Head-to-head test
Anker SOLIX F3800 vs DJI Power 500
If nothing on your list draws more than 435 watt-hours in a night, buy the 16-pound DJI and close the tab; if anything does, the Power 500 isn't the cheaper option, it's the wrong tool.
Full profiles: Anker SOLIX F3800 → · DJI Power 500 →
Written by Gunner GustafsonUpdated
Whole-Home Backup Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
$2,199.99 · 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 clears exactly one of the six load profiles we run: a CPAP overnight, at 74% of its usable pack. The F3800 clears five. That's not a performance gap you split the difference on, it's a threshold, and which side of it you're standing on is the only question this page needs to answer.
Nobody weighs a 132-pound box against a 16-pound one on the merits, so let's be honest about who's actually here. It's the person whose real need is small, a CPAP or a laptop or a couple of drone batteries, who has also sat through one bad outage and is wondering whether to buy big while they're buying at all. And it's the DJI owner asking whether to step up from a Power 500 to something that backs a house.
At $2,000 for 3,840Wh the Anker costs 52 cents a watt-hour. At $299 for 512Wh the DJI costs 74. The expensive box is the cheap energy, which means "buy small to save money" only saves money if you never wish you'd bought capacity. Buy the F3800 if any night on your list involves a fridge. Otherwise take the DJI, and take it without regret.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
Look at what "483%" would actually require: refilling the pack nearly five times across one weekend. The Power 500 ships with a wall plug and nothing else, no solar adapter and no car cableB4, and it has no onboard solar charge controller, so at a campsite there is nothing to refill it from. The percentage isn't a stretch target, it's an impossibility.
Power 500 usable energy is 435Wh (512Wh derated 15% for inverter losses)Of six modelled load profiles the Power 500 covers one: CPAP Overnight, at 74% of usableWeekend Camping needs 2,100Wh, which is 483% of the Power 500's usable pack
Why it mattersIf any single night on your list runs a fridge, stop treating the Power 500 as the budget version of this decision. It isn't in the decision.
weight
Run the weight per watt-hour and the reason becomes obvious: the Anker carries 29 watt-hours per pound to the DJI's 32. Same chemistry, much bigger pile. You are not paying a premium for density or exotic engineering, you're paying for cells, which is why the price per watt-hour falls as the box grows. Nobody sells 3,840Wh in something you can carry, at any price.
F3800: $2,000 for 3,840Wh works out to 52 cents per watt-hourPower 500: $299 for 512Wh works out to 74 cents per watt-hourF3800 weighs 132.3 lbs; Power 500 weighs 16.1 lbs
Why it mattersDecide the watt-hours before you look at either price. Once the capacity is settled, the cost per watt-hour will point at the bigger unit, not the smaller one.
solar input
For a load that repeats every single day, input matters more than pack size, and that's where the Anker's headline gets complicated. Owners consistently report the solar and DC input is restrictive enough that generic arrays are difficult, pushing them onto Anker's pricier panels or a secondary charge controller to work around itA1A2A13A14. The 2,400W ceiling is real. Reaching it is a project.
Van Life Daily needs 4,685Wh; the F3800's usable 3,264Wh is 144% of that needThe Power 500 is sealed at 512Wh; the F3800 accepts Anker expansion batteriesF3800 solar input is 2,400W against the Power 500's 300W
Why it mattersAnyone planning a permanent array should price the panels and the workaround before the station, and should stop considering the Power 500 the moment daily cycling enters the picture.
Typical price
The tiebreak sits in the two things you notice at 3 a.m. rather than in capacity. The DJI weighs 16.1 pounds and its line publishes a noise figure of 23 to 30 dB; the Anker weighs 132.3 pounds and publishes no dB rating at all, which is an unknown rather than a bad number, but an unknown is a poor thing to buy at eighteen inches from your head.
CPAP Overnight needs 320Wh: 74% of the Power 500's usable 435Wh, 10% of the F3800's usable 3,264WhBoth units clear this scenarioThe price difference is $1,701 ($2,000 versus $299)
Why it mattersIf the CPAP is the whole reason you're shopping, buy the Power 500 and put the $1,701 toward something you'll actually use.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: The pass/fail line is the entire matchup: the Power 500 covers one of these six load profiles and the F3800 covers five.
Read those percentages against usable energy, not the nameplate. After inverter derating the Anker has 3,264Wh to spend and the DJI has 435Wh, and every scenario here is sized against those figures rather than against 3,840 and 512. That derating is what turns a 7.5x capacity difference into pass/fail instead of a sliding scale.
Nothing below the CPAP row is a near miss for the DJI. A tailgate wants 154% of its usable pack, a remote workday 209%, a weekend of camping 483%. Those aren't gaps you close by being careful with the lights. The Anker's worst showing across the same five profiles is 64%, which means each of them ends with better than a third of the pack still in reserve.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: 132.3 lbs against 16.1 lbs is the one axis where the DJI wins outright, and it wins by eight times over.
weight
132.3 pounds is a two-person lift, a hand truck, and a decision about where the unit lives made before it ships. 16.1 pounds is one hand and the back seat. This is the DJI's win and it isn't close.
The useful part is that the Anker's weight isn't waste. Per pound it carries 29 watt-hours to the DJI's 32, so what you're lifting is the capacity itself rather than a heavier way of packaging it. There is no version of 3,840Wh that goes up basement stairs. If the box has to move often, you're not choosing between these two products at all, you're choosing between capacity and portability, and the products are just how that choice arrives.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: The $2,000 unit costs 52 cents a watt-hour and the $299 unit costs 74, which is not the direction the price tags suggest.
cost / lifetime kWh
The headline lifetime figures are close enough to set aside: 17 cents per kilowatt-hour delivered for the Anker against 19 for the DJI across each unit's rated cycles. Two cents settles nothing. What you pay per watt-hour on day one does settle something, and there the order runs backwards from the price tags at 52 cents against 74.
Two caveats, pulling opposite ways. The DJI's 4,000-cycle rating is the top of a published 3,000-to-4,000 rangeB1; at the bottom of that range its lifetime cost lands near 25 cents per kilowatt-hour ($299 spread over 1,536 kWh), and the Anker's lead grows. Against that, both units carry five years, which is $400 a year for the Anker and $76 for the DJI. Cheaper energy is only cheap if you use it.
Growth Path
Selected because: Van Life Daily at 4,685Wh is the one profile neither unit covers, and only the F3800 has a route out of it.
solar input
The one load profile that beats both units is also the only one with a way out. A full-time van day wants 4,685Wh and the Anker's usable 3,264Wh lands 1,421Wh short, which is a shortfall you close with an expansion battery rather than by shopping again. The DJI is sealed at 512Wh, and at 16 pounds that's the design rather than a defect. The mistake would be buying one expecting to grow into it.
Before treating the Anker's 2,400W solar input as the growth story, price the array. Owners consistently report the input is restrictive enough that non-Anker panels are difficult, leaving them on Anker's own panels or bolting on a second charge controllerA1A2A13; one owner called it a great unit apart from exactly thatA14. The ceiling is genuine and the path to it is work. Cost the project, then cost the station.
Strengths & trade-offs
Anker SOLIX F3800
Strengths
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Faster solar charging
Trade-offs
- –Substantially more expensive (+$1,701) than the Power 500.
- –Significantly heavier (+116.2 lbs), making it harder to move.
- –Very heavy unit that may be difficult for one person to lift.
- –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 $1,701 less
- +Lighter by 116.2 lb
- +Rated for 4,000 charge cycles — much longer battery lifespan
Trade-offs
- –Weaker inverter (-5,000W) limits appliance compatibility.
- –Sealed capacity — the SOLIX F3800 can add batteries to grow past 512Wh; this one can't.
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
Two thousand one hundred watt-hours across a weekend is 64% of the Anker's usable pack and 483% of the DJI's. The DJI doesn't come up a little short here, it comes up short nearly five times over, and with no onboard charge controller there's nothing at a campsite to refill it from.
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
SOLIX F3800
Half the Anker's usable energy covers the full eight hours, which means the same pack also covers the second night nobody plans for. The DJI needs 378% of its usable energy to reach hour eight, so it isn't a shorter version of this outage, it's a different one.
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
The one row where these two are genuinely the same purchase. 320Wh is 74% of the DJI's usable pack and 10% of the Anker's, and both get you to morning without drama. So settle it on what you notice at 3 a.m.: the DJI weighs 16 pounds and carries a published noise figure. Spending $1,701 more to use a tenth of a battery needs a second reason, and this scenario doesn't supply one.
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
SOLIX F3800
The Power 500 doesn't finish — 435Wh usable against the 910Wh this needs leaves it 475Wh short, about 48% of the scenario covered. The SOLIX F3800 covers it with 2,354Wh 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
Neither gives you a powered game day: the SOLIX F3800 has the energy but doesn't travel, and the Power 500 covers about 65% of the 670Wh. One can't go; the other can't finish.
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 of these is a van. 4,685Wh a day is 144% of the Anker's usable energy and better than ten times the DJI's, so the Anker misses by 1,421Wh and the DJI never enters it. If this is your load profile you're shopping for expansion batteries or a wired house bank, not for a box with a handle.
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: SOLIX F3800 runs 15.9h vs 2.1h.
$1,999.99 list · direct from Anker
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 0–217.6hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–43.5hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–3.3h¹ 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 9, 2026
Verdict: the SOLIX F3800, on Power Score margin
The F3800 wins on the only axis that can settle a 7.5x size difference: it does the jobs. Five of the six load profiles we model fit inside its 3,264Wh of usable energy, and the DJI's 435Wh covers exactly one of them. Its worst showing among those five still leaves 36% in the tank, and at 52 cents a watt-hour against 74 it's the cheaper energy despite costing $1,701 more. Confidence isn't higher only because the winner flips cleanly on one question: if nothing you own draws more than 435 watt-hours between dinner and breakfast, the F3800 is headroom you'll never touch and the Power 500 is the right answer.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
List prices as of August 9, 2026. The links below open Anker's and DJI's current prices.
$2,199.99 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
or check the Power 500 price$299.00 list
Written by Gunner Gustafson, Whole-Home Backup Tester · Station Arena Test Desk · Updated August 9, 2026
Measured Data
Benchmark scores and the full spec record, side by side.
Benchmark scores
Not rated for both units (minimum threshold unmet): UPS, RV Living, 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 F3800 rates 4.7/5 (80th percentile of 16 Home Backup-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.
132 Pounds Is a Location Decision, Not a Portability One
Two people, or one person and a hand truck. Work it out per pound, though, and the Anker carries 29 watt-hours to the DJI's 32, so the weight is the capacity rather than inefficiency in how it's packaged. Nobody sells 3,840Wh in a shape you carry. Decide where it lives before it ships, because it isn't moving after that.
Sealed at 512Wh Is the Product, Not a Flaw
The Power 500 takes no expansion batteries, and on a 16-pound unit that's the design working as intended. It bites in exactly one situation: you buy it expecting to grow into it. You can't, so size it against the load you already have. The Anker's expansion path is the real article, and it's also the only route either of these units has to a 4,685Wh day.
Read the DJI's Surge Number Twice
9,000W of surge on 6,000W continuous gives the Anker 1.5x of headroom, which is the difference between an inverter that runs a compressor and one that starts it. The DJI lists 1,000W surge on 1,000W continuous. A surge figure identical to the continuous figure is a spec that was never separately published rather than proof of zero headroom, so don't read it in either direction. If a fridge or a pump is on your list, size against the Anker's number, not the DJI's.
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. Worth saying because the per-dollar framing can suggest otherwise: the Power 500 works out at 16.7 years of cover per $1,000 spent against the SOLIX F3800's 2.5, but that spread is the price gap, not the terms.
Battery Lifespan in Real Years
The Power 500 is rated for 4,000 cycles vs 3,000. In real life: at daily use, that's 11 vs 8.2 years. At weekend use (twice a week), it's 38 vs 29 years. One caution reading years across different sizes: a cycle is 512Wh on the Power 500 and 3,840Wh on the SOLIX F3800, so count lifetime energy — roughly 2,048 kWh against 11,520 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.
No Published dB Figure Is Not the Same as Loud
This card fires because Anker doesn't publish a noise rating for the F3800, not because anyone measured it high. DJI publishes 23 to 30 dB across its line, which is a genuine advantage if the unit sleeps in your bedroom. The honest read on the Anker is unknown, not worse. If low-load fan behaviour is your deciding factor, treat it as a question to ask before you buy rather than a row this table has answered.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the SOLIX F3800.
Check SOLIX F3800 price →or check the Power 500 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
Both units have similar long-term ownership costs ($0.17/kWh vs $0.15/kWh). The price difference is what you see on the sticker — neither is a hidden bargain or rip-off. One caution on the lifespan row: the Power 500 takes longer to reach its cycle rating, but a cycle moves a different amount of energy on each unit — the SOLIX F3800 still delivers more over its shorter horizon (11,520 vs 2,048 kWh). Years measure wear, not usefulness.
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
Anker built its name on no-hassle replacements, and SOLIX-specific service is trending down from that standard, with AI-driven first responses and slow escalation. Factor in that a 132-pound unit is a hazmat return if something goes wrong, which is a very different proposition from mailing back a power bank.
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 engineering depth and InfiniPower cell life, applied to the largest unit in the SOLIX line rather than to a compact. Anker's mid and large stations are among the better dollar-per-watt-hour buys in the catalogue, and the F3800 is one of them.
Worth knowing
Firmware updates have removed features without warning, and the expansion ecosystem is smaller than EcoFlow's. Both matter more here than on a small unit, because expansion is the F3800's main argument for the future.
DJI
Ecosystem
New entrant (2024) — five power station models to date: Power 500, Power 1000 (since superseded by the V2 but still sold), Power 1000 V2, Power 1000 Mini, Power 2000. Buying a "Power 1000" listing? Check which revision it actually ships.
Support
Leveraging DJI's established global support and repair center network from the drone business. Generally positive reputation inherited from drone operations, but limited power-station-specific track record.
Community
There is no DJI power-station community yet. Questions land in r/dji, roughly 250,000 people who are mostly there about drones, so answers about inverters and solar adapters are thin on the ground.
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
Quiet is the differentiator: 23 to 30 dB published across the line, backed by more than 700 battery patents out of the drone business. The SDC ports charge DJI batteries very fast, which is worth real money if you already own the drones and nothing at all if you don't.
Worth knowing
DJI entered power stations in 2024, so the long-term field record is short. Two specifics for this model: no built-in solar charge controller, so solar needs a proprietary adapter, and battery expansion exists on the Power 2000 and Power 1000 V2 but not on the Power 500.
Analyst note
Anker has the track record in this category and a service reputation that's slipping. DJI has a short record here and a deep hardware one everywhere else. Neither of those should move you much at this size gap: 3,840Wh against 512Wh decides the matchup before brand gets a vote.
Growth path
SOLIX F3800
EXPANDABLESupports Anker expansion batteries, so you can add capacity later without replacing the base unit — useful if your needs may climb past 3,840Wh.
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 Anker-specific. You're investing in the Anker ecosystem.
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
The Power 500 is sealed at 512Wh, which is fine if that covers you. The SOLIX F3800 starts at 3,840Wh and can grow beyond it with Anker expansion batteries — real headroom the Power 500 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 F3800
The consistent complaint is the input side, not the output. Owners report the solar and DC input is restrictive enough to push them onto Anker's own panels, which get expensive in a full configuration, or onto a secondary charge controller as a workaroundA1A2A13. On AC, one owner found the line cord ran very hot at the full 1,800W charge rate and backed it down to 600 to 800 wattsA3.
Output-side reports are calm by comparison. One owner ran everything he threw at it, water pump included, off a single 120V outlet into a transfer switch for a couple of weeksA5, and another reported zero issues after months of fighting EcoFlow firmwareA10. Support runs hot and cold: advance replacements and fast responses on one sideA9, an owner going unanswered after a $20,000 order on the otherA8.
Two things worth confirming before you commit. One owner reports the unit has no pass-through, that you can't charge from the 120V AC input while dischargingA4, which doesn't sit comfortably beside the 20ms switchover on the spec sheet; if UPS duty is why you want it, verify that behaviour first. On noise, the field picture is intermittent rather than loud, with fans going silent then cycling in and outA12 and about a second of buzz on the expansion packs as the inverter ramps into a heavy AC startA6. The one decibel figure circulating for this unit comes from a review we can't tie to a verified ownerA11, so we're not treating it as a spec.
“I have been using the F3800 for a couple weeks now, using only a single 120V outlet into a reliance transfer switch and it runs everything I throw at it including a water pump.”
Sources
diysolarforum.com · thesolarlab.com
DJI Power 500
Field data on the Power 500 is thin, and what exists is reviewer testing rather than long-term ownershipB1B2B3B4. The useful findings: it's genuinely light at 16 poundsB2, one test ran it at 905W and saw it briefly ride out a 1,500W spike above its 1,000W ratingB3, and it arrives with a wall plug and nothing else, no solar adapter and no car cableB4. Nobody has published a six-month account of living with one yet, so read the 3,000-to-4,000 cycle durability story as a rating on paperB1 rather than as a track record.
“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
- Owners consistently complain that the solar/DC input is restrictive, effectively locking users into pricier Anker-branded panels rather than generic arrays. [SOLIX F3800 · 4 entries]
- Fan/inverter noise is generally reported as quiet at idle but with occasional intermittent buzzing/rattling under load or fault conditions. [SOLIX F3800 · 3 entries]
- Anker support experiences are polarized — some owners report fast, responsive replacements while at least one reports being ignored after a major purchase. [SOLIX F3800 · 3 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
“The solar input for charging is a pain, so much so that I'm only using it if there is no other way to charge the F3800.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [negative]
- A2
“The limitations of the inputs make it very difficult to use solar panels other than Anker's panels, which are pricey for a "full up" config.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [negative]
- A3
“if you charge the F3800 from a 120VAC wall outlet at full rate (1800 watts), the line cord gets very hot. I've backed off the charge rate to 600-800 watts.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [negative]
- A4
“the lack of passthru mode, you cannot charge via the 120VAC input while discharging.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [negative]
- A5
“I have been using the F3800 for a couple weeks now, using only a single 120V outlet into a reliance transfer switch and it runs everything I throw at it including a water pump.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [positive]
- A6
“I have 4 BP3800s and one of them made similar buzzing/rattling noise when a heavy AC load was starting up... only for around a second while inverter was ramping up.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Big issue with Anker Solix F3800 plus battery pack' · 2025-08 · [mixed]
- A8
“Anker support is ghosting me after I spent over 20k on their solix line and solar panels within a month... they are not answering/returning my calls or emails.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Big issue with Anker Solix F3800 plus battery pack' · 2025-08 · [negative]
- A9
“I've called them and submitted tickets via their portal, always very responsive. They've even done advanced replacement for me.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Big issue with Anker Solix F3800 plus battery pack' · 2025-08 · [positive]
- A10
“I've had zero issues - especially compared to the EcoFlow firmware issues I fought with for months.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker solix f-3800 diy solar array' · 2024-02 · [positive]
- A11
“producing between 50 and 60 decibels when engaged, making it almost inaudible during regular use... until you try to lift it, that is.”
thesolarlab.com — 'Anker SOLIX F3800 Review: Did It Kill the Competition?' · unknown · [positive]
- A12
“Sometimes the fans are completely silent, then they kick in and out intermittently.”
thesolarlab.com — 'Anker SOLIX F3800 Review: Did It Kill the Competition?' · unknown · [mixed]
- A13
“no one on Youtube is addressing the solar input problem directly. But People smarter than myself with secondary charge controllers... are able to navigate around the problem.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [negative]
- A14
“other than the solar input problem having limited panel array choices to max out it's input capability it's a great unit so far.”
diysolarforum.com — 'Anker F3800 user reviews and opinions welcome' · 2024-07 · [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 9, 2026.
What Owners Actually Report
Drawn from 105 comments on independent review channels — not from retailer reviews, which skew to the first week of ownership. Each line is our summary of one commenter's claim, linked to the original. We record what they said, including where it contradicts the spec sheet.
Anker SOLIX F3800
137 claims from 91 comments · 76 from owners · 26 with figures
- Charging
- 19 · 46% negative
- Price & value
- 16 · 47% negative
- Runtime
- 8 · 15% negative
- Other
- 19 · 50% negative
- Expandability
- 12 · 36% negative
What owners complain about
Sarcastic about the $1600 price of each official expansion battery versus cheaper alternatives.
Price & valuemeasuredowner20 agreedsource →
A single Chargeverter only gives ~1200W due to the no-common-ground XT-60 DC inputs.
Chargingmeasuredowner12 agreedsource →
AC charging kills 240V and caps output to one bank at ~1200W of the 6000W inverter.
Inverter & surgemeasuredowner7 agreedsource →
What owners praise
Ran 2 fridges, 2 freezers, lights, pellet stove and Starlink for 6.5 hours using only 32%.
Runtimemeasuredowner61 agreedsource →
Recharged in 1 hour 15 minutes at just under 3000W from the grid.
Chargingmeasuredowner61 agreedsource →
Uses an F3800 for peak shaving on a 6c off-peak / 25c on-peak time-of-use plan.
Price & valueowner10 agreedsource →
DJI Power 500
16 claims from 14 comments · 7 from owners · 3 with figures
- Price & value
- 5 · 6% negative
- Inverter & surge
- 2 · 0% negative
- Runtime
- 3 · 32% negative
- Solar input
- 2 · 0% negative
- Durability
- 1 · 0% negative
What owners complain about
Wishes he could get one in Barbados.
Shipping6 agreedsource →
512Wh will not run a household fridge for 24 hours; maybe around six.
Runtime46 agreedsource →
550 euro in Europe without any accessories is far too high.
Price & value4 agreedsource →
What owners praise
Ran an electric blanket and streaming overnight with plenty left for morning coffee.
Runtimeowner5 agreedsource →
A semi driver runs a microwave off it in a truck with no inverter; worth its weight in gold.
Inverter & surgeowner15 agreedsource →
For $179 more than the Anker he got a far more usable product at $379.
Price & valuemeasuredowner1 agreedsource →
Claims are weighted by how specific they are, whether the commenter owns the unit, and how many readers agreed. Comments that mention a product under a rival's review count for more, because the commenter had no reason to be there. This is what buyers report, not our test results — for measurements we ran ourselves, see the methodology.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the SOLIX F3800 if you…
- →You've sat through a long outage with a fridge, a freezer and a sump pump and decided never again. An eight-hour blackout profile uses 50% of the F3800's usable pack, which means it also covers the second night nobody plans for.
- →You're wiring into a transfer switch rather than running extension cords. One owner ran a house that way off a single 120V outlet, water pump includedA5.
- →Your worst night lands somewhere between 435Wh and 3,264Wh, which describes almost every household outage that involves food.
Buy the Power 500 if you…
- →The CPAP is the whole reason you're shopping. 320Wh is 74% of the Power 500's usable pack, it gets you to morning, and it saves you $1,701.
- →You already own DJI drones. The SDC ports charge those batteries fast, and that advantage is worth real money to you and nothing to anyone else.
- →The unit has to move: into a trunk, onto a boat, up to a third-floor walkup. 16.1 pounds is one hand, and no amount of capacity math changes that.
If neither fits
Full-time van dwellers and off-grid daily-cyclers should skip both. A van-life day draws 4,685Wh, which is 144% of the F3800's usable energy and better than ten times the Power 500's, so one misses by 1,421Wh and the other isn't in the conversation. That job wants a wired house battery bank sized for the load, or an F3800 with expansion batteries stacked on top, which is a bigger and different purchase than anything on this page.
The Bottom Line
Take the F3800 if any night on your list draws more than 435 watt-hours, which covers essentially every outage that involves food. It handles five of the six load profiles we model, its worst showing among them still leaves better than a third of the pack, and at 52 cents a watt-hour it's the cheaper energy despite the extra $1,701. The catch is the one we'd want told to us: 132.3 pounds decides where it lives, and its solar input is a project rather than a plug.
Take the Power 500 if your list genuinely fits inside 435 watt-hours. It clears a CPAP night with room left, it weighs 16 pounds, and $1,701 is a lot of money for capacity you'd use a tenth of. And if your daily draw is van-life scale, close both tabs: 4,685Wh a day is past both of these, and you're shopping for a bank, not a box.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Is the DJI Power 500 enough to get through a power outage?
That comes down to what you're keeping alive. A typical eight-hour outage load in our model wants 1,645Wh, and the Power 500 has 435Wh usable after inverter losses, so it covers roughly a quarter of that night. For phones, a router, a laptop and a CPAP it's fine. For a fridge, it isn't.
Why is the bigger Anker cheaper per watt-hour than the little DJI?
$2,000 divided by 3,840Wh is 52 cents a watt-hour; $299 divided by 512Wh is 74 cents. A larger pack spreads the cost of the inverter, case, screen and ports across far more cells, and that's most of the difference. It doesn't automatically make the Anker the better buy, but it does mean a low sticker price and good value aren't the same thing.
Can the DJI Power 500 charge from solar panels?
Not out of the box. There's no onboard solar charge controller, so the 300W solar figure on the spec sheet requires a separate DJI adapter, and the unit ships with a wall plug only, no solar cable and no car cable. Budget for the adapter and the panel before you count solar as one of its features.
How heavy is the Anker SOLIX F3800, really?
132.3 pounds, which is eight times the DJI's 16.1 and past what most people should be lifting alone. Decide where it will live before it arrives, and plan on it staying there. If it needs to shuttle between a house and a campsite on a regular basis, that alone is reason enough to look at a smaller unit.
Will either of these run a van or an RV full-time?
No. A full-time van load in our model is 4,685Wh a day. The F3800 has 3,264Wh usable and the Power 500 has 435Wh, so one falls 1,421Wh short every day and the other isn't close. For that you want a wired house battery bank, or an F3800 with expansion batteries added on top.
Brand matchup
Anker SOLIX vs DJI: measured across every matchup →Where to buy
Anker SOLIX F3800Pick
$2,199.99
$2,199.99 · direct from Anker
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
DJI Power 500
$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.