5 Generators That Outshine Harbor Freight's Predator

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Predator is a prolific brand of power tools, but at this point, it's probably best known as the Harbor Freight-owned brand of generators. They're not premium by any means, and they're not even the cheapest on the market. That's why, before you commit to a Harbor Freight generator, you should take a look at some alternative models from other brands.

Before we start, let's define the boundaries of our list. We're talking exclusively about portable generators of different kinds, meaning we're skipping standby generators altogether. We're also looking only at generators that perform better than a Predator alternative of a similar price, power level, or feature set. These products are not necessarily the better deal, but they all have something that you won't find in a comparable Predator, like extra power, increased portability, better runtime, and so on.

With that out of the way, let's begin our journey into Harbor Freight generator alternatives by starting with the smaller, truly portable models. We'll move onto the big generators that can power a small house own their on toward the end of our list.

The Champion 100571 is a decently popular alternative to the Predator 2,500 Watt. With 3,500 starting and 2,300 running watts, it's a lot more powerful than the Predator, while lasting up to 10 hours on 1.2 gallons of gasoline. It comes with a carbon monoxide monitor and auto shutoff system, an important safety feature for any generator, and makes 58dB of noise at 25% load — not exactly quiet, but not extremely loud, either. 

Like the Predator 2,500 Watt, this model is made to power tailgating, camping, and other outdoor activities. Finally, the EZ Start Dial is supposed so make startup easier, while the parallel kit (an optional tool sold separately) lets you connect to another Champion generator of a similar power to potentially double the output.

The Champion 100571 is a bit more expensive than the Predator 2,500 Watt, the Harbor Freight product that both user reviews and Consumer Reports compare it to. The former comes in at $819, while the latter is $629, a difference of almost $200, though the Champion spent most of its time these last two years at around $700. At time of writing, it's sold for $600 on Amazon. If you can find it on a similar sale, this one's a no-brainer when compared to the Predator.

Yamaha makes a lot of generators, and it's a pretty popular brand with users. Perhaps that's why the Yamaha EF2200iS is so expensive ($850) for a 2,200 to 1,800 watts output generator. As CR found, it can run for up to 12 hours on a full tank of 1.2 gallons, which makes it a little special. It's really quiet, or at least more than the Predator 2,500, the model we're comparing it to. At 25% load, the Yamaha comes in at 57 dB against the 58 of the Predator. 

A tiny difference that becomes more important when you consider two things. First, the decibel is a logarithmic scale, making even small increments significant; Second, Harbor Freight doesn't give any information about how loud the Predator is when it's working at 100% of capacity, but the Yamaha declares a respectable 65dB.

On sheer power, it's not as good as the Predator or most of its alternatives, with just 2.95 HP and a 79cc engine. For comparison, the Predator 2,500 has 3.6 HP and a 98cc engine. The size of the two models is also similar, and the Yamaha is a little heavier, at 55 pounds against the 49 of the Harbor Freight model.

The Firman P03628 is a big, powerful portable generator that can produce as many as 3,650 running watts to power a number of separate appliances and tools. It's aimed at RV users and remote job sites, but can be used during an emergency to power the essential appliances of a small home, like a fridge, an AC unit, and some small electronics. Just keep in mind that this is not an inverter generator, so you'll need to be careful before plugging certain electronics directly to it.

We could compare the Firman to the Predator 4,550 or the Predator 4,375, and in both cases, the Firman has the upper hand, if only slightly. Most noticeably, the Harbor Freight generators don't come with wheels — you have to buy these separately at a full $60. Then, there's ease of use. Neither Predator has a battery or the remote start function powered by it. 

The only thing the Predator 4,375 has going for it is the price of $479, which is really convenient for such a powerful unit, but that convenience comes at the cost of power. Meanwhile, the Firman P03628 and Predator 4,550 produce virtually the same watts while being about the same price ($699 and $679 respectively), and have similar safety features.

The Champion 201223 is a bit of a special entry on this list, being the only model that can be powered with natural gas, gasoline, and propane, and it does that without massive price hikes (it's just $668) or any odd limitations. For this reason, it was at one point one of Consumer Report's favorite portable generator. It comes with a battery and electric start, low-oil and fuel shutoff, and reaches up to 4,000 running watts when using gasoline (propane and gas levels are a little lower).

All in all, it's a more powerful alternative to the Predator 4,550, and it's way more versatile, too. It's not as lightweight (it weighs a whole 135 pounds) or as small as the big Predator unit, but unlike that model, it comes with a pair of wheels. It also runs for longer than the Predator: 14 hours at 50% load against the 16 hours at 25% load of the Harbor Freight option. These numbers can be a little confusing, but all you need to know is that 50% is twice as much as 25% — as the Champion's Amazon page suggests, a better comparison would be 28 hours against 14 at 25%. Keep in mind that this is not an inverter generator, so it will be harder to use with certain kind of electronics.

Wen often makes it onto our lists of budget friendly tools, and this one's no different. While we're focusing on power and versatility over price, we had to mention the Wen GN5602X as an excellent budget alternative to the more expensive Predator generators. The GN5602X is a 5,600 starting watts, 4,500 running watts generator sold for the suspiciously low price of $434, and it's pretty much always on sale on Amazon for around $370. This is definitely one of many power tools worth buying on Amazon.

The closest Predator unit is the Predator 5,000 Portable Generator, which is less powerful (5,000 watts start, 4,000 watts running), lacks a battery to support electric start, and it also lacks wheels. Both of these can be bought separately, but they'll cost you over $100 extra. That brings us to the second advantage of the Wen: the price. The Predator 5000 is sold for $500, which would make the version with wheels and a battery a little over $600; almost twice as much as the Wen.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is not an inverter generator. Wen sells one of these, the 4,000-Watt Inverter Generator, but it's not as powerful as the GN5602X.

All the generators on this list outperform one Predator models or another on different metrics, including power, versatility, autonomy, and portability. We picked our list of generators that outshine Predator based on stats like max wattage and runtime, the content of user reviews, and the opinions of professional websites like Consumer Reports. 

While price played a part in the arrangement of our list, it was not as important as performance, which is why we sometimes compared generators in different price ranges.

Some of the generators on this list are not inverter generators. We suggest caution when using these products, but all the models on this list were tested by Consumer Reports for power quality, and all performed really well.