Electric Outboard Size Categories

If you wanted a small, portable electric outboard with an integrated battery in 2023, you had two options: the Torqeedo Travel 1103 and ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus. Both motors were around 3hp or ~1kW. In 2026, there are more than half a dozen great options.

The competition in the portable electric outboard space has led to major improvements across the board. But with all these options, how do you know which electric outboard to buy? The first step is figuring out what power rating makes sense for you, your boat, and how you use it. Making that decision helps narrow down your options and will make the buying process faster and easier.

Before we get into it, please take a look at the definitions below if you aren’t already familiar:

• Built-in batteries are built into the shaft of an electric outboard and aren’t designed to be removed by an end user.
• Integrated batteries are designed to sit right on top of the shaft of an electric outboard and can be quickly and easily installed, removed, or swapped out.
• External batteries are designed to be installed permanently or semi-permanently in the boat and are wired to the outboard.
• Kilowatts (kW) and watts (W) are measurements of power, which can be thought of as the electric equivalent of horsepower. One kilowatt is equal to 1000 watts.
• Kilowatt-hours (kWh) and watt-hours (Wh) are measurements of energy that we use to define battery capacity. One kilowatt-hour is equal to 1000 watt-hours.

1.5 hp / 500 W & Smaller

Popular Motors: ePropulsion eLite & TEMO 450
Key Benefits: Relatively inexpensive, light weight, space savings
Main Drawbacks: Low power & short range

Other than trolling motors, these are the least powerful electric outboards on the market, and both have integrated batteries. They aren’t very powerful and don’t have much run time; the ePropulsion eLite gets about 45 minutes at full power and can push a small dinghy around 4.5 mph. But they are relatively inexpensive and are very, very lightweight; without their transom bracket, the short shaft eLite weighs just 14.7 pounds and the TEMO 450 just 11 pounds. Plus, their form factors are small, so they’re very easy to store.

Best Use Cases: These small electric outboards are perfect for boaters who are traveling short distances in small boats. Think dinghy dock to mooring or short trips from anchor to shore. Sailors with small boats under ~20’ or ~1000 pounds love these motors for getting on and off of the dock or home when the wind dies (I use an eLite on my 19’ Flying Scot). They’re also a great choice if you’re particularly concerned with how much weight you need to lift on and off of your transom.

3hp / ~1kW

Popular Motors: Torqeedo Travel, ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus / Evo, Remigo One, TEMO 1000, Newport NT300

Key Benefits: Best balance of price and power
Main Drawbacks: Low on power for larger dinghies, Jon boats, or sailboats over ~1500 pounds

These motors have been the bread and butter of the electric outboard market for over a decade, and frankly, they were the only option until just a few years ago. Typically, they have an integrated battery with a capacity of 1100-1300 watt hours, although Remigo’s is built-in and the Newport NT300 has an external battery. Most of these motors have about an hour of run time at full power, but the best balance of range and speed is usually around 75% power output, which should give you a run time of about one hour and twenty minutes. Their batteries usually weigh around 20 pounds and their shafts around 25 pounds; the total weight isn’t far off from a small four stroke gas outboard, but since you can break them into two pieces, you never need to handle all that weight at one time.

Best Use Cases: 1kW electric outboards are the most common choice for dinghies that act as tenders for larger boats. For most cruisers or liveaboards, these motors provide plenty of run time for one day and enough power to travel around 5 mph in most conditions. They’re also a great choice for small freshwater fishing boats and daysailers who are over ~1000 pounds or need something for more than just getting on or off of the dock or home when the wind dies.

5 hp / 2-3 kW

Popular Motors: ePropulsion Spirit 2 & Momentum U2
Key Benefits: Higher power yet similar weight to 1kW outboards
Main Drawbacks: Higher price

The 1 kW killers have arrived. Both of these motors were announced in late 2025 and are set to hit the US market in mid to late Q2 2026. Both the ePropulsion Spirit 2 and Momentum U2 have integrated batteries and are similar in weight and form factor to most 3hp / 1kW electric outboards, plus they have removable transom brackets that allow you to easily install or remove them from your transom or motor bracket. Their battery capacities are around 1.5 kWh, which gives you around two hours of run time at 750W (the ~5mph sweet spot for most dinghies). At full power, your run time is closer to 30-40 minutes, but your speed goes through the roof if you can get on the plane; in our testing of the Spirit 2, we were able to hit 12.5 mph in the 3kW boost mode with one adult on an 11’ soft bottom dinghy.

Best Use Cases: The ePropulsion Spirit 2 and Momentum U2 are great choices for dinghy owners who want to be able to get up on the plane or keep their speed up while they have a fully loaded dinghy or are fighting significant wind, waves, or tide. They also open the door to boaters who have vessels that are too heavy for a 1 kW / 3 hp electric outboard.

6 hp / 3 kW – 25 hp / 12 kW

Popular Motors: ePropulsion Navy 6, Torqeedo Cruise 6, Momentum M10
Key Benefits: More powerful than portable outboards, lower per kWh battery cost, 12v integration usually possible
Main Drawbacks: Not typically portable, usually require charging on the boat, some installation required

Once you get to a continuous power output of 3kW and higher, you’re looking at a system with an external battery that is typically designed to live permanently or semi-permanently in your boat. These batteries are still removable but usually weigh over 70 pounds, so it’s not something you want to do every day. This means you’ll need charging at your dock or near your driveway if you trailer your boat. There’s typically some installation required, although generally that just means hooking up two power cables and a data cable. Customers who aren’t local usually do the install themselves or have a local marina do it; we’re always happy to provide remote support during installation (and after). With the help of a DC-DC converter, you can power existing 12v electronics on your boat off of the main (typically 48v) battery pack.

Best Use Cases: Electric outboards in this size range are most popular with freshwater fishermen and pontoon boats, especially those on small lakes or bodies of water that limit speed or prohibit gas outboards.

As an aside, the Momentum M10 and Momentum M6 are unique in that they’re still designed to be portable (they have a separate transom bracket and single-cable connection between the motor and battery). They’re a great choice for customers with dinghies who want plenty of power to get up on the plane.

Over 25 hp / 12 kW / Over 96V (High Voltage)

Popular Motors: Flux Marine FM115, ePropulsion X Series
Key Benefits: The most powerful electric outboards on the market today
Main Drawbacks: Very high price point, limitations in range due to battery weight, professional installation required

With the exceptions of the Momentum M10 and Momentum M6, all the electric outboards in the other categories have a nominal voltage of 48 volts or lower. But once you get above 10-12kW, most electric outboards run on a nominal voltage of 96 volts or higher to efficiently manage high power demands. The most popular electric outboards in this category that are readily available on the US market are Flux Marine’s 115HP electric outboard and the ePropulsion X Series, which are available in 12kW, 20kW, and 40kW. Flux’s voltage platform is actually around 400 volts. Needless to say, safety becomes a very important factor in these high voltage systems and they require professional installation. Flux Marine repowers are performed at their facility in Bristol, RI and X Series installations must be done by an ePropulsion dealer.