MeacoCool Pro 9000 vs De'Longhi Pinguino PAC EX100: which should you buy?

In the Meaco vs De'Longhi air conditioner match-up, the MeacoCool Pro 9000 is the one most people should buy. It cools a medium room about as well on paper as the De'Longhi Pinguino PAC EX100 Silent, adds Wi-Fi and a heat mode, and costs about half as much. The De'Longhi is the more efficient machine and the better dehumidifier, but the electricity it saves will never earn back the price difference.

There's a bigger catch, too. As of 14 October 2026 the EX100 is out of stock at De'Longhi UK and at every UK retailer we checked, and one retailer has listed it as discontinued since 26 May 2026. We cover what to do about that further down.

Meaco vs De'Longhi air conditioner at a glance

We've matched the EX100 against the Pro 9000 because the two cool almost the same amount, and the Pro 9000 is now Meaco's smallest portable anyway, since the MeacoCool Pro 7000 has been discontinued. If you want the same 10,000 BTU badge as the De'Longhi, the MeacoCool Pro 10000 CH (£429.99 direct) matches it, and for more power Meaco's current 12,000 BTU model is the Cirro 12000, though that was sold out awaiting a restock when we checked.

Prices, stock and running costs correct as of October 2026. Running costs use the Ofgem price cap of 26.32p/kWh for 1 October to 31 December 2026.

Both are single-hose portables running on R290, a low-impact refrigerant, and neither has an inverter compressor.

Can you still buy the De'Longhi PAC EX100?

Not easily. On 14 October 2026 De'Longhi UK still listed it at £949.99, but only with a "notify me" button. It was out of stock at Air Con Centre, Ecowizard, and Electrical Deals Direct, and Amazon UK and Currys don't list the unit at all any more. BLT Direct records it as discontinued on 26 May 2026, and the refurbished one Appliances Direct had has gone too.

If you've got your heart set on one, keep an eye on De'Longhi's own store and only buy if you find it for about £740 or less; above that, the maths below gets even harder to justify. De'Longhi's current portables are the obvious fallback. Its own store lists the Pinguino 98 Eco RealFeel at £899.99, and Currys lists the AP98 GentleJet at £799, the AP130i GentleJet at £999, and the EM90 Eco at £659, although all three were out of stock at Currys in October. We haven't checked their specs yet, so don't assume any of them matches the EX100's efficiency. Or simply buy the Meaco, which was in stock in its CH version at Air Con Centre.

Cooling power and room size

On the numbers each brand publishes, there's very little in it. De'Longhi badges the EX100 as 10,000 BTU, but that's measured at a steamy 35°C and 80% humidity; its standard EN14511 figure is 2.5 kW. The Meaco's 9,000 BTU works out at about 2.6 kW, though Meaco doesn't say which standard it uses. The two weren't tested under the same conditions, so call it a draw.

Meaco says the Pro 9000 suits rooms of 16 to 26 m². De'Longhi's "up to 110 m³" sounds bigger, but one retailer's description puts it at up to 26 m², the same as the Meaco. Think a medium bedroom, home office, or living room for either. Our guide to what size air conditioning you need will help you check.

Efficiency and running costs

This is the De'Longhi's big win. It's rated A++ with an EER of 3.6, against the Meaco's A rating and EER of about 2.6. EER is simply cooling output divided by power in, and on those figures the EX100 uses roughly 28% less electricity for the same cooling. (A few retailers list the EX100 as A or A+, but De'Longhi's own product fiche and datasheet both put it at A++.)

Here's what that's worth at the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026, which is 26.32p/kWh, with no VAT on domestic electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027:

So the De'Longhi saves about 3p to 8p an hour at full rated power. If we assume 300 hours of use over a hot summer, which is a lot for a UK portable, that's a saving of £9 to £24. The price gap between the two is roughly £350 to £500, so even at the best-case £24 a year, the EX100 would take about 15 summers to pay back £350, and closer to 40 at £9 a year.

These are figures at full rated power. Neither unit has an inverter, so the compressor cycles on and off once the room is cool, and real costs will usually be lower for both. Our guide on whether air conditioners are expensive to run goes into the detail.

Rate correct as of October 2026. The price cap changes quarterly.

Noise

On paper they're close. De'Longhi quotes 49 to 53 dB(A) sound pressure for the EX100, and some retailers list a 47 dB silent mode. Meaco quotes 52 to 54 dB for the Pro 9000 without saying whether that's sound pressure or sound power, which makes a straight comparison tricky.

Nobody has independently measured the Pro 9000 itself. Testers of its siblings are split: one found the Pro 7000's 51 dB sleep mode quiet enough to sleep with, while Mumsnet called the Pro 10000 too loud for sleeping, even in sleep mode. If the unit is going in a bedroom, the De'Longhi has the edge on the published numbers. See our quietest portable air conditioners guide if noise is your main worry.

Dehumidifying and damp

The EX100 is rated at up to 32 litres a day in De'Longhi's 35°C, 80% humidity test, although some retailers say 24. Your bedroom in a British summer won't be anywhere near that muggy, so expect a lot less in practice. The Meaco manages up to 1.2 litres an hour, which works out at about 29 litres if it ran flat out all day. Both recycle most of the water through the exhaust hose when cooling, but in very humid weather or in dry mode you may need to drain them; the Meaco comes with a 65 cm drain hose.

If damp is your bigger problem than heat, the De'Longhi does more on paper. That said, Meaco is a dehumidifier specialist, so a dedicated Meaco dehumidifier might be the smarter buy.

Features: Wi-Fi, heating and controls

This is where the Meaco pulls ahead. It has Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), the Meaco app, and voice control through Alexa and Google, so you can cool the bedroom down before you go up. There's also a remote, a 1 to 24 hour timer, sleep mode, and a dimmable display.

The CH version (MC9000CHRPRO) heats as well, at 8,100 BTU, which makes it handy on chilly spring and autumn evenings. Meaco has dropped the cooling-only MC9000RPRO, so the CH is the version you will find new.

The EX100 has no Wi-Fi and no heating. You get a remote, a 24-hour timer, three fan speeds, and De'Longhi's Real Feel mode, which adjusts to humidity as well as temperature. If you'd rather not deal with an app, that simplicity may suit you.

Size, weight and setup

The Meaco is noticeably smaller (701 mm tall against 805 mm) and about 6 kg lighter, at 23.5 to 24 kg against the De'Longhi's 30 kg, so it's easier to wheel between rooms. It also comes with a longer, wider hose (1.8 m x 150 mm against 1.2 m x 130 mm) and both a sash window kit and a flexible kit.

Neither needs installing. Fit the window kit, plug in, and you're away; no F-Gas engineer required.

Price and warranty

Meaco prices and stock checked 16 October 2026, De'Longhi 14 October 2026. Meaco also lists the Pro 10000 CH at £429.99, and it has dropped both the cooling-only Pro 9000 and the smaller Pro 7000 from its range.

Both come with a 2-year manufacturer warranty. Meaco's covers parts and labour and can be extended to a total of 5 years, and Air Con Centre offers 3 years on the Meaco. One retailer listing the EX100 only offered a 1-year warranty, so check before you buy.

What owners and reviewers say

Neither has a large, recent pool of UK owner reviews, so take this as a rough guide. The Pro 9000 scores 4.5 out of 5 from 10 reviews at Air Con Centre. Tests of the wider Pro range praise the cooling and value but mention noise at full power and an app that could be more polished.

The EX100 has a bigger but older following: about 1,131 Amazon UK reviews, with an aggregated user score of 7.6 out of 10, and 5 out of 5 from 7 reviews at Air Con Centre. T3 rated it best for medium rooms. Which? hasn't tested either model.

Which should you buy?

For most people, the MeacoCool Pro 9000. The cooling is very similar, the Meaco is half the price, and you get Wi-Fi and heating on top. The EX100's lower running costs are real, but at a few pence an hour they can't close a £350-plus gap, and you can't easily buy one anyway.

The De'Longhi still makes sense in one situation: you'll run it for long hours, you also have a damp problem, and you find one in stock at the bottom of its price range. If not, compare it with the alternatives in our best portable air conditioners guide. For the rest of each brand's line-up, see our Meaco and De'Longhi brand pages.