A gallon of gasoline at quarter load makes a kilowatt-hour for 84.6 to 111.7 cents in a 2,500 W inverter generator; recharging a station from the grid costs about 21.5. The generator wins on long outages, the station on everything that happens indoors.
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At $4.284 a gallon (EIA, week of 19 October 2026), four 2,500 W inverter generators make electricity at a quarter load for 84.6 to 111.7 cents per kWh in fuel alone, about four to five times the 21.5 cents it costs to recharge a power station from the grid, and only one of the four names a CO shutoff standard.
They do different jobs:
The power station, by a wide margin, as long as the grid or the sun can refill it. At $4.284 a gallon, a 2,500 W inverter generator running at a quarter load makes electricity for 84.6 to 111.7 cents per kWh in fuel: the Champion 2500W Dual Fuel cheapest, the Honda EU2200i dearest, on each maker's own runtime figure. Recharging a station from the grid costs about 21.5 cents per kWh after losses. The station's battery wears with every cycle, which adds roughly 16 to 23 cents per kWh on the flagships' best-case ratings; a generator's engine wears too, and needs oil and fuel stabiliser.
About a night each at 450 W, roughly a fridge, lights, a router and a fan. The generators' makers give 8 to 11.5 hours on one tank at a quarter load; the three flagship stations give 7.3 to 9.5 hours on a charge. The outage length decides it: a generator keeps going as long as you have fuel, a station as long as you can recharge it.
| Generator | Price | Running / peak W | Tank | Hours at 1/4 load | Weight | CO system | Standard cited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda EU2200i | $1,199 MSRP | 1,800 / 2,200 | 0.95 gal | 8.1 | 47.4 lb | CO-MINDER | none named |
| Champion 2500W Dual Fuel | not on maker page | 1,850 / 2,500 | 1.05 gal | 11.5 | 43.2 lb | CO Shield | ANSI/PGMA G300 |
| Westinghouse iGen2550c | $529 MSRP | 1,900 / 2,550 | 1.1 gal | 11 | 40 lb | CO Sensor | none named |
| Generac GP2500i | $719 MSRP | 2,200 / 2,500 | 1 gal | 8 | 48 lb | COsense | none named |
Noise figures are not comparable across these pages: only Champion gives a distance (53 dBA at 23 feet), only Honda gives load points (57 dB(A) at rated load, 48 at a quarter), Westinghouse gives 52 dBA with neither, and Generac's noise field is blank.
Carbon monoxide from portable generators killed an estimated 98 people a year in the US from 2020 to 2022, by the CPSC's May 2026 estimates, and 892 since 2012, 41% of all non-fire consumer-product CO deaths. Every generator here has a CO shutoff, but the standards behind them differ: in CPSC modelling of 511 real deaths, generators meeting UL 2201 would have averted nearly all of them and those meeting ANSI/PGMA G300 nearly 87%. Champion's page cites G300; Honda, Westinghouse and Generac name no standard. The FDA's outage advice is blunt: never run a generator inside a basement or garage.
Usually neither of these generators. Their running output is 1,800 to 2,200 W, and a well pump or air conditioner can need more to start. The flagship stations reach higher: 4,000 W for the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3, 6,000 W for the Anker F3800 Plus and 7,200 W at 120/240 V for the Jackery Explorer 5000 Plus, compared in our three-way. Check a motor's starting watts against surge output, not running output.
Choose the station for indoor, quiet, automatic backup; the generator for outages longer than a battery; both if outages in your area last days.
1. Will it run indoors or in an apartment? -> station only 2. Outage longer than the battery, no solar? -> generator, or a station recharged by a generator outdoors 3. Need it to switch over by itself at night? -> station with a stated UPS time (and a true UPS for computers) 4. Biggest load above ~2,000 W (well pump, AC)? -> check continuous AND surge watts; most 2,500 W inverters run 1,800-2,200 5. Fuel: can you store gasoline safely and rotate it? If not, the generator is a box you cannot run
Carbon monoxide from portable generators killed about 98 people a year (CPSC, 2020 to 2022).
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Generator specs and prices were read on each maker's US product page on 20 October 2026 (Honda's in a browser; Generac's quarter-load runtime from its own spec sheet). Fuel cost per kWh divides a tank's gasoline at the EIA weekly US average, $4.284 a gallon for the week of 19 October 2026, by the energy the generator makes at a quarter of its rated output over the maker's stated runtime. Station recharge cost uses the EIA residential average of 18.31 cents per kWh (July 2026) plus 15% losses. CO figures are the CPSC's 2022 annual estimates and its 2022 standards analysis. We have not tested these units.
For makers: if a spec, price or the standard your CO system meets is not stated here correctly, tell us on our contact page and we will re-read your page and date the change.
For indoor use, quiet and automatic switchover, yes: it burns no fuel and makes no carbon monoxide, and recharging it from the grid costs about 21.5 cents per kWh. For outages longer than its battery, an inverter generator keeps running as long as you have fuel, at 84.6 to 111.7 cents per kWh in gasoline at a quarter load.
At a quarter load, the makers give 8.1 hours for the Honda EU2200i (0.95 gallon), 11.5 for the Champion 2500W Dual Fuel (1.05 gallon), 11 for the Westinghouse iGen2550c (1.1 gallon) and 8 for the Generac GP2500i (1 gallon). At full rated load the Honda runs 3.2 hours.
The CPSC estimates an average of 98 deaths a year from 2020 to 2022 involving portable generators, and 892 since 2012. In its modelling, generators meeting UL 2201 would avert nearly all such deaths and those meeting ANSI/PGMA G300 nearly 87%.
All four here: Honda CO-MINDER, Champion CO Shield, Westinghouse CO Sensor and Generac COsense. Only Champion's page names the standard it meets, ANSI/PGMA G300; none cites UL 2201.
Yes, through the station's AC input, with the generator running outdoors. It is a common combined setup: the station runs indoors silently and switches over automatically, and the generator refills it when the outage outlasts the battery.
A power station is the cheaper, cleaner and quieter way to cover an outage you can recharge through; an inverter generator is the way to cover one you cannot. If your outages last days, own both and keep the generator outside. Whichever generator you buy, check that its CO shutoff names a standard, and prefer UL 2201.