Energy Saving Desk title card: EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus vs Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2, with a line illustration of a portable power station

EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus vs Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2: Which to Buy

ByEnergy Saving Desk

Last checked: October 29, 2026. Reviewed and expanded on October 31, 2026. This is a comparison of published specifications, not a hands-on test.

On paper, these two are close to twins. Both store 1,024 Wh in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells rated for 4,000 cycles to 80% capacity. Both switch to battery in under 10 milliseconds when the grid drops, and both recharge from the wall in under an hour. The choice comes down to three things: whether you’ll ever want more capacity, how much solar you plan to plug in, and whether you need the extra 200 W of output.

The short version

  • Choose the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus if you might add a second battery later or want to charge from a lot of solar. It accepts one extra battery (up to about 5 kWh in total) and takes up to 1,000 W of solar across two inputs.
  • Choose the Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 if you want the most output and the lightest, most compact box for the money, and you’re happy with 1 kWh for good. Anker states that it can’t be expanded.
How we compare the two: 1) Capacity and AC output; 2) Recharge speed and solar input; 3) Warranty and expansion. Illustration of a portable power station.

Side by side

EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2
Capacity 1,024 Wh 1,024 Wh
Battery LFP, 4,000 cycles to 80% LFP, 4,000 cycles to 80%
Continuous AC output 1,800 W 2,000 W
Surge 3,600 W 3,000 W
Fastest AC recharge (maker’s figure) 0–100% in 56 min (1,500 W input) 49 min (1,600 W, enabled in app)
Solar input up to 1,000 W (2 × 500 W) up to 600 W (60 V max)
Expandable Yes, one Smart Extra Battery, up to about 5 kWh No
UPS switchover under 10 ms under 10 ms
Weight (US model, maker’s figure) about 27 lb 24.9 lb
Warranty 5 years 5 years

US versions. Sources at the end of the page.

Where the differences matter

Expansion is the big one

A 1 kWh station covers a fridge, router and lights for roughly half a day to most of a day (see how long a power station runs a fridge). If your outages tend to be short, that’s enough. If you’ve had a 24- to 48-hour outage before, it probably isn’t. Our power station calculator shows how long 1 kWh lasts with your own appliances. EcoFlow says the DELTA 3 Plus accepts one Smart Extra Battery, for up to about 5 kWh in total. Check EcoFlow’s compatibility list before buying a battery for it. The Anker can’t grow. If you outgrow it, you buy a second unit or a bigger one.

Solar input

If you want to recharge from panels during a long outage, the DELTA 3 Plus’s 1,000 W ceiling (two 500 W inputs) refills the battery far faster in good sun than the Anker’s 600 W. For a balcony or a single folding panel, the difference rarely matters, because you won’t have more than 200–400 W of panels anyway.

Output and surge

The Anker’s 2,000 W continuous rating gives a little more headroom for running a microwave and a kettle one after the other, or a space heater on a low setting. EcoFlow’s higher surge rating (3,600 W) and its X-Boost mode can help with heating loads. Neither box is meant to run high-wattage appliances for long, because 1 kWh doesn’t last at 1,500–2,000 W.

Size and weight

The Anker is a bit smaller and lighter. If you’ll carry it to the car or the campsite often, that’s a fair reason to choose it.

What they share (and what to check either way)

  • True pass-through use as a mini UPS. Both can sit plugged in with your router or CPAP running through them and switch in under 10 ms. That’s fine for most home electronics but isn’t a zero-gap UPS for servers.
  • Apps and time-of-use modes. Both have apps; Anker advertises a time-of-use mode for charging when electricity is cheap. That only pays off if you’re on a time-of-use tariff, and a 1 kWh battery won’t shift much of a home’s use.
  • Standby losses. Turn the AC output off when nothing needs it. Inverters use power just by being on.

Our pick depends on one question

Do you expect to want more than 1 kWh one day? If yes, the EcoFlow’s expansion path makes it the better long-term buy, even if it costs a little more. If no, the Anker gives you more output in a smaller box. Check current prices at both retailers, because these two go on sale often and the gap between them changes.

Worked example: refilling from solar during a long outage

Panels rarely deliver their full rated watts. For this sum we assume about 70% of the rating during the best hours of a clear day. That’s our assumption, not a maker’s figure, and heat, angle and cloud all change it.

  • EcoFlow with 1,000 W of panels: about 700 W in, so 1,024 Wh takes roughly 1.5 hours of good sun.
  • Anker with its 600 W maximum: about 420 W in, so roughly 2.4 hours.
  • Either one with a single 200 W folding panel: about 140 W in, so 7 hours or more, which is a whole sunny day.

The lesson: the EcoFlow’s solar advantage only shows up if you actually buy, store and have space to lay out 600 W or more of panels. With one or two portable panels, both boxes refill at the same speed.

Recharging from the wall costs very little. Assuming about 90% charging efficiency (our assumption), a full charge takes about 1.14 kWh from the socket. At the U.S. average residential rate of 18.16¢/kWh (EIA, August 2026), that’s about 21¢.

The cycle rating won’t decide it. 4,000 cycles is about 11 years of daily use. As outage backup that runs a few dozen times a year, either battery will age through time long before it runs out of cycles.

Who should buy neither

  • You need heavy loads through a long outage. At 1,800 W, about 820 usable Wh (80% of 1,024) lasts under half an hour. Well pumps, central AC and electric heating need a generator, a home battery or a much larger system.
  • You only need phones, laptops and the router. A 1 kWh box is more than you need. A smaller 300–500 Wh unit costs and weighs less.
  • You want the house wiring backed up automatically. Neither is a whole-home solution. Connecting either to your circuits needs an electrician-fitted inlet and transfer switch.

Honest drawbacks of both: the fans get loud during fast charging, the inverter uses power whenever the AC output is on, and some features depend on the app. Anker’s fastest 1,600 W charging, for example, has to be switched on in the app.

For bigger setups, see our guide to the best power stations for home backup, and if you’re weighing a fuel generator instead, read power station vs generator.

More guides in Power Stations & Portable Power.

Sources

Similar Posts