How this site works
Mini Split Compare is a reference catalog for ductless mini-split heat pumps: 50 systems from 20 brands across 7 form factors, priced $600 to $6,062. It exists because shopping for one is unusually miserable. Half the market is sold on Amazon under names nobody recognizes, the important number is buried in a PDF submittal sheet, and the honest answers live in r/hvacadvice threads that are three years old and full of people arguing about vacuum pumps.
Where the specs come from
BTU capacity, SEER2, HSPF2, voltage, low-ambient heating ratings, and warranty terms are taken from manufacturer submittal sheets, spec sheets, and product documentation, and from AHRI and NEEP listings where a manufacturer publishes rated capacity at low temperatures. Where a brand advertises “operates down to” a temperature rather than a rated capacity at it, the catalog records the number the brand publishes — the two claims are not the same thing, and the guides say so.
About the prices
Prices are typical list prices for the equipment only, current as of the last refresh. They move constantly, and this category discounts hard when a refrigerant transition clears old stock. Treat a price here as a tier, not a quote. Nothing on this site includes installation, and installation is usually the larger number — often two to three times the equipment cost for a conventional system.
About the star ratings
13 of the 50 systems show a star rating. Those are aggregated from the retail listing named next to them — Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, or an HVAC distributor — not scores assigned here, and not reviews collected here. The rest are sold through channels that publish no rating at all, which is why they show none. A 5.0 built on a single review is worth exactly what that sounds like.
Where the opinions come from
There is no test lab here, no bench, and no staff of technicians, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. The pros, cons, and install notes on each system are distilled from public owner discussion — r/hvacadvice and r/heatpumps threads, long-term owner reviews, contractor commentary, and forum posts — plus the manufacturer's own documentation for anything factual. When enough owners report the same control-board failure or the same slow warranty line, that goes in the complaints. Summarizing is editorial work, and the goal is to keep it as blunt as the owners wrote it.
How the lists are ordered
Brand and type pages sort by rating, then by spec, and the homepage list is sorted however you tell it to be. There are no sponsored placements, no paid inclusion, and no way to buy a position. If a system is at the top, it is because the sort you picked put it there.
Keeping it current
The catalog was last refreshed on August 11, 2026. Models get added, prices get corrected, and discontinued units get pulled as we notice them — this category is mid-transition from R-410A to R-454B, so expect churn. If something looks wrong — a dead model, a stale price, a warranty term that changed — that is a data bug, not an advertisement.