EcoFlow Wave 3 vs Midea PortaSplit: which to choose

Two categories, not two versions of the same machine

The core difference is not the brand or a handful of watts: it is what each machine is for.

• The EcoFlow Wave 3 is a compact all-in-one (6,100 BTU, 1.8 kW cooling) with a heat pump — so cooling and heating. Its big differentiator is that it takes a battery option and can run off the mains: made for the terrace, the motorhome, the camper van, off-grid, or a small room where mobility matters more than raw power.
• The Midea PortaSplit 12,000 (3.5 kW cooling, also a heat pump) is a split portátil: an indoor unit and an outdoor module linked by a hose, plus a window kit. No building work, but it does need assembly. In return it cools a whole room and is more discreet indoors than a monobloc.

Put another way: the Wave 3 takes cooling where there is no socket; the PortaSplit brings whole-room performance to a home with mains power. Almost everything that follows comes from that difference in purpose.

Power: 6,100 BTU vs 12,000 BTU

There is no tie here: the PortaSplit practically doubles the Wave 3 in cooling capacity.

• EcoFlow Wave 3: 6,100 BTU, around 1,535 frigorías (using the approximate equivalence of about 252 frigorías per 1,000 BTU). This is small-space power: a compact bedroom, a camper, a cabin, a terrace zone.
• Midea PortaSplit 12,000: 12,000 BTU, around 3,000 frigorías. This is whole-room or medium living-room power.

The practical reading: try to cool a living room with the Wave 3 and it will fall short, running non-stop without ever reaching temperature; put the PortaSplit in a camper and it is overkill and tied to a socket. Each performs in its own league. To work out the power your specific room needs, check how many frigorías you need: it is the step that avoids the costliest mistake. Treat all these BTU-to-frigoría conversions as approximations for orientation, not exact figures.

Installation and portability: battery vs window kit

Neither needs building work or an installer, but they ask for very different things.

• The Wave 3 you set down and go: put it where you like, vent the hot air, and it works. Because it takes a battery, it can run off the mains, which opens uses impossible for a home unit: taking it to the terrace with no extension lead, to the motorhome, the camper van, or anywhere off-grid. It is by far the more portable of the two.
• The PortaSplit needs a bit more assembly: placing the outdoor module (on a railing, a terrace or the balcony floor) and fitting the window kit that seals the hose pass-through. It is a spell of setup, with no drilling into the wall, but it is not "plug and play". In return, once assembled it stays put and genuinely cools the room.

If your priority is moving it or using it where there is no power, the Wave 3 has no rival. If you want a machine you install at the start of the season and leave in place, the PortaSplit fits better. For more on no-works setup, we develop it in the air conditioning without installation guide.

Cooling and heating, noise and consumption

On reversibility they tie: both are heat pumps, so they cool in summer and heat in winter by moving heat rather than generating it. Both work for the shoulder seasons, not only the heatwave.

On noise, the comparison is qualitative and we give no invented decibels. The PortaSplit, being a split, moves the compressor — the part that bothers you most — out of the room into its outdoor module, so indoors it tends to be quieter than a monobloc. The Wave 3 is a compact all-in-one: it carries its mechanics with it, unavoidable in a machine built to move; in exchange it is small and goes with you where the split cannot.

At rated conditions, the PortaSplit draws 575 W in cooling and the Wave 3 draws 690 W on AC or 640 W on DC, according to their official specifications. The Wave 3 does not win on lower absolute draw: it wins on mobility and battery operation; the PortaSplit delivers almost twice the cooling with lower rated input. Actual consumption varies with temperature, insulation and set point. To estimate the cost in euros, see how much a portable air conditioner consumes.

Price and value: similar street price, different purchases

The street prices we have seen this season across monitored Spanish shops put the Wave 3 around €849 (with a wide band of roughly €600 to €1,100 depending on configuration and stock) and the PortaSplit 12,000 around €990–€1,234 (a band of roughly €650 to €1,400). These are ballpark prices that move with availability, not fixed rates.

The striking part is that, at similar street prices, you are not buying the same thing. With the Wave 3 you pay for portability and the battery option: the freedom to cool where there is no socket. With the PortaSplit you pay for whole-room power and fixed seasonal use. That is why "which is better value" only makes sense within your case: for a camper, the PortaSplit is worthless at any price; for a living room, the Wave 3 falls short even if it were free.

We verify every price and stock change against the product identifier before treating it as real; you can see how in our methodology. And you can check the real state of each on its availability page: the Wave 3 and the PortaSplit 12,000.

Which to choose for your case

There is no single winner — there is a winner for your scenario.

Choose the EcoFlow Wave 3 if:

• You need real mobility: terrace with no extension lead, motorhome, camper van, cabin or off-grid, with the battery option to run off the mains.
• You are cooling a small room and value a compact unit you set down and go.
• You prefer minimal assembly and the lower power does not matter because the space is small.

Choose the Midea PortaSplit 12,000 if:

• You want to cool a whole room or a medium living room at home, with fixed use through the season.
• You want power (3.5 kW) and a quieter indoor feel than a monobloc, and you have somewhere for the outdoor module.
• You do not mind spending a while on the window kit in exchange for leaving it installed and forgetting about it.

If you are unsure which performs better in your exact square metres, start with how many frigorías you need, and if you want the full picture of the season, take a look at the best portable AC of 2026.

The problem, in both cases, is the same: the most wanted models sell out in hours and return with no notice. Set up your free alert and AireRadar messages you by email or Telegram — with a direct link to the listing — the moment the machine you want is buyable near you again; the free tier runs 20 minutes behind, no card needed. Want to filter by your price cap and the shops near you? The season pass is €6.60, one-time, valid until 30 September 2026. And since we sell neither the Wave 3 nor the PortaSplit, no brand funds our recommendation. You can see how the alerts work before deciding.