Head-to-head test
Anker SOLIX C300 vs BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K
Nobody actually cross-shops a grab-and-go daypack battery against a 183-pound installed home-backup system, so name your job first; it's the only thing that tells these two apart.
Full profiles: Anker SOLIX C300 → · BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K →
Written by Gunner GustafsonUpdated
Whole-Home Backup Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
$329.99 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
$3,299.00 · direct from BLUETTI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Spec deltas
One of these is 9.1 pounds and 288 watt-hours. The other is 183 pounds and 7,885. That gap isn't something you weigh on a spec sheet; it's the difference between a thing you carry and a thing you install, and it means this matchup has no winner in the normal sense.
The SOLIX C300 is built for the small, mobile job: phones, a laptop, a headlamp, a short CPAP night. Anker pitches it as 30% smaller than competing stationsA2, the kind of 9.1-pound topper you forget you own until the lights go out for an hour. The Apex 300 + B500K is built for the opposite job. It's a 183-pound appliance that sits in a utility room and carries a fridge, a few circuits, and a multi-day outage without noticing.
So the only real question is which job is yours, because neither box does the other's. The C300 can't finish anything past a few hundred watt-hours, and the Apex can't come to anything you'd have to carry it to. If you were hoping one of them was the do-everything answer, the honest news is that it's on a different page than this one.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
weight
There's no load size where both are the smart pick: the C300 tops out right about where the Apex starts earning its footprint, so naming a single real load lands you cleanly on one side with nothing left to weigh.
SOLIX C300: 9.1 lbs, 288WhApex 300 + B500K: 183 lbs, 7,885WhAfternoon job of ~100Wh leaves the C300 at 41% used; Weekend Camping and Tailgate return 'neither' because the 183-lb Apex can't travel
Why it mattersDon't compare the boxes; name your biggest recurring load and whether it has to travel, and the box is already chosen.
Typical price
That per-kWh discount is only real if you cycle the energy to earn it; a phone-and-laptop user never draws enough to convert it, so for them the C300's higher per-kWh number is still the smaller lifetime bill.
Apex 300 + B500K: $3,299 up frontSOLIX C300: $330 up frontLifetime energy 27,597 kWh (Apex) vs 864 kWh (C300); $0.12 vs $0.35 per lifetime kWh
Why it mattersOnly buy the Apex's efficiency if your daily loads are big enough to spend it; below that scale the cheaper energy is money left sitting in a battery.
Neither is a clean CPAP answer on a humidified machine: the C300 is silent but short, the Apex endless but audible, and their identical sub-10ms handoff doesn't break that tie.
CPAP night needs 320Wh; C300 has 245Wh usable, about 6 hours at 40W (245 / 40)C300 listed 25dB vs Apex 45dB, both manufacturer best-case floorsBoth rated with a UPS switchover no worse than 10ms
Why it mattersHumidified-CPAP users should skip both and buy a quiet mid-size unit sized to finish the night without the fridge-noise tax.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: Everything downstream follows from one contrast: 9.1 pounds you carry out the door against 183 you install once and leave.
weight
Weight is the whole argument, so make it physical. The C300 is 9.1 pounds, one hand, into a daypack, out the door. The Apex 300 + B500K is 183, a two-person lift you do exactly once, to a spot you've already committed to, because you won't be redoing it. One reviewer of the Apex line said it was so heavy he could barely carry it a few feet and couldn't get it onto a tableB11, though our notes on this exact pairing are thin and mostly describe sibling setupsB0.
That one number sorts the buyers. If your power need ever has to move, to a trailhead, a tailgate, a friend's dark living room during their outage, the Apex was never really a candidate, however much energy it holds. And if the need never moves, the C300's portability is 288 watt-hours you didn't have to be able to lift.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: Real loads show the split cleanly. The C300 finishes the small jobs and stalls on the big ones; the Apex finishes everything but can't travel to the jobs you'd carry a battery to.
Line the scenarios up and a clean handoff appears. The C300 clears the small jobs, an afternoon of phones and a speaker leaves it at 41% used, and then it falls off a cliff: about 27% of a remote workday, roughly 5% of a van's daily draw. The Apex clears all of them with thousands of watt-hours to spare, then sits out the two that require travel, which is why Weekend Camping and Tailgate Party come back 'neither.' It has the energy and can't get there.
There's no load size where both are the sensible buy. Below a few hundred watt-hours the C300 is right and the Apex is overkill; above that the C300 simply can't, and the Apex is the only one of the two left standing. So the comparison collapses to one question you can answer without us: what's the biggest thing you need to power, and does it stay put?
Lifetime Value
Selected because: The Apex lists at $3,299 to the C300's $330 yet costs less per lifetime kWh. Worth understanding before that stat picks your box for you.
cost / lifetime kWh
The Apex is the more expensive box and the cheaper energy, which reads like a paradox until you see the volume under it. Over its life it delivers about 27,597 kWh to the C300's 864, roughly 32 times the energy (27,597 / 864), so its $3,299 spreads thin and lands at $0.12 per lifetime kWh against the C300's $0.35.
Here's the catch that number hides: you only collect the savings if you actually move the energy. Buy the Apex to top phones and a laptop and you've paid about $2,969 more up front to leave most of 7,885 watt-hours sitting full, and cheap kWh you never spend saves nothing. Cycle it daily for real home loads and the figure is honest, and the C300 was never in that race. The per-kWh number is a bargain at the Apex's scale and a trap below it.
What the Specs Don't Tell You
Selected because: The catches that actually bite: the Apex's 183-pound placement and 45dB hum, the C300's sealed 288Wh ceiling, and a warranty that's a wash at five years each.
rated cycles
The catches aren't symmetric, and that asymmetry is the useful part. The C300's one real limit is that 288Wh is forever: a non-issue if you sized it right, a wall if you didn't. The Apex's limits are things you live with every day it's plugged in, 183 pounds that fixes its location for good and a 45dB hum under load that a utility room swallows and a bedroom doesn't.
Warranty doesn't tip it either way; both run five years. So the C300's drawback is a single sizing decision you make once, while the Apex's are standing conditions of ownership. Weigh them as what they are, not as a matched pair of checkmarks.
Strengths & trade-offs
Anker SOLIX C300
Strengths
- +Costs $2,969 less
- +Lighter by 173.9 lb
Trade-offs
- –Weaker inverter (-3,540W) limits appliance compatibility.
- –Sealed capacity — the Apex 300 + B500K can add batteries to grow past 288Wh; this one can't.
- –Shorter-lived battery — rated for 3,000 charge cycles vs the Apex 300 + B500K's 6,000, so it wears out sooner.
BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K
Strengths
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Faster solar charging
- +Rated for 6,000 charge cycles — much longer battery lifespan
Trade-offs
- –Substantially more expensive (+$2,969) than the SOLIX C300.
- –Significantly heavier (+173.9 lbs), making it harder to move.
- –Very heavy unit that may be difficult for one person to lift.
Will It Power Your Gear?
Scenario math and per-appliance runtimes, modeled from the spec record.
Scenario verdicts
We ran the math on seven 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
One row, both failure modes. The Apex has the watt-hours and can't come; the C300 comes and runs dry at about 12% of a 2,100Wh weekend. Nobody drives home with a powered campsite here.
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
Apex 300 + B500K
Fifteen percent. That's how much of an 8-hour blackout the C300's 245 usable watt-hours cover before it's a paperweight, while the Apex clears the same 1,645Wh with 5,057 to spare. If backup is the whole reason you're shopping, the C300 isn't backup, and this is the row that says so.
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
Apex 300 + B500K
The Apex wins this one, but read how it wins. It covers the 320Wh night with 6,382 watt-hours to spare, at a listed 45dB, right beside your head. The quieter C300 runs out around 6 hours in. Lasting the night and sleeping through it aren't the same spec.
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
Apex 300 + B500K
The SOLIX C300 doesn't finish — 245Wh usable against the 910Wh this needs leaves it 665Wh short, about 27% of the scenario covered. The Apex 300 + B500K covers it with 5,792Wh to spare.
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
The C300's 600W surge lights the 400W load, then its 300W continuous rating takes over and can't hold it. The Apex could run the whole tailgate and then some, but it weighs 183 pounds and isn't invited to a parking lot. Neither one is your game day.
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
Apex 300 + B500K
A 4,685Wh day is where the C300 stops being part of the conversation; it covers about 5%. The Apex handles it with 2,017 watt-hours left over, which is the gap between a phone topper and a house battery you happen to park in a van.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Mini-Fridge 150W×24h · Laptop 60W×4h · Phone Charger 15W×3h · LED Lights 40W×5h · Fan 75W×8h
SCN-07 · an afternoon · needs 100Wh
Afternoon Off-Grid
Phones and a speaker at the park, beach, or campsite — the small-unit job description
Either unit
This row is here for the SOLIX C300's class of job: phones and a speaker, 100Wh across an afternoon. Both cover it — the SOLIX C300 finishes at 41% used, and the Apex 300 + B500K barely notices it. For this job the Apex 300 + B500K's extra capacity is dead weight, not headroom; take the SOLIX C300 at 9.1 lbs and leave the rest at home.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Phone Charger (×2) 30W×2h · Bluetooth Speaker 10W×4h
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
For this load: Apex 300 + B500K runs 32.7h vs 1.2h.
$3,299 list · direct from BLUETTI
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 0–446.8hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–89.4hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–6.7h¹ 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 30, 2026
Verdict: the Apex 300 + B500K, on Power Score margin
Call it a tie, but not because they're equal; because they don't compete. The C300 is a 9.1-pound, 288Wh grab-and-go that tops phones, a laptop, and a camp light, and taps out there. The Apex 300 + B500K is a 183-pound, 7,885Wh installed system that runs a fridge through a blackout and never leaves the house. Whichever one matches your actual job wins by a mile and the other loses by the same margin. If you can't yet say which job you're buying for, that's the decision to make first, not which of these two boxes to click.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
Written by Gunner Gustafson, Whole-Home Backup Tester · Station Arena Test Desk · Updated August 30, 2026
Measured Data
Benchmark scores and the full spec record, side by side.
Benchmark scores
Not rated for both units (minimum threshold unmet): UPS, Home Backup, CPAP, Tailgating, Food Truck, Apartment Balcony, Camping.
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, SOLIX C300 rates 4.2/5 (52nd percentile of 22 Personal-class units), and Apex 300 + B500K rates 3.5/5 (11th percentile of 29 Whole-Home / Off-Grid-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.
183 pounds, and it means it
This is a two-person, bent-knee lift to a spot you've already chosen, because you won't be redoing it. The B500K stack isn't carried, it's sited. If your plan involves ever moving it, the plan needs another look.
45dB is a running fridge you'll actually hear
The C300's listed 25dB and the Apex's 45dB aren't measured the same way, so don't read the gap as exact. But at a CPAP's low overnight load it's the fair comparison, and 45dB is where sleep starts to fray. In a utility room it's nothing. Beside your bed it's the whole story.
The C300's ceiling is 288Wh, full stop
Sealed means what it says: 288Wh is the most this unit will ever hold. That's no knock if 288Wh is your job. But if you suspect you'll want more, don't buy that hope into this box, because it has nowhere to go, and the moment you truly need more you've left the C300's class entirely.
Warranty won't break this one
Both carry five years, so coverage isn't the tiebreaker. The per-dollar math only looks lopsided because the prices are; the terms are identical. Let something real decide.
Battery Lifespan in Real Years
The Apex 300 + B500K is rated for 6,000 cycles vs 3,000. In real life: at daily use, that's 16.4 vs 8.2 years. At weekend use (twice a week), it's 58 vs 29 years. One caution reading years across different sizes: a cycle is 7,885Wh on the Apex 300 + B500K and 288Wh on the SOLIX C300, so count lifetime energy — roughly 47,309 kWh against 864 kWh over the rated life. After hitting the cycle limit, the battery doesn't die — it drops to ~80% of original capacity, which is still very usable.
Ownership 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 SOLIX C300 is cheaper to buy, but the Apex 300 + B500K is cheaper to own. At $0.07/kWh over its lifetime vs $0.38/kWh, the Apex 300 + B500K's higher cycle life and capacity make each dollar go further over the years.
Brand trust
Anker
Ecosystem
7-8 SOLIX portable power stations across C-series (compact) and F-series (flagship), plus the X1 home energy system
Support
US-based, and Anker's historically no-hassle replacements were long a reason to buy. SOLIX-specific service has been slipping lately, with AI-driven first-line agents and hazmat shipping friction on heavier units. The upside for this matchup: at 9.1 pounds, the C300 is the easiest possible case to send back if it ever comes to that.
Community
Moderate — active Reddit (r/Anker, r/AnkerSOLIXCommunity) and growing. Benefits from Anker's massive consumer electronics brand awareness.
App experience
Rated 4.5/5 iOS (~1,100 ratings) · 4.3/5 Android
Unique strength
Parent-brand trust from Anker's consumer-electronics scale, plus InfiniPower cell longevity. Its mid-size and larger stations are among the better per-watt-hour buys in the catalog.
Worth knowing
Firmware updates have quietly pulled features before, so it's worth skimming release notes rather than auto-updating.
BLUETTI
Ecosystem
One of the broadest lineups — 15-20+ models from budget (AC2A) to flagship portable (Apex 300, 2764.8Wh). Includes specialized products: vehicle solar hubs, sodium-ion cold-weather units, and balcony storage systems.
Support
The most inconsistent in the category: email-based, subject to timezone delays, and noticeably smoother if you buy direct rather than through a reseller. On a 183-pound unit that cuts deeper, because a warranty event you can't easily crate is a warranty event you'll dread.
Community
The BLUETTI subreddit is active and second only to EcoFlow, but this specific pairing has almost no footprint there yet, so expect to be an early adopter.
App experience
Rated 4.5/5 iOS and Android — tied for best app experience in the category. V3.0 UI redesign was well-received.
Unique strength
Among the best capacity-per-dollar anywhere, the widest lineup in the space, and full LFP with 120V/240V output in the flagships. The Apex is a real system, not an oversized power bank.
Worth knowing
This configuration is very new; plan for firmware to still be settling for a while.
Analyst note
Anker's app sits at 4.5 on iOS, BLUETTI's at 4.5 across both platforms, so software isn't where these split. Support is. Anker's is slipping from a high starting point, BLUETTI's is inconsistent from the start, and both risks scale with weight, because the heavier the box, the worse a return or repair goes. On the 9.1-pound C300 that risk stays small. On the 183-pound Apex it's part of what you're buying.
Growth path
SOLIX C300
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 288Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 100W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Adequate ports for most setups, but heavy users may want a power strip.
Apex 300 + B500K
EXPANDABLESupports BLUETTI expansion batteries, so you can add capacity later without replacing the base unit — useful if your needs may climb past 7,885Wh.
Accepts up to 2,400W of solar. Enough for a serious multi-panel array.
Generous port selection supports complex multi-device setups.
Expansion batteries are BLUETTI-specific. You're investing in the BLUETTI ecosystem.
Realistic full solar rechargeat 70% of rated panel output — see methodology
Analyst note
The SOLIX C300 is sealed at 288Wh, which is fine if that covers you. The Apex 300 + B500K starts at 7,885Wh and can grow beyond it with BLUETTI expansion batteries — real headroom the SOLIX C300 doesn't have if your needs climb toward partial-home backup.
What Owners Report
Patterns from published owner reports and long-term reviews — every claim cited to its source below.
Anker SOLIX C300
Field coverage on the C300 is mostly reviews rather than long-haul ownership, and it runs positiveA0. Reviewers call it genuinely light and compact for the capacity, an on-the-trail topper for phones and gadgetsA2, with dual 140W USB-C for fast device chargingA1 and a UPS switchover rated no worse than 10ms that several flag as unusual at this size and priceA3.
One provenance note from our own research: some listings blur the DC-only C300 and the C300X into this SKU. The unit here is the standard C300 with AC outputA0.
“288Wh capacity with 300W output (600W with SurgePad) and dual 140W USB-C ports for fast device charging.”
Sources
ankersolix.com · trustedreviews.com · im.com.au · solarwaypoint.com · backuppowerhub.com · powerstationlab.com
BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K
Long-term field data on this exact 7,885Wh pairing is effectively absent, and that's the most important thing to say about it. Almost every first-hand account describes the bare Apex 300 or the B300K combo, not the B500K stack, and no six-month ownership reports turned up at allB0. Treat what follows as early signal, not a track record.
What signal exists splits in predictable ways. Several reviewers describe the fans as quiet and even under load, quiet enough for a room you sit inB1B2B13, though those pieces are model-uncertain, so take them as character rather than a measured specB0. Less flattering: a recurring thread of firmware and app updates causing mode-lock and inverter error codes, several of them resolved by a later update or a support ticketB7B9B10. Owners running units in parallel also report uneven charge rates that need unofficial workaroundsB3B4, and one reviewer simply couldn't move the thingB11.
“Turns out the Apex 300's noise control is on par with the quietest power stations on the market, like those on offer from EcoFlow and DJI.”
Sources & Research Notes
Every owner claim in this report is traceable to a published source. The bracketed references above resolve here.
Recurring owner themes
- Compact, light design; dual 140W USB-C fast charging; and a standout 10ms UPS rare at this size are the highlights. [SOLIX C300 · 3 entries]
- Multiple independent reviewers describe the dual-fan cooling as noticeably quiet/even for a unit of this output class, even under load. [Apex 300 + B500K · 3 entries]
- Firmware and app updates have repeatedly caused mode-lock, download failures, or inverter error codes; several threads show the issue eventually resolved after further updates or support contact. [Apex 300 + B500K · 4 entries]
- When running multiple Apex 300 units or expansion batteries in parallel, owners report uneven charge rates between units, with community-devised (unofficial) workarounds needed to keep them in sync. [Apex 300 + B500K · 2 entries]
- The stripped-down, modular design draws criticism for real-world handling: extreme weight makes it hard to move, and lack of native USB/DC ports forces reliance on a separate paid hub accessory. [Apex 300 + B500K · 2 entries]
- A1
“288Wh capacity with 300W output (600W with SurgePad) and dual 140W USB-C ports for fast device charging.”
ankersolix.com / trustedreviews.com — SOLIX C300 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A2
“Anker claims the C300 is 30% smaller than competing power stations; reviewers call it impressively light and compact for the capacity, aimed at keeping phones and gadgets charged on hikes and camping trips.”
im.com.au / solarwaypoint.com — SOLIX C300 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A3
“Its 10ms UPS switchover is legitimately unique in this size and price class.”
backuppowerhub.com / powerstationlab.com — SOLIX C300 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B1
“Turns out the Apex 300's noise control is on par with the quietest power stations on the market, like those on offer from EcoFlow and DJI.”
The Solar Lab — "Bluetti Apex 300 Review: Cheap, Practical Home Backup?" · unknown · [positive]
- B2
“Some units sound like small jet engines under load, but the Apex 300's fans are relatively tame.”
Techspective — "Bluetti Apex 300 with B300K Review" · 2025-09 · [positive]
- B3
“The Apex 300 have some major charging problems... When the units are charging from the grid they charge at different rates and not together.”
DIY Solar Power Forum — "Bluetti Apex 300 problems" · 2025-09 · [negative]
- B4
“I have found a simple way to get around some of the solar charging limitations with multiple APEX 300s hooked up in parallel... So far, I have not had any problems with my setup.”
DIY Solar Power Forum — "Bluetti Apex 300 problems" · 2025-09 · [mixed]
- B7
“I updated my Apex 300 to the latest firmware yesterday. Now it's stuck in 'Backup' mode... when I go into the app to try to change it back, it flashes to...”
BLUETTI Community — "Apex 300 stuck in Backup mode after last firmware update" · 2025-11 · [negative]
- B9
“After the update completed, the charging stopped and I received Error 004... I have error E004 Inverter Output Failure.”
BLUETTI Community — "Error E004 Apex 300" · 2025-11 · [negative]
- B10
“I had a power outage in the middle of the night, so I hooked everything (Hub A1 and all 300's) back up and now HA is populating. YEA!!!”
GitHub bluetti-official/bluetti-home-assistant — "APEX 300 and Hub A1 now working" (Issue #95) · 2026-05 · [mixed]
- B11
“it's so heavy I can hardly carry it more than a few feet at a time and have been unable to lift it onto a table.”
T3 — "Bluetti Apex 300 review: transform your off-grid life" · 2025-11 · [negative]
- B13
“Fan noise remains even, with no distracting pitch or rattle. This makes the Apex 300 usable near sleeping areas or indoor workspaces without disturbance.”
Yanko Design — "BLUETTI Apex 300 Review" · 2025-05 · [positive]
Research compiled August 30, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the SOLIX C300 if you…
- →The weekend hiker or car-camper keeping phones, a headlamp, and a laptop alive for a couple of days. 288Wh at 9.1 pounds is precisely that jobA2.
- →Anyone who wants a battery that lives in a trunk and only comes out when the power's off for an hour. An afternoon of phones and a speaker, around 100Wh, leaves the C300 at 41% used.
- →The buyer with a small always-on load like a modem or a desktop who wants a fast handoff, where the sub-10ms UPS switchover that reviewers call unusual at this price actually earns its keepA3.
Buy the Apex 300 + B500K if you…
- →The homeowner who wants a fridge, a few outlets, and the Wi-Fi to ride out a multi-day outage, and has one spot to set 183 pounds and leave it.
- →The off-grid cabin or van build that needs 7,885Wh of installed capacity, 240V output, and room to bolt on more batteries as the system grows.
- →The heavy daily user whose loads are big enough that $0.12 per lifetime kWh is money actually saved instead of a number on a page.
If neither fits
Skip both if you want a single box that travels and runs the house, because that's two different classes and neither of these splits the difference. If you need a do-everything portable that can run a fridge overnight and still be carried to a campsite by one person, look at a mid-size portable station, not a 9.1-pound topper or a 183-pound install. And if this is for a humidified CPAP: the quiet C300 runs only about 6 hours of a 40W night on its 245 usable watt-hours, while the Apex that lasts is a 45dB appliance next to your pillow. A quiet mid-size unit beats both for sleeping.
The Bottom Line
This was never a duel; it's a fork. The C300 is the right answer to a small, mobile question. 9.1 pounds, 288Wh, phones and a laptop and an afternoon off-grid, and it stops cold at the first job that needs more than a few hundred watt-hours. The Apex 300 + B500K is the right answer to a big, stationary one. 7,885Wh that carries a fridge through a multi-day outage, and it never comes camping.
There's no load size where both are the smart buy, which is exactly why the choice is easy once you name the load. Name your biggest recurring power need. If you can carry it, buy the C300. If it has to run the house, buy the Apex. And if you wanted one box for both, that's a mid-size portable neither brand put on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Is the Anker SOLIX C300 or the BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K better?
Neither in the abstract, because they're different classes of product. The C300 is a 9.1-pound, 288Wh portable for phones, laptops, and lights; the Apex 300 + B500K is a 183-pound, 7,885Wh installed system for home and off-grid backup. The better one is whichever matches whether your power need travels or stays put.
Can the Anker C300 run a refrigerator or back up my house?
No. Its 288Wh (about 245 usable) covers roughly 15% of a typical 1,645Wh eight-hour blackout, and its 300W continuous output can start but not sustain larger appliances. It's meant for phones, laptops, and lights. For a fridge through an outage you want something in the Apex's class.
Is the BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K portable enough to take camping?
Not really. At 183 pounds it's a two-person lift and a semi-permanent install; one reviewer of the line could barely carry it a few feet. It's designed to sit in one place and back up a home, cabin, or van build, not to travel with you.
Why is the Apex cheaper per kWh if it costs $3,299?
Because it delivers far more energy over its life, about 27,597 kWh to the C300's 864, so the up-front price spreads across much more use and lands at $0.12 per lifetime kWh versus $0.35. That only turns into real savings if you actually cycle that much energy; a light user never gets there and is better off with the cheaper box.
Which one should I buy for CPAP?
Likely neither, if your machine uses a heated humidifier. The C300 is quiet at a listed 25dB but its 245 usable watt-hours run only about 6 hours of a 40W night, while the Apex lasts easily but runs near 45dB, noticeable right next to your pillow. A quiet mid-size unit sized to finish the night suits CPAP better than either.
Where to buy
Anker SOLIX C300
$329.99
$329.99 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
BLUETTI Apex 300 + B500K
$3,299.00
$3,299.00 · direct from BLUETTI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.