500WA3. The 512Wh LFP pack is rated for 3,000+ cycles and a claimed 10-year lifespan behind the five-year warrantyA1, and it's compact for the capacity, with four AC outlets, three USB-A, a USB-C and a car socketA2.
The recurring caveat is charging. About 2.5 hours to 80% from the wall is fine; solar input caps at 120W and realistically lands between 60 and 75A4. All of this comes from review desks rather than long-term ownersA1A2A3A4, which is enough to trust the numbers and not enough to know how the unit ages.
“512Wh capacity with 500W output on LiFePO4 cells rated for 3,000+ cycles and a 10-year lifespan, backed by a 5-year warranty.”
Sources
ankersolix.com · trustedreviews.com · macrumors.com · batteryessence.com
DJI Power 500
The Power 500 tests better than its own spec sheet. One lab ran it at 905W and watched it briefly ride out a 1,500W spike above its 1,000W rating, and rated it more efficient than DJI's larger Power 1000B3. The 512Wh automotive-grade LFP pack is rated to 3,000-4,000 cycles for roughly a decade of serviceB1, and at about 7.3 kg it's a one-hand carryB2.
The one complaint that keeps surfacing is what's in the box: a wall plug and nothing else, no solar adapters, no car-charging cableB4. As with the Anker, this is a review-desk record rather than a long-term-owner oneB1B3B4. DJI's power stations are new enough that nobody has aged one through five years yet.
“A 512Wh LFP battery with up to 1,000W output; the automotive-grade LFP cells are rated up to 3,000-4,000 cycles for roughly a 10-year lifespan.”
Sources
dji.com · thesolarlab.com · techradar.com · views-sounds.com · t3.com
Sources & Research Notes
Every owner claim in this report is traceable to a published source. The bracketed references above resolve here.
Recurring owner themes
- Durable LFP (3,000+ cycles, 5-yr warranty), efficient, and compact for weekend camping; slow solar input is the caveat. [535 PowerHouse · 2 entries]
- Light, efficient LFP unit with strong real-world output and drone-pilot appeal; the caveat is minimal included accessories. [Power 500 · 3 entries]
- A1
“512Wh capacity with 500W output on LiFePO4 cells rated for 3,000+ cycles and a 10-year lifespan, backed by a 5-year warranty.”
ankersolix.com / trustedreviews.com — 535 PowerHouse review · 2026 · [positive]
- A2
“Weighs 16.5 lbs and is compact for a 512Wh unit, with 4 AC ports, 3 USB-A, a USB-C, and a car outlet.”
macrumors.com / batteryessence.com — 535 PowerHouse review · 2026 · [positive]
- A3
“Demonstrated 89% round-trip efficiency and stayed stable and cool while delivering its full 500W AC output.”
batteryessence.com — 535 PowerHouse review · 2026 · [positive]
- A4
“AC charging to 80% takes about 2.5 hours; solar input caps at 120W (realistically 60-75W), so panel charging is slow.”
batteryessence.com — 535 PowerHouse review · 2026 · [mixed]
- B1
“A 512Wh LFP battery with up to 1,000W output; the automotive-grade LFP cells are rated up to 3,000-4,000 cycles for roughly a 10-year lifespan.”
dji.com / thesolarlab.com — Power 500 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B2
“Weighs only about 7.3 kg, making it easy to transport.”
dji.com / techradar.com — Power 500 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B3
“In testing it ran a 905W load and briefly handled a 1,500W surge above its 1,000W rating; reviewers found it outperformed the larger DJI Power 1000 in efficiency testing.”
thesolarlab.com / views-sounds.com — Power 500 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B4
“Reviews are positive overall, though one noted it ships with only a wall plug — no solar adapters or car-charging cables included.”
t3.com / techradar.com — Power 500 review · 2026 · [mixed]
Research compiled August 2, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the 535 PowerHouse if you…
- →You already own panels and want to plug them in tonight. The 535 takes a solar panel with nothing else ordered; the Power 500 has no built-in charge controller and needs a proprietary adapter first.
- →You want the brand with the longer paper trail. Anker has been shipping power stations for years and has a community to ask when something behaves strangely. DJI's have been on sale since 2024.
- →You want a box with nothing to set up. Four AC outlets, three USB-A, a USB-C, a car socketA2, and no app to pair.
Buy the Power 500 if you…
- →You're running a desktop, a router or a CPAP and a grid flicker would cost you something. The Power 500 hands over in 20ms; the 535 has no UPS mode at all.
- →You can't list every load in advance. A kettle, a shop vac, a coffee maker: 1,000W says yes to a whole category that 500W refuses.
- →You cycle it hard, in a van or on a jobsite or every weekend of the year. 4,000 cycles against 3,000 at the same price works out to 11 years against 8.2 on a daily-cycle schedule.
- →You sleep near it. DJI publishes 25 dB for this unit; Anker publishes no noise figure for the 535 at all.
- →You already fly DJI. The SDC ports charge DJI drone batteries at a speed nothing else matches, which is worth nothing to anyone else and genuinely convenient to you.
If neither fits
Buying this to keep a refrigerator alive through an outage, or to run a workday of tools? Close the tab. The eight-hour blackout profile asks for 1,645Wh of delivered energy and 512Wh isn't a third of it, so neither of these is insurance, they're a phone-router-and-a-lamp stopgap. Shop a box actually built to hold that much, and buy it right the first time, because neither of these expands and you can't grow into the ceiling later.
The Bottom Line
Take the Power 500. Two boxes with the same 512Wh battery, the same five-year warranty and a dollar between them, and one of them accepts twice the load, two and a half times the solar, a thousand more cycles and a 20ms handoff when the grid drops. Nothing on the other side of that list is cheaper.
The Anker's real claim is that it takes a solar panel with nothing else in the cart, and that Anker has been doing this longer than DJI has. If you're a panel-first buyer who wants no accessories to order, take it and don't feel bad about it. Everyone else is choosing between the same battery behind a wide door and the same battery behind a narrow one, for the same money. Take the wide one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Is the DJI Power 500 worth it over the Anker 535 PowerHouse?
Yes, and it isn't a money question, because they're a dollar apart. The DJI runs 1,000W continuous to the Anker's 500W, accepts 300W of solar to the Anker's 120W, and switches to battery in 20ms when wall power drops, which the 535 doesn't do at all. Capacity and warranty are identical at 512Wh and five years. The single reason to take the Anker instead is that it accepts a solar panel without a proprietary adapter.
Will either of these run a CPAP all night?
Both will, and by the same margin. The CPAP profile draws 320Wh and each box holds about 435Wh usable, which is 512Wh minus the roughly 15% you lose to the inverter and never drain, so you wake up with about a quarter of the tank left on either one. Since capacity can't break that tie, break it on the specs you'll notice at 3 a.m.: DJI publishes 25 dB and a 20ms switchover, and Anker publishes neither for the 535.
Which one charges faster from solar?
The DJI, by a wide margin on paper. 300W of solar input against 120W turns the Anker's 6.1-hour solar refill into roughly two and a half hours. The catch is that the Power 500 has no built-in solar charge controller, so you buy DJI's adapter before any panel works. The Anker takes a panel immediately and then crawls, landing realistically at 60 to 75W of its rated 120.
Can I add a second battery to either one?
No. Both are fixed at 512Wh with no expansion battery, and that isn't a mark against either one, since each is a complete unit at a set size. Buy the capacity you need now, because you can't add to either later. DJI does sell expansion on the Power 2000 and Power 1000 V2, but not on this model, so don't assume the family's features apply here.
Is DJI a safe brand to buy a power station from?
It's the newest name in the category. DJI's power stations started shipping in 2024, there are four models, there's no dedicated community, and the power-specific track record is short. What DJI brings is a drone business with 700+ battery patents and an existing global repair network. If a long field record is what you're paying for, Anker has more of one; if the hardware is what you're paying for, DJI's is better here.
Brand matchup
Anker SOLIX vs DJI: measured across every matchup →Where to buy
Anker 535 PowerHouse
$299.99
$299.99 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
DJI Power 500Pick
$299.00
$299.00 · direct from DJI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.