The ePropulsion eLite was announced in early 2024 and quickly became one of our best selling electric outboards. It's no wonder why- the eLite was the first 1.5hp electric outboard on the market with an integrated battery (other than the Temo 450, which has a different form factor). Weighing just 15 pounds and retailing for 1/3 of the price of 3hp electric outboards, the ePropulsion eLite serves a new segment of the boating market for whom 3hp electric outboards were too expensive, heavy or powerful. As a result of this new entrant, we now get a common question:
Which is the best electric outboard, the ePropulsion eLite or ePropulsion Spirit?
The answer is...it depends! Both the eLite and the Spirit are great electric outboards, and there are a number of factors to consider in deciding which is the best for you. It generally comes down to the boat you're planning to use it on and how you use that boat.
In short, the ePropulsion eLite is the better choice for boaters who have small boats, are going short distances, have relatively low range requirements, want a less expensive electric outboard, and prioritize portability over power. Boaters with larger boats who need more range and are less concerned about cost and weight should choose the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus or Spirit Evo (which of those two motors is better for you is another decision, which we break down in this blog post). It's also important to consider which shaft length you need, as the ePropulsion eLite has a very short shaft.
Let's break down each aspect that goes into choosing the best electric outboard for you!
Power Requirements
The ePropulsion eLite is a 500W / 1.5 hp electric outboard; the ePropulsion Spirit is a 1000W / 3hp electric outboard. With double the power output, the Spirit can push larger, heavier boats through the water and do so at higher speeds.
One important factor to remember is that just because the Spirit has twice the power output of the eLite, it doesn't mean that it will push your boat through the water twice as fast. In our testing on a 9.5ft soft bottom inflatable Navigator dinghy, our top speed was about 4 knots with the eLite and 5.5 knots with the Spirit.
Range Requirements
The eLite has a battery capacity of 378Wh and the Spirit Battery Plus has a capacity of 1276Wh. At full power, you'll have about 45 minutes of run time with the eLite and 1 hour and 15 minutes of run time with the ePropulsion Spirit. Not only does the Spirit have more run time out of the gate, but it's also possible to extend the range of the Spirit by purchasing an additional Spirit Battery Plus or using a larger external battery (like the ePropulsion E60 or E163) to power the motor. The eLite's battery is built into its shaft, which means you can't swap it out. Moreover, it is not possible to power the eLite with an external battery.*
You also have more play to extend your range with the Spirit by reducing your power output (this also applies to the eLite, but speed gets pretty slow). For instance, if we go down to about half power or 500W with the Spirit on our Navigator dinghy, our speed drops to about 4kts, but our run time doubles to 2 hours 30 minutes, giving us about 10 nautical miles of range. At the same speed with the ePropulsion eLite, our range would only be about 3 nautical miles. The data below from ePropulsion shows similar results Keep in mind that our numbers and their numbers differ as their's are measured in miles/mph and ours are in nautical miles/knots.
ePropulsion eLite Range Data
| 250W / 50% Power |
500W/ 100% Power |
|
| Speed (mph) | 3.7 | 4.7 |
|
Max Run Time (hh:mm) |
01 : 30 | 00 : 45 |
| Range (miles) | 5.6 | 3.5 |
The data above is for a single person driving an 8ft aluminium dinghy (total weight 117kg), in calm conditions. Range and run time may vary with different boat or load, wind and waves, etc
ePropulsion Sprit 1.0 Plus / Spirit Evo Range Data
| 250W / 25% Power |
500W / 50% Power | 1000W / 100% Power |
|
| Speed (mph) | 4.4 | 5.3 | 6.2 |
|
Max Run Time (hh:mm) |
05 : 00 | 02 : 30 | 01 : 15 |
| Range (miles) | 22 | 13.3 | 7.8 |
The performance data is based on a 12-foot aluminum boat with one person and one Spirit Battery Plus in calm lake water. The actual speed, range and running time may vary because of different boats, load, weather, etc.
Weight Preferences
There is a significant weight difference between the eLite and the Spirit. The eLite weighs just 14.7 pounds on its own, and the eLite bracket weighs another 2.7 pounds. Together they weigh 17.4 pounds, but typically you aren't handling both at once.
The ePropulsion Spirit weighs 42.6 pounds in total,** but since the battery is easily removable, you never need to handle both the motor and the Spirit Battery at the same time. On their own, the Spirit Battery and Spirit motor weigh 19.2 lbs and 23.4 lbs**, respectively.
With that in mind, you'll need to lift 14.7 pounds when you're moving the eLite around. For the Spirit, the heaviest thing you'll need to lift is the 23.4 pound shaft, but you'll also need to handle the 19.2 pound battery.
Portability
The eLite is a more portable motor than the Spirit 1.0 Plus and Spirit Evo given its size and weight, but also because of its design. In order to remove the Spirit from your motor mount on transom, you need to unscrew the transom bolts, just like any outboard. On the other hand, the eLite has a transom bracket, which is designed to stay on your transom or motor mount most of the time. To remove the eLite from the transom bracket, you just need to click the blue button on the side and pull straight up; the eLite pops right off. To do the opposite, just slide the eLite down on to the transom bracket and it locks right in. With that in mind, taking the eLite on and off your boat is much faster and easier than doing the same with the Spirit 1.0 Plus or Spirit Evo.
Cost
A the time of this writing (March 2025), the MSRP of the ePropulsion eLite is $999 and the MSRP of the Spirit package is $2699 for the Spirit 1.0 Plus and $3129 for the Spirit Evo (including a tiller or top mount throttle). While each Spirit outboard is about triple the price of the eLite, both the eLite and Spirit 1.0 Plus are the most competitively price electric outboards in their class (with an integrated battery from a reputable manufacturer).
For reference, the Temo 450, which is the most similar product on the market to the eLite, retails for $1799. The Torqeedo Travel S (1.1kW/3hp) retails for $2998 for the short shaft model and the Remigo One (1kW/3hp) retails for $2999.
Shaft Length
The ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus is available in three shaft lengths: extra short, short, and long. The Spirit Evo is available in two shaft lengths, short and long. While the eLite has an adjustable shaft length, it is still very short; even at its longest setting, its shaft length is the same as the Spirit 1.0 Plus XS shaft. To make a long story short, the highest transom that the eLite can work properly on is 15.5". If your transom is bigger than that, the eLite will probably have cavitation issues and not work properly. We highly recommend looking at ePropulsion's shaft length guide for Spirit and Navy electric outboards and our video on adjusting the ePropulsion eLite shaft length. It is important to note that ePropulsion measures the eLite and Spirit shaft lengths differently. The Spirit shaft is measured from the center of the prop to the top of the bracket, whereas the eLite shaft is measured from the top of the prop (positioned vertically) to the top of the outboard bracket. The measurements for the eLite shaft length are 15.8", 14.3", 12.7", and 11.1". The measurements for the Spirit shaft lengths are in the image below. If you have questions about shaft length please feel free to contact us to speak with an ePropulsion product expert.
Other considerations
There are a few other factors to consider in your decision for the best electric outboard for you; these probably aren't dealbreakers, but are worth mentioning.
The ePropulsion eLite has a shallow water tilt position where the prop is still in the water, but the motor is angled up. The ePropulsion Spirit does not have this feature, it's either all the way up or all the way down. This is important to consider if you're planning to use your electric outboard in shallow water.
The ePropulsion Spirit motors have a rich display with real time range data. On the Spirit tiller, you can see what your range is in minutes and hours at your current speed. On the eLite, you can see you state of charge as a percentage, but you don't get real time range data.
The ePropulsion eLite and Spirit both include a two year warranty for retail customers when purchased new from an authorized dealer. If you purchase the Spirit, you can extend this warranty to three years by registering your motor with ePropulsion, but they don't offer the extra year for the eLite.
Which is the best electric outboard from ePropulsion for you?
In conclusion, when choosing the best electric outboard for you, it's important to think about the size and weight of your boat, your range requirements, and how important price, weight, and general portability are to you. If you still aren't sure which is the best option, feel free to contact us to talk with an ePropulsion product expert! If you're ready to purchase an electric outboard, please visit our online store. We ship electric outboards everywhere in the continental US, and ePropulsion Spirit outboards ship free!
See the ePropulsion eLite & ePropulsion Spirit in Action!
We have a YouTube Channel with lots of great content on electric outboard motors. Check out the videos below to learn more about the ePropulsion outboards discussed in this blog!
*While it is not possible to power the ePropulsion eLite with an external battery, it is possible to charge and discharge the eLite battery at the same time. We tested this with a 12v eLite charger and a lead acid battery. When we ran the eLite for 30 minutes at 100W without the 12v charger plugged in, the state of charge (SOC) went down by 15%. When we repeated the test with the eLite plugged into the 12v charger, the SOC only went down by 8%. This might be useful to slightly extend the eLite range for some boaters, but keep in mind that the eLite will discharge much more quickly than it will charge.
**This weight is for the short shaft version of the ePropulsion Spirt 1.0 Plus. The long shaft version is slightly heavier and the extra short shaft is slightly lighter. The Spirit Evo weight is about the same.