EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max vs Goal Zero Yeti 500

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max portable power station

Goal Zero Yeti 500 portable power station

Pick this if

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max

Capacity: 512 Wh vs 499 Wh
Weight: 13.4 lb vs 16.1 lb
List price: $249 vs $500
Cost per watt-hour: $0.49 vs $1.00

Buyers who want one system to grow from camping into home backup.

Pick this if

Goal Zero Yeti 500

Rated cycles: 4,000 cycles vs 3,000 cycles

Buyers who value the ecosystem, the retail presence and a familiar outdoor brand.

Spec by spec

A green arrow marks the better figure on each row. Rows where only one unit publishes a number are shown without a winner rather than guessed.

Metric	RIVER 2 Max	Yeti 500	What it means
Capacity	512 Wh	499 Wh	How much energy the unit stores. Sets how long everything else can run.
Continuous AC output	500 W	500 W	The largest load the inverter will run continuously, not counting surge.
Weight lower is better	13.4 lb	16.1 lb	The spec buyers most often regret ignoring.
List price lower is better	$249	$500	Vendor list price at the time of collection; street prices move.
Cost per watt-hour lower is better	$0.49	$1.00	Price divided by capacity. The fairest single value metric.
Watt-hours per pound	38.2 Wh/lb	31.0 Wh/lb	Capacity you get per pound carried.
Max solar input	220 W	200 W	Caps how large an array is useful, and therefore off-grid recharge speed.
AC recharge time lower is better	60 min	84 min	Vendor-stated time to full from a wall outlet.
Rated cycles	3,000 cycles	4,000 cycles	Vendor claim for charge cycles before capacity degrades to 80%.
UPS switchover lower is better	30 ms	—	How long the unit takes to switch to battery. Under 20 ms keeps a desktop alive.
Warranty	60 months	60 months	Stated warranty length from the vendor listing.

How each one ranks overall

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max

#22 of 73 for Best value (Wh per dollar) ($0.49)
#34 of 74 for Most portable (Wh per pound) (38.2 Wh/lb)
#61 of 75 for Most inverter headroom (98 W/100Wh)
#19 of 36 for Fastest AC recharge (512 W)
#41 of 55 for Highest solar input (220 W)
#47 of 65 for Longest service life (1536 kWh)
#38 of 72 for Most output per dollar (2.01 W/$)
#59 of 75 for Best for home backup (48/100)
#12 of 75 for Longest warranty (60 mo)
#26 of 27 for Quietest under load (62 dB)

Goal Zero Yeti 500

#60 of 73 for Best value (Wh per dollar) ($1.00)
#61 of 74 for Most portable (Wh per pound) (31.0 Wh/lb)
#59 of 75 for Most inverter headroom (100 W/100Wh)
#26 of 36 for Fastest AC recharge (356 W)
#50 of 55 for Highest solar input (200 W)
#45 of 65 for Longest service life (1996 kWh)
#63 of 72 for Most output per dollar (1.00 W/$)
#69 of 75 for Best for home backup (35/100)
#45 of 75 for Longest warranty (60 mo)

The brands behind them

EcoFlow

The tech-forward buyer who reads the spec sheet and wants room to grow

Best for: Buyers who want one system to grow from camping into home backup.

Not for: Buyers who want the lowest cost per watt-hour and will never use an app.

Full EcoFlow profile →

Goal Zero

The outdoor retailer shopper who wants a system they can see in person

Best for: Buyers who value the ecosystem, the retail presence and a familiar outdoor brand.

Not for: Spec-sheet shoppers optimising cost per watt-hour.

Full Goal Zero profile →

Where these numbers come from. Every figure on this page is taken from EcoFlow’s own product listing and is stored with the vendor’s exact wording, reproduced below. We do not estimate missing specs — a field the vendor does not publish is shown as “—” and excluded from rankings. Source: us.ecoflow.com/products/river-2-max-portable-power-station.

Vendor wording for each figure (8)

capacityWh: “Capacity => 512Wh”
acOutputW: “AC Output => 120V 50Hz/60Hz, 500W (Surge 1000W)”
weight: “Approximately 13.4lbs”
solarInputW: “11-50V, 13A, 220W Max”
rechargeAcMinutes: “Charge 0-100% in only 60 mins”
cycleLife: “80%+ capacity after 3000 cycles”
upsSwitchoverMs: “30ms switch-over mode”
warrantyMonths: “5-year Warranty”

Where these numbers come from. Every figure on this page is taken from Goal Zero’s own product listing and is stored with the vendor’s exact wording, reproduced below. We do not estimate missing specs — a field the vendor does not publish is shown as “—” and excluded from rankings. Source: goalzero.com/products/yeti-500-portable-power-station-lfp-battery.

Vendor wording for each figure (7)

capacityWh: “Battery Pack Capacity: 499.2 Wh (25.6 V, 20 Ah)”
acOutputW: “AC (Inverter)(pure sine wave): 500 W Continuous, 1000 W Surge, 115 V, 4.16 A”
weight: “16.1 lbs (7.3kg)”
solarInputW: “Solar (200 W Max): 2.8 hrs.”
rechargeAcMinutes: “AC Fast Charge: 1.4 hrs”
cycleLife: “Lifecycles*: 4000 (*To 80% of original capacity at 25 °C with a 0.5C charge and discharge)”
warrantyMonths: “Warranty : 5 years”