There is a bit of confusion out there between DuroMax and DuroStar generators – are they the same or are they different companies? What are the differences, and which one is the best generator?
You’ve probably already noticed that both DuroStar and DuroMax generators are among the most popular and highly rated on the market today, but how do you choose between the two?
Let’s take a closer look at these questions, in this detailed guide to the difference between DuroStar and DuroMax generators.
DuroMax vs DuroStar Generators: What’s the Difference?
This can be the quickest and easiest takeaway you’ve ever found – what’s the difference between DuroStar generators and DuroMax generators?
There is no difference.
A few articles out there try to see or find some notable difference between the two brands, or between two models with the same power, but in fact they are almost completely identical – except for color and the most basic cosmetic differences.
Who Is DuroMax?
But how can this be? How can two different companies, or two different generators from those companies, be identical?
Because they are all made by DuroMax.
DuroMax Power Equipment is an American company, headquartered in Ontario, California, that has been making excellent generators for 20 years now, as well as engines and water pumps. Their products are famous for really great value, long term reliability and day to day dependability, and the company is especially well known for their innovations and advancements in dual-fuel generators.
Ok, but who is DuroStar?
Yeah, this is where it gets a little confusing – or so simple that it’s confusing anyway, because DuroStar is, as DuroMax puts it, a “sister company.”
That is, DuroMax makes both DuroMax and DuroStar products, and each brand has a full range of portable generators and inverter generators. So if you look at a particular DuroMax model, and then at the corresponding DuroStar model, they are, again besides cosmetic differences, exactly the same – the same power output, running time, noise level, features and connectors, excellent copper-wound DuroMax engines – it’s all the same, whether the generator says DuroMax or DuroStar.
What’s confusing, I guess, is why DuroMax has two different brands, if their product lines feature essentially the exact same generators up and down the line. As to this, even we august experts here at The Final Kit don’t have an answer, and the DuroMax website doesn’t offer any additional insight.
DuroMax vs DuroStar Generators: Which is Better?
My answer to the question – which is better, DuroMax or DuroStar? – may sound a little silly or glib, because I would actually say it all depends on the color.
Because really, with any equivalent DuroStar and DuroMax generators I’ve used, or even investigated, the specs, features and components are exactly the same, and the only difference is the color, as well as some very minor differences in how the two generators look.
I can, though, definitely say that either one is really great, and both make fantastic choices – both brands are not just affordable, but offer amazing quality and amazing value for the price, both are especially well known for reliability, for ease of use, for really smooth, stable engines and quiet running, for innovation and engineering and for superb customer support.
Of course, they would be well known for the same qualities because, again, despite the difference in brand name they are always going to be the exact same generator in every important way, and there is little to choose between them.
For examples we can look at two of the most popular DuroMax generators and the two same generators from the DuroMax line, and compare features and specs:
DuroMax XP13000EH vs DuroStar DS13000EH
As you can see, there are no actual differences between the DuroMax and DuroStar generators, and they also have the exact same retail price.
The DuroStar is 2 pounds lighter – a difference attributable to cosmetic differences – and is red versus the DuroMax’s blue, but that’s it!
DuroMax XP5500EH vs DuroStar DS5500EH
Table could not be displayed.In this case, even the weight of the two generators is the same, and literally the only differences between the two are color and cosmetics.
Conclusion: DuroMax Generators vs DuroStar Generators – Which Should You Buy?
DuroMax and DuroStar generators are made by the same company: DuroMax Power Equipment (and an excellent company at that), as are the superbly quiet and reliable engines that come with either brand’s generators.
If you compare DuroStar generators directly to DuroMax generators that have the same power, you will find that they have the same engine, and further that the price, features, specifications, layout and design are literally identical, and the only differences are the color and very minor cosmetic differences.
Overall, DuroMax generators enjoy higher sales than DuroMax generators, but this is probably due to the association of the brand with the manufacturer, and in fact the two brands’ identical models often (and expectedly) have the exact same customer ratings.
So really, it’s up to you. Do you like blue (DuroMax) or red (DuroStar)? Or, perhaps even more importantly, which is available at a better discount?
Bottom line: either way you go, you will end up with quite possibly the best generator you can get for the money, and we here at The Final Kit recommend any product made by DuroMax Power Equipment frequently and enthusiastically.
