While many modern cars and other vehicles come with built-in USB ports to charge your phones and tablets, they often don’t provide the fastest charging speeds. So it’s a good idea to invest a few dollars and get a dedicated car charger that can charge your smartphone quickly. These chargers plug into a 12V/24V outlet (or cigarette lighter) and can also be used to connect tablets and laptops. A car charger for your phone is also useful if your ride is old and doesn’t have a USB port.
How to choose the right car charger?
Choosing the right car charger can be quite troublesome given the huge number of options available for purchase. Just like USB PD chargers, car chargers also follow different protocols, have different power outputs, and more. Here’s a quick look at some of the most important things to consider when buying a car charger:
- Charging protocol support: Before purchasing a car charger for your phone or laptop, it is a good idea to check what fast charging standard your device supports. On phones, it can be Qualcomm Quick Charge, USB Power Delivery (PD), USB PD 3.0 Power Supply (PPS), Adaptive Fast Charging, and more. However, on laptops, you will usually get USB PD. You have to make sure that the car charger you buy supports the fast charging standard for your device. Otherwise, while your device may still charge, it won’t get the fastest charging speed. And if you use your phone in the car for commuting or other tasks, you may end up using more power than a slow charger can provide.
- Device power requirements: Another thing to check is the maximum wattage your device supports to get the fastest charging speed. For example, some phones can only support 18W fast charging, while others can support 25W fast charging or more. So choose a car charger based on the power requirements of the device you plan to charge.
- Multiple USB charging devices: We also recommend picking up car chargers with multiple USB ports in case you find yourself in a position to charge multiple devices simultaneously. You may not get the fastest charging speeds on all ports at once, so it’s important to know how much power a particular charger can deliver through each of its ports separately at the same time.
- Choose the appropriate USB cable: Finally, the USB cable you use to charge your phone or laptop is just as important. If your cable doesn’t support fast charging speeds, your phone won’t charge quickly, even with a fast charger. So, make sure to choose a compatible USB cable. To help, we’ve picked the best USB cables you can buy right now. You can also check out our guide on how to check if your phone supports fast charging to learn more about fast charging in general.
The best car chargers for your phone and laptop
Our recommendations for the best car chargers are broken down based on the fast charging standard they support. Notably, some fast charging standards offer cross-compatibility. For example, Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 4.0, 4+ and 5 comply with the USB PD specification. Similarly, Huawei and Samsung fast charging standards also work with USB PD. So if you have a device that supports QuickCharge 4 or supports Huawei SuperCharge, it can charge faster using USB PD chargers as well.
The 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.
The Baseus car charger is one of the few reputable car chargers on the market that supports USB PD 3.0 PPS. In addition, it also works with Quick Charge 4.0 and older fast charging protocols. In terms of ports, there are two – one Type-C and one Type-A. However, while a Type-C port can deliver up to 65W of power, a Type-A port is limited to 30W.
The Ugreen Fast Car Charger features an aluminum housing and has two ports: Type-A and Type-C. It supports USB PD on Type-C port, Quick Charge 3.0, Huawei Fast Charge Protocol (FCP), Huawei Super Charge Protocol (SCP) and Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging (AFP) on Type A port. The charger can provide power up to 20 watts using USB PD protocol and up to 22.5 watts using Quick Charge.
The Anker PowerDrive III Duo is a reliable car charger that uses USB PD to deliver 20W of power to two separate USB Type-C ports. This charger can output 20W of power through two USB ports simultaneously, so it’s a good idea to charge two devices relatively quickly at any given point .
The Ugreen Tri-Ports charger comes with three USB ports – one Type-A and two Type-C – and the second Type-C port can provide up to 60W charging if only one port is used, making it excellent for charging USB compatible laptops PD. In addition, the charger supports Quick Charge 3.0, PPS, SCP, AFC and FCP.
The Baseus USB Car Charger features four ports, three of which are part of an extension hub intended for rear seat passengers. Each port can provide a charge of up to 30W. 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 charger supports USB PD and Quick Charge 3.0 standards. It can provide 27 watts of power via the Type-C port and 18 watts via the Type-A port. Additionally, the car charger carries a compact form factor and fits nicely into the dash.
Best car charger with USB PD support
Here are some of the best USB PD enabled car chargers:
The Baseus 160W car charger is one of the fastest and best car chargers available today. One of the best things about this charger is that it can output 100W + 30W + 30W across all three ports simultaneously.
The NekTeck USB Car Charger is an excellent choice if you want to primarily charge a USB PD compatible device. An additional USB Type-A port is available, but it only supports charging up to 12W. When using only the Type-C port, the charger can deliver up to 45W of power. Unfortunately, there is no PPS support.
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 up to 20W each. It’s best for devices like iPhone, Pixel 5a, Pixel 4a, and more.
The Spigen ArcStation car charger is an excellent choice if you want to quickly charge your MacBook Air and iPhone. It supports USB power delivery and can provide up to 45W of charging through one of the Type-C ports, while the other port can deliver 20W.
The NeckTeck 32W PD Car Charger is a good choice if you mainly want to charge your phone. It has two ports – one Type-C and one Type A. While a Type-C port can provide up to 27W of power, a Type-A port is limited to just 5W.
If you are looking for multiple outlets on your car charger, this NekTeck charger has two Type A ports and one Type C port. You can use the Type-C port to charge PD compatible smartphones up to 18W, while the Type-A ports can provide up to To 12 Watts of power for other devices.
Best car charger with fast charging support
If you are looking for a reliable car charger with Quick Charger 3.0 or higher support than we have added some powerful options in this section below:
The best car chargers for phones without fast charging
If you are using a smartphone on a budget, there is a good chance that your phone does not support the fast charging standard. In this case, you can choose one of the following car chargers. Unfortunately, these chargers will not work with your laptop.
These are the best car chargers for phones and laptops on the market right now. If you are looking for an excellent charger with multiple ports and support for various fast charging standards, Baseus car charger is a good choice. 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 Car Charger AINOPE QC 4.0, respectively. Finally, Scosche Revolt is a good choice for phones that don’t have fast charging.
What car charger are you planning to buy? Let us know in the comments section. If you are also looking for a USB-PD compatible wall charger, we have picked the best USB PD chargers for phones and laptops.
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