Goal Zero Yeti 1500 vs Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra

Goal Zero Yeti 1500 portable power station

Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra portable power station

Pick this if

Goal Zero Yeti 1500

Continuous AC output: 2,000 W vs 1,800 W
Max solar input: 900 W vs 800 W
AC recharge time: 66 min vs 90 min

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

Pick this if

Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra

Capacity: 1,536 Wh vs 1,505 Wh
Weight: 38.6 lb vs 52.8 lb
List price: $1,199 vs $1,500
Cost per watt-hour: $0.78 vs $1.00

A first power station that must be simple, safe and easy to live with.

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	Yeti 1500	Explorer 1500 Ultra	What it means
Capacity	1,505 Wh	1,536 Wh	How much energy the unit stores. Sets how long everything else can run.
Continuous AC output	2,000 W	1,800 W	The largest load the inverter will run continuously, not counting surge.
Weight lower is better	52.8 lb	38.6 lb	The spec buyers most often regret ignoring.
List price lower is better	$1,500	$1,199	Vendor list price at the time of collection; street prices move.
Cost per watt-hour lower is better	$1.00	$0.78	Price divided by capacity. The fairest single value metric.
Watt-hours per pound	28.5 Wh/lb	39.8 Wh/lb	Capacity you get per pound carried.
Max solar input	900 W	800 W	Caps how large an array is useful, and therefore off-grid recharge speed.
AC recharge time lower is better	66 min	90 min	Vendor-stated time to full from a wall outlet.
Rated cycles	4,000 cycles	4,000 cycles	Vendor claim for charge cycles before capacity degrades to 80%.
UPS switchover lower is better	15 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

Goal Zero Yeti 1500

#58 of 73 for Best value (Wh per dollar) ($1.00)
#65 of 74 for Most portable (Wh per pound) (28.5 Wh/lb)
#29 of 75 for Most inverter headroom (133 W/100Wh)
#3 of 36 for Fastest AC recharge (1.4 kW)
#22 of 55 for Highest solar input (900 W)
#22 of 65 for Longest service life (6020 kWh)
#54 of 72 for Most output per dollar (1.33 W/$)
#15 of 75 for Best for home backup (71/100)
#48 of 75 for Longest warranty (60 mo)

Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra

#47 of 73 for Best value (Wh per dollar) ($0.78)
#28 of 74 for Most portable (Wh per pound) (39.8 Wh/lb)
#38 of 75 for Most inverter headroom (117 W/100Wh)
#12 of 36 for Fastest AC recharge (1.0 kW)
#23 of 55 for Highest solar input (800 W)
#20 of 65 for Longest service life (6144 kWh)
#47 of 72 for Most output per dollar (1.50 W/$)
#55 of 75 for Best for home backup (49/100)
#6 of 75 for Longest warranty (60 mo)

The brands behind them

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 →

Jackery

The mainstream first-time buyer who wants one simple box

Best for: A first power station that must be simple, safe and easy to live with.

Not for: Buyers chasing maximum watt-hours per dollar, or maximum solar input.

Full Jackery profile →

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-1500-portable-power-station-lifepo4-battery.

Vendor wording for each figure (8)

capacityWh: “Capacity => 1,505 Wh”
acOutputW: “AC Inverter (60Hz - pure sine wave) => 2000 W Continuous, 3600 W Surge”
weight: “Weight => 52.75 lbs. (23.93kg)”
solarInputW: “Solar Input => 900 Watts”
rechargeAcMinutes: “AC Fast Charge (included cable) => 1.1 hrs”
cycleLife: “Cycles => 4,000 Cycles (To 80% of original capacity at 25 ° C charge and discharge)”
upsSwitchoverMs: “Grid to battery in <15ms”
warrantyMonths: “Warranty => 5 Years”

Where these numbers come from. Every figure on this page is taken from Jackery’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: www.jackery.com/products/jackery-explorer-1500-ultra-portable-power-station.

Vendor wording for each figure (7)