Head-to-head test
DJI Power 500 vs Goal Zero Yeti 300
The Yeti 300 wants $350 for 297Wh and the Power 500 wants $299 for 512Wh, so the entire decision is whether a lighter, weather-sealed shell is worth paying more to get less.
Full profiles: DJI Power 500 → · Goal Zero Yeti 300 →
Written by Wenny ZhengUpdated
Portable Power Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
$299.00 · direct from DJI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
$349.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Spec deltas
$299 buys 512Wh from DJI. $350 buys 297Wh from Goal Zero. Everything after that is Goal Zero explaining the difference, and the explanation comes down to 2.4 pounds (13.7 lb against 16.1) and a shell you can leave out in the rain.
What makes this unusually clean is how much of the spec sheet is a dead heat. Both run LFP cells rated 4,000 cycles. Both carry five-year warranties. Both push 100W over USB-C, and both hand off in 20ms if you're using one as a battery backup. The tiebreakers that normally decide a matchup this tight have all been spent, which leaves capacity, output and price. Those point one direction.
The one scenario on this page with a decided winner is a CPAP night, and the Power 500 wins it by finishing. 320Wh of demand is 74% of its capacity and 127% of the Yeti's. That's the shape of the whole comparison. The Yeti 300 is a genuinely well-made small thing, and if you're carrying it up a trail it earns its price. On a shelf, in a car, beside a bed, it's the more expensive way to have less.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
Capacity
Run each one out over the life of its cells and the Power 500 delivers 2,048 kWh at 15 cents apiece while the Yeti delivers 1,188 kWh at 29 cents. You're paying roughly twice per unit of energy for the same decade of service, and paying more up front for the privilege.
DJI Power 500: $299 for 512WhGoal Zero Yeti 300: $350 for 297WhBoth use LFP cells rated 4,000 cycles and carry 5-year warranties
Why it mattersAnyone reading the price gap (350 against 299) as 'you get what you pay for' should know it buys nothing measurable except a lighter shell.
continuous output
The ratio flatters the smaller box. A 600W ceiling with room to spare still turns down loads that a 1,000W ceiling starts, and the Power 500's bench behavior went past its nameplate rather than falling short of itA3. One tester watched the Yeti shut down two minutes into a coffee makerB3.
Yeti 300: 350W continuous, 600W surge ceilingPower 500: 1,000W continuous, 1,000W surge ceilingIn testing the Power 500 ran a 905W load and briefly handled a 1,500W spike past its own 1,000W ratingA3
Why it mattersIf anything on your plug list has a motor or a heating element in it, read the absolute watts, not the headroom percentage.
The Yeti doesn't reach morning, and there's no published number to tell you what it sounds like while it tries. The Power 500 finishes the night with about a quarter of its battery still in hand and a decibel figure you can check before you buy rather than at 3 a.m.
A CPAP night on this page is 320WhThe Power 500 covers it using 74% of its capacity; the Yeti 300 would need 127% of itsDJI publishes 25 dBA for the Power 500; Goal Zero publishes no noise figure for the Yeti 300
Why it mattersAnyone shopping for a medical load can stop reading here: it's the Power 500, or a unit a full size class up.
solar input
At this size the input rating barely discriminates anyway. 512Wh at 300W is under two hours of strong sun; 297Wh at 200W is about an hour and a half. Both refill inside a good morning. What actually differs is that one of them needs an adapter purchase before it ever sees a panel.
Power 500 accepts 300W of solar input; Yeti 300 accepts 200WDJI builds in no solar charge controller, so solar requires a separate proprietary adapterThe Power 500 ships with a wall plug and nothing else, no solar or car cablesA4
Why it mattersBuying for off-grid use? Add the adapter to the Power 500's price before you compare, and don't pick either unit on the strength of its solar-input number.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: the more expensive unit here is also the smaller one, at 29 cents per lifetime kilowatt-hour against 15.
cost / lifetime kWh
Fifteen cents a kilowatt-hour against twenty-nine. Same chemistry, same 4,000-cycle rating, same five-year warranty on both boxes, so the Yeti's extra money isn't buying you a longer-lived unit. It's buying you less battery. Over the life of the cells the Power 500 hands back 2,048 kWh and the Yeti 1,188, from the lower purchase price.
The absolute sums here are small, which is what makes the direction easy to miss. Fifty-one dollars (350 against 299) is a nice dinner. It's just money spent backwards.
Runtime: Will It Power Your Gear?
Selected because: 512Wh and 297Wh land in different use classes, and this is where you find out which one covers your evening.
continuous output
297Wh is a phone-and-laptop number. One tester got 4-6 hours on a laptop or 20-30 phone charges out of the YetiB3, which is a fair day of desk work and not much beyond it. The Power 500 adds another 215Wh on top of that (512 against 297) while the label still says 'small.' Neither one is keeping a fridge cold overnight, and no amount of arithmetic changes that.
The ceiling on continuous draw is where the two actually separate: 350W against 1,000W. The Yeti politely declines anything with a heating element in it, and it shut down two minutes into a coffee maker in testingB3. The Power 500's 1,000W covers most of what people genuinely plug into a unit this size, which is the difference between a battery you plan around and one you just use.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: only one of the six loads has a winner, and it's the one where you're asleep next to the box.
Five of the six come back 'neither,' and that's the honest answer rather than a dodge. A weekend of camping wants 2,100Wh and a full-day blackout 1,645Wh, several times what either box holds. If those are your loads, this page is the wrong aisle.
The sixth is a CPAP night, and it has a name on it. 320Wh is the night. The Power 500 finishes it having used 74% of its capacity; the Yeti needs 127% of its, so it quits somewhere in the small hours and you learn about it by waking up. If the machine beside your bed is medical, this section is the whole page.
What the Specs Don't Tell You
Selected because: the Yeti's 600W surge ceiling behind a 350W rating is its best card, and its missing noise figure is its worst omission.
The Yeti keeps more inverter in reserve than the Power 500 does, and it's the one card on this page where it genuinely wins. 600W of peak behind a 350W continuous rating is real engineering headroom; the Power 500's 1,000W surge matches its 1,000W continuous exactly and holds nothing back on paper. Then you plug something in. A 600W ceiling with room to spare still refuses loads a 1,000W ceiling starts, and the Power 500 briefly took a 1,500W spike past its own rating in testingA3.
The other card is quieter and more awkward. DJI publishes 25 dBA for the Power 500. Goal Zero publishes no noise figure for the Yeti 300 at all, which is not evidence of a loud fan. It's just a thing you can't check until the box is already in your bedroom.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: 2.4 pounds is the entire case for the more expensive unit, at 13.7 lb against 16.1.
weight
2.4 pounds is the Yeti's whole case, and it isn't nothing. 13.7 lb against 16.1 is the difference between a unit you sling into a pack and one you'd rather carry by the handle. Add IP54 sealing, rubberized corners and a 0-100% refill in 50 minutesB2 and you have a properly good piece of trail gear.
The catch is what that lightness costs per pound. The Yeti carries 297Wh in 13.7 lb; the Power 500 carries 512Wh in 16.1. The lighter box is the less efficient thing to be carrying. If it's going on your back for a week, that trade can still be the right one. If it's going in a car, it isn't.
Strengths & trade-offs
DJI Power 500
Strengths
- +Costs $50.9 less
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Faster solar charging
Trade-offs
- –No major technical downsides compared to rival.
Goal Zero Yeti 300
Strengths
- +Lighter by 2.4 lb
Trade-offs
- –Weaker inverter (-650W) limits appliance compatibility.
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
Neither unit covers this scenario's 2,100Wh: the Power 500 comes up 1,665Wh short (about 21% covered), the Yeti 300 1,848Wh (12%). This is well outside what either unit is for; the right answer here is a larger station, not a choice between these two.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Phone Charger 15W×6h · LED Lights 40W×8h · Box Fan 75W×14h · CPAP Machine 40W×16h
SCN-02 · 8 hours · needs 1,645Wh
8-Hour Blackout
Keep the essentials running through a night without power
Neither unit
An eight-hour outage here is 1,645Wh, and these two hold 512Wh and 297Wh. Neither is keeping a fridge cold, so don't buy either one believing otherwise. What they will do is keep a modem, a couple of phones and a lamp alive through the evening, and the Power 500 does it longer for less money. Treat both as comfort devices, not backup plans.
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
Power 500
The Power 500 takes the night. 320Wh of CPAP against 512Wh of battery leaves it finishing at 74% used, and DJI publishes 25 dBA for a machine that's going to sit a few feet from your pillow. The Yeti 300 needs 127% of what it holds, which means it stops before your alarm does. That isn't a close call, it's a different outcome.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD CPAP Machine 40W×8h
SCN-04 · 8 hours · needs 910Wh
Remote Workday
Full work day off-grid without power anxiety
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 910Wh: the Power 500 comes up 475Wh short (about 48% covered), the Yeti 300 658Wh (28%). Treat this as partial cover — enough for the essentials in it, not the whole list.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Laptop 60W×8h · External Monitor 30W×8h · Router + Modem 20W×8h · Phone Charger 15W×2h
SCN-05 · 4 hours · needs 670Wh
Tailgate Party
Game day power for the crew
Neither unit
Neither box has the stamina for a full tailgate, 670Wh of demand against 512Wh and 297Wh of battery, but only one of them can even start the load. The Yeti 300's 350W continuous rating taps out on the peak; the Power 500's 1,000W handles it and then runs out of energy honestly. If tailgating is why you're shopping, both of these are the wrong size.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Blender 400W×0.5h · LED TV (55") 80W×4h · Bluetooth Speaker 15W×4h · Phone Charger (×3) 45W×2h
SCN-06 · 24 hours · needs 4,685Wh
Van Life Daily
A full day of mobile living — the ultimate endurance test
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 4,685Wh: the Power 500 comes up 4,250Wh short (about 9% covered), the Yeti 300 4,433Wh (5%). This is well outside what either unit is for; the right answer here is a larger station, not a choice between these two.
Battery budget usedlower = more headroom
LOAD Mini-Fridge 150W×24h · Laptop 60W×4h · Phone Charger 15W×3h · LED Lights 40W×5h · Fan 75W×8h
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 is the job small stations are actually for, and both do it: the Power 500 finishes at 23% used, the Yeti 300 at 40%. At this size the decider is what rides in the bag — 13.7 lbs for the Yeti 300 against 16.1 for the Power 500 — and price, not the leftover watt-hours.
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: Power 500 runs 2.1h vs 1.2h.
$299 list · direct from DJI
Modeled from the spec record — same math as the tables below. Methodology
Runtime by appliance
Real-world runtime estimates for common appliances, modeled at 85% inverter efficiency.¹
Essentials
The basics you need runningscale 0–29hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–5.8hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–0.4h¹ Runtime = (capacity × 0.85) ÷ appliance watts. Within each group, all bars share one time scale (the group's longest runtime), so lengths are comparable across appliances; identical runtimes collapse into a single blue/orange bar. Actual runtime varies with battery age, temperature, and simultaneous loads — see methodology.
Conclusion
August 2, 2026
Verdict: the Power 500
Take the Power 500. It's $299 against $350, holds 512Wh against 297, and runs 1,000W continuous against 350. The two units are otherwise matched on every spec that normally breaks a tie this close: both LFP rated 4,000 cycles, both five-year warranties, both 100W over USB-C, both 20ms on the handoff. That leaves the Yeti selling 2.4 pounds (13.7 lb against 16.1), IP54 sealing and a 50-minute refill from emptyB2, in exchange for more money and 215Wh less battery. If the unit lives on your back, that's a defensible trade. If it lives in a car, a closet, or beside a bed, it isn't, and the CPAP night is the clearest version of why: 320Wh of demand is 74% of the Power 500's capacity and 127% of the Yeti's.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
List prices as of August 2, 2026. The links below open DJI's and Goal Zero's current prices.
$299.00 · direct from DJI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
or check the Yeti 300 price$349.95 list
Written by Wenny Zheng, Portable Power Tester · Station Arena Test Desk · Updated August 2, 2026
Measured Data
Benchmark scores and the full spec record, side by side.
Benchmark scores
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, Power 500 rates 4.6/5 (74th percentile of 20 Compact-class units), and Yeti 300 rates 3.7/5 (24th percentile of 22 Personal-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.
Surge Headroom vs Surge Ceiling
The Yeti 300 keeps 600W of peak in reserve behind a 350W continuous rating, which is a real signal about how its inverter is built. The Power 500's 1,000W surge matches its 1,000W continuous exactly and holds nothing back on paper. Then you plug something in. A 600W ceiling with room to spare still refuses loads a 1,000W ceiling starts, so check the absolute watts your appliance needs before you weigh the ratio.
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.
Only One of These Publishes a Decibel Number
DJI rates the Power 500 at 25 dBA. Goal Zero publishes no noise figure for the Yeti 300 at all, which is not evidence of a loud fan. It's simply something you can't check until the box is already in your bedroom. If it's running a CPAP or sitting beside a desk all day, that blank is worth something.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the Power 500.
Check Power 500 price →or check the Yeti 300 priceOwnership Analysis
What happens after you buy — true cost of ownership, brand trust, and growth potential.
Lifetime value
Service lifeyears at one full cycle per day
Lifetime energy delivered
Cost per delivered kWh
│ warranty ends · Reaching the cycle rating means ~80% capacity remains — degraded, not dead.
Analyst note
The Power 500 wins on both sticker price and long-term value. At $0.15/kWh over its lifetime, it's meaningfully cheaper to own. Clear value winner. One thing to know reading the table: both carry the same 4,000-cycle rating, so the lifetime rows are sticker price and capacity in disguise — the wear horizon is identical and decides nothing here.
Delivers each lifetime kWh for $0.14 less — check the Power 500 price →
Brand trust
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's no dedicated power station community yet. Discussion happens inside r/dji, which is overwhelmingly drone pilots.
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 house style. DJI publishes 23-30dB across the power station line, and 700+ battery patents from the drone side went into these cells.
Worth knowing
DJI arrived in power stations in 2024 with 4 models. The hardware pedigree is deep, but the power-station track record is short, so the five-year warranty is a promise you're taking partly on the drone business's reputation. Worth noting too: there's no built-in solar charge controller, so solar needs a separate proprietary adapter.
Goal Zero
Ecosystem
Focused — a compact current line (6th-gen Yeti and Yeti Pro series), the previous-gen X series now out of stock across every model on Goal Zero's own store (checked 2026-09-13: 200X, 500X, 1000X, 1500X, 3000X, 6000X, some listed only as open-box), so buying one new means finding retailer stock, Sherpa power banks for the under-100Wh tier, plus Alta coolers, Nomad/Ranger solar panels, and vehicle integration kits
Support
US-based in Salt Lake City, which used to be the entire argument for the premium. Recent reports describe long waits, unanswered email and tickets sitting for weeks, and the official community forums were shuttered. On a five-year warranty, that's the part that eventually costs you.
Community
Small but loyal — strong following in overlanding and preparedness communities. Official community forums were recently shuttered, frustrating long-time users.
App experience
Rated 4.4/5 iOS (~1,200 ratings) but recent reviews skew negative — recurring connectivity issues, crashes, and stability problems.
Unique strength
Goal Zero invented this category and still builds like it. Ruggedized, weather-resistant hardware and a real Yeti-Ready ecosystem of coolers, lights, panels and vehicle kits.
Worth knowing
It's the most expensive brand per watt-hour in the category, and that isn't an accident of this particular matchup. It's the position.
Analyst note
One brand has the heritage and a support desk under visible strain. The other has serious hardware chops and almost no history in power stations. Neither of those facts is heavy enough to override what the two spec sheets already say.
Growth path
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.
Yeti 300
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 297Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 200W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Adequate ports for most setups, but heavy users may want a power strip.
Realistic full solar rechargeat 70% of rated panel output — see methodology
Analyst note
Neither expands, and that's no knock on either — each is a complete unit at a fixed size. Buy the capacity that covers your needs now (the Power 500 gives you the larger ceiling); you can't add to either later.
What Owners Report
Patterns from published owner reports and long-term reviews — every claim cited to its source below.
DJI Power 500
Field material on the Power 500 is bench testing rather than long-haul ownership, since DJI came to power stations recently and nobody has three winters on one yetA1A3. What the testers found is encouraging: it ran a 905W load and briefly took a 1,500W spike past its own 1,000W rating, and one test had it beating the larger DJI Power 1000 on efficiencyA3. The LFP cells are rated 3,000-4,000 cycles, roughly a decade of serviceA1.
The one consistent complaint is the box, not the unit. It ships with a wall plug and nothing else, no solar adapter and no car cableA4. At 7.3 kg it's a one-hand carryA2, which is the sort of thing that never shows up in a spec argument until you're the one lifting it.
“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
Goal Zero Yeti 300
The Yeti 300's reviews land exactly where its spec sheet does: beautifully built, and small. Testers single out the IP54 sealing, the rubberized corners and a handle that feels designed by someone who actually carries things, plus a 0-100% refill in 50 minutesB2. The cells are LFP rated 4,000+ cycles, which is a decade of daily use without dramaB1.
The limits arrive quickly. One tester got 4-6 hours on a laptop or 20-30 phone charges, and watched it shut down two minutes into a coffee makerB3. Another reviewer's verdict on the money was blunt: the price stings for the capacity you getB4.
“A 297Wh LiFePO4 pack behind a 350W pure sine inverter (600W surge), rated 4,000 cycles — Goal Zero backs it with a long service life rather than raw output.”
Sources
goalzero.com · batteryskills.com · campingsolar.us · trailandkale.com · the-gadgeteer.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
- Light, efficient LFP unit with strong real-world output and drone-pilot appeal; the caveat is minimal included accessories. [Power 500 · 3 entries]
- Modern LFP (4,000+ cycles), IP54 ruggedness, and fast charging are the praise; small capacity and high price are the caveats. [Yeti 300 · 3 entries]
- A1
“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]
- A2
“Weighs only about 7.3 kg, making it easy to transport.”
dji.com / techradar.com — Power 500 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A3
“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]
- A4
“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]
- B1
“A 297Wh LiFePO4 pack behind a 350W pure sine inverter (600W surge), rated 4,000 cycles — Goal Zero backs it with a long service life rather than raw output.”
goalzero.com / batteryskills.com — Yeti 300 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B2
“At 13.7 lbs, meets IP54 for dust and water resistance, with top-tier build quality — rubberized corners and a sturdy handle; recharges 0-100% in 50 minutes.”
campingsolar.us / trailandkale.com — Yeti 300 review · 2026 · [positive]
- B3
“The 297Wh capacity limits it to lighter-duty use — 4-6 hours on a laptop or 20-30 phone charges — and it struggled near its 300W limit, shutting down after 2 minutes with a coffee maker.”
batteryskills.com — Yeti 300 review · 2026 · [mixed]
- B4
“A modern LFP (not NMC) rugged compact unit, though at $349.95 the price stings for the capacity.”
the-gadgeteer.com — Yeti 300 review · 2026 · [mixed]
Research compiled August 2, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the Power 500 if you…
- →The person running a CPAP or any medical device overnight. 320Wh of night against 512Wh of battery, with 25 dBA published, is the only combination here that gets you to morning quietly.
- →Anyone whose plug list includes a motor or a heating element. 1,000W continuous starts things a 350W inverter simply won't.
- →The buyer who wants the most battery per dollar in this size class. It's the cheaper box at $299 and the bigger one at 512Wh, which is not a combination you usually get to have.
- →Drone pilots already inside DJI's ecosystem. The SDC ports fast-charge DJI gear, which is worth nothing to everyone else and quite a lot to you.
Buy the Yeti 300 if you…
- →The person putting this in a pack. 13.7 lb against 16.1 is 2.4 pounds you carry all day, and if the loads are a phone, a headlamp and a laptop, the Yeti covers themB3.
- →Gear that lives outside. IP54 sealing and rubberized cornersB2 are the kind of thing you appreciate exactly once, on the trip it rains.
- →Anyone cycling it hard between short outings. 0-100% in 50 minutesB2 means it's ready again before the car is unpacked.
- →Existing Yeti-Ready owners with the coolers, panels and vehicle kits already bought and working.
If neither fits
If your list looks like the Weekend Camping or Van Life columns, 2,100Wh for a weekend and 4,685Wh for a day of van living, close this tab. Both of these are several times too small, and buying either one means buying again in six months. Shop a full class up, units measured in thousands of watt-hours rather than hundreds. And note that neither of these expands, so there's no adding your way out of the decision later.
The Bottom Line
The Power 500 is the buy. It costs less, holds more, runs nearly three times the continuous wattage (1,000 against 350), and comes in at 15 cents a lifetime kilowatt-hour where the Yeti asks 29, with identical LFP cells, identical 4,000-cycle ratings and identical five-year warranties on both. Nothing on the spec sheet sends the extra money back to you except the scale.
Buy the Yeti 300 if you're going to be carrying it up a trail in the rain with a phone and a laptop to keep alive. That's a real buyer and the Yeti is genuinely good at being that unit. For everyone standing in a garage deciding which box goes on the shelf, the lighter one is just the one that does less. Take the Power 500.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Which is better for a CPAP, the DJI Power 500 or the Goal Zero Yeti 300?
The Power 500, and it isn't close. A CPAP night draws about 320Wh; the Power 500 covers that using 74% of its capacity, while the Yeti 300 would need 127% of its own and stops before your alarm goes off. DJI also publishes 25 dBA for the Power 500, which matters when the box is a couple of feet from your head. Goal Zero publishes no noise figure for the Yeti 300.
Can the Goal Zero Yeti 300 run a coffee maker or a microwave?
No. Its inverter is rated 350W continuous with a 600W surge ceiling, and anything with a heating element blows straight past that. One tester watched it shut down two minutes into a coffee maker. The Power 500's 1,000W continuous rating covers far more of that list, and in testing it briefly handled a 1,500W spike past its own rating.
Which one is better for solar charging?
The Power 500 accepts 300W of solar against the Yeti's 200W, but there's a catch worth knowing before you order. DJI doesn't build in a solar charge controller, so solar needs a separate proprietary adapter, and the Power 500 ships with only a wall plug, no solar or car cables. Budget for that part. At these capacities the input difference barely matters anyway: 512Wh at 300W is under two hours of strong sun, 297Wh at 200W about an hour and a half.
Will either one work as a UPS for a router or a desktop?
Both switch over in 20ms, so on that spec they're a dead heat and neither has an edge to sell you. The real question is how long the handoff lasts, and 512Wh against 297Wh answers it. Neither is a whole-house backup: an eight-hour outage on this page needs 1,645Wh, several times what either one holds.
Is the Goal Zero Yeti 300 worth the extra money over the DJI Power 500?
Only if you're carrying it. $350 against $299 buys you 2.4 pounds less (13.7 lb against 16.1), IP54 weather sealing and a 50-minute recharge, and it costs you 215Wh of capacity (512 against 297) and 650W of continuous output (1,000 against 350). Backpackers and people whose gear lives outdoors can make that math work. Everyone else is paying more to get less.
Brand matchup
DJI vs Goal Zero: measured across every matchup →Where to buy
DJI Power 500Pick
$299.00
$299.00 · direct from DJI
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Goal Zero Yeti 300
$349.95
$349.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 1 day ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.