Head-to-head test
Goal Zero Yeti 3000X vs Goal Zero Yeti 500X
Same cells, same 500 cycles, same price per watt-hour: the $2,500 between these two buys size and nothing else, so the whole decision is whether 422 usable watt-hours covers your list.
Full profiles: Goal Zero Yeti 3000X → · Goal Zero Yeti 500X →
Written by Ian SchneiderUpdated
Solar & Off-Grid Tester, Station Arena Test Desk
$2,999.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 3 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
$499.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 3 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Spec deltas
Three thousand dollars against five hundred, and the extra $2,500 buys watt-hours. Nothing else. Both units run the same 500-cycle NMC cellsA1B1, carry the same two-year warranty, top out at the same 60W over USB-C, and sit within two cents of each other per watt-hour. Goal Zero is selling one battery by the pound here, and the pricing says so.
The 3000X delivers 2,577 usable watt-hours after the inverter takes its cut; the 500X delivers 422. That gap decides five of the six loads on the scenario board. The 500X covers the CPAP night at 76% of what it can actually give and runs short on camping, blackout, remote work and tailgating. On the tailgate load it doesn't merely run out. It can't start the draw at all, because 300W continuous with a 600W surge ceiling is a wall, not a slow drain.
So the 3000X wins, and the interesting buyer is the one it doesn't win for. If your list stops at a CPAP, a laptop and a phone pile, the 500X does that job at 12.9 lbs and leaves $2,500 in your pocket, and headroom you never discharge is the most expensive thing you can buy. If you're planning to cycle a battery daily, close the tab: both of these are 500-cycle units, and daily use spends that fast.
What the Numbers Reveal
Each conclusion stated first — the numbers behind it on one line, the full analysis below.
Capacity
Run the same division across the whole service life and it stays flat. 3,032Wh times 500 cycles is 1,516 kWh, so the 3000X costs $1.98 per lifetime kilowatt-hour, while the 500X's 497Wh times 500 cycles is 249 kWh, or $2.01. Three cents apart. There's no volume discount for going big and no economy in going small, which strips price out of the decision and leaves capacity holding the entire thing on its own.
Yeti 3000X: $3,000 for 3,032WhYeti 500X: $500 for 497WhBoth rated 500 cycles, both covered for 2 years
Why it mattersStop weighing the $2,500 as a value question. It's a sizing question, and your load list already answered it.
The tailgate result isn't arguable. That one fails on surge rather than energy: the peak draw sits above the 500X's 600W ceiling, so the unit refuses to start the load instead of running it down. You can add watt-hours to a setup after the fact. You cannot add inverter.
500X usable energy: 497Wh at the 0.85 inverter derate is 422Wh500X inverter: 300W continuous, 600W surgeTailgate Party: the engine says the 500X cannot cover the peak draw
Why it mattersIf anything on your list has a compressor, a motor or a heating element, the 500X is out before runtime even comes up.
Typical price
That turns the app from a feature gap into a symptom. The 500X's whole job is the 320Wh bedside night, where the readout you need is the one visible from the pillow. App control earns its keep when the battery lives two floors away, which is precisely the 3000X's life and precisely not the 500X's.
Yeti 3000X weighs 69.78 lbs; Yeti 500X weighs 12.9 lbsApp control is flagged as a gap on the 500X, not the 3000XReviewers describe the 3000X as a roughly 70-pound unit whose roll cart is essential to move itA2
Why it mattersDon't let the missing app move the 500X down your list. Let the capacity do that, if anything does.
The buyer who would actually cycle daily is the van dweller, and the board says neither unit can serve that day anyway. So the person most punished by the chemistry is the same person the capacity already turned away. Weekend and weekly use is where these two still make sense, and at a weekend cadence the same 500 cycles stretches to roughly 4.8 years.
Both units are rated 500 cyclesAt one cycle a day, both reach that rating in about 1.4 years; at weekend cadence, about 4.8 yearsVan Life Daily needs 4,685Wh a day, 182% of the 3000X's usable capacity
Why it mattersDaily cyclers should leave with neither and shop LiFePO4; weekend users can ignore the cycle rating entirely.
The specific dimensions that decide these two units — everything else is a tie.
Runtime: Will It Power Your Gear?
Selected because: the 3000X delivers 2,577 usable watt-hours against the 500X's 422, and that one gap settles five of the six loads below.
continuous output
Rated capacity is the number on the box. Roughly 85% of it is the number you get once the inverter takes its cut, and after that cut the 3000X hands over 2,577 watt-hours per discharge against the 500X's 422. Every runtime figure here is built on that pair, not on the nameplate pair, which is why the small unit looks worse in practice than the spec sheet suggests.
Refill speed scales with capacity almost exactly, so neither unit gains ground there. The 3000X moves 3,032Wh through a 600W solar input in about five hours at full rating; the 500X moves 497Wh through 120W in about four. Proportionally they're the same charger. If you plan to solar-cycle either one, plan on giving up most of a good day to it.
Your Life, Your Pick
Selected because: the six-load board is where a 6.1x capacity difference stops being abstract: the 500X clears one job and can't start another.
The board reads lopsided because it is. A 2,100Wh camping weekend is 81% of the 3000X's usable capacity and 497% of the 500X's. Read those percentages as ratios rather than scores: the 500X isn't missing camping by a hair, it would need emptying and refilling five times over, which isn't a shortfall you solve with patience.
CPAP is the one genuine dead heat and the one worth pausing on. 320Wh overnight is 12% of the big unit and 76% of the small one, and 76% is a real night's margin rather than a squeaker. Whichever you pick, that job gets done. Van life is the honest loss, and the board says so out loud rather than picking a least-bad winner.
Lifetime Value
Selected because: the two units land three cents apart per lifetime kilowatt-hour, which is what removes price from this decision.
cost / lifetime kWh
Same money per kilowatt-hour, either way you go, which is the least dramatic finding on this page and the most useful one. What the flat rate hides is cadence. Run the 3000X on weekends and it works out to $1.71 a day across its rated life, where the 500X costs 28 cents. Both numbers are honest, and they describe two completely different purchases: one is infrastructure you amortize, the other is a gadget you barely notice paying for.
Portability & Form Factor
Selected because: 69.78 lbs against 12.9 lbs is the one axis where the cheaper unit wins outright.
weight
Fifty-seven pounds separates these two, and it separates a habit from a decision. The 500X at 12.9 lbs goes in the back seat, up the stairs, out to the porch, without you thinking about it. The 3000X at 69.78 lbs gets carried once, into a spot you've already chosen, ideally by two people and definitely not down basement stairs alone.
Reviewers call the 3000X's roll cart essential rather than a bonus on a unit that sizeA2, and single the 500X out as one of the most compact stations for its capacity, with the build quality to matchB2. Both read as compliments to the same design applied at two scales. Only one of them lets you take the battery to the problem instead of hauling the problem to the battery.
Growth Path
Selected because: only the 3000X can grow, and it's worth knowing what it grows into before you pay for the option.
solar input
Expansion is the 3000X's one exclusive card, and it's worth turning face up before you pay for it. Reviewers report that the Goal Zero Tank runs on lead-acid, contributes only about half its rated capacity in usable terms, and halves the onboard lithium while it's connectedA4. Bolt one on and part of what you just bought walks back out the door, taking part of what you already owned with it. Expansion that leaves you with less isn't headroom.
So price the 3000X as a 3,032Wh unit and nothing more. If that covers you, buy it. If it doesn't, the honest move isn't to plan an expansion, it's to look at a system designed to grow. And the 500X being sealed at 497Wh isn't a mark against it, because 497Wh sealed is the entire product it was designed to be. Size it correctly up front and the missing expansion never comes up.
Strengths & trade-offs
Goal Zero Yeti 3000X
Strengths
- +Larger battery capacity
- +Higher AC output
- +Faster solar charging
Trade-offs
- –Substantially more expensive (+$2,500) than the Yeti 500X.
- –Significantly heavier (+56.9 lbs), making it harder to move.
Goal Zero Yeti 500X
Strengths
- +Costs $2,500 less
- +Lighter by 56.9 lb
Trade-offs
- –Weaker inverter (-1,700W) limits appliance compatibility.
- –Lacks smartphone app control for remote monitoring.
- –Sealed capacity — the Yeti 3000X can add batteries to grow past 497Wh; 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
Yeti 3000X
The Yeti 500X doesn't finish — 422Wh usable against the 2,100Wh this needs leaves it 1,678Wh short, about 20% of the scenario covered. The Yeti 3000X covers it with 477Wh to spare.
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
Yeti 3000X
The 3000X carries the night at 64% of its usable capacity, which leaves you the morning too. The 500X needs 389% of what it holds, so getting through the same eight hours means close to four full recharges you won't have time or sun for. Outages don't schedule themselves around your charging window.
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
Both units finish the night, so this comes down to where you'd rather the battery be. 320Wh is 12% of the 3000X's usable capacity and 76% of the 500X's, and 76% still clears it with margin. The tiebreak is 12.9 lbs against 69.78: only one of these is going on a nightstand.
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
Yeti 3000X
The Yeti 500X doesn't finish — 422Wh usable against the 910Wh this needs leaves it 488Wh short, about 47% of the scenario covered. The Yeti 3000X covers it with 1,667Wh 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
Yeti 3000X
The 3000X takes this one, and the 500X doesn't lose it on runtime. The peak draw sits above the 500X's 600W surge ceiling, so it declines to start the load rather than running it flat. A 300W inverter is a hard limit, not a slow one.
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 day, and it isn't close. 4,685Wh is 182% of what the 3000X delivers in a full discharge and more than eleven times what the 500X does. Full-time van power is a house-bank job, and no amount of clever loading turns a portable unit into one.
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: Yeti 3000X runs 12.6h vs 2.1h.
$2,999.95 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 0–171.8hComfort & Convenience
Makes off-grid life actually enjoyablescale 0–34.4hHigh-Draw Appliances
These reveal the real limitsscale 0–2.6h¹ 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 Yeti 3000X, on Power Score margin
Take the Yeti 3000X unless your entire load list fits inside 422 watt-hours. Goal Zero priced both units at almost exactly the same dollar per watt-hour and gave them the same 500-cycle rating, the same two-year warranty and the same 60W USB-C ceiling, so there's no value penalty for buying the big one and no thrift bonus in the small one. What separates them is that the 500X clears exactly one of the six loads on the scenario board, and on the tailgate load it can't even start the draw. If your list really is a CPAP, a laptop and phones, buy the 500X, keep the $2,500, and carry 12.9 lbs instead of the 3000X's 69.78. Anyone planning to cycle a battery every day should buy neither.
Editor-assigned confidence, based on cited owner research and spec analysis.
List prices as of August 9, 2026. The links below open Goal Zero's current price.
$2,999.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 3 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
or check the Yeti 500X price$499.95 list
Written by Ian Schneider, Solar & Off-Grid 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): RV Living, Home Backup, Solar Generator, Tailgating, Food Truck, 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, Yeti 3000X rates 3.3/5 (1st percentile of 25 Large-class units), and Yeti 500X rates 3.5/5 (14th 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.
Decide Where It Lives Before It Arrives
This is a two-hands, bent-knees lift, and not one to attempt on basement stairs by yourself. In practice you'll move the 3000X exactly once, so pick the spot first and buy second. The 500X you grab on the way out the door and think about later.
The App Gap Is Really a Distance Gap
The 500X has no app and the 3000X does, and that matters less than it reads. App control pays off when the battery lives two floors from you, which is where a 69.78-lb unit ends up. A 12.9-lb one is usually in the same room, where the front panel is the interface. Don't let this line item swing your decision.
Fixed at 497Wh, and That's the Whole Product
The 500X can't grow, but it was never sold as a starter module. 497Wh sealed is the entire design, so the only real risk is buying it for a load it was never going to cover. Size it against your worst day up front. And on the other side, a ticked expansion box on the 3000X only counts if the thing you bolt on is worth owning, which is a separate question from whether the option exists.
Same Two Years, Very Different Exposure
Both units carry two years, which sounds like parity until you notice what's riding on it. Two years on the 3000X is $1,500 of purchase price per covered year; on the 500X it's $250. Same promise, six times the money behind it. Buy the big one from a seller whose return window you'd actually be willing to use.
Full record above — the Test Desk pick is the Yeti 3000X.
Check Yeti 3000X price →or check the Yeti 500X 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 Yeti 500X is cheaper to buy, but the Yeti 3000X is cheaper to own. At $1.98/kWh over its lifetime vs $2.01/kWh, the Yeti 3000X's higher cycle life and capacity make each dollar go further over the years. One thing to know reading the table: both carry the same 500-cycle rating, so the lifetime rows are sticker price and capacity in disguise — the wear horizon is identical and decides nothing here.
Growth path
Yeti 3000X
EXPANDABLESupports Goal Zero expansion batteries, so you can add capacity later without replacing the base unit — useful if your needs may climb past 3,032Wh.
Accepts up to 600W of solar. Suitable for a 1-2 panel setup.
Adequate ports for most setups, but heavy users may want a power strip.
Expansion batteries are Goal Zero-specific. You're investing in the Goal Zero ecosystem.
Yeti 500X
FIXED CAPACITYFixed at 497Wh, with no expansion — so size it for your needs up front rather than planning to add capacity later.
Accepts up to 120W of solar. Limited to a single portable panel.
Limited ports. You'll likely need a power strip or splitter.
Realistic full solar rechargeat 70% of rated panel output — see methodology
Analyst note
The Yeti 500X is sealed at 497Wh, which is fine if that covers you. The Yeti 3000X starts at 3,032Wh and can grow beyond it with Goal Zero expansion batteries — real headroom the Yeti 500X 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.
Goal Zero Yeti 3000X
Field material on the 3000X comes from reviewers rather than long-term owners, so read it as first-impression evidenceA1A2A4. The recurring complaint isn't performance, it's chemistry: a 500-cycle NMC pack rated to 80% capacity, set against LFP units reviewers put at 3,000+ cyclesA1. The headline specs draw no argument anywhere, 3,032Wh behind a 2,000W inverter with 3,500W of surgeA3.
The two practical warnings are weight and the expansion path. The roll cart gets described as essential rather than a nice extra on a roughly 70-pound unitA2, and the Tank system draws a flat negative: lead-acid cells, about half the added capacity actually usable, and the onboard lithium halved while it's attachedA4.
“A roughly 70-pound unit that comes with a roll cart, essential to move it around.”
Sources
poweredportablesolar.com · bestgeneratorsolar.com · shopsolarkits.com · rei.com · goalzero.com · protoolreviews.com
Goal Zero Yeti 500X
The 500X earns its praise on exactly the axis you'd expect. Reviewers pick it out as one of the most compact units for its capacity and call out the build qualityB2, and owner reviews describe running two laptops, a Nintendo Switch, an iPad and several phones off it without troubleB3. That's the load profile it was built for, and the field reports say it delivers on it.
The caveat is the one the 3000X carries too. It's a 500-cycle NMC designB1, and a newer LFP Yeti 500 has since replaced it with a far higher cycle ratingB4. Nothing in the field reports suggests the unit misbehaves. The objection is entirely about how many nights it has left in it.
“Weighs 12.9 lbs and is one of the most compact 505Wh power stations, with praised portability and build quality.”
Sources
nomadwatts.com · bestbuy.com · yuenx.com · survival-kompass.de · portablepowernerd.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
- Large NMC capacity but a crippling 500-cycle rating, heavy weight (roll cart needed), and a limited lead-acid expansion path are the recurring points. [Yeti 3000X · 3 entries]
- Compact, well-built, and reliable for small devices, but held back by 500-cycle NMC chemistry vs newer LFP. [Yeti 500X · 3 entries]
- A1
“Its biggest drawback is the Li-ion NMC battery rated for only 500 cycles to 80% capacity, where LiFePO4 power stations last 3,000+ cycles.”
poweredportablesolar.com / bestgeneratorsolar.com — Yeti 3000X review · 2026 · [negative]
- A2
“A roughly 70-pound unit that comes with a roll cart, essential to move it around.”
shopsolarkits.com / rei.com — Yeti 3000X review · 2026 · [mixed]
- A3
“3,032Wh capacity with a 2,000W continuous inverter and 3,500W surge.”
goalzero.com / protoolreviews.com — Yeti 3000X specifications · 2026 · [positive]
- A4
“Expandable via the Goal Zero Tank system, but the Tank uses lead-acid batteries that allow only ~50% usable capacity and halve the onboard lithium capacity when connected — a limited expansion path.”
poweredportablesolar.com — Yeti 3000X / Tank review · 2026 · [negative]
- B1
“A 505Wh Li-ion NMC battery rated for 500 charge cycles to 80% capacity, with a 300W continuous inverter (350W surge, 2,000W peak).”
nomadwatts.com / bestbuy.com — Yeti 500X review · 2026 · [negative]
- B2
“Weighs 12.9 lbs and is one of the most compact 505Wh power stations, with praised portability and build quality.”
yuenx.com / survival-kompass.de — Yeti 500X review · 2026 · [positive]
- B3
“Owners report reliably charging multiple devices — two laptops, a Nintendo Switch, an iPad, and multiple phones — without problems.”
bestbuy.com owner reviews — Yeti 500X · 2026 · [positive]
- B4
“An older NMC design; a newer LFP Yeti 500 has since replaced it with a far higher cycle rating.”
portablepowernerd.com — Yeti 500X/500 review · 2026 · [mixed]
Research compiled August 9, 2026.
Who Should Buy Which
Buy the Yeti 3000X if you…
- →You're covering a night without grid power for the fridge, the modem and the lights. That load is 1,645Wh, or 64% of a single 3000X discharge, which leaves you the morning as well.
- →Your camping weekend genuinely draws 2,100Wh and you'd rather not ration. That's 81% of one discharge, with room to spare instead of a rationing plan.
- →You've already picked the spot it will live in. Carried once and left there, 69.78 lbs stops being a spec and starts being furniture, and the app is how you check on it from another floor.
Buy the Yeti 500X if you…
- →Your whole list is a CPAP, a laptop and a phone pile. 320Wh overnight is 76% of what the 500X delivers, and it does that night for $500 rather than $3,000.
- →The battery has to move with you. 12.9 lbs goes wherever a backpack goes, and reviewers rate its build for exactly that kind of handlingB2.
- →You're buying a second battery, not your only one. At $500 this is the unit you add for the bedroom or the tent, not the one you build a house backup around.
If neither fits
Anyone who'll cycle a battery every day should close this page. Both carry the same 500-cycle rating, which at one cycle a day is a 1.4-year battery, and the van-life load on the board draws 4,685Wh a day, beating even the 3000X's full discharge by a wide margin. That buyer wants a modern LiFePO4 system sized in kilowatt-hours with a real expansion path, not either of these.
The Bottom Line
Buy the Yeti 3000X. Not because it's the better-engineered unit, since it isn't really a different unit, but because Goal Zero sells both at the same rate per watt-hour and only one of them holds enough of them to do the jobs people buy these for. Five of six loads on the board go to the big one. The sixth goes to nobody.
The exception is real and worth naming out loud. If your list stops at a CPAP, a laptop and phones, the 500X clears that night with margin, weighs 12.9 lbs, and leaves $2,500 unspent. Work out your worst realistic day in watt-hours before you order anything. That single number picks the unit for you, and every other line on this page is a footnote to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers drawn from the spec record and cited owner research.
Is the Yeti 3000X worth six times the price of the Yeti 500X?
It's worth it if you need six times the energy, and not otherwise. $3,000 buys 3,032Wh and $500 buys 497Wh, which works out to $0.99 versus $1.01 per watt-hour, so you're paying the same rate either way. There's no premium to resent and no bargain to chase. Decide on capacity and let the sticker follow.
Can I use the Yeti 3000X or Yeti 500X as a UPS for a desktop or a modem?
No. Neither unit carries a switchover-time figure, because neither has a switchover to time. These are batteries you plug into after the power drops, so anything running through them goes dark when the grid does. If you need a computer or a router to ride through the flicker, buy an actual UPS and use the Yeti to keep it fed.
How long does the Yeti 3000X take to recharge from solar?
About five hours at full rated input, since 3,032Wh over a 600W solar input is roughly five hours of strong sun. The 500X isn't proportionally faster: 497Wh over its 120W input is about four hours. Real days are cloudier than that and panels rarely hit nameplate, so treat both as best cases and plan on most of a day.
Which one is quieter to sleep next to for CPAP?
Neither publishes a noise figure, so don't decide on that. What we can say is that a CPAP night is 320Wh, which is 12% of the 3000X's usable capacity and 76% of the 500X's, so both finish the night with margin. If bedside is the use case, the deciding fact is that at 12.9 lbs the 500X is the one you can actually put in the bedroom.
Is the Yeti 3000X enough for full-time van life?
No. A full van-life day on our board draws 4,685Wh, which is 182% of what the 3000X delivers in one discharge, so you'd run dry before the day is out. Expansion doesn't rescue it either: reviewers report the lead-acid Tank contributes only about half its rated capacity and halves the onboard lithium while attached. Van dwellers want a purpose-built LiFePO4 house bank, not a portable unit with an accessory.
Where to buy
Goal Zero Yeti 3000XPick
$2,999.95
$2,999.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 3 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Goal Zero Yeti 500X
$499.95
$499.95 · direct from Goal Zero
Last checked 3 days ago. Prices move — check before you buy.
Prices may vary by retailer and are subject to change.