Portable air conditioners can be convenient, but are usually less efficient and more expensive to run than split-system units, and can be extremely heavy and bulky
You may be keen on a smaller model, but the size of the room you wish to cool is an important consideration in determining if the appliance will have enough capacity
CHOICE experts have reviewed around 60 portable air conditioners. We assess units based on cooling performance, noise, energy efficiency and more
Portable air conditioners are useful if you don’t have air conditioning installed in your home and you need fast relief from a heatwave.
While they may not do the job as well as in-built systems, they’re comparatively cheap to buy, easy to install and simple to use, which makes them popular alternatives for people on a budget, in rented accommodation, or anyone who just wants to cool a small area.
CHOICE experts have reviewed around 60 portable air conditioners so we can give you the lowdown on how the size of the unit affects its cooling performance, as well as some other things to note before you buy a portable air conditioner on size alone.
How portable are they?
If you’ve started researching which portable air conditioner to buy, you may have noticed that they’re often described as ‘compact’. However, these units can actually take up quite a bit of space in a bedroom or office.
They often come on castor wheels to make them easy to move around, but most also come with a ‘window kit’, which includes a flexible ducted tube to vent air outside that must be affixed to a suitable window.
They also need to be plugged into a power point, with space around the unit for airflow – so you’ll need to allow about double the space of the unit’s footprint.
Some units weigh over 40kg … and stand at a height of up to about a metre, which all starts to make the ‘portable’ label seem a bit misleading
In addition, some units weigh over 40kg (more than a third of the models we tested weigh 30kg or more), and stand at a height of up to about a metre, which all starts to make the ‘portable’ label seem a bit misleading.
They’re not the most discreet appliances and are hardly going to be on your list of ‘most desired features’ when you’re styling the interiors of your home.
So, what is the smallest and most effective portable air conditioner you can buy? To understand that, you need to understand a thing or two about cooling capacity.
When manufacturers, retailers or review websites refer to the size of a portable air conditioner, they’re most likely referring to the cooling capacity of the appliance, which is measured in kW (kilowatts).
For every extra kW, you have more cooling power, but it’s also going to cost you more in energy.
The bigger the room you want to cool, the more kilowatts you’ll need. (To find out the recommended kilowattage for the size of room you want to cool, see our portable air conditioner buying guide.)
If your priority is finding an air conditioner that isn’t too bulky or heavy, it’s also important to consider how well it’s going to perform
Even if your priority is finding an air conditioner that isn’t too bulky or heavy, it’s also important to consider how well it’s going to perform.
Our reviews of portable air conditioners over the past couple of years have found that the physically smaller and lighter models tend to have a lower cooling capacity of around 2–3kW, which means they’re really only suitable for small- to medium-sized rooms, such as small bedrooms or home office spaces.
Keep in mind that while some units may be lighter than others, and therefore easier to move around, they may be bulkier in size.
Text-only accessible version
Smaller vs bigger portable air con
A smaller unit (2kW)
Anko FDP20-2022R5
Weight: 23kg
69cm high; 33cm wide; 28cm deep
A larger unit (4.3kW)
Excelair EPA58043WB
Weight: 42kg
81cm high; 45cm wide; 43cm deep
How do smaller and lighter portable air conditioners generally perform?
On the whole, portable air conditioners are not very efficient appliances, so even the top scoring models in our review only manage an overall score of up to 73%.
As smaller and lighter models usually have lower cooling capacities, they generally perform worse in our testing than larger models with a greater cooling capacity.
The lightest portable air conditioners
Below are some of the lightest and physically smallest portable air conditioners in our review.
They all weigh 20kg and under, so if you plan to move your unit from room to room often, they’ll be less work to push around.
While they might tick the box in terms of weight, they’re not necessarily the best in class for performance.
To find which portable air conditioners were ranked as the best performers in our expert independent testing, read our portable air conditioner reviews (available to CHOICE members). Join CHOICE to find the best lightweight portable air conditioners for your home.
The highest scoring small portable air conditioners
They may not be the lightest of the bunch, but these models are no lightweights when it comes to performance – they hit the sweet spot between the highest scores and the smallest footprints. And in good news for your budget, two of them are priced under $250.
However, we use the term ‘best’ lightly: these models still really only achieve borderline cooling performance and could only be used in small rooms.
Keep in mind that one of these is an Aldi Special Buy so isn’t available all the time. You’ll need to keep an eye out for when it pops up. They tend to sell out quickly too, so you’ll have to move fast if you want to snag one.
The Bonaire PRC7000026.
Bonaire PRC7000026
CHOICE Expert Rating: 60%
Weight: 21kg
Dimensions: 69 x 28 x 33cm
Price: $519
Freshin FDP26-2021WR5
CHOICE Expert Rating: 60%
Weight: 21kg
Dimensions: 69 x 33 x 28cm
Price: $399
Bonaire PRC6000026
CHOICE Expert Rating: 60%
Weight: 21kg
Dimensions: 69 x 33 x 28cm
Price: $419
Anko FDP20-2022R5
CHOICE Expert Rating: 58%
Weight: 23kg
Dimensions: 69 x 33 x 28cm
Price: $249
Aldi Stirling PA09W1
CHOICE Expert Rating: 57%
Weight: 14.5kg
Dimensions: 58 x 27 x 27cm
Price: $229
Want a portable air con that does a better job than these? You may have to go bigger. Exclusively for CHOICE members, our portable air conditioner reviews reveal the top performers that are recommended by our experts.
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Find Pru on LinkedIn.
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Find Pru on LinkedIn.
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