The best car chargers to buy for phones and laptops in 2022

Looking for a car charger for your phone, tablet, or laptop? We have selected the best car chargers on the market right now.

While many modern cars and other vehicles come with built-in USB ports for charging your phones and tablets, they often don’t provide the fastest charging speeds. That’s why it’s a good idea to invest a few bucks and get a dedicated car charger that can fast charge your devices. These chargers are plugged into a 12-volt/24-volt port (or a cigarette lighter) and can also be used to top off your tablets and laptops. A dedicated car charger for your phone is also helpful if your ride is older and doesn’t come with a USB port.

How to pick the right car charger?

Picking the right car charger can be quite jarring due to the sheer number of options that are available to purchase. Just like regular USB chargers, car chargers follow various protocols, have different power outputs, and more. Here’s a quick look at some of the most important things to consider while buying a car charger:

• Support charging protocol: First, it’s a good idea to check which fast charging standard your device supports. On phones, it could be Qualcomm Quick Charge, USB Power Delivery (PD), USB PD 3.0 Programmable Power Supply (PPS), Adaptive Fast Charging, and more. However, on laptops, you typically get USB PD. You have to make sure the car charger you’re buying supports the fast charging standard of your device to get the best speeds. And if you are using your phone in the car for navigation or other tasks, you may end up using more power than what the slow charger is providing.
• Power requirement of the device: Another thing to check is the maximum wattage supported by your device for the fastest charging speed. For example, some phones can only support 18W fast charging, whereas others can support 25W fast charging or more. So pick a car charger based on the power requirement of the device that you’re planning to charge.
• Chargers with multiple USB ports: We also recommend picking up car chargers with multiple USB ports in case you find yourself needing to charge multiple devices at once. You may not get the fastest charging speeds on all ports simultaneously, so it’s important to find out how much power a particular charger can deliver through each of its ports individually and simultaneously.
• Pick the right USB cable: Lastly, the USB cable you use to charge your phone or laptop is equally important. If your cable can’t support fast charging speeds, your phone won’t charge quickly, even with a fast charger, so make sure to pick a compatible USB cable. To help, we’ve selected the best USB cables you can buy right now. You can also check out how to check if your phone supports fast charging to know more about fast charging in general.

Our recommendations for the best car chargers are divided here based on which fast charging standard they support. Notably, some fast charging standards provide cross-compatibility. For example, Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 4.0, 4+, and 5 are compatible with the USB PD specification. Similarly, Huawei and Samsung’s fast charging standards also work with USB PD. So if you have a device with QuickCharge 4 or Huawei SuperCharge support, it can be charged faster with USB PD chargers as well.

Best car chargers with support for multiple fast charging standards

The car chargers mentioned in this section support multiple fast charging standards. They also have multiple USB ports, including USB Type-C and USB Type-A.

• Baseus 65W USB-C car charger

  The Baseus Car Charger is one of the few reputable car chargers on the market supporting USB PD 3.0 PPS. This charger comes with two ports on the top and an LED display. The Type-C port can deliver up to 65W of power, but the Type-A port is limited to 30W.

• Ugreen 2-Port Fast Car Charger

  The Ugreen fast car charger features an aluminum shell and packs two ports: Type-A and Type-C. It supports USB PD on the Type-C port, Quick Charge 3.0, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging (AFP), and more on the Type-A port. The charger can deliver up to 20W power using USB PD protocol and up to 22.5W using Quick Charge.

• Anker PowerDrive III Duo

  The Anker PowerDrive III Duo is a reliable car charger that uses USB PD to deliver 20W power to two separate USB Type C ports. This charger can output 20W of power across both USB ports simultaneously, so it’s good for charging two devices relatively quickly.

• Ugreen Tri-Ports Super Fast Car Charger

  The Ugreen Tri-Ports charger comes with three USB ports — one Type-A and two Type-C — and the second Type-C port can offer up to 60W charging if only one port is being used, making it excellent for charging for USB PD-compatible laptops. In addition, the charger supports Quick Charge 3.0, PPS, SCP, AFC, and FCP.

• Baseus 120W USB-Car Charger

  The Baseus USB car charger features four ports — three of which are part of an extension hub meant for backseat passengers. Each of the ports can provide up to 30W charging. While the Type-A port supports Quick Charge 3.0, the Type-C ports are compatible with USB PD 3.0 and PPS.

• Spigen SteadiBoost with QC 3.0

  Spigen SteadiBoost with QC 3.0 charger supports both USB PD and Quick Charge 3.0 standards. It can provide 27W of power via the Type-C port and 18W via the Type-A port. In addition, this car charger carries a compact form factor and fits pretty much flush with the dash.

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Best Car Chargers with USB PD support

Here are some of the best car chargers that support USB PD:

• Baseus 160W USB PD 3.0 car charger

  The 160W Baseus car charger is one of the fastest and best car chargers out there right now. The best thing about this particular charger is that it can output 100W + 30W + 30W across all three ports simultaneously. It also comes with a soft LED ring at the top to make it easier to find the ports in the dark.

• Nekteck 18W 4-port USB-Car charger

  The NekTeck USB Car Charger is an excellent option if you primarily want to charge a USB PD-compatible device. There is an additional USB Type-A port available, but that only supports up to 12W charging. When just the Type-C port is being used, the charger can deliver up to 45W power. Unfortunately, there’s no PPS support.

• Scosche PowerVolt PD40

  The Scosche PowerVolt PD40 is another excellent car charger for USB PD-compatible devices. It comes with two Type-C ports that can simultaneously charge two devices at up to 20W each. It’s best for devices like iPhones, Pixel 5a, Pixel 4a, and more.

• Spigen 65W ArcStation Car Charger

  This Spigen ArcStation car charger is an excellent option if you want to charge your MacBook Air and iPhone quickly. It supports USB Power Delivery and can provide up to 45W charging through one of the Type-C ports. The other port can deliver 20W.

• NekTeck 32W PD car charger

  The NeckTeck 32W PD car charger is a good option if you want to charge your phone primarily. It has two ports: one Type-C and one Type-A. While the Type-C port can offer up to 27W of power, the Type-A port is limited to just 5W.

• Nekteck 45W USB-C car charger

  If you are looking for multiple ports, this NekTeck charger has two Type-A and one Type-C port. You can use the Type-C port to charge your PD-compatible smartphones at up to 18W, whereas the Type-A ports can deliver up to 12W of power to other devices.

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Best car chargers with Quick Charge support

If you’re looking for a reliable car charger with Quick Charger 3.0 support or higher then we’ve added some solid options in this section below:

• AINOPE car charger

  The AINOPE car charger can deliver 36W of power via QC 3.0 to compatible devices. Additionally, it also comes with a USB-C port with PD support for up to 36W of power. You also get a built-in pull ring with this charger that makes it easier to remove from the car.

• ZMI PowerCruise C2

  If your smartphone supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 or older fast charge protocols, the ZMI PowerCruise C2 is a great car charger. It packs two Type-A ports, both of which can simultaneously deliver up to 18W of power.

• Anker PowerDrive Speed 2

  The Anker PowerDrive Speed 2 is a simple car charger that comes with two USB Type-A ports with support for QC 3.0. Each QC 3.0-compatible port on this charger can deliver up to 19.5W of power simultaneously, which is enough to quickly top up even the modern phones out there.

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Best car chargers for phones with no fast charging

If you are using a budget smartphone, there is a good chance your phone doesn’t support a fast-charging standard. In that case, you can pick one of the following car chargers. Unfortunately, these chargers won’t work with your laptop.

• Belkin USB car charger

  This Belkin USB-A car charger comes with two ports, each of which can deliver up to 12W of power to your phone. It has decent build quality overall and comes with some thoughtful additions, like an LED indicator.

• Ugreen 4.8A car charger

  The Ugreen car charger is similar to the one from Belkin. But it’s a lot cheaper and features a metal shell. In addition, the charger features two Type-A ports, each of which can deliver up to 12W of power.

• Baseus 24W Dual USB-Car charger

  The Baseus Dual USB Car Charger is one of the most affordable car chargers from a reputable brand. The highlight here is its built-in voltage monitor that can alternately display car voltage and current on the screen.

• Amazon Basics 4-port USB-Car charger

  The Amazon Basics car charger is a good option if you’re looking to charge multiple devices simultaneously since it features three Type-A ports and one Type-C port. However, while the Type-C port can deliver up to 18W charging, the Type-A ports are limited to 12W.

• Tollefe 5 Multi USB-Car Charger

  This TOLLEFE multi-port car charger is perfect for long drives or other situations where you have multi people sitting in the backseat. This car charger comes with three ports on the charger itself while adding two additional ports via an extended cable for the back seat.

• Scosche Revolt

  The Scosche Revolt car charger sports a compact form factor, making it one of the smaller dual-port chargers on the market. It has two Type-A ports capable of delivering 12W charging. In addition, you get a three-year warranty.

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These are the best car chargers for phones and laptops on the market. If you’re looking for an excellent charger with multiple ports and support for various fast charging standards, the Baseus car Charger is a good option. However, if you only want a charger with USB PD or Quick Charge-compatible ports, you can’t go wrong with the Spigen ArcStation 65W PD Charger or AINOPE QC 3.0 car charger, respectively. Finally, the Belkin dual USB car charger is a good option for phones with no fast charging.

Which car charger are you planning to buy? If you’re also looking for a USB-PD compatible wall charger, we have selected the best USB PD chargers for phones and laptops.