10 Best Inverter Generators of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

Each of these inverter generator options has carbon monoxide (CO) safety technology designed to stop the engine if carbon monoxide reaches certain limits in an enclosed space, a feature CR considers very important.

It’s also critical to place your gasoline generator at least 20 feet from your house or other dwelling (including a garage), with the exhaust directed away from windows or doors, to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. If you’re using a generator, make sure your house has reliable CO detectors installed.

Inverter generators in this size range, which are 240-volt capable, can produce 5,000 watts of power or more. This means they can power most home appliances and, when hooked up to your electrical panel via a transfer switch or interlock device, enable you to run hardwired devices like a well pump or a water heater. For more information, check out our tips on choosing the right size generator.

These midsized models produce 2,500 to 5,000 watts and can power an array of appliances, including a refrigerator. But because they lack a 240-volt connection, they can’t be hooked up to a circuit breaker panel by a transfer switch. That prevents them from powering hardwired equipment.

These models produce 1,500 to 2,500 watts and can power several devices during an outage. The most compact models in this category are good options for camping or tailgating.

The smallest inverters produce less than 1,500 watts and are designed primarily for camping and tailgating, although they can certainly power a few appliances or electronic devices when there’s a power outage at home.

Inverter generators outperform conventional generators in a variety of ways:

• They’re quieter than traditional portable generators.
• They’re more efficient, so they use less fuel.
• They deliver cleaner power, which can be important if you’re plugging in sensitive electronic equipment or medical devices.
• They’re compact. Their smaller size and weight (relatively speaking), coupled with their lower noise and better efficiency, make them well suited for double duty in camping, tailgating, and other non-emergency uses.

Whether an inverter generator is worth buying depends on how—and how often—you plan to use it. If you just want a generator to power household appliances during short power outages, a portable generator will likely work fine and save you some money.

But if your power outages tend to be several days long, the efficiency of an inverter means you won’t have to fill up the gas tank as often. That could be useful if fuel becomes scarce after an emergency. An inverter generator also produces lower emissions than a conventional model, though you still need to take the same safety precautions by running one outdoors and well away from any dwelling.

Similarly, most household appliances will work just fine on the power from a conventional generator. But some medical equipment can be sensitive to the quality of the power or even be damaged by dips and spikes in voltage. As mentioned above, an inverter generator tends to deliver more consistent voltage, which is reflected in the power quality test results in our ratings. All of the recommended inverter models have earned our highest score for power quality, while some of the conventional generators that we recommend score slightly below that.

Finally, the noise difference between an inverter generator and a portable generator can be significant. Inverter generators are generally quiet enough not to drown out nearby conversation. Many inverter models in our generator ratings earn a very good or even an excellent score for noise, making them especially useful if you plan to use your generator for camping or tailgating. By contrast, most portable generators we test have middling scores for noise—or worse.

Inverter generators are not inherently safer than portable generators. Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a serious risk with all portable generators that aren’t used properly, and inverter generators are no different. Like portable generators, inverter generators should only be used outside in an unenclosed area, at least 20 feet from your home, with the exhaust port pointing away from your dwelling.

To further reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, many portable generators feature a built-in sensor that triggers an automatic shutoff if CO builds up to dangerous levels in an enclosed space, while others have an engine that emits less CO in the first place. 

Consumer Reports only tests portable generators—both standard and inverter—that have this shutoff sensor. And only generators that pass our CO safety test earn our recommendation, regardless of how they perform otherwise.

CR’s experts also say it’s crucially important to equip your home with CO detectors that are UL 2034 certified or ETL listed, and be mindful of detectors without independent certification that are sold through third-party vendors like Walmart and Amazon. You can find good choices in our ratings of CO detectors, which CR makes free to anyone.

To test generators for performance, our engineers load up each model with key appliances you might want to power during an outage, such as a space heater, well pump, and window air conditioner.

We make sure the generator can handle the load it’s supposed to, and we also look at what happens when a sudden electrical spike hits—for example, if your refrigerator compressor kicks on when the generator is already close to its limit. The best models take that in stride, while others bog down or stall. We look at how easy each generator is to move and use, as well as how efficiently it uses gasoline and how long it runs on a single tank.

We also developed a CO safety technology test to evaluate automatic shutoff features on portable and inverter generators and low-CO engines.