Best Coolers with Speakers
Updated by Brandon F. on November 16, 2022
Nothing goes better with fun in the sun than some good music. Traditionally, you would have to lug along a speaker to play some tunes along with your cooler. But that is no longer the case! More and more brands have come out with coolers that have speakers installed in them.
So what is the best cooler with speakers? As is typical with most coolers, there is a huge range of sizes, speaker wattage, and prices. Below we discuss some of our favorite ice chests that have built-in speakers.
Cooler with Speakers Comparison Table
Koolmax Cooler
Koolmax has taken what many other cooler brands have done and turned it up to an 11! Their Koolmax Tunes2Go speaker comes in at a plenty-large 40-quart capacity which is large enough to hold nearly 48 beer cans with ice. Being a hard-sided cooler with insulated walls, you can also expect better ice performance. Specifically, we have found ice life to be around 48 hours in the sun which makes it perfect for a weekend excursion or an all-day tailgate.
But what makes the Koolmax Tunes2Go stand out is its powerful speaker system. While many other brands will offer speakers that are 10 or 15 watts, Koolmax has an incredible 350 watts of power! This power is harnessed through two 6.5” H-Fi, water-resistant speakers as well as two 2” high-performance tweeters. We like how there are both normal speakers for the mids and tweeters for the highs. The only thing missing is a huge subwoofer!
Koolmax Cooler’s stereo interface is one of the best in the business
This ice chest is also one of the few that comes with a music interface similar to what you would find in a typical car or boat. It displays connection information as well as has all of the settings and adjustments you would expect. This includes FM adjusters, an equalizer, a mode changer, fast forward/rewind, mic volume, master volume, and even a place where you can insert a storage card with your favorite tunes on it!
For those who want to go more advanced, you can enjoy built-in Bluetooth connectivity while those who are old-school can simply plug their music-playing device in via the auxiliary connection. There are also USB ports, USB data ports, and much more. This is the total package!
As for performance, the 350-watt speakers can make things loud. You can expect to hear your tunes even in the busiest of rooms or outdoor areas. The rechargeable batteries can perform up to 16 hours before needing to be recharged and there is a helpful LED bulb to let you know the charge status. There is also a 12-volt outlet plug for those who simply want to plug it in.
Other features include a remote control, a built-in drain, a detachable cooler flashlight, and internal LED light built into the lid. It has everything that you would need for a good time! And it is available in blue, red, and orange.
Coolest Cooler
Coolest Cooler is one of the premier all-in-one coolers on the market. Not only does it come with speakers, but that is just the beginning. We will go over its huge list of features below, but let’s first focus on the speakers and the cooling performance.
This is a pretty large cooler, coming in at a hefty 55 quarts. We have found that this size range is a “happy medium” between size and mobility. In other words, it is large enough to store plenty of food, drinks, and ice, but is still portable enough to not be a huge burden to move from place to place. The added wheels add to the increased level of mobility and it makes the Coolest Cooler perfect for someone who is always on the go.
As for cooler performance, there is rather thick insulation used. While it isn’t on the scale of a rotomolded premium cooler, it is still good enough for 3 to 4 days of ice life. At this ice range, a long weekend at the lake or camping is a good challenge for the cooler and it’s nice ice life.
Closeup of Coolest Cooler’s removable speaker system
The speaker system comprises one outdoor Bluetooth speaker that is completely portable. It can be connected via Bluetooth 4.0 and has dual drivers as well as a pairing feature that allows you to stream music from a single music source to up to two speakers that are 30 feet apart.
As for power, the speakers are a bit wimpy, coming in at just 5 watts per piece. However, it is still loud enough for most casual environments. Just don’t expect to be able to have a concert-like feel with them. The good thing about the relatively small speakers is that they don’t pull a lot of power and the included rechargeable battery will power them for up to 8 hours (along with the other powered devices).
There is much more than meets the eye to the Coolest Cooler!
As we mentioned above, there is a lot more to the Coolest Cooler than just its speakers. It is one of the most diverse and feature-rich coolers that we have ever come across. Its additional features include a built-in blender, an attached USB charger (for charging your phone, speakers, etc.), an LED lid light, picnic supplies (plates, knife, and corkscrew), a bottle opener, a bungee cord, an accessory deck. It has it all!
It is worth mentioning that to enjoy this awesome cooler, you will have to pay a pretty penny. The Coolest Cooler is among the more expensive of the coolers with speakers that we are reviewing. But when you simply see how many features you get with a purchase, it is easy to understand why. It is available in a blue moon, green margarita, dark & stormy, sangria, and classic orange.
GOSO Cooler
The GOSO M5 Cooler Stereo is another model that believes that more power is better. With its impressive 300-watt power output, it is among the most powerful coolers with speakers that we have tested. It is also plenty large, coming in at 52 quarts of total storage volume.
The first thing we thought of when we saw the Goso M5 is how similar it is to the Koolmax Tunes2Go. However, upon closer inspection, it is easy to see some noticeable differences.
At 52 quarts, the GOSO cooler is large enough to hold up to 60 cans of beer and there is plenty of room for ice and other items. The insulation, while nothing amazing, is thick enough to allow for around 1 day of ice life.
The booming speaker system can be attributed to the powerful 300-watt power output. This power is harnessed through the attached 6.5” 2-way high-quality waterproof speakers on the front of the cooler. With this much power, we do wish that GOSO would have included some tweeters and perhaps a separate subwoofer, but this 2.0 configuration is still plenty loud.
The unit is powered thanks to a rechargeable battery that is built in and can be simply plugged into any household outlet to receive a full recharge. When full, the battery can last up to 3 days of typical use before needing to be recharged again.
For playing music, you have several different options. It has a fully functional stereo with built-in FM radio in addition to a karaoke option with all of the modes and equalizing features you would need. There are 4 audio sources to choose from: USB, SD card, Bluetooth, and auxiliary.
The GOSO Cooler comes with its microphone
But that is just the beginning. Other helpful features include an LED battery level indicator, a USB charging socket, a remote control, a microphone, a lid that can convert to a tabletop, wheels for mobility, grooves to place knives/forks/spoons for picnics, a drain valve, side mesh basket handles, and an extendable carrying handle, and more. It is the total package!
Alpine Cooler
For those who want the very best (and have the budget to support it), we give you the big daddy of them all: the Alpine In-Cooler Entertainment System. This bad boy is comprised of a huge 56-quart cooler that has a very impressive 180-watt Alpine sound system installed directly into the face of it. This product is robust enough to handle any setting but it does come at a steep asking price.
The Alpine cooler with speakers (better known as the Alpine ICE PWD-CB1) is for those who want to up their cooler game to the max. The cooler itself is a 56-quart Grizzly Cooler. If you have frequented our site very much, you would know that Grizzly Coolers are one of our top-scoring coolers due to their fantastic ice life, super tough materials, and acceptable price.
From an ice standpoint, going with the Grizzly Cooler as the base allows you to enjoy a much better ice life than with the other coolers with speakers we have discussed.
While you won’t get quite the ice life of a traditional Grizzly Cooler (this is due to parts of the walls having to be removed to fit the speakers), you should still expect to see 3 to 4 days of ice performance which is quite impressive. And coming in with a 56-quart capacity, you will have plenty of room to store drinks, ice, and food.
Alpine Cooler connections located on the face of the cooler
But the real star of the show is the sound system. Alpine has been making reputable sound systems for decades so you know that anything with their name on it is going to sound great. They have installed a 180W system that is comprised of 2x 5.25” component speakers and 2x 4×8” bass radiators. To help power these, a compact amplifier is also installed.
The result of all of this is one of the loudest and best-sounding cooler sound systems will you find anywhere! The source of the necessary power for the amplifier comes from an included 16-foot cable that connects directly to your vehicle’s 12V auxiliary power outlet or cigarette lighter port.
As for connecting your music, you can choose between Bluetooth wireless or the 3.5 mm auxiliary cable. Other features include a handy Bluetooth indication screen as well as the many great built-in features of the Grizzly Cooler (roto-molded construction, freezer-grade gasket, Bear Claw latching system, drain plug, and more.).
Super Real Business Cooler
Super Real Business might have a funny name, but the name holds as they are one of the most popular coolers with speakers found online. It takes a straightforward approach in its design which results in a very attractive price point.
It is a soft-sided cooler so while it won’t hold ice nearly as long as many traditional hard-sided coolers, it is much more mobile and can fit into places a larger plastic cooler wouldn’t be able to squeeze into. The storage capacity will also be a good bit lower than most coolers, but it still manages to easily hold a 12-pack of soda or beer with room to spare for ice. At this size, it makes it the perfect companion on a hiking trip, floating trip, or at a tailgate where you plan to move around a lot at.
The speaker package it comes with is 15 watts (including the subwoofer, making it a 2.1 stereo), water-resistant, and removable. While this won’t blow the windows out, it is still loud enough to be heard fine from up to 30 feet away in our experience. It has built-in plugs for a USB, a microphone, and an auxiliary. And you can also take advantage of the Bluetooth signal if you prefer to go wireless.
The Super Real Business Cooler has multiple inputs for your various devices
Another nice feature is the built-in power bank that can charge your phone or tablet. The unit is powered by a rechargeable battery that lasts 8+ hours before needing a recharge. To help keep track of the remaining power and also let you know when it is fully charged, there are LED lights for 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% charge.
It is available in several different color schemes and has an additional front pocket for storing non-chilled items (although it will be sharing this room with the speakers).
BREKX Cooler
For those after a more traditional cooler, BREKX offers their BREKX Party Cooler which comes in at a much larger 54 quarts of storage size. In addition, it is a hard-sided cooler so you can expect longer ice life than most soft-sided products (but at the cost of added weight). The fact that the BREKX Cooler is a bit on the large side means that it will be much more at home being set on a table or truck bed rather than carried around.
The sound comes from two water-resistant speakers that are embedded into the face of the cooler. While we do wish that there was a separate subwoofer, the attached speakers are loud enough for most casual gatherings. Although coming in at 6 watts each, they won’t be able to play over most traditional stereo speakers.
To power the speakers, you will need 4 AA batteries. We recommend picking up some rechargeable AA batteries so that you can always have some spares charged and ready to go. Also, no LED indicator tells you when the batteries need to be replaced.
Sound on the BREKX cooler comes thanks to two 6-watt speakers on the face of the cooler
As for connections, you are a bit limited. The BREKX Cooler Stereo requires an auxiliary jack connection to play music. We hope in the future that this is expanded to have Bluetooth capabilities as well.
Other standard features include a built-in back slot where you can safely place your music-playing device, a drain port, and side-carrying handles. It comes in two colors: black and silver.
Budweiser Cooler
Everybody recognizes the Budweiser name, but did you know that they also produce a popular Bluetooth cooler with speakers? That’s right! The Budweiser Soft Cooler with speakers is among the most affordable products out there.
It is capable of holding up to 24 beer cans which are quite large for a mobile soft-sided cooler. However, there isn’t much in the way of insulation so don’t expect ice to last very long. We recommend using ice packs here as they won’t be as messy once they thaw.
The speakers are a bit on the small side and come in a 2.0 configuration. They are powered by an included rechargeable battery that seems to perform for a few hours before needing a full recharge. Due to the relatively small speaker power, this cooler is best used in smaller settings without a lot of loud surrounding noise that could drown out the music.
For connecting, you can choose from both auxiliary and Bluetooth. Given the very cheap asking price, having Bluetooth capabilities was a pleasant surprise.
Other features include a front zipper pocket and an overhead carrying handle. Your color choices are red with the Budweiser log and blue with the Bud Light logo.
While you won’t get quite the level of durability or performance with this cooler as you will with many others, the asking price is simply too good to ignore. Someone on a very tight budget and wanting to try out a cooler with speakers should add this one to their list.
iLive Cooler
The iLive Bluetooth Stereo Cooler Bag is a low-cost soft-sided cooler that comes with Bluetooth capabilities that power its two mid-sized 2.0 speakers. It is a rather large cooler bag, being able to hold nearly 40 cans.
Being a soft-sided cooler, you won’t get the crazy long ice life that typical coolers have. We recommend that you avoid putting ice in this cooler bag at all. If you want to take advantage of any sort of cool booster, stick to ice packs as you won’t have to deal with all of the water (this product doesn’t come with a drain port). There isn’t a ton of thick insulation so expect your items to stay cooler for 3 to 4 hours max.
The good thing that the iLive Cooler Bag has going for it is its size. This is among the larger cooler bags we have reviewed and it is large enough to carry all of the items you would need for a mid-sized picnic. There are also additional front and side zipper pockets for storing items that you don’t want to chill.
The sound system here is powered by two mid-sized speakers set up in a 2.0 configuration. The Bluetooth range is pretty good, being capable of up to 60 feet. There is a helpful LED pairing indicator that lets you know if and when your music-playing device is paired to the speakers.
The speakers are powered by a rechargeable 1050 mAH battery that should have around 3 hours of maximum battery life. If you prefer to keep it old-school, you can also directly hook up your device thanks to that included Micro-USB to USB Cable and hookup.
This is a pretty simple cooler with speakers but there are a few other features worth mentioning. They include a hookup for recharging other devices, a comfy shoulder strap, and a charge indicator. It comes in one color (black with blue accents).
Bellino Sound Cooler
The Bellino Sound Cooler is another low-cost cooler with speakers for those who are on a tight budget but still want to enjoy the unique benefits of their cooler being able to play music. It is a smaller soft-sided cooler so it is limited in both storage space and cooling performance but that also means that it is quite lightweight and mobile.
The Bellino Sound Cooler is designed for those who want something very small and compact. Being only 12” wide, it won’t hold more than a dozen or so drinks or a few lunch items. In addition, the walls are quite thin so you won’t find much in the way of ice performance. You can expect your items to stay cold for 3 to 4 hours and we don’t recommend using ice with this ice chest.
The speakers are rather small and won’t push a lot of power but they are loud enough for a small room or intimate outdoor setting. You can connect your favorite mp3-playing device to it via the attached auxiliary connection but there are no Bluetooth capabilities.
The key focus with Bellino on their cooler with speakers is in keeping things simple and low-cost. While you won’t find a ton of features and the high-powered speakers other brands may offer, you can be assured that their offering should fall within just about everybody’s budget and also be able to be carried just about anywhere.
Speaking of features, you will enjoy a couple of front pockets, side mesh pockets, and an easy-access Velcro mini-lid that allows you to reach inside without having to unzip the entire larger lid. The only color we have come across is blue.
JammyPack Cooler
JammyPack is one of the larger brands we have seen that has a wide variety of coolers with speakers. They even have fanny packs with speakers! But for the topic of this review, we will be focusing on their small beverage cooler that comes with 2 5W speakers. A relatively low-cost option, JammyPack is aiming to compete with the several other mobile-friendly soft-sided coolers with speakers we have looked at in this review.
The JammyPack beverage cooler will be more reminiscent of your childhood lunch box than a robust cooler. Because of this, both storage space and cooling ability will be limited to some extent. This product is intended for a lunch or picnic rather than a full day’s excursion. You can expect your items to stay cool for half a day or so before you will run into issues.
The sound comes from two small 5W speakers that are attached to the front of the cooler bag. These speakers are powered by an internal 18W amp. This might not sound like much, but these little speakers are more powerful than you would think! The help of the 18W amp allows them to be surprisingly loud and they should be able to fill up a room with sound. Being a bit on the small side, however, they will struggle to hit booming lows.
To connect to the speakers, you have one option: to physically plug in via the attached auxiliary cable. We also wish that these products would come with more connection options but then that would drive up the price some. It is important to strike a balance between features and cost, and we suppose that they weren’t able to swing including that feature while also keeping the price competitive.
As for additional features, there isn’t a lot to talk about. You have a small front pocket for additional storage as well as side mesh pockets. There is an overhead carrying strap for mobility and there are some rubberized buttons for controlling the volume. Probably one of the coolest features is the bright and varied color schemes you can choose from. Rather than being limited to a couple of solid colors, JammyPack offers up some very exciting patterns including the American flag, pineapples, and flowers.
