Head-to-head test
Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC vs Goal Zero Yeti 300
Real-world runtimes, scenario verdicts, and ownership costs compared — which wins for your use case.
Written by Wenny ZhengUpdated
Portable Power Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
Goal Zero
Sherpa 100AC
682Power Score · Device Hub
$249.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 6 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Goal Zero
Yeti 300
1,473Power Score · Device Hub
$349.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 6 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Spec deltas
Both carry the Goal Zero name, but they're built for different buyers. The Sherpa 100AC (95Wh, 100W) and the Yeti 300 (297Wh, 350W) come from different product lines with different engineering priorities. The Yeti 300 has a slight edge, but the margin is close enough that your use case should break the tie.
The Yeti 300 holds 202Wh more than the Sherpa 100AC — about 2 hours on a fridge against 1 — a real but modest edge that shows up mainly on longer outages. For camping, tailgating, or keeping devices charged, both have the headroom, so price, weight, and longevity lead the decision instead.
Pick the Yeti 300 if your primary use is afternoon off-grid. Go with the Sherpa 100AC if its specific strengths below line up better with your use. Most buyers stop at the sticker price and miss this: over a full lifespan the Yeti 300 works out to about $0.29/kWh against the Sherpa 100AC's $5.28, a gap that compounds in the Yeti 300's favor the more you cycle it. Keep scrolling for the full breakdown. The scenario verdicts below hold a few surprises.
Bench Notes
What each unit does well, where it falls short, and the trade-offs that matter.
Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC
At 100W, this unit is strictly for personal electronics (phones, laptops) and small CPAP machines. Do not expect to run kitchen appliances. At only 2.1 lbs, it is exceptionally portable. You can easily carry it one-handed to a campsite or tailgating party.
Strengths
- +Costs $100 less
- +Lighter by 11.6 lb
Trade-offs
- –Lacks smartphone app control for remote monitoring.
- –Shorter-lived battery — rated for 500 charge cycles vs the Yeti 300's 4,000, so it wears out sooner.
Goal Zero Yeti 300
At 350W, this unit is strictly for personal electronics (phones, laptops) and small CPAP machines. Do not expect to run kitchen appliances. At only 13.7 lbs, it is exceptionally portable. You can easily carry it one-handed to a campsite or tailgating party.
Strengths
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Longer warranty
- +Faster solar charging
- +Rated for 4,000 charge cycles — much longer battery lifespan
Trade-offs
- –Substantially more expensive (+$100) than the Sherpa 100AC.
- –Significantly heavier (+11.6 lbs), making it harder to move.
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 Sherpa 100AC comes up 2,020Wh short (about 4% 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
The Sherpa 100AC can start the 150W peak but not hold it — 150W of surge gets it going, then the 100W continuous rating takes over, so capacity never gets a say. This is the wrong size of unit for the job rather than a close call.
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
Neither unit
Neither unit covers this scenario's 320Wh: the Sherpa 100AC comes up 240Wh short (about 25% covered), the Yeti 300 68Wh (79%). On a CPAP that is not a shorter night — the machine stops when the battery does, partway through it. Neither is a bedside backup at this size.
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 Sherpa 100AC comes up 830Wh short (about 9% covered), the Yeti 300 658Wh (28%). 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 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 unit can hold the 400W peak this scenario needs — the Sherpa 100AC on its 100W continuous rating, the Yeti 300 on its 350W, so capacity never gets a say. This is the wrong size of unit for the job rather than a close call.
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
The Sherpa 100AC can start the 150W peak but not hold it — 150W of surge gets it going, then the 100W continuous rating takes over, so capacity never gets a say. This is the wrong size of unit for the job rather than a close call.
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
Yeti 300
The Sherpa 100AC doesn't finish — 80Wh usable against the 100Wh this needs leaves it 20Wh short, about 81% of the scenario covered. The Yeti 300 covers it with 152Wh to spare.
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
Only the Yeti 300 can start this 205W load.
$349.95 list · direct from Goal Zero
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 0–16.8hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–3.4hHigh-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
July 10, 2026
Verdict: the Yeti 300, on Power Score margin
These two units are closely matched on individual specs, but our Power Score analysis gives the Yeti 300 the edge with a composite score of 1,473 vs 682.
Overall score margin: 682 vs 1,473 (−116.0%)
List prices as of July 10, 2026. The links below open Goal Zero's current price.
$349.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 6 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
or check the Sherpa 100AC price$249.95 list
Written by Wenny Zheng, Portable Power Tester · Station Arena Test Desk · Updated July 10, 2026
Measured Data
Benchmark scores and the full spec record, side by side.
Benchmark scores
Not rated for both units (minimum threshold unmet): UPS, CPAP, Solar Generator, Tailgating, 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.
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, Sherpa 100AC rates 3.3/5 (1st percentile of 22 Personal-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.
Sherpa 100AC: No App Control
Without app control, you have to physically walk to the Sherpa 100AC to check battery level, adjust settings, or monitor power draw. The Yeti 300 lets you do all that from your phone, including getting low-battery alerts.
Only the Yeti 300 Lists a UPS Mode
The Yeti 300 can sit between the wall and your gear and hand it to battery when the grid drops — rated ≤20ms — fine on paper for routers and most electronics; the fussiest PC power supplies sit right at this line. Worth it for a router or a modem — not a CPAP: at 252Wh usable it can bridge the flicker but cannot run the night. The Sherpa 100AC's spec sheet lists no UPS mode, so anything plugged into it rides an outage only as far as your reaction time.
Warranty Comparison
The Yeti 300 is covered for 5 years against the Sherpa 100AC's 2 years. An underrated factor if you're keeping this unit for years.
Battery Lifespan in Real Years
The Yeti 300 is rated for 4,000 cycles vs 500. In real life: at daily use, that's 11 vs 1.4 years. At weekend use (twice a week), it's 38 vs 5 years. One caution reading years across different sizes: a cycle is 297Wh on the Yeti 300 and 95Wh on the Sherpa 100AC, so count lifetime energy — roughly 1,188 kWh against 47 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.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the Yeti 300.
Check Yeti 300 price →or check the Sherpa 100AC 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 Sherpa 100AC is cheaper to buy, but the Yeti 300 is cheaper to own. At $0.29/kWh over its lifetime vs $5.28/kWh, the Yeti 300's higher cycle life and capacity make each dollar go further over the years.
Delivers each lifetime kWh for $4.99 less — check the Yeti 300 price →
Growth path
Sherpa 100AC
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 95Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 60W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Limited ports. You'll likely need a power strip or splitter.
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 Yeti 300 gives you the larger ceiling); you can't add to either later.
The Bottom Line
The full picture comes down to this. The Yeti 300 edges ahead on our overall analysis, but the margin is narrow enough that your specific use case should drive the decision. Review the scenario verdicts above — if the Sherpa 100AC wins in the scenarios that match your life, it's the right choice regardless of aggregate scores.
If neither the Sherpa 100AC nor the Yeti 300 feels like the right fit, your power needs probably sit outside what these two target. If you're planning whole-home backup or running power-hungry appliances (electric heaters, window AC), you'll want a larger system in the 3,000–5,000Wh range with expansion battery support. Prices on portable power stations fluctuate frequently. Both Goal Zero discount regularly, so check the current price before committing. Prime Day and Black Friday pricing typically drops 20-30%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Can I actually carry the Yeti 300, or is the Sherpa 100AC the only portable option?
The Sherpa 100AC at 2.1 lbs is genuinely grab-and-go. Toss it in a backpack, carry it one-handed to a picnic, take it on a boat. The Yeti 300 at 13.7 lbs is a different story. It's like carrying a large suitcase full of books. If you're setting up and breaking down camp frequently, this weight difference will exhaust you by day two.
"4,000 vs 500 cycles" — what does that actually mean for me?
In real years: the Yeti 300 (4,000 cycles) lasts 11.0 years at daily use, 38 years at weekend use (twice a week), or 167 years at twice-monthly camping trips. The Sherpa 100AC (500 cycles): 1.4 years daily, 5 years weekends, or 21 years twice-monthly. What most people miss: hitting the cycle limit doesn't kill your battery. Capacity drops to about 80%. Your 297Wh unit becomes a ~238Wh unit. Still very usable. For weekend users, both batteries will outlast the warranty by years.
Can I use the Yeti 300 as a home UPS to protect my electronics during blackouts?
Yes. The Yeti 300 has UPS mode with true 0ms switchover (double-conversion). Even hospital-grade equipment won't notice. Plug in your desktop PC, router, NAS, or CPAP machine and it switches to battery seamlessly when the grid drops. The Sherpa 100AC does not have this feature. Without UPS, a blackout means: your PC reboots (potentially corrupting unsaved work), your NAS may corrupt its drive array, your CPAP alarms and wakes you up, and your security cameras go dark until you manually switch them over. If always-on power protection matters, this is a dealbreaker advantage for the Yeti 300.
Bottom line: should I buy the Sherpa 100AC or the Yeti 300?
We'd pay the premium for the Yeti 300. Yes, it costs more. The capability jump is real: you're stepping into a tier that handles appliances the base model can't start. The Sherpa 100AC is still solid if budget is the priority, but the Yeti 300 will leave you less likely to wish you'd "gone bigger" six months from now. That regret costs more than the price difference.
Where to buy
Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC
$249.95
$249.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 6 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Goal Zero Yeti 300Pick
$349.95
$349.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 6 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.