Bluetti Elite 300 Portable Power Station Review

We have looked at a wide range of portable power stations and backup batteries over the past few years, in a wide range of sizes. The new Bluetti Elite 300 is the company’s latest attempt to close the gap between capacity and convenience, and it does so while offering a staggering 3 kWh of usable energy in a package that can actually be moved if you need to.

The Elite 300 delivers a solution that works as a backup, even if it will not replace generators for people who need constant power if anything happens to the grid. Still, depending on your needs, the Bluetti Elite 300 delivers more than enough power to serve as a stopgap should anything happen, and offers enough for a gaming PC, 3D printing, or just your networking equipment and a laptop.

Out of the box, the Bluetti Elite 300 keeps the high level of quality we have come to expect from the brand. This is one of the larger power stations we have looked at, weighing 26.3 kilograms (57.98 pounds). It is a beast of a unit, but that also means it is built to supply a lot of power when you need it. This unit is rated at 3,014.4 Wh (314 Ah) and offers a range of connections to hook up anything you want to power off-grid or provide a backup solution should the power dip for any reason.

On the front of the unit, you have the power ports, a small LCD display that gives you basic information about the unit, although you need the app for more detailed readouts, along with buttons to turn on the unit and activate the DC and AC outputs. On the right side of the Elite 300, you will find the power input port, with the back and left sides devoid of any connections.

The Bluetti Elite 300 features four standard AC outlets, one NEMA TT-30, one 12-volt, 30-amp port, two 15-watt USB-A ports, one 100-watt USB-C port, one 140-watt USB-C port and a cigarette-lighter port (120 watts max.) for good measure. It is powered by a 1,800-watt, 15-amp max., 120-volt, 50/60 Hz connection, and can charge from zero to 100 in under three hours. What is even more impressive is that what used to require a massive unit is now possible in one that measures only 366 x 305 x 297.5 mm (14.41 x 12.01 x 11.71 inches). That is what is most exciting about the Elite 300: the size and how beastly the power output actually is.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Bluetti Elite 300 is by no means light. You will most likely need some help getting it all unboxed, and at almost 60lbs, this is not something you will want to be moving around your house like a quick charger. The Elite 300 is very much made to be a tool that is installed where you need it most, and when looking at it that way, it makes a lot of sense.

I remember looking at portable power stations even around five years ago, and to get anything close to what this unit outputs, it would have been a device twice as large, so I have to give it to Bluetti and their LiFePO₄ (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery for just how small (if you can call it that) this unit is. 

But how much power does this unit actually output? It is a lot. When testing it with a range of devices at CGMagazine HQ, it managed to charge my Xiaomi 17 Ultra around 15 times over the course of a two-week span, charge a range of laptops, power some lights, and even run a gaming PC for more than an hour, and it was still sitting at around 25 percent power. Bluetti claims it can power a 50-inch flat-screen TV for around 21 hours, a desktop for nine hours, or even a router for a staggering 87.58 hours.

But that is with dedicated devices, so it is worth taking all of those numbers with a grain of salt. In reality, you will most likely be powering more than one device at a time, and you will likely only need a few hours as you wait for the power to come back on. I personally use a Bluetti AC180 for my desktop at work, the one I am typing this review on, as a matter of fact, and it is invaluable as a way to avoid a sudden loss of power, taking out a project I have been working on.

“The Bluetti Elite 300 delivers more than enough power to serve as a stopgap should anything happen, and offers enough for a gaming PC, 3D printing, or just your networking equipment and a laptop.”

Even while powering my 1,000-watt PC, monitor and all the various connected devices, it still manages to give me enough time to do anything I need to do without stressing about it all failing, and that unit only offers 1,152 Wh, around one-third of the power the Elite 300 delivers.

It is worth touching on the fact that Bluetti power stations have a handy app that can help you keep track of everything they offer. The AC180 I have powering my personal workstation is limited to Bluetooth, but the Elite 300 offers both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, along with a range of settings that help you customize the unit to your needs.

Within the app, you can see power statistics, how much time the Elite 300 has left before it dies, and the ability to turn off either the AC or DC ports, should you want to for whatever reason. It also includes more elaborate settings, such as extreme weather alerts, along with various other options to ensure the Elite 300 is set up how you like.

For testing the Elite 300, I decided to use it in a range of different situations that would be incredibly useful, and see how it all works and whether it can help, especially for makers, people who work from home, or gamers. I started by testing how the Elite 300 handled 3D printers, especially since a power outage can turn a many-hour print into a complete waste.

I tested it with a Prusa Core One L and a Bambu Lab H2S, both connected and printing, and simply disconnected the power while they were running. The Elite 300 took over, and the machines did not even seem to react to the power being cut. I would not trust the machines to run for many hours like this, but as a backup solution, it works flawlessly in testing.

I have already talked about powering a gaming PC on the Elite 300, and surprisingly, even with a GPU running and sucking power, the Elite 300 managed to deliver enough power without freaking out about dying. Even better than that, while running at around 380 watts during Returnal, it apparently reported that it would last around seven and a half hours on a full charge.

Letting the game run a benchmark over and over for around 30 minutes, the power loss was pretty much in line with that report. Depending on what GPU, CPU and PSU combo you are running, your results may vary, but the Elite 300 is more than capable of delivering enough power for a gaming PC and letting it run for hours without interruption.

But perhaps the most relatable use for a device like the Elite 300 is making sure your network equipment can keep running during a power outage, so you do not lose your internet connection, and can ensure your smartphones and tablets stay connected until the main grid comes back online.

In this area, the Elite 300 is incredibly well-suited, and depending on your equipment, you should be able to keep things running for more than 24 hours with ease, potentially longer depending on how much power the router and modem use. This means even if there is a full blackout that lasts a day, at least you will not lose your Wi-Fi as you wait for details on when things will be fixed, and you can watch Netflix or Disney+ while you wait.

There are aspects of the Elite 300 I did not touch on, like the ability to charge the unit with solar power or have it charge through an RV so it is always ready to go when camping, but that all adds to the versatility of the unit, and I was already impressed. Now, as much as I think the Elite 300 is a solid and ridiculously powerful unit, it does come at a cost, sitting at around $1,199 US ($1,799 CAD), meaning it is a pretty hefty out-of-pocket expense if you want to get going.

There are also a range of accessories, such as solar panels and an alternator kit, that can be purchased, but for the average person who just wants to use it at home, most of what you will need is right in the box. It is also worth noting that the Elite 300 boasts 6,000-plus cycles to 80 percent capacity, so this is built to last for years and will still offer plenty of power after that.

The Bluetti Elite 300 is a strong offering from the brand, and one of the most powerful units we have seen in a body this compact. It delivers hours of power for a range of uses, and beyond that, it is built to be flexible depending on your needs.

It is still very heavy and not what I would call easy on the wallet, but with its longevity and solid build, the Bluetti Elite 300 feels like a portable power station meant to be an investment to keep you powered in an emergency. With enough power for even a full gaming PC, and an app that allows granular detail and control, the Bluetti Elite 300 is a portable power station that delivers where it matters most.

If you are interested in picking up the Bluetti Elite 300, you can use our promo code CGMElite300 to get 6% off your order of a Bluetti Elite 300.