The Best UPS Battery Backups of 2024

Just Buy This (All Around Best)

APC BR100MS2

$267 at Amazon $300 at Lenovo

TL;DR: When you want a reliable UPS, APC is one of the top brands for the job, and its BR100MS2 is a fantastic UPS for home and office use. It has ten standard outlets with surge protection (six with battery backup) and USB-A and USB-C charge ports. The 900W capacity can keep your devices running for quite some time.

Why We Recommend This

If you’re buying a UPS, you want to keep something important running when the power goes down, so why would you settle for anything but the best?

While you don’t need to buy the absolute best UPS battery backup that money can buy, you do want one made by one of the best manufacturers and to some of the best standards.

That’s the APC BR100MS2 in a nutshell. It’s a powerful, high-quality UPS system that’s ultra-reliable and can simultaneously protect and serve a range of electronics.

It’s a pure sinewave UPS system, delivering cleaner, more stable power for protecting high-end electronics. It has ten power outlets, all of which have surge protection, and six have battery backup.

With 900W of power, it’ll keep even big, power-hungry devices like desktop PCs and monitors running for quite some time. It also includes a pair of USB charge ports, so you can power up your smartphone and tablets at up to 15W. It can even be used to give surge protection to Ethernet networks and coaxial cables.

The built-in battery is replaceable, too, so while you might need to temporarily shut down devices while you swap them out, you can have lots of extra power on hand with a single UPS with this system.

The LCD readout on the front is also clear and intuitive, giving you great insight into how much power is left.

• Who else recommends it? We reviewed this model's predecessor in 2020 and thought it provided excellent protection and backup power for a range of devices. We’re not the only ones, though. CGMagOnline loved using it to protect their gaming systems, and GamingTrend gave a similar APC model high praise.
• What do buyers say? The APC BR100MS2 has one of the highest user ratings on Amazon, with almost 90% of buyers giving it four stars or above. They love its sinewave technology, which provides devices with clear, stable power, and its 900W capacity, which gives it plenty of juice for keeping devices running when the power goes out. This is a reliable unit that works well for years after purchase.

Runner Up

APC Back-UPS Pro 1500VA

$280 at Amazon $185 at Walmart $214 at Best Buy

TL;DR: The APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 is a utilitarian device, but it has a little LCD screen showing vital information like input voltage, battery status, and the current load, which is a nice touch.

Why We Recommend This

While simulating a power outage by flipping a circuit breaker in the house, the UPS immediately kept our test computer running with plenty of time to save my work and shut it down.

This device can also deliver over 800 watts of power, so you can safely charge any device at the speed you typically experience by plugging the same charger directly into a wall outlet. It's a bit expensive but a great battery backup for medium applications.

While this APC model has ten outlets, only five are connected to the battery (the other five have surge protection, though). We feel five outlets should adequately cover most setups. This unit is vertically oriented, so while it doesn't have a large footprint, it will resemble a computer tower.

Also Great

Eaton 5S1500LCD

$230 at Amazon $250 at Dell $254 at Office Depot

TL;DR: Eaton is another well-respected brand, and its 5S model is a fantastic UPS with surge protection and battery backup, support for up to 10 devices at once, and super quiet operation. The LCD readout keeps you informed about how much battery you have left, too.

Why We Recommend This

If you want a great surge protector but want to spend a little less than our APC Best UPS model, then this Eaton UPS is an excellent alternative. It’s more affordable but still offers the same great battery backup and surge protection over ten outlets (five with battery backup), helping you protect and back up a range of devices simultaneously. 

It doesn’t have a sinewave power output, so it’s arguably not quite as stable as the top models. However, it still offers robust protection, with a three-year warranty and up to $150,000 load protection guarantee, should something go wrong. It also operates completely silently most of the time, with the internal fan only turning on when the battery backup is used.

With 900W of power, too, you can keep many devices running if and when you lose mains power. To keep it going for longer, this Eaton unit intelligently shuts down peripherals and unnecessary accessories when it flips to battery mode.

The LCD on the front is clear to read and gives you a great insight into how much battery power you have left and how long your devices have before they shut down. The design is understated and compact, helping this little UPS unit slot in right where you need it.

• Who else recommends it? StorageReview found this Eaton UPS an excellent solution for quietly protecting your devices. Reefs, in its review, highlighted how effective a UPS can be in protecting a fish tank's inhabitants.
• What do buyers say? The Eaton 5S1000LCD has over 80% 4+ star reviews from hundreds of buyers, with many replacing more affordable UPS models with this Eaton model. Some use it to back up home computers or bridge the gap between a home battery and solar panels. Others found it excellent for use in office and enterprise environments, showing its versatility.

Easiest on the Budget

APC BX1500M

$185 at Amazon $145 at Home Depot $237 at Dell

TL;DR: APC’s more affordable UPS offers many of the same great features as our favorite UPS, but at a more approachable price. It still supports up to 10 devices with surge protection and battery backup, with automated voltage regulation and an easy-to-read LCD display.

Why We Recommend This

APC makes several excellent UPS systems, but they aren’t all expensive. This more modest UPS is affordable at well under $200 and has many of the same great features as the more premium alternatives. It has ten outlets on the back, supporting a range of devices simultaneously with its strong 900W battery capacity.

It also supports coaxial and Ethernet cables, allowing you to add surge protection to your network and other devices. Battery backup extends to five outlets at once, and you can monitor them all using the front-panel LCD readout.

This isn’t a sinewave UPS, so its power isn’t quite as "clean" as some UPS systems, but that means it’s less well-suited to sensitive electronics at the professional level.

It's the perfect fit for consumer devices, home office computers, and other systems. Users have reviewed it exceedingly well, with over 10,000 4+ star ratings across a range of retailers. It will do a stellar job of protecting any connected electronics.

The interface is simple, with just three buttons to control everything, making it simple to understand when you first plug in your devices.

There’s also a built-in fault-line indicator that can let you know if the outlet you’ve connected it to isn’t up to the challenge of powering your devices. The compact, black chassis helps it fit in with modern devices, and if you ever feel like it doesn’t have enough power, you can use the swappable batteries to power it back up quickly.

• Who else recommends it? We reviewed this model a few years ago and found it an excellent UPS with impressive protection for all your devices. MBReviews ranks it as one of their top UPS units, too, and Fstoppers called it both capable and reliable in their review.
• What do buyers say? Buyers love this UPS, highlighting its reliability, impressive power capacity, and useful LCD. APC customer support also received high praise, sending out replacement units quickly to the very limited few who ran into problems.