Head-to-head test
Anker SOLIX C800 Plus vs BLUETTI Apex 300 + 2×B500K
This isn't a contest, it's a category test: a 24-pound box you carry against a 282-pound appliance you install, and the only question that settles it is whether your power needs to move.
Full profiles: Anker SOLIX C800 Plus → · BLUETTI Apex 300 + 2×B500K →
Written by Gunner GustafsonUpdated
Whole-Home Backup Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
$649.00 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
$5,399.00 · direct from BLUETTI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Spec deltas
Seventeen times the energy, twelve times the weight, eight times the price. The Apex 300 stacked with two B500K batteries holds 13,005Wh and weighs 282 pounds; the SOLIX C800 Plus holds 768Wh and weighs 24. These two share a product category the way a cargo van shares one with a backpack: technically both carry things, and that is where the resemblance ends.
The tell is in the scenarios. Ask each to power a house through an eight-hour blackout and the Apex does it with 9,409Wh to spare while the C800 taps out at 40% of the load. Ask each to come to a tailgate and the Apex, at 282 pounds, simply doesn't come, while the C800 lands within 3% of the whole party's draw. Neither is better than the other. Each is the only real answer to a different question.
So the decision isn't which unit wins; it's which sentence describes you. 'I want power I can throw in the car for camping, storms, and the occasional CPAP night' points at the Anker and never wavers. 'I want to keep the lights, fridge, and well pump running for days without the grid' points at the Bluetti. If you can't finish either sentence yet, settle that first. The hardware falls out of it.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
weight
Each unit's headline strength evaporates the instant the job crosses onto the other's turf. Thirteen kilowatt-hours you can't lift to the tailgate is zero kilowatt-hours at the tailgate, and a box you can carry anywhere is still a 653-usable-Wh box when the load is 2,100.
C800 Plus: 24 lbs, 768WhApex 300 + 2×B500K: 282.2 lbs, 13,004.8WhWeekend Camping and Tailgate both score 'neither' in the engine's scenario sweep
Why it mattersPick on one axis before any spec sheet: does this power stay put, or does it travel? That single answer eliminates one of these two entirely.
Typical price
A weekend camper pulling a few hundred watt-hours a few times a month will never touch 45,517 lifetime kWh; they would pay $1,080 a year in coverage to sit beside energy they don't use. Cost-per-kWh flatters the unit you run hard and punishes the one you run occasionally, so for the light user the pricier-looking $0.28 C800 is the cheaper decision, not the dearer one.
Apex: $0.12 per lifetime kWh; C800: $0.28 per lifetime kWhApex delivers 45,517 lifetime kWh vs the C800's 2,304Apex costs $5,399 up front and $1,080 per warranty year; C800 costs $649 and $130 per year
Why it mattersWeigh the $0.12 rate only if your real appetite is whole-home, RV, or off-grid scale; if it's a cooler and a phone, that number isn't aimed at you.
continuous output
This isn't more watts, it's a different class of load. The C800 is sized for a fridge, a CPAP, laptops and lights, and one owner logged their fridge and freezer using just 10% in eight hoursA6, while the Apex is sized for the breaker panel, up to 240V and a 50-amp RVB10.
C800 Plus: 1,200W continuous, 1,600W surge (1.3x ratio)Apex: 3,840W continuous, 7,680W surge (2x ratio)C800 reviewers note it lacks the outright power for kettles or coffee machinesA10
Why it mattersIf your load list has a well pump, an AC compressor, or an RV hookup, the C800 was never a candidate; if it's gadgets and a fridge, the Apex's ceiling is capacity you'll never call on.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: 24 pounds against 282 is the whole matchup: one unit travels and one gets installed, so this is the first fork in the road, not a footnote.
weight
Twenty-four pounds is a one-hand, grab-it-off-the-shelf lift; 282 is a two-person, plan-the-spot, don't-do-stairs commitment you make exactly once. That's not a portability edge for the Anker, it's the entire reason the two units exist. The C800 goes where you go; the Apex goes where you put it, and then it stays there being a very good appliance.
Reviewers of the Apex platform describe barely carrying it a few feet and failing to lift it onto a tableB4, so plan for a cart and a permanent corner rather than a road trip. The C800 has no placement problem to solve, which is the quiet luxury of a unit you can pick up.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: Six real loads show the split cleanly, the Apex clearing every high-draw and multi-day scenario, the C800 only the small ones, and the two that require travel ruling the Apex out.
Line the six scenarios up and the pattern is almost comic. The Apex takes the eight-hour blackout, the remote workday, and van-life daily, ties the CPAP night, and loses the two portable scenarios only because it can't get in the car. The C800's best moment is the tailgate, where it finishes 17Wh short of the 670Wh load, close enough that dropping one appliance carries the party alone. Its worst is van life at 4,685Wh, where it reaches about 14% before the Apex has even noticed, still sitting on 6,369Wh in reserve.
Read it as a map, not a scoreboard. Every scenario the Apex wins is one where you'd never have wanted to carry a battery anywhere; every scenario the C800 handles is one where 282 pounds would have been absurd. The scoreboard says Apex; the map says buy for the life you actually live.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: The Apex costs $0.12 per lifetime kWh against the C800's $0.28, but that rate only pays off at whole-home volume, so it's worth defusing before it decides anything.
cost / lifetime kWh
The Apex is genuinely the cheaper energy: $0.12 per lifetime kilowatt-hour against the C800's $0.28, because 3,500 cycles across 13,005Wh add up to 45,517 lifetime kWh to spread the price over. That figure is real, and it is also a trap for the wrong buyer. You collect the $0.12 rate only by pushing serious energy through the pack for years; a light or occasional user pays $5,399 and $1,080 a year in coverage to reach kilowatt-hours they'll never draw.
The C800 inverts cleanly: $649 buys 2,304 lifetime kWh and $130 a year of warranty exposure. If your use is a fridge on a camping trip and a laptop in a blackout, that is the honest cost basis, and the Apex's superior per-kWh math is answering a question you aren't asking.
What the Specs Don't Tell You
Selected because: Weight, surge headroom, and switchover speed are where the category gap turns into what each unit can actually run and where it can sit.
rated cycles
Three gotchas map the category gap. Weight is the loud one: at 282 pounds the Apex is a fixture reviewers could barely moveB4, while the 24-pound C800 has no placement problem at all. Surge is the quiet one: the C800's 1,600W ceiling sits just 1.3x above its 1,200W continuous output, thin enough that a motor's startup spike can trip it, where the Apex's 7,680W and 2x cushion start compressors without flinching.
The one place the C800 competes on level ground is backup switchover, and even there it's a rung down: rated no worse than 20ms against the Apex's 10ms class. Both are quick enough on paper for routers and most electronics; only a fussy desktop power supply guarding unsaved work would sit right at the C800's line. That's a rating, not a stopwatch reading, but if a PC is the thing you're protecting it's worth the glance.
Strengths & trade-offs
Anker SOLIX C800 Plus
Strengths
- +Costs $4,750 less
- +Lighter by 258.2 lb
Trade-offs
- –Weaker inverter (-2,640W) limits appliance compatibility.
- –Sealed capacity — the Apex 300 + 2×B500K can add batteries to grow past 768Wh; this one can't.
- –Shorter-lived battery — rated for 3,000 charge cycles vs the Apex 300 + 2×B500K's 6,000, so it wears out sooner.
BLUETTI Apex 300 + 2×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 (+$4,750) than the SOLIX C800 Plus.
- –Significantly heavier (+258.2 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 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
This is the mismatch in one scene. The Apex holds 11,054 usable Wh against a 2,100Wh weekend, but at 282 pounds it isn't getting in the car; the C800 is in the car and taps out under a third of the way through. The useful takeaway isn't which one loses, it's that a powered camping weekend wants a portable bigger than 768Wh, and neither of these is that unit.
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 + 2×B500K
The SOLIX C800 Plus doesn't finish — 653Wh usable against the 1,645Wh this needs leaves it 992Wh short, about 40% of the scenario covered. The Apex 300 + 2×B500K covers it with 9,409Wh to spare.
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
A CPAP is about 40W, roughly 320Wh across the night, so both units clear it with room to spare, the C800 twice over and the Apex dozens of times. Capacity isn't the question and neither is noise, since they carry the same rating. The tiebreak is obvious the moment you picture it: you set a 24-pound, $649 box on the nightstand, not a 282-pound, $5,399 system. Both pass; only one belongs in the bedroom.
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 + 2×B500K
The SOLIX C800 Plus doesn't finish — 653Wh usable against the 910Wh this needs leaves it 257Wh short, about 72% of the scenario covered. The Apex 300 + 2×B500K covers it with 10,144Wh 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 Apex 300 + 2×B500K at 282.2 lbs is not a take-along — it rolls off a truck bed if it travels at all. The SOLIX C800 Plus actually goes, and lands within 3% of the 670Wh — trim one appliance and it does the job alone. That trimmed kit is the honest answer here; the Apex 300 + 2×B500K was never in this scenario at all.
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 + 2×B500K
At 4,685Wh a day this is the Apex's kind of load, covered outright with 6,369Wh still in reserve. The C800 reaches about 14% of it before dinner. Full-time in a van, this is the gap that decides everything: the C800 is a top-up battery, the Apex is the electrical system, and life on the road wants the system, wired in.
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
For this load: Apex 300 + 2×B500K runs 53.9h vs 3.2h.
$5,399 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 0–736.9hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–147.4hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–11.1h¹ 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 + 2×B500K, on Power Score margin
Call it a tie only because there is no shared job to win. The C800 Plus is a 24-pound, 768Wh grab-and-go you lift into a trunk one-handed; the Apex 300 with two B500K batteries is a 282-pound, 13,005Wh installed system you set down once and leave. Across six scenarios the split is clean: the Apex covers every high-draw and multi-day load while the C800 covers only the small ones, but in the two scenarios that require actually carrying the thing, the Apex isn't eligible at all. Buy the Anker if the power leaves the house with you; buy the Bluetti if it backs up the house. Almost nobody genuinely chooses between these two, and if you're cross-shopping them you haven't yet decided whether you're camping or prepping. That decision picks the unit, not this page.
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, Solar Generator, 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 C800 Plus rates 3.8/5 (32nd percentile of 20 Compact-class units), and Apex 300 + 2×B500K rates 3.5/5 (14th 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.
A 13,005Wh Fixture, Not a Portable
282 pounds is the number that ends the portable conversation. It's a two-person lift you perform once, into a corner it won't leave. Think of it as installing a small appliance rather than buying a battery you carry, and size your expectations to a spot on the floor, not a spot in the trunk.
Fan Noise: Line Ball
Both units are rated at the same 45dB — like a running refrigerator. One published figure, twice, so noise shouldn't decide this one.
The C800 Is Sealed at 768Wh
What you buy is what you've got: the C800 Plus can't take expansion batteries, so 768Wh is the permanent ceiling. For a grab-and-go portable that's usually the right trade, since you'd never haul more anyway. It only stings if you expect your needs to grow, because the answer then is a second unit, not a bigger one. The Apex makes the opposite bet by design: start large, add batteries, scale toward the house.
Surge Headroom: 1.3x vs 2x
The C800 tops out at 1,600W surge over a 1,200W continuous rating, a 1.3x cushion thin enough that a fridge or pump's startup spike can trip it. The Apex carries a 2x cushion to 7,680W and starts compressors and power tools without a stumble. If your load list includes anything with a motor, this line matters more than raw capacity.
UPS Switchover: ≤10ms vs ≤20ms
Both list a UPS mode, at different rated speeds. The Apex 300 + 2×B500K is rated ≤10ms — quick enough on paper that desktop PCs and routers should ride through, treating that as the rating it is. The SOLIX C800 Plus is rated ≤20ms — fine on paper for routers and most electronics; the fussiest PC power supplies sit right at this line. If a computer with unsaved work is the thing being protected, the stated class is worth the attention; nothing here is a lab result.
Warranty: No Difference
Both units carry the same 5-year warranty, so coverage isn't a tiebreaker here. The Apex 300 + 2×B500K's figure is a maximum rather than a guarantee — it depends on buying direct from BLUETTI or registering the unit, since reseller purchases carry a shorter term. Worth saying because the per-dollar framing can suggest otherwise: the SOLIX C800 Plus works out at 7.7 years of cover per $1,000 spent against the Apex 300 + 2×B500K's 0.9, but that spread is the price gap, not the terms.
Battery Lifespan in Real Years
The Apex 300 + 2×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 13,005Wh on the Apex 300 + 2×B500K and 768Wh on the SOLIX C800 Plus, so count lifetime energy — roughly 78,029 kWh against 2,304 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 C800 Plus is cheaper to buy, but the Apex 300 + 2×B500K is cheaper to own. At $0.07/kWh over its lifetime vs $0.28/kWh, the Apex 300 + 2×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 historically Anker's no-hassle replacements were a genuine reason to buy. Lately the SOLIX side is trending down, with more AI-scripted first responses and hazmat return logistics on the heavier units. Still one of the more reachable support operations in the category, just not the sure thing it used to be.
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 track record, plus InfiniPower cells rated for long cycle life. The mid-size SOLIX units are among the better per-watt-hour buys in the catalog.
Worth knowing
Firmware updates have quietly removed features before, and the expansion ecosystem is narrower than EcoFlow's, though for a sealed unit like the C800 that second point is moot.
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 support in the category, and the main risk here. It's email-heavy with China-timezone delays; some buyers get quick help, others describe weeks of runarounds or an offer of a discount on a new unit instead of a repair. Buying direct rather than through a reseller tends to go better.
Community
Active and growing — Reddit r/bluetti has a dedicated community. Second-largest after EcoFlow in engagement.
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 in the whole market, and the widest lineup, including industry-first sodium-ion and dual-voltage flagships. Full LFP chemistry across the range.
Worth knowing
Support inconsistency is the number-one thing to go in eyes-open about, and some older units have become hard to repair for lack of parts. On a $5,399 system, factor the support lottery into the decision.
Analyst note
Two value-leaning brands with opposite support stories: Anker's is good-but-slipping and reachable in the US; Bluetti's is a coin flip that improves if you buy direct. Neither app will let you down, since both rate around 4.5/5. On a $649 portable the support gap is a minor worry; on a $5,399 installed system it deserves real weight, so lean toward buying the Apex straight from Bluetti.
Growth path
SOLIX C800 Plus
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 768Wh, 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.
Apex 300 + 2×B500K
EXPANDABLESupports BLUETTI expansion batteries, so you can add capacity later without replacing the base unit — useful if your needs may climb past 13,005Wh.
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 C800 Plus is sealed at 768Wh, which is fine if that covers you. The Apex 300 + 2×B500K starts at 13,005Wh and can grow beyond it with BLUETTI expansion batteries — real headroom the SOLIX C800 Plus 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 C800 Plus
Reviewers who lived with the C800 Plus land in a consistent place: capable and well-built, with 768Wh as the recurring reservation. One flagged the capacity as an awkward middle ground, noting the same $649 buys a 1,024Wh EcoFlow DELTA 3 PlusA12; another's main worry was simply whether the battery was big enoughA5. In its favor, it rode out an outage simulation with no flicker when the wall power was pulledA4, and a fridge and freezer sipped just 10% over eight hoursA6. Fan noise is the one texture complaint, unavoidable above roughly 1,030W in a quiet houseA1 but manageable at arm's length during fast chargingA11. No genuine six-month or CPAP-specific owner reports surfaced, so treat long-term durability as unproven rather than provenA0.
“The pole light felt is a little over the top and unnecessary.”
Sources
dustinabbott.net
BLUETTI Apex 300 + 2×B500K
Field data on this exact bundle is thin: almost all of it comes from reviews of the Apex 300 paired with the older B300K rather than the B500K, so weight it accordinglyB0. The one genuine owner naming the B500K bought it to power a 50-amp fifth-wheelB10, which is the use case in a single sentence. The recurring theme across the Apex reviews is mass, with one tester able to hardly carry it a few feet and unable to lift it onto a tableB4. Reviewers of the sibling configuration also flag that the Apex 300 ships without built-in USB or DC ports, adding a roughly $300 Hub D1 to get themB2B6; confirm that against the current bundle, but budget for it. No multi-month longevity or cold-weather reports exist for this configuration yetB0.
“Some units sound like small jet engines under load, but the Apex 300's fans are relatively tame.”
Sources
techspective.net · thesolarlab.com · t3.com · trustedreviews.com · notebookcheck.net
Sources & Research Notes
Every owner claim in this report is traceable to a published source. The bracketed references above resolve here.
Recurring owner themes
- Fan noise is consistently reported as noticeable during fast AC charging or high sustained wattage, though most reviewers call it 'manageable' rather than a dealbreaker. [SOLIX C800 Plus · 2 entries]
- The companion app is repeatedly praised for remote monitoring/control and firmware delivery, with no reviewers reporting connectivity or crash complaints. [SOLIX C800 Plus · 3 entries]
- 768Wh capacity is flagged by multiple reviewers as the unit's main limitation for heavy appliances and against same-price competitors, even though real-world light loads (fridge, gadgets) performed well. [SOLIX C800 Plus · 4 entries]
- The signature 'Plus' camping-light pole/torches are polarizing: some reviewers call the feature genuinely useful and a lantern-replacement, others call it an unnecessary gimmick that sacrifices the C800's cable-storage cubby. [SOLIX C800 Plus · 3 entries]
- Reviewers consistently note the lack of built-in USB/DC ports, requiring a separate $300 Hub D1 accessory, as a notable and costly design compromise. [Apex 300 + 2×B500K · 3 entries]
- The unit's extreme weight (~85 lbs base, more with expansion batteries) makes it effectively immobile once placed, despite being marketed as 'portable.' [Apex 300 + 2×B500K · 3 entries]
- The modular ecosystem (Hub A1, Hub D1, expansion batteries) is praised for flexibility but criticized for high add-on costs relative to competitors. [Apex 300 + 2×B500K · 3 entries]
- A1
“Once the temperature rose above 80F with a 1,030 average wattage, the fan noise was unavoidable and quite present in a quiet house.”
How-To Geek — 'Anker Solix C800 Plus Review: A Power Station Prepared to Illuminate Nighttime' · 2024-03 · [negative]
- A4
“Unplugged the power supply to the C800 Plus to simulate a power outage. No reaction on the monitor, no flicker, just continued operating.”
DustinAbbott.net — 'Anker Solix C800 Plus Power Station Review' · 2024-03 · [positive]
- A5
“My lone concern on this front is whether or not the battery capacity is sufficient.”
DustinAbbott.net — 'Anker Solix C800 Plus Power Station Review' · 2024-03 · [mixed]
- A6
“I connected the Anker and in 8 hours, my frig/freezer used 10% of the power.”
The Gadgeteer — 'Anker SOLIX C800 Plus power station review' · 2024-04 · [positive]
- A10
“it doesn't have the outright storage or power to tackle more heavy duty appliances like kettles or some coffee machines.”
Trusted Reviews — 'Anker SOLIX C800 Plus Review: A great camping companion' · 2024-04 · [negative]
- A11
“The fan does ramp up during fast charging, but the noise is manageable at roughly arm's length.”
The Power Pick — 'Anker SOLIX C800 Plus Review: Camping Lights Meet Serious Power' · 2026-02 · [mixed]
- A12
“The 768Wh capacity sits in an awkward middle ground. It is significantly less than the 1,024Wh offered by the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus at the same $649 price.”
The Power Pick — 'Anker SOLIX C800 Plus Review: Camping Lights Meet Serious Power' · 2026-02 · [negative]
- B2
“Not having DC or USB ports on the face is a tradeoff. The Hub D1 solves the problem—but it's an additional $300 accessory that you then have to bolt on after the fact.”
techspective.net — Bluetti Apex 300 with B300K Review · 2025-09 · [negative]
- B4
“In fact, 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.com — Bluetti Apex 300 review · 2025-11 · [negative]
- B6
“That Bluetti D1 Power Hub that gives you your DC and USB ports costs about $300, which is a steep price for what you're getting.”
thesolarlab.com — Bluetti Apex 300 Review · unknown · [negative]
- B10
“I recently purchased a Bluetti Apex 300 with a B500K expansion battery to help power our 50A Brinkley 5th wheel.”
BLUETTI Community forum — 'Apex 300 operating mode and settings?' · 2026-02 · [positive]
Research compiled August 30, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the SOLIX C800 Plus if you…
- →You want power that leaves the house, for camping trips, tailgates, storm kits, or a CPAP on the nightstand, and 768Wh covers your real loads.
- →You lift it yourself: 24 pounds goes in the trunk one-handed, with no cart, no second person, and no reserved corner of the garage.
- →You want a fridge, phones, laptops, and lights kept alive for a few hours of outage, and you're content topping up from its 300W solar input or the wall.
Buy the Apex 300 + 2×B500K if you…
- →You're backing up a home or a big RV, running a fridge, a well pump, part of the panel, even 240V loads, through outages measured in days rather than hours.
- →The unit will live in one spot: you have 282 pounds' worth of floor, a plan to wheel it in, and no intention of taking it anywhereB4.
- →You'll actually use the capacity, through daily off-grid living or frequent long outages, so the $0.12-per-kWh economics pay off instead of idling.
If neither fits
If you need a portable with more than 768Wh, like a 2,100Wh camping weekend or a 4,685Wh day of van life, the C800 is too small and the Apex is 282 pounds you can't bring. Look at a 1-2kWh portable instead: the 1,024Wh DELTA 3 Plus at the same $649 is the obvious first stopA12, or a larger Anker F-series unit. And if you only ever run a CPAP and charge a phone, both of these are far more battery than that night asks for, so buy a 300-500Wh unit and pocket the difference.
The Bottom Line
This was never a duel; it's a signpost. One arrow reads camping, storms, tailgates, a CPAP by the bed, and points at a 24-pound Anker you carry with one hand. The other reads keep the house and the RV alive for days, and points at a 282-pound Bluetti you install and forget. The scoreboard of scenarios leans Apex, but every scenario it wins is one where carrying a battery was never the plan, and the two that require travel it can't even enter.
So don't buy the winner; buy the arrow. If your power needs to move, the C800 Plus is the whole answer and the Apex's 13,005Wh is weight you can't lift. If your power needs to back up a building, the Apex is the whole answer and the C800's 768Wh is a fraction of one bad night. The rare buyer stuck between them hasn't picked a life yet. Do that first, and the box picks itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Is the Bluetti Apex 300 worth eight times the price of the Anker C800 Plus?
Only if you need what it does. The Apex holds about 17 times the energy, 13,005Wh against 768Wh, runs house-scale loads the C800 can't touch, and costs less per lifetime kWh. But at $5,399 and 282 pounds it's a home-backup appliance. If what you want is a portable for camping and outages, the extra money buys capacity and weight you'll never use.
Can the Anker SOLIX C800 Plus run a house during a blackout?
Partly, and briefly. With 653 usable Wh it covers roughly 40% of a typical 1,645Wh eight-hour essentials blackout before it's empty, and its 1,200W output won't start big motor loads like a well pump. It's excellent for keeping a fridge, phones, and lights going for a few hours, but it is not whole-home backup. The Apex, at 13,005Wh, is built for that job.
Which is better for camping, the C800 Plus or the Apex 300?
The C800 Plus, without contest. It weighs 24 pounds and fits in a car; the Apex weighs 282 and is a two-person install that reviewers can barely lift a few feet. Unless your campsite is a fixed off-grid cabin, the Apex isn't a camping unit at all.
Do both handle a CPAP overnight?
Yes, comfortably. A CPAP draws about 40W, so roughly 320Wh a night; the C800's 653 usable Wh covers two full nights and the Apex covers dozens. Since both clear it easily and sit around the same 45 dBA quiet rating, the sane bedside choice is the 24-pound, $649 C800. Nobody parks a 282-pound system next to the bed for a 40W load.
Can the C800 Plus be expanded like the Apex?
No. The C800 Plus is sealed at 768Wh, so that's its permanent ceiling and you should size it for your needs up front. The Apex 300 is built to grow, starting at 13,005Wh with two B500K batteries and adding more from there, which is why it scales toward partial-home backup and the C800 doesn't. For a grab-and-go portable that's usually fine; if you expect your needs to climb, it's the real difference between the two platforms.
Where to buy
Anker SOLIX C800 Plus
$649.00
$649.00 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
BLUETTI Apex 300 + 2×B500K
$5,399.00
$5,399.00 · direct from BLUETTI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.