Generac vs KOHLER home standby generators
Generac costs less at every size we compared, $478 to $1,262 less with a transfer switch, and makes more power on natural gas in the smaller sizes. KOHLER burns less gas for each kilowatt-hour it makes and spells out a warranty that covers parts, labor and travel. If price comes first, choose Generac. If you'll run on natural gas for long stretches, KOHLER's fuel use counts for more.
Published , by Alex Rowan
We haven't tested these units ourselves. Output, fuel use, noise and warranty come from each maker's spec sheet, fuel prices from the EIA, and every price shows the store and the day we checked it. Links go to the maker's or a retailer's store, and we don't earn anything from them. How we work.
Size by size
| Model | Propane | Natural gas | Price with transfer switch | Gas at half load | Gas per kWh | Propane at half load | Weekly test noise | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generac 14 kW (7258) (opens in a new tab) | 14 kW | 14 kW | $5,255 Model 7323, with a 200 A automatic transfer switch. Ferguson price, Oct 26, 2026 | 189 ft³/h about $2.90 an hour | 27.0 ft³ | 1.76 gal/h about $4.73 an hour | 55 dB(A) | 5 years |
| KOHLER 14RCA (opens in a new tab) | 14 kW | 12 kW | $6,066 Model 14RCAL, with an automatic transfer switch. Maker's list price, Oct 26, 2026 | 124 ft³/h about $1.90 an hour | 20.7 ft³ | 1.65 gal/h about $4.44 an hour | 63 dB(A) | 5 years or 2,000 hours |
| Generac 22 kW (7260) (opens in a new tab) | 22 kW | 21 kW | $6,506 Model 7325, with a 200 A automatic transfer switch. Ferguson price, Oct 26, 2026 | 221 ft³/h about $3.39 an hour | 21.0 ft³ | 2.45 gal/h about $6.59 an hour | 55 dB(A) | 5 years |
| KOHLER 20RCA (opens in a new tab) | 20 kW | 18 kW | $6,984 Model 20RCAL, with an automatic transfer switch. Maker's list price, Oct 26, 2026 | 161 ft³/h about $2.47 an hour | 17.9 ft³ | 2.26 gal/h about $6.08 an hour | 66 dB(A) | 5 years or 2,000 hours |
| Generac 26 kW (7327) (opens in a new tab) | 26 kW | 24 kW | $7,253 Model 7328, with a 200 A automatic transfer switch. Ferguson price, Oct 26, 2026 | 182 ft³/h about $2.79 an hour | 15.2 ft³ | 2.05 gal/h about $5.51 an hour | 55 dB(A) | 5 years |
| KOHLER 26RCA (opens in a new tab) | 26 kW | 24 kW | $8,515 Model 26RCAL, with an automatic transfer switch. Maker's list price, Oct 26, 2026 | 180 ft³/h about $2.76 an hour | 15.0 ft³ | 2.34 gal/h about $6.29 an hour | 56 dB(A) | 5 years or 2,000 hours |
Rows go in pairs of similar size. KOHLER doesn't make a 22 kW air-cooled unit, so the 20RCA sits next to the Generac 22 kW. Half load is half of the rating on that fuel, and gas per kWh is the natural gas burned at half load for each kilowatt-hour made. KOHLER gives propane as vapor in cubic feet; we converted it to gallons. Fuel cost uses the EIA's US averages: $15.34 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas (2025 average) and $2.69 a gallon for propane (week of Oct 19, 2026, before taxes). Noise is the low-speed weekly self-test at 23 ft, the one test both makers report the same way.
Price
With an automatic transfer switch, the KOHLER is $811 more at 14 kW, $478 more for the 20RCA against the larger Generac 22 kW, and $1,262 more at 26 kW. The two prices aren't quite the same kind, though. KOHLER publishes list prices on its own site. Generac shows no price, so its figures are what Ferguson, a national retailer, charged on the day we checked. A dealer may quote either brand differently, and installation usually costs more than the gap between them. The whole home generator cost page breaks that part down.
Power and fuel on natural gas
Both brands rate their units on propane and make less on natural gas, but Generac loses less. The Generac 14 kW keeps its full 14 kW on natural gas, where the KOHLER 14RCA drops to 12 kW. The Generac 22 kW makes 21 kW against the 20RCA's 18 kW. At 26 kW both make 24 kW. If your home runs on natural gas, size against these lower figures.
KOHLER uses less gas for the power it makes. At half load, the 14RCA burns 20.7 ft³ for each kilowatt-hour against 27.0 ft³ for the Generac 14 kW, and the 20RCA 17.9 ft³ against 21.0 ft³ for the Generac 22 kW. At 26 kW the two are within a few percent of each other. A gas line doesn't run out the way a tank does, so the gap matters most to your bill in long outages: at the US average gas price, the Generac 14 kW costs about $2.90 an hour at half load and the 14RCA about $1.90.
On propane the picture is mixed, and how long a tank lasts depends far more on its size and your load than on the brand. Ask the installer to work it out for the tank you'd have.
Noise
Every standby generator starts itself once a week or so to stay ready, so neighbors hear it even when the grid is up. Both makers measure it at 23 ft. Generac rates all three sizes at 55 dB(A) in its low-speed test. KOHLER gives 63 dB(A) for the 14RCA, 66 for the 20RCA and 56 for the 26RCA.
Under load the figures can't be lined up. Generac measures at normal load (65 to 67 dB(A)) and KOHLER at full speed (67 to 70 dB(A)), so a few decibels either way says little about which is louder during an outage.
Warranty
Both give five years. KOHLER's spec sheets say its warranty covers parts, labor and travel for five years or 2,000 hours, whichever comes first. Generac's sheets list a five-year limited warranty without those details, so ask the dealer what the Generac warranty pays for and who does the work. Champion's 14 kW aXis kit, on our best standby generators list, carries ten years.
Which one to buy
Choose Generac if
- You want the lower price at the size you need.
- Your home runs on natural gas and you need the most output from a 14 or 22 kW unit.
- The weekly test will run close to a bedroom window or a neighbor.
Choose KOHLER if
- You expect long outages on natural gas, where lower gas use per kilowatt-hour adds up.
- You want warranty terms that say in writing they cover labor and travel.
Whichever brand you lean toward, get quotes from more than one licensed installer, ask each to show the load calculation behind the size they quote, and check what you need running in the runtime calculator first. A standby generator burns fuel and makes carbon monoxide like any engine, so keep working CO alarms inside the house; the carbon monoxide guide has more.