In the world of high-capacity portable power stations, two heavyweights have entered the ring within the last six months—the Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus and the Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus. Both are powerful, premium-tier units aimed at serious off-grid power needs, and both have stirred up the same question in our comments over and over: Which one’s the better buy?
In this “This or That” showdown, we put them head-to-head. By comparing everything, including capacity, output, charging speed, design, versatility, value, and more, we’re going to pick a winner.
It’s worth mentioning that both of these high-capacity power stations are excellent units, but one edges ahead in enough key areas that we feel comfortable declaring a winner. So, should you spend your money on the Jackery 5000 Plus or the Anker F3800 Plus?
That’s a 1.2 kWh difference, which is enough to keep a standard refrigerator running for almost a full day, or a mini-fridge for even longer. In a blackout scenario, that extra capacity matters. Jackery easily takes the first point.
Jackery’s advantage continues with 7,200W continuous output, compared to Anker’s 6,000W. That’s a 1,200W gap, which could mean the difference between running an extra appliance or having to unplug something in an outage.
In surge performance tests, Jackery also came out ahead, handling peak loads with less strain. Another point to Jackery.
When it comes to solar charging these two units, the Jackery Explorer 5000 again takes the lead:
It’s not a massive difference, but faster charging is always a win, especially if you’re going to really lean into solar charging for off-grid use. Point to Jackery.
Both units support a 1,800W AC input, but Anker has a trick up its sleeve:
That flexibility earns Anker its first point.
Jackery runs dead silent. We mean literally zero fan noise during regular use. On the other hand, the Anker F3800 Plus makes a bit of a hum, especially when you have it running a bigger load.
The noise from the Anker unit is not enough to be annoying in most situations, but quietness matters for indoor backup use, especially if you’re planning to use the unit in an RV or bedside in your home. It was close, but another point to Jackery.
Both of these units have a nice variety of output ports, but Anker claws back a point here by having a few extras. It offers:
Now this is a bit of a controversial point, but we just think that a 30-amp RV plug is a little more practical for RVing and camping than a 50-amp plug.
Both units also have really good display screens and when we tested their UPS functionality, it worked seamlessly for either unit.
Still, we can’t deny the Anker F3800 Plus has more ports, and these small details give Anker the nod in this category.
Looks aren’t everything, but they definitely count for something, especially if you’re planning to have your power station out in the open inside your home or RV.
It’s a bit subjective, but we’d have to say that the Anker F3800 wins on design. The main reason for this is the fact that the expansion batteries stack neatly on top of the main unit, giving it a cleaner footprint.
On the other hand, the Jackery 5000’s expansion batteries sit around the main unit, taking up more floor space and giving the expanded system a far more cluttered look.
Anker also gets points for having a slightly more premium look and feel. It just looks a bit more modern, where we think the Jackery unit has a bit of a utilitarian look to it. Another point to Anker.
In terms of setup flexibility and how easy they are to move around; Anker has to take the cake:
Anker wins here for portability and versatility, but we’d have to give Jackery a counterpoint because their unit has a slightly higher expansion capacity.
While the Anker unit’s top-mounted batteries definitely stack much nicer and take up less space, you are getting an extra 6,200Wh of potential storage capacity if you fully expand the Jackery 5000 Plus.
That’s nothing to sneeze at, especially when you’re getting into whole home backup territory.
So, each unit takes a point.
When you’re shelling out big money for a high-capacity power station, you want to make sure that you’re going to get reliable customer support.
We recently mystery shopped Anker to test their customer support. Not only did they provide solid U.S.-based customer support, so there was no sort of language barrier, they were incredibly helpful.
We’ve called Jackery enough times to know that their customer support isn’t quite as reliable. With Jackery’s lengthy holds, a more sales-oriented feel to the conversations, and foreign-based support, it’s pretty clear Anker SOLIX takes the point and ties things up.
At the time of testing, the Jackery 5000 Plus was actually slightly cheaper, but the price difference between these two units seems to fluctuate by $300 or so depending on the day.
Considering Jackery’s higher capacity and bigger inverter, we think it offers better bang for your buck when prices are close. With that said, we’d recommend checking both units out before you order if you’re just trying to get the most affordable unit. Still, point to Jackery.
If you’ve watched any of our reviews on YouTube, you know that Robbie has a few features that he’s obsessed with: 12V DC plugs and built-in LED lights.
In this case, both units have 12V car sockets, but neither has a built-in light. Robbie would call this a tieRight out of the gate, Jackery pulls ahead with a significantly higher storage capacity:
When we tally the points, the Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus comes out ahead by offering:
The Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus is still an excellent unit, with a more streamlined design, more ports, and versatile charging options, but for most buyers looking for maximum power per dollar, the Jackery 5000 Plus edges it out.
Keep in mind that a lot of these points are subjective, but others, like storage capacity and output are pretty cut and dry. The reality is both of these are excellent units, and we’ve had really positive impressions of both when we reviewed and tested them separately.
From our perspective, you can’t really go wrong with either, but we’d still say you’re getting more bang for your buck with the Jackery 5000 Plus.
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