This Is Harbor Freight’s Highest Rated Air Compressor Brand

Full-sized air compressors are heavy-duty tools, which means they’re not cheap. Even the simplest air compressor from Harbor Freight will run you at least $60, and it only goes up from there. If you’re going to buy an air compressor from Harbor Freight, you want to be sure you’re getting something that’s been properly vetted by the store’s customers, indicated by high star ratings backed up by a large number of user reviews.

Harbor Freight’s air compressors come from two of its in-house brands, Fortress and McGraw. Out of the 19 different air compressors sold under these two brands by Harbor Freight, the standout option comes from Fortress, specifically the Fortress 2-Gallon, 135-PSI Ultra Quiet Oil-Free Hand-Carry Jobsite Air Compressor. This particular compressor is neither the most powerful nor most expensive air compressor sold by Harbor Freight, priced at $189.99, but it is the far-and-away favorite with a 4.8 out of 5 star rating based on 3,660 user reviews.

Unlike some of Harbor Freight’s other in-house brands, which may offer several different types of products, the Fortress brand deals in one thing and one thing only: air compressors (not to be confused with tire inflators). As full-scale compressors, Fortress’ products run on the slightly more expensive side of things compared to its chief counterpart, McGraw, with the cheapest Fortress air compressor running for $159.99.

Even so, Harbor Freight customers do seem to appreciate the products offered by the Fortress brand if the ratings are any indication. The most popular air compressor sold by Harbor Freight amongst both Fortress and McGraw’s offerings, the $189.99 2-Gallon, 135-PSI compressor, has a 4.8 out of 5-star rating and a 99% customer recommendation rating. Technically, there is one Fortress compressor with a higher rating, the 9-Gallon, 135-PSI compressor, but that product only has five user reviews at the time of writing, so this score isn’t properly weighted.

One customer who reviewed the 2-Gallon, 135 PSI model said that while it is somewhat pricey for its size, it is both powerful and exceptionally quiet during its operations. This user’s only real complaints were that the compressor pumps somewhat slowly and is a bit smaller than they would like, but this seemingly did not affect their decision to give the product four stars.