Head-to-head test
EcoFlow RIVER 3 MAX vs Goal Zero Yeti 300
The RIVER 3 MAX is the cheaper box and carries nearly twice the energy for 4.4 more pounds, so the Yeti 300 only wins for someone who wants the lighter carry and never needs more than 297Wh.
Full profiles: EcoFlow RIVER 3 MAX → · Goal Zero Yeti 300 →
Written by Wenny ZhengUpdated
Portable Power Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
Spec deltas
The RIVER 3 MAX costs $31 less than the Yeti 300 and holds 572Wh to the Yeti's 297Wh. Cheaper and bigger rarely arrive in the same box. Here they do. The catch is the carry: the RIVER is the heavier one, at 18.1 lbs against 13.7.
Divide it out and the RIVER still comes out ahead: about 32Wh per pound against the Yeti's 22 (572 over 18.1, 297 over 13.7). The Yeti saves you 4.4 lbs and gives up nearly half the energy to do it. The RIVER also runs 600W continuous with a 1,200W surge, where the Yeti tops out at 350W and 600W, so a 400W load the RIVER shrugs at is one the Yeti can start but not hold.
Solar looks like the Yeti's edge on paper, and it's thinner than it looks. Its 200W input fills its 297Wh pack in roughly an hour and a half of strong sun; the RIVER takes 220W and needs about 2.6 hours for its 572Wh, banking more than the Yeti every hour along the way. The Yeti's real edge is the 4.4 lbs it saves you. If your loads fit inside 297Wh and you carry the box everywhere, that's real. Everyone else should buy the RIVER and keep the change.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
solar input
So the Yeti's solar lead is only that it reaches 100% first, on a smaller tank. In any sun window the RIVER has banked at least as much, and give both a full clear afternoon and the RIVER ends the day holding nearly twice the energy, because the Yeti spent most of the afternoon full with nowhere to put the sun.
RIVER 3 MAX: 572Wh, 220W solar ceilingYeti 300: 297Wh, 200W solar ceiling
Why it mattersSolar shouldn't tip anyone toward the Yeti; short sun windows and full-day panel setups both favour the RIVER.
A CPAP that stops before the alarm isn't a partial win, it's a pre-dawn wake-up. The RIVER also publishes its 30dB figure as a maximum under high-wattage load, so a 40W CPAP draw sits under it; the Yeti publishes no noise figure at all.
CPAP Overnight needs 320WhRIVER 3 MAX: 486Wh usable after the 85% derate; Yeti 300: 252Wh usable
Why it mattersAnyone buying for a CPAP should take the RIVER; the Yeti is the wrong size for a full night.
rated cycles
Longer-lived and more useful are different questions. The RIVER moves 528 kWh more energy before reaching its rating (1,716 minus 1,188), which is why it lands at $0.19 per lifetime kWh against the Yeti's $0.29.
Yeti 300: 4,000 cycles, about 11 years at daily use, 1,188 kWh over its rated lifeRIVER 3 MAX: 3,000 cycles, about 8.2 years at daily use, 1,716 kWh over its rated life
Why it mattersA buyer drawn to the Yeti for its cycle rating should know it buys more years of a smaller battery, not more energy.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: CPAP Overnight is the one scenario with a winner, and it goes to the RIVER on 486Wh usable against the 320Wh night.
Most of this grid reads 'neither', and that's the honest result: a weekend camp at 2,100Wh or an 8-hour blackout at 1,645Wh is several of these units' worth of energy. Where the rows get interesting is the small jobs. On a Remote Workday the RIVER covers about 53% of the load and the Yeti about 28%: neither finishes, but the RIVER gets nearly twice as far.
The CPAP row is the one that decides things. The RIVER clears the 320Wh night with 166Wh left over; the Yeti runs out 68Wh early. And on the Tailgate list, the Yeti can surge into the 400W peak but can't hold it on a 350W continuous rating. That's a wall the RIVER's 600W never hits, even though it too runs short on total energy for that day.
What the Specs Don't Tell You
Selected because: The UPS rating and the Yeti's missing noise figure are the cards that fire; solar, the Yeti's apparent edge, turns out to favour the RIVER's 220W.
rated cycles
No solar card fires on this pair, and that's worth a sentence: 220W into 572Wh is about 2.6 hours of perfect sun, against the Yeti's 200W filling its own smaller pack in about an hour and a half. The Yeti gets to 100% first; the RIVER banks more for every hour it sits in the sun.
Read the clock carefully, though. After about 1.35 hours of sun the RIVER has banked as much as the Yeti can hold at all, and it keeps filling. On the UPS card the RIVER is rated at no worse than 10ms against the Yeti's no worse than 20ms, which matters if a desktop PC rides on it. Both are ratings, not lab results.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: The RIVER weighs 18.1 lbs to the Yeti's 13.7, 4.4 lbs more for nearly twice the energy.
weight
The bigger battery is the heavier carry here, as usual, just not by as much as the energy gap. The RIVER is 18.1 lbs; the Yeti is 4.4 lbs lighter and holds a little over half the energy. You pay for the extra 275Wh in weight, at a better rate than the Yeti gets: about 32Wh per pound against 22.
Neither is a two-hands lift. The one-handed grab from the back seat is easier with the Yeti; the RIVER gives more back when you set it down.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: The Yeti's 4,000 cycles beat the RIVER's 3,000, but the RIVER moves more total energy over its rated life.
cost / lifetime kWh
The Yeti's cycle rating is the one spec where it clearly wins on paper: 4,000 cycles to 3,000, which the engine turns into about 11 years of daily use against 8.2. If you think in years, that's a point for Goal Zero.
Think in energy instead. Each Yeti cycle is 297Wh and each RIVER cycle is 572Wh, so over the rated life the RIVER moves 1,716 kWh to the Yeti's 1,188. That's why the cheaper box is also the cheaper energy, $0.19 per lifetime kWh against $0.29. The Yeti lasts longer at doing less.
Strengths & trade-offs
EcoFlow RIVER 3 MAX
Strengths
- +Costs $30.9 less
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Faster solar charging
Trade-offs
- –Shorter-lived battery — rated for 3,000 charge cycles vs the Yeti 300's 4,000, so it wears out sooner.
Goal Zero Yeti 300
Strengths
- +Lighter by 4.4 lb
- +Rated for 4,000 charge cycles — much longer battery lifespan
Trade-offs
- –No major technical downsides compared to rival.
Will It Power Your Gear?
Scenario math and per-appliance runtimes, modeled from the spec record.
Scenario verdicts
We ran the math on 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 RIVER 3 MAX comes up 1,614Wh short (about 23% 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
Neither unit covers this scenario's 1,645Wh: the RIVER 3 MAX comes up 1,159Wh short (about 30% covered), the Yeti 300 1,393Wh (15%). 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 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
RIVER 3 MAX
The RIVER finishes this one and the Yeti doesn't. A 320Wh night against 486Wh usable leaves the RIVER 166Wh in the tank at dawn. The Yeti's 252Wh usable runs out 68Wh short, roughly four-fifths of the way through, which means the mask goes quiet before the alarm does.
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 RIVER 3 MAX comes up 424Wh short (about 53% 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 gets through the day, for different reasons. The Yeti can surge into the 400W peak but its 350W continuous rating can't hold it, so it trips before capacity is even a question. The RIVER holds the load fine on 600W but runs 184Wh short of the 670Wh the day needs.
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 RIVER 3 MAX comes up 4,199Wh short (about 10% 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
Both handle it easily: the RIVER ends at 21% used, the Yeti at 40%. When the job is this small, the leftover watt-hours stop mattering. The tiebreak splits: the Yeti is 4.4 lbs lighter in the bag, and the RIVER is the cheaper one.
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: RIVER 3 MAX runs 2.4h vs 1.2h.
$319 list · direct from EcoFlow
Planning for more than this? Describe your whole setup and get it sized →
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 0–32.4hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–6.5hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limits¹ 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
November 1, 2026
Verdict: the RIVER 3 MAX
Take the RIVER 3 MAX. At $319 against the Yeti 300's $350, it's the cheaper of the two and it still gives you 486Wh of usable energy to the Yeti's 252Wh, 600W of continuous output to 350W, and 220W of solar input to the Yeti's 200W. The energy gap is the difference between finishing a CPAP night and quitting 68Wh short of morning. The Yeti keeps two real cards: a 4,000-cycle rating to the RIVER's 3,000, and a 13.7-lb case that's 4.4 lbs lighter than the RIVER's 18.1. Neither changes the call for a buyer who needs more than a few hours of light loads.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
List prices as of November 1, 2026. The links below open EcoFlow's and Goal Zero's current prices.
$319.00 · direct from EcoFlow
Last checked 28 days 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 November 1, 2026
Black Friday · 26 days out
Prices to beat:RIVER 3 MAX $319Yeti 300 $350
We have never seen either discounted, so any real cut would be a first.
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, RIVER 3 MAX rates 4.3/5 (58th percentile of 20 Compact-class units), and Yeti 300 rates 3.7/5 (25th percentile of 25 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.
UPS Switchover: ≤10ms vs ≤20ms
Both list a UPS mode, at different rated speeds. The RIVER 3 MAX is rated ≤10ms — quick enough on paper that desktop PCs and routers should ride through, treating that as the rating it is. The Yeti 300 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.
More Years on the Yeti, More Energy on the RIVER
The Yeti is rated for 4,000 cycles to the RIVER's 3,000, which works out to about 11 years of daily use against 8.2. But a Yeti cycle is 297Wh and a RIVER cycle is 572Wh, so across the rated life the RIVER moves about 1,716 kWh to the Yeti's 1,188. Neither battery dies at its rating; it drops to about 80% capacity and keeps working.
Yeti 300: Noise Level Not Disclosed
The RIVER 3 MAX publishes its noise level (30dB); the Yeti 300 doesn't publish one. That isn't evidence the Yeti 300 is louder — it means there's no figure to hold it to, and no way to compare the two on this without hearing them. If you're buying for a bedroom, a CPAP, or an apartment, treat the RIVER 3 MAX's 30dB as the only published number on the table — a spec-sheet figure, not a measurement — and look for hands-on reports of the Yeti 300 before deciding.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the RIVER 3 MAX.
Check RIVER 3 MAX 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 RIVER 3 MAX wins on both sticker price and long-term value. At $0.19/kWh over its lifetime, it's meaningfully cheaper to own. Clear value winner. One caution on the lifespan row: the Yeti 300 takes longer to reach its cycle rating, but a cycle moves a different amount of energy on each unit — the RIVER 3 MAX still delivers more over its shorter horizon (1,716 vs 1,188 kWh). Years measure wear, not usefulness.
Brand trust
EcoFlow
Ecosystem
Largest in portable power — 12-15 models across DELTA Pro, DELTA 3, and RIVER 3 series, plus solar panels and smart home panels
Support
US-based phone/email/chat support (1-800-368-8604). Experiences are polarized — many report hassle-free prepaid-label replacements, but others report long waits and refurbished units sent for new claims. Pro tip: buying from Costco or Amazon gives you a stronger return safety net.
Community
Largest community in the space — Reddit r/Ecoflow_community (~31K members), multiple Facebook groups, and an official community forum
App experience
Rated 4.6/5 iOS (~8,400 ratings) · 4.2/5 Android (~17,000 ratings)
Unique strength
Fastest-charging technology (X-Stream), deepest product ecosystem, and most active innovation cadence. At the top of the range sit two whole-home paths: the TITAN line, one 5 kWh unit that grows to 30 kWh, and the DELTA Pro Ultra platform, which stacks batteries and inverters further — flagship paths, not line-wide features.
Worth knowing
Tested subscription paywalls for advanced app features in early 2025 before community backlash paused the plan. No parts or service offered out of warranty.
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 company (Salt Lake City, owned by NRG Energy). Historically considered premium support, but 2025-2026 reports describe long wait times, unresponsive email communication, and tickets going unaddressed for weeks. The "premium support justifies premium pricing" argument is weakening.
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
Pioneer of the portable power market — strongest brand heritage. US-based company with ruggedized, weather-resistant designs (IP ratings vary by model). Integrated "Yeti-Ready" ecosystem with coolers, lights, and vehicle kits.
Worth knowing
Typically the priciest brand per watt-hour — though individual pairings vary, and on some pages the Yeti is the cheaper energy. Support quality has declined from its "premium" standard. Perceived as competitively stagnant vs. faster-innovating Chinese competitors. Reliability reports on newer models are concerning.
Analyst note
Neither brand's support earns a premium on this pair. EcoFlow's experiences are polarized and it offers no parts or service out of warranty; Goal Zero's once-premium support has drawn reports of long waits and unanswered tickets lately, and its official forums were shuttered. Both carry the same 5-year warranty. With support a wash, the decision falls back on the hardware, where the RIVER does more for less.
Growth path
RIVER 3 MAX
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 572Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 220W 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 RIVER 3 MAX 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.
EcoFlow RIVER 3 MAX
Field coverage of the RIVER 3 MAX specifically is thin; most of what exists describes the RIVER 3 platform as a whole, and our research flags that the 858Wh figure some sources attach to this unit isn't its capacity, which is 572Wh out of the box with no further battery to addA0A1. At the platform level, reviewers praise near-silent running and IP54 dust and water resistanceA2, along with LiFePO4 cells rated for 3,000-plus cyclesA3.
One source credits the RIVER 3 family with quality engineering and genuine portability for buyers who don't need to power a house, though our researcher couldn't confirm which RIVER 3 model it tested, so treat it as character rather than specA4.
“Offers up to 858Wh of LFP battery storage — the largest capacity in the RIVER 3 line — as a compact, portable unit.”
Sources
powerstationadvisor.com · ecoflow.com · backuppowerhub.com · amazon.com · portablepowernerd.com
Goal Zero Yeti 300
Reviewers consistently land in the same place on the Yeti 300: well built, but small for the money. It's praised for IP54 resistance, rubberized corners and a sturdy handle, and one review timed a 0-100% recharge at 50 minutesB2; its LiFePO4 pack and 4,000-cycle rating are the other headline strengthsB1B0. The caveats are capacity and price, with one reviewer saying the price stings for what you getB4.
The 297Wh pack limits it to lighter duty, which one test put at 4-6 hours on a laptop, and the same reviewer saw it shut down after 2 minutes on a coffee makerB3. That review describes the limit as 300W, below the 350W continuous rating on our record, so read the shutdown as a load-size warning rather than a precise thresholdB3.
“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
- Largest RIVER 3 capacity (up to 858Wh), quiet IP54 build, and 3,000-cycle LFP are the standout points. [RIVER 3 MAX · 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
“Offers up to 858Wh of LFP battery storage — the largest capacity in the RIVER 3 line — as a compact, portable unit.”
powerstationadvisor.com / ecoflow.com — RIVER 3 line review · 2026 · [positive]
- A2
“Built on the same RIVER 3 platform reviewers praise for sub-30dB whisper-quiet operation and IP54 ruggedness.”
backuppowerhub.com — RIVER 3 review · 2026 · [positive]
- A3
“LiFePO4 chemistry rated for 3,000+ cycles to 80% — roughly a decade of everyday use.”
backuppowerhub.com / amazon.com — RIVER 3 line · 2026 · [positive]
- A4
“Reviewers value the RIVER 3 family for quality engineering and genuine portability for those who don't need to power a whole house.”
portablepowernerd.com — RIVER 3 review · 2026 · [positive]
- 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 November 1, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the RIVER 3 MAX if you…
- →You're running a CPAP on the nightstand and need it to last until the alarm: the RIVER clears a 320Wh night with 166Wh to spare.
- →You want one small unit for the car, the campsite and the desk, and you'll carry 4.4 extra pounds, 18.1 against 13.7, for nearly twice the energy.
- →You'll run something in the 400W range, like the 400W peak on our tailgate list, which the RIVER's 600W holds and the Yeti's 350W can't.
- →You want a router or desktop to ride through a power blip, where the RIVER's no-worse-than-10ms switchover is the tighter rating.
Buy the Yeti 300 if you…
- →You carry it more than you drain it and your daily use fits inside 297Wh: the Yeti is 4.4 lbs lighter, and its 200W input fills its small pack in about an hour and a half.
- →You care more about calendar years than total energy, and the Yeti's 4,000-cycle rating is the spec you want to own.
If neither fits
If you're shopping for a blackout, close this tab. The engine's 8-hour outage list needs 1,645Wh, more than three times the RIVER's 486Wh usable and over six times the Yeti's. Look at a home-backup class station sized above that number, not a choice between two daypacks.
The Bottom Line
The RIVER 3 MAX is the cheaper unit and the one that gets the job done. It carries nearly twice the usable energy for 4.4 more pounds, holds a 400W load the Yeti can only start, and finishes a CPAP night that the Yeti abandons 68Wh before morning.
The Yeti 300's lighter case is a real advantage, its 200W input fills its small pack quickly, and its longer cycle life buys years rather than energy. Unless your loads are small and you carry it everywhere, go get the RIVER.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
EcoFlow RIVER 3 MAX or Goal Zero Yeti 300, which is better?
The RIVER 3 MAX for almost everyone. It's the cheaper of the two and holds 572Wh to the Yeti's 297Wh, runs 600W to 350W, and takes 220W of solar to 200W. The Yeti only makes sense if its 4.4-lb lighter case matters more to you than energy and your use fits inside its smaller battery.
Can the Goal Zero Yeti 300 run a CPAP all night?
Not the 320Wh night our scenario models. After an 85% derate the Yeti has about 252Wh usable, so it runs out 68Wh short. The RIVER 3 MAX has about 486Wh usable and finishes with 166Wh to spare.
Which charges faster from solar, the RIVER 3 MAX or the Yeti 300?
The Yeti 300 reaches full first: its 200W input tops off 297Wh in about 1.5 hours, against roughly 2.6 hours for the RIVER's 572Wh at 220W. But the RIVER takes more sun per hour the whole time, so after about 1.35 hours it has stored as much as the Yeti can hold, and it keeps going. Whatever the sun window, the RIVER banks more.
Is the Yeti 300's 4,000-cycle battery worth paying more for?
Only if you measure in years. It works out to about 11 years of daily cycles against the RIVER's 8.2, but each Yeti cycle is half the energy, so over its rated life the Yeti delivers about 1,188 kWh to the RIVER's 1,716. You get more years of a smaller battery.
Will the Yeti 300 run a coffee maker or kettle?
Probably not for long. Its continuous rating is 350W, so a 400W load can surge into it but not stay there, and one reviewer saw it shut down after 2 minutes on a coffee maker. The RIVER 3 MAX's 600W continuous rating gives you 250W more headroom.
Related comparisons
Where to buy
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EcoFlow RIVER 3 MAXPick
$319.00
$319.00 · direct from EcoFlow
Last checked 28 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Goal Zero Yeti 300
$349.95
$349.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 28 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.