The directory
Home generator brands, independently reviewed
The brands worth knowing, grouped by what they actually are, with the machine price, the fuel, the warranty, and the weakness each one leaves off its own page. We do not sell rankings. Standby machine prices are only half the project: installed runs $12,000 to $18,000 for most homes.
| Brand | Type | Machine price | Fuel | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generac | Whole-house standby | $4,479 - $7,899 | Natural gas or propane | 5 years limited |
| Kohler | Whole-house standby | $4,889 - $8,399 | Natural gas or propane | 5 years or 2,000 hours |
| Briggs & Stratton | Whole-house standby | $3,320 - $6,640 | Natural gas or propane | 7 years parts, labor and travel standard |
| Cummins | Whole-house standby | $4,286 - $5,747 | Natural gas or propane | 5 years or 2,000 hours |
| Champion Power Equipment | Dual-fuel portable | $683 - $4,227 | Gasoline or propane (dual-fuel) on portables, tri-fuel models add natural gas; the aXis standby runs propane or natural gas | 10 years on the aXis standby, the longest standard standby coverage on the market; 3 years on portables, plus lifetime technical support. |
| Honda | Portable inverter | $1,199 - $5,099 | Gasoline | 3 years residential, serviced through Honda's dealer network. |
| Westinghouse | Dual-fuel portable | $550 - $1,399 | Gasoline or propane (dual-fuel); gas-only and tri-fuel models also sold | 3 years residential limited, plus lifetime technical support on paper. The FTC forced removal of terms that voided coverage over independent repairs. |
| DuroMax | Dual-fuel portable | $1,199 - $2,199 | Gasoline or propane (dual-fuel); HXT line adds natural gas (tri-fuel) | 3 years residential standard; 5 years residential on the HX, HXT and iH premium lines. Coverage is parts-focused, with no service-call provision. |
Whole-house standby
Permanently installed, starts itself, runs on your gas line or propane. The machine is $3,000 to $6,000; the installed project typically runs $12,000 to $18,000.
Generac
$4,479 - $7,899The US home standby default, roughly 70 percent of the market by most industry estimates, with the biggest dealer and parts network and a recall and complaint file to match.
Kohler
$4,889 - $8,399The challenger: parts, labor and travel all covered for five years and a quieter low-speed self-test, but fewer installers will bid your job than with Generac.
Briggs & Stratton
$3,320 - $6,640The value pick of the big standby names, now with a 7-year standard warranty, from a company that went through Chapter 11 in 2020 and came out under new ownership.
Cummins
$4,286 - $5,747QuietConnect is the quietest name in the class at 65 dB and carries a diesel giant's engineering, but covered labor stops at year two and residential dealers are scarcer.
Portable inverter
Quiet, clean power that is safe for electronics. More dollars per watt, and the right lane for occasional outages and noise-sensitive streets.
Dual-fuel portable
The storm-duty value lane. Runs on gasoline or propane, powers essential circuits through a $400 to $850 interlock install.
Champion Power Equipment
$683 - $4,227The warranty-math brand: honest dual-fuel portables from about $680 and a 14kW standby with a 10-year warranty, all backed by a phone queue instead of a dealer network.
Westinghouse
$550 - $1,399The most running watts per dollar in dual-fuel portables, with a documented pattern of warranty support not answering when you finally need it.
DuroMax
$1,199 - $2,199Big dual-fuel and tri-fuel wattage per dollar with a 5-year warranty on the HX lines; loud, heavy, and support gets thin after the sale.
New to this? Start with what a whole-house generator really costs, then standby vs portable. Or size your setup with the sizing calculator.