How many watts does a laptop use?
Computing Also called: laptop, notebook, macbook
Two numbers decide whether a power station runs a laptop computer, and readers arrive using them interchangeably. Watts are the ceiling on what the inverter can hold at any instant — this load needs 5.2 W of them while it runs, and a 5,750 W spike lasting a few line cycles as it powers on — which is not the quantity a station's surge rating covers, and is not held against any verdict below. Watt-hours are how much energy the battery holds. A machine can have plenty of one and not enough of the other.
Of the 26 station records we publish — every model we hold a page for, with its US and EU versions counted separately — 26 run it, 0 are a tight fit and 0 are out of reach. Each of those is a calculation against that machine’s continuous output, its surge ceiling and its inverter waveform — not a lookup table — and the reasoning is on every row.
The three numbers a power station is judged against
Running power 5.2 W 3.9–13 W Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · high confidence
Start-up surge 5,750 W engine checks 5,750 W Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · low confidence
Duty cycle 100% Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · high confidence
The band is the spread across real models in this class, not a tolerance. Size against the top of it unless you know which unit you own.
Start-up figure: Manufacturer-stated
The start-up figure is published by the manufacturer for this device, so it describes the actual hardware rather than a category.
Official specverified 2026-08-01appliance record
What actually decides it
A switch-mode supply: milliseconds, not seconds
A switching power supply charges its input capacitors at the instant it is connected, which can be a large current — but it lasts a few line cycles, two orders of magnitude shorter than the second-scale event a station’s surge rating describes. The two are not the same quantity and this site does not hold that spike against a verdict. What decides the outcome here is the steady draw, and where the power factor is poor, the VA the inverter actually sees behind it.
How long the start-up actually lasts
The measured inrush here lasts around a hundredth of a second — a capacitor charging, not a motor starting. A station’s surge rating describes a second-scale event, so the two numbers are not comparable and this one is reported but never held against a verdict.
Which power stations run it
Every row is a live calculation against that machine's continuous output, surge ceiling and inverter waveform. Of the 26 station records we publish — US and EU versions counted separately — 26 run it, 0 are a tight fit and 0 are out of reach. The percentage is this load as a share of that machine's continuous output; anything past 82% drops out of the green. Rows are ordered by verdict, then by price — cheapest first inside each band.
BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 BLUETTI · US 120 V 600 W continuous Runs it0.9%
17 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 9.0 W idle draw in the denominator We have found no published surge rating for the US 120 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. $239 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus EcoFlow · US 120 V 600 W continuous · 1,200 W surge ceiling Runs it0.9%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: 4 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $279 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Jackery Explorer 300 Plus Jackery · US 120 V 300 W continuous · 600 W surge ceiling Runs it1.7%
13 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 12 W idle draw in the denominator The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $299.99 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 BLUETTI · US 120 V 1,800 W continuous · 3,600 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
54 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 10 W idle draw in the denominator The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $499 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Jackery · US 120 V 1,500 W continuous · 3,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
37 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 18 W idle draw in the denominator The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $549 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus EcoFlow · US 120 V 1,800 W continuous · 3,600 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: 3 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $719 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 BLUETTI · US 120 V 2,600 W continuous Runs it0.2%
104 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 10 W idle draw in the denominator We have found no published surge rating for the US 120 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. $899 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus Jackery · US 120 V 3,000 W continuous · 6,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.2%
54 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 25 W idle draw in the denominator The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $899 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Jackery · US 120 V 2,000 W continuous · 4,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
37 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 22 W idle draw in the denominator The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $999 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max EcoFlow · US 120 V 2,400 W continuous · 4,800 W surge ceiling Runs it0.2%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: 5 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $1,049 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow STREAM Ultra EcoFlow · US 120 V 800 W continuous Runs it0.7%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: 3 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. We have found no published surge rating for the US 120 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. $1,279 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 EcoFlow · US 120 V 4,000 W continuous · 8,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.1%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: 4 of EcoFlow’s own published documents, read 2026-08-08, carry no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the US 120 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. $2,799 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 BLUETTI · EU 230 V 600 W continuous Runs it0.9%
17 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 9.0 W idle draw in the denominator We have found no published surge rating for the EU 230 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €219 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Anker SOLIX C300 Anker SOLIX · EU 230 V 300 W continuous · 600 W surge ceiling Runs it1.7%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €269.99 · checked 2026-08-01 · 17 days ago Show the working → Jackery Explorer 300 Plus Jackery · EU 230 V 300 W continuous · 600 W surge ceiling Runs it1.7%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €279 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus EcoFlow · EU 230 V 600 W continuous · 1,200 W surge ceiling Runs it0.9%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €299 · checked 2026-08-01 · 17 days ago Show the working → Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Jackery · EU 230 V 1,500 W continuous · 3,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €519 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → BLUETTI Elite 100 V2 BLUETTI · EU 230 V 1,800 W continuous Runs it0.3%
54 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 10 W idle draw in the denominator We have found no published surge rating for the EU 230 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €579 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow STREAM Ultra EcoFlow · EU 1,200 W continuous Runs it0.4%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. We have found no published surge rating for the EU build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €599 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus EcoFlow · EU 230 V 1,800 W continuous · 3,600 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €849 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max EcoFlow · EU 230 V 2,400 W continuous · 4,800 W surge ceiling Runs it0.2%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €949 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Anker SOLIX Solarbank 3 E2700 Pro Anker SOLIX · EU 1,200 W continuous Runs it0.4%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. We have found no published surge rating for the EU build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €999 · checked 2026-08-01 · 17 days ago Show the working → Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Jackery · EU 230 V 2,000 W continuous · 4,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.3%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €999 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → BLUETTI Elite 200 V2 BLUETTI · EU 230 V 2,600 W continuous Runs it0.2%
97 h — on a full charge, with the station’s own 13 W idle draw in the denominator We have found no published surge rating for the EU 230 V build. The start-up check runs against its continuous output as a conservative floor, which is ours, not a manufacturer specification. €1,149 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus Jackery · EU 230 V 3,000 W continuous · 6,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.2%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €1,799 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 EcoFlow · EU 230 V 4,000 W continuous · 8,000 W surge ceiling Runs it0.1%
5.2 Wh per hour — averaged over this load’s duty cycle No runtime in hours: we have found no depth of discharge or inverter efficiency for the EU 230 V build, so there is no defensible usable-capacity figure to divide. The inrush measured for this load is a millisecond-scale capacitive spike, which is not the quantity a surge rating describes and is not held against this verdict. €3,299 · checked 2026-08-17 Show the working → Which one to buy, ranked
Our pick for this load
BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 · US 120 V
The cheapest US 120 V machine in the list that runs a laptop computer outright, and it holds it at 17 h.
$239 · price checked 2026-08-17
The buy link is in the bar at the bottom of the screen — one action per page, and it goes to the merchant we last checked the price at.
Everything else we hold on this load
Each figure carries the tier it came from and the date it was checked. Sizing guidance is kept apart from measured draw on purpose: one says what the machine pulls, the other says what a manufacturer or a standard thinks you should buy for it.
Measured and published draw
Standby draw 0.2 W Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · high confidence
Energy per year 14 kWh Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · high confidence
Published on the voluntary certification programme's public register, not a government label.
Sizing guidance — not a draw figure
Minimum continuous output 140 W Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · medium confidence
A sizing figure, not a draw: it is what this class needs a machine to be RATED at, headroom included.
Usable energy for one night 60 Wh Official spec · verified 2026-08-01 · medium confidence
Loads people size alongside this one
Where to go next
A laptop computer has a dedicated guide: the same records this page computes from, worked through in prose with room for the reasoning a table can only summarise — How long will a power station run a laptop?
Questions people ask about this load
How many watts does a laptop computer use?
5.2 W while it is running, and 3.9–13 W across the models in this class, with 5,750 W demanded at the instant it starts. Those are different questions and most pages answer only the first. The running figure decides whether a machine can hold it; the start-up figure decides whether it can get it going at all, and it is usually the one that fails. The start-up figure here is the manufacturer’s own..
What size power station do I need for a laptop computer?
For a laptop computer, the BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 (US 120 V) is the cheapest machine in our library that runs it, at 600 W continuous and $239 against a running draw of 5.2 W. That is a verdict computed from this load’s running watts, its start-up demand and the inverter waveform — not a rule of thumb about doubling the wattage. 26 of 26 machines clear it.
How long will a power station run a laptop computer?
It depends entirely on the machine, which is the part most pages skip. Against a laptop computer at 5.2 W of running draw, our figures put the BLUETTI Elite 30 V2 at about 17 h, and the Jackery Explorer 300 Plus at about 13 h. Those hours come from usable-capacity figures derived from each manufacturer’s own published usable-capacity coefficients — depth of discharge and inverter efficiency where a brand states them separately, with each machine’s idle draw in the denominator — not from dividing a nameplate watt-hour number by a label wattage. Most machines in the list carry no hours at all: we hold nothing for those builds that makes a usable-capacity figure defensible, so those rows give an energy rate instead of a number we would have had to invent.
Does the start-up spike from a laptop computer matter?
Less than the number suggests, and this site says so rather than quietly using it. The start-up figure is published by the manufacturer for this device, so it describes the actual hardware rather than a category. The measured spike is 5,750 W, but it lasts a few line cycles — a capacitor charging, not a motor starting — while a station's surge rating describes a second-scale event. They are not the same quantity, so the spike is reported here and deliberately not held against any verdict above. A site that compared the two would fail this load against machines that run it perfectly well.
Which power stations run a laptop computer?
26 of the 26 we hold, listed above cheapest-first within each verdict band, starting with the BLUETTI Elite 30 V2. All 26 of them run a laptop computer. Every one of those is a live calculation against that machine's own record, and opening a row shows the working.