Anker vs. EcoFlow Big Power Station Showdown
Turn back time for a little history:
- 2021 - EcoFlow introduced the DELTA Pro which was the king of all solar generators at the time
- 2023 - Anker jumped into the solar generator market with the Anker Solix F3800 which beat the DELTA Pro with 3800wh of battery capacity vs. 3600wh, 6000w of AC output capability, a 240v outlet, and twin solar inputs for a total of up to 2400w. So on paper it beat the DELTA Pro, but the achilles heal was the twin solar inputs. It was very difficult to actually achieve 1200w per solar input as most large solar panels are in the 37-42v range making it impossible to put two panels in series to feed this 60v port.
- January 2024 - EcoFlow countered with the DELTA Pro Ultra (DPU) amazingly huge specs
- June 2024 - EcoFlow released the DELTA Pro 3 (DP3) with 240v output and twin solar inputs
Anker released a new F3800 Plus on March 12, 2025 which solves the biggest complaint that current F3800 owners face: somewhat weak solar inputs which are high amp but low voltage. Many Anker F3800 users have reverted to adding external Victron solar MPPT controllers in order to take in 150 volts of solar inputs then output lower volts and higher amps in order to maximize their solar inputs. The dual 165 volt 17 amp solar inputs on the new F3800 Plus solves this weakness while keeping the rest of the unit nearly identical to the original F3800.
How does the Anker F3800 Plus compare with the two newest large solar generators from EcoFlow? The specifications are summarized below.
Single Unit Specifications
| Description | Anker F3800 Plus | EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 | EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Battery Capacity | 3.8 kWh Built-in | 4 kWh Built-in | 6 kWh 1 Battery |
| Max Battery Capacity | 26.9 kWh 6 Extra Batteries | 12 kWh 2 Extra Batteries | 30 kWh 5 Batteries |
| Solar Input Max Watts | 3200w | 2600w | 5600w |
| Solar Input 1 | 1600w 11-165V 17A | HV 1600w 30-150V 15A | HV 4000w 80-450V 15A |
| Solar Input 2 | 1600w 11-165V 17A | LV 1000w 11-60v 20A | LV 1600w 30-150V 15A |
| Inverter Output | 6000w | 4000w (6000w X-Boost) | 7200w |
Maxed-Out Specifications
| Description | 2×F3800+ Home Power Panel | 3×DP3 Smart Home Panel 2 |
3×DPU Smart Home Panel 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxed Out Battery Capacity | 53.8 kWh 2 units with 12 batteries | 36 kwh 3 units with 6 batteries | 90 kWh 15 Batteries |
| Max Solar Input | 6400w | 7800w | 16800w |
| Max Inverter Output | 12000w | 12000w | 21600w |
Feature Discussion
From the specs alone, the F3800+ beats out the DP3 in most aspects except single unit battery capacity, while the DPU remains king of the hill in all categories. One needs to dig a bit more beyond the specs when comparing the F3800+ to the DP3
Form Factor
The DPU's shape is similar to a piece of high-end component audio equipment - long width, medium depth, short height. The DPU sits on top of a stack of batteries taking up minimal floor space no matter whether you have one or up to five batteries.
The DP3 is shaped like a really deep desktop PC - tall and deep with skinny width. It has wheels on the base unit for easy transport, then you can stack 1 or 2 extra batteries on top of the DP3 for minimal footprint or if you are height constrained (like I am with installing this under a couch in my vintage Airstream renovation) the half-height batteries can be placed next to the DP3 occupying roughtly the same space as a DP3.
One thing about the DP3 and the DP3 extra battery, the design of the exterior cases are drop dead gorgeous.
It looks like a finely crafted sports car.
There are two extra compartments with hidden doors on the sides of th DP3 that expose an RV TT-30 outlet on one side and the Anderson port, DC on/off switch, and other accessory ports.
The F3800+ is shaped like a tall building with a square footprint. (click here for an image from Anker's web site) The footprint of the F3800+ is really small compared to the DP3, but once you add a number of batteries you are forced to double or triple the footprint without making a dangerous tower that might topple over in an earthquake. T] The extra batteries are nearly cube-like making it easy to stack and fit into any space. The issue for me and using an Anker in my Airstream renovation is that the tall F3800+ will not fit in any of the storage areas in my Airstream.
Advantage: EcoFlow (For my particular use case. Your mileage or opinion may vary.)
Battery Cables
The DPU has the best battery cables as they have flush cables that connect battery to battery without any ugly slack. This is by far the best implementation of extra battery cables in the marketplace. Plus, if you need to make several shorter battery stacks, EcoFlow sells an optional longer flexible battery cable to allow a number of short stacks (again crucial when stuffing DPU batteries in a constrained RV storage area)
The DP3 uses flat link flexible battery cables with flat 90 degree connectors allowing you to push the DP3 against a wall with minimal lost space behind the DP3. The cables are wrapped in a nylon weave nmaking them very lightweight and flexible. These cables come in two lengths: a shorter 2.8 foot (0.85 meter) cable which comes with the DP3 Extra Battery and a an optional 6.56 foot (2 meter) cable.
The Anker extra batteries come with similar flexible extra battery cables, but they appear might thicker and shorter and no 90 degree ends. None of their marketing pictures show the actual battery cables so they are really hiding the fact that if you had a F3800+ with six extra batteries, where will be six cables strung from the F3800 to battery to battery to battery...all sticking out of the backs of the batteries and one cable sticking out the left side of the F3800+
Advantage: EcoFlow (DPU battery cables are best, DP3 extra battery cables with 90 degree ends win over F3800+)
Passthrough Modes
With the Anker F3800+, they have added 240v passthrough. In practice this means if you plug the F3800+ into a 240v outlet, it will pass that power through to the 240v outlet, but shut off the 120v output. Conversely if you plug F3800+ into a 120v outlet, if will shut off the 240v output. You cannot charge at 120v while simultaneously output at 240v with the F3800+
EcoFlow on the other hand has introduced X-Fusion into both the DP3 and DPU. With the DP3, you can plug into a 120v outlet and supply power to either the 120v outlets or 240v outlets, but not both 120v and 240v at the same time. If you plug the DP3 into a 240v outlet, it does not allow passthrough, but will charge very quickly. On the other hand the DPU can do everythign.. It can use X-Fusion to power both 120v and 240v outlets while taking 120v AC input, it can also take 240v AC input while outputting 120v and 240v simultaneously.
Note: when plugged into their whole home solutions like the Anker Home Power Panel or EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2, the AC charging is controlled by these whole house units and these passthrough or X-Fusion modes do not apply.
Advantage: EcoFlow (because of X-Fusion)
Bottom Line
Overall Inverter Size vs. Battery Capacity vs. Solar inputs
As a standalone portable without extra batteries, the Anker F3800+ has an inverter almost twice as big as the built-in battery. When used in standalone mode and run hard, it can potentially overtax the battery and potentially overheat and degrade the battery, in theory. Obviously the battery management system should take care of that and prevent you from hurting the system. Adding batteries to the F3800+ system reduces this overtaxing risk and the ability to add up to six extra batteries grows the F3800+ into a large system. Alas, if you max out the batteries, all of the sudden the 3200w of solar inputs is going to have a tough time filling that many batteries if your loads are also high.
Conversely, if you were to use the F3800+ for small loads, the larger inverter will have more overhead just to keep the inverter on. So if you were to power a refrigerator the energy required just to have the inverter on might exceed the power needed by the refrigerator.
It seems like the inverter for the F3800+ is too big for the F3800+ as a standalone unit, it is just right for any system with extra batteries, and with a maxed out system, once again, solar becomes an achilles heel for the F3800+
Meanwhile EcoFlow has made a conscious decision to make the DP3 just about right: the 4k inverter, 4k battery expandable to 12k, and 2400w of solar inputs seem to be well balanced to each other making the DP3 good for medium to large loads. For huge loads the DPU appears to be a better choice than the F3800+ with larger inverter, higher capacity batteries, higher solar inputs.
A Final Note
One additional option that the DELTA Pro 3 has which the Anker does not is the ability to quickly charge the DP3 while driving using the EcoFlow 800w Alternator Charger. This optional accessory which occupies an extra battery port really makes the DP3 stand out by bboosting the 12v vehicle alternator output to 48+ volts DC to quickly charge. This plug and play vehiclular charging option is not availalbe for the Anker Solix 3800+