Although every smartphone or tablet comes with a USB charger, it’s surprising how many of those stock chargers can’t juice up the device as fast as possible. For example, if you have an iPhone and a USB-C–to–Lightning cable, you can boost the battery up to three times faster than with the charger and cable that came free with the phone by using the Anker PowerPort PD 2. Being able to charge a second device at the same time is especially helpful while you’re traveling. We also like this power adapter’s small size and Anker’s 18-month warranty.

Port one: 18 W USB-C

Port two: 12 W USB-A

Dimensions: 2.5 by 2.4 by 1.1 inches

Chargers with multiple ports are a better value, but if you simply want the smallest power brick available that’ll charge your phone at the fastest speeds, we recommend the single-port Anker PowerPort III Nano. The Nano is the same size as Apple’s ubiquitous 5-watt charger (the one that Apple has included in the box with every iPhone except the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max), yet it supplies 18 watts over USB-C. Whether you have an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy model, a Google Pixel handset, or some other Android phone with fast charging, that’s enough to charge most phones about halfway in just 30 minutes.

Port one: 18 W USB-C

Dimensions: 1.2 by 1.1 by 1.1 inches

The Scosche PowerVolt Power Delivery Dual USB-C Fast Charger is what you should get if you want to take advantage of fast USB-C with multiple devices. Both of its USB-C ports support full 18-watt charging at the same time, meaning you can charge two phones at top speed—an iPhone’s battery will go from 0 to around 50 percent charged in a half hour, whereas in the same amount of time it would be at less than 20 percent on the charger it comes with. This dual–USB-C setup is pretty rare still, and Scosche’s charger is the only model to carry USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) certification for safety and adherence to standards, the main thing separating it from otherwise identical competition.

Port one: 18 W USB-C

Port two: 18 W USB-C

Dimensions: 2.6 by 2.5 by 1.1 inches

The Anker PowerPort II doesn’t support USB-C, which means it can’t offer the maximum charging speed on the latest phones. But it’s still a good choice if you just want a small and inexpensive USB-A charger—each port is still powerful enough to charge devices at 12 watts at the same time.

Port one: 12 W USB-A

Port two: 12 W USB-A

Dimensions: 2.2 by 2.1 by 1.2 inches

The Anker PowerPort 4 is the model to choose if you carry a lot of gear—say, a phone, a smartwatch, a power bank, and Bluetooth headphones—or if you’re traveling with companions. Each of its four ports supports 12-watt power draw, as fast a charge as you can get from standard USB-A. No other reliable four-port charger packs that kind of power into such a diminutive size and at such a low price.

Port one: 12 W USB-A

Port two: 12 W USB-A

Port three: 12 W USB-A

Port four: 12 W USB-A

Dimensions: 2.6 by 2.6 by 1.1 inches

Why you should trust us

I’ve been reviewing mobile accessories since 2012 and covering them for Wirecutter since 2015. I’m also the author of Wirecutter’s guides to Qi wireless chargers and car chargers, for which I’ve seen and tested pretty much every available charging variation.

To make our picks, in addition to years of experience we relied on professional-level tools, including the Total Phase USB Power Delivery Analyzer and its Data Center Software. These tools allowed us to get more granular, precise data than we might have otherwise so that we could be confident in our picks’ performance.

Who this is for

If your phone’s or tablet’s original USB charger is broken or lost, you’re obviously in need of a new charger. But even if you still have the original chargers for all your devices, you might want to consider something that can charge your devices from a wall outlet more quickly or charge multiple devices at the same time.

Most people have more than one device that charges via USB: tablets, smartphones, external battery packs, e-readers, portable speakers, Bluetooth headphones and headsets, fitness trackers—the list goes on. Chances are good that you’ll regularly need to charge two (or more) of those devices at the same time. Good multiport chargers don’t cost much more—or sometimes any more—than single-port chargers, so we think it makes sense to get at least two ports when you’re buying a new charger.

Multiport chargers are also great for travel. Instead of having to pack a gaggle of chargers for the family—or when you’re traveling alone, for your phone, tablet, headset, and Bluetooth speaker—you can bring one charger that handles everything. (Of course, you’ll have to pack the appropriate Lightning or Micro-USB cables too.)

Battery percentage when charging an iPhone XS

Charger	30 min.	60 min.
Apple 5 W iPhone charger	17%	33%
Apple 12 W iPad charger (equivalent to fastest USB-A)	35%	73%
Aukey 18 W USB-C charger	48%	81%

A USB-C charger can charge an iPhone more than twice as fast as the power brick that comes with the phone, and noticeably faster than an iPad’s stock charger.

How we picked and tested

Choosing a new phone charger can be daunting: You can find hundreds of brands, many selling dozens of different configurations. Faced with this issue in beginning our latest round of research, we decided to stick to companies with established track records of great products and service. You can get a quality charger for a low price—so there’s no good reason to go with an unproven brand. To that end, we pored through the USB-charger catalogs of Amazon, Anker, Apple, Aukey, Google, iClever, Nekteck, RAVPower, Satechi, Scosche, and ZMI, and considered nearly 100 distinct charger models.

From there, we whittled the list down based on a number of criteria:

• A preference for two or more USB ports: We loosened this restriction only when particularly small, affordable, and properly performing options started to become available. For the money, however, we still think most people should choose a charger with multiple ports. The cost and space savings of a single-port charger aren’t significant enough to justify such chargers’ limited output in most cases. It’s almost always a better value to choose a charger with two or more ports, whether they be USB-A, USB-C, or a combination of both.
• The fastest possible output:
  • USB-A ports with 12-watt or QuickCharge 3.0 output: USB-A charging maxes out at 12 watts (5 volts, 2.4 amps) for Apple devices and many Android phones, though some of the latter can charge faster with Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 3.0 standard. Considering the generally low prices of these chargers, you won’t find significant savings by choosing a charger slower than 12 watts.
  • USB-C ports with 18- to 45-watt output: USB-C ports allow many phones to charge faster—with the right cables—drawing power at either 15 watts or 18 watts (USB Power Delivery, or USB PD). Although having higher output doesn’t hurt since your device will draw only as much power as it’s rated for, paying more for power you won’t use doesn’t make much sense, so there’s no reason to buy anything over 45 watts specifically for your phone. Those more powerful and more expensive chargers are better options if you need to charge a tablet or a laptop.
• Power-to-dollar value: Simply put, we considered how good of a value each charger was for the total power it could put out across its ports. We used this as a comparative figure, which allowed us to rule out models that were unnecessarily expensive.
• Size: Although absolute size is not the top determining factor, we naturally prefer small chargers to larger ones. We think accepting a little more volume is fine if that means more power or more ports, but all other things being equal, smaller is better.

Based on those criteria, we tested 16 models, including some with just USB-A ports, some with just USB-C ports, and some with both. To find the top options in each category, we put the finalists through a number of tests.

• USB-A ports: We tested the maximum power draw from each port by plugging in a variable power load and an ammeter. This setup allowed us to finely control the power flow and determine whether it matched the advertised rate. We started with the power load set to 0 amps and then turned it up until it matched the promised amperage, ensuring the voltage stayed within 4.75 volts to 5.25 volts. Then we repeated that test on each charger’s other ports, confirming that every port behaved as expected and that, combined, they matched the right output.
• USB-C ports: USB-C uses digital communication between devices to verify charging speeds in a way that USB-A doesn’t; with the right tools, you can interpret exactly what’s going on in the communication between the charger and the device you’ve plugged in. We used the Total Phase USB Power Delivery Analyzer and its Data Center Software to measure and record this data, including the advertised power profiles, the steady state output, and whether any errors occurred in charging.
• Combined power output: After testing each individual port, we tested the combined output when each was pushed to the maximum. The best chargers support their fastest rates on each port at the same time, without added devices slowing anything down.

Our pick: Anker PowerPort PD 2

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

The Anker PowerPort PD 2 is the best charger for getting maximum charging speed on your phone no matter what cable you use. It provides both a 12-watt USB-A port and an 18-watt USB-C port, so you can charge your phone two to three times faster than with the charger that came in the box with your phone. And with two ports, the PowerPort PD 2 offers good charging speeds for two devices at the same time; most other models this small and inexpensive can’t support fast charging from both ports at once. The power adapter is small and light, making it ideal for carrying in a bag. And it comes from Anker, a company with a history of top-performing chargers and an excellent warranty.

Although USB-C is smaller and faster than USB-A and works with more kinds of devices, it’s not nearly as ubiquitous yet and will likely take a while to get there. The PowerPort PD 2 cleverly combines the benefits of a USB-C charger with the convenience of USB-A, which means you can charge most phones released since 2017 or so at full speed if you have a USB-C cable (or for iPhones, a USB-C–to–Lightning cable) while also powering a second from the USB-A port at a respectable rate using the older cables you already have.

Folding prongs on the PowerPort PD 2 make it easier to get the charger in and out of smaller pockets in laptop bags and backpacks. Photo: Michael Murtaugh

In our testing the PowerPort PD 2 performed exactly as promised, becoming the smallest USB-A and USB-C combo charger we tested to live up to expectations. You can expect an iPhone XS to charge to about 35 percent in a half hour using the USB-A port and closer to 50 percent on the USB-C port. That’s fast enough to make a noticeable difference every day, compared with the 5-watt charger most iPhones come with, which can reach only 17 percent in the same amount of time. Charging from USB-C is standardized into different power levels, and the most common ones to fast-charge phones are 15 W (5 V, 3 A) and 18 W (9 V, 2 A). Our tests confirmed that the PowerPort PD 2 can offer either one of those, and we observed it charging a depleted iPhone XS in line with those levels—about 8.9 V, 1.9 A. Our readings found no errors. The USB-A port was able to support 5 V, 2.4 A power draw with no issue, even when the USB-C port was charging at the full 18-watt rate. A comparable charger we otherwise like, the RAVPower USB C Power Delivery Charger (RP-PC108), can do one or the other but drops to 15 watts total when both ports are in use at the same time, which means both devices will charge slower.

The PowerPort PD 2 (left), Apple 18W Charger (center), and Apple 5W Charger (right). Photo: Michael Murtaugh

The power brick is larger than what comes with your phone but not huge. It’s about 2.5 inches square and 1.1 inches thick, and it weighs less than 4 ounces. Folding prongs make it convenient for travel. It’s roughly double the volume of the Apple 12W USB Power Adapter—even though it’s the same thickness, it’s wider and taller. That might make it a tight fit in the smallest pockets of a purse or gear bag, but because it’s more than twice as powerful as smaller chargers like Apple’s, we think the size is a fair trade-off.

Anker’s 18-month warranty is on a par with many of its competitors’ warranties. Whenever Wirecutter staff has had to take advantage of the protection, they’ve found the process to be quick and easy.

Best small phone charger: Anker PowerPort III Nano

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

We think most people are best served by a charger with two ports since it adds versatility in pretty much any situation, whether you charge around the house or toss it into your bag for commuting or traveling. But if you value a charger’s size above all else, the Anker PowerPort III Nano is a great option that can fast-charge just one phone. It’s 40 percent smaller than the next-smallest fast charger we’ve found, but it’s still able to safely deliver 18 watts of power over USB-C.

The PowerPort III Nano’s most noteworthy feature is its size. Measuring 1.2 inches long (not counting the prongs, which don’t fold down), and 1.1 inches wide and tall, its dimensions are almost identical to those of the Apple 5-watt charger that has come packed with most iPhones for the past decade. The Anker charger is less than half the volume of Apple’s directly comparable 18-watt charger that ships with the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. It’s also smaller than the Samsung 25W USB-C Fast Charging Wall Charger, but it should charge most Galaxy phones at about the same speed.

The Anker PowerPort III Nano (center) offers fast 18 W charging on USB-C but is about the same size as the standard Apple USB-A 5 W charger (right). Photo: Michael Murtaugh

Unlike the multiport chargers we prefer, the PowerPort III Nano has only a single USB-C port. Our tests with the Total Phase testing hardware showed proper 18-watt power draw and support for the 15-watt level as well, which makes this charger compatible with USB-C devices that don’t use the Power Delivery standard. As with all the other chargers we recommend, this means you should see most phones charge to about 50 percent full from empty in half an hour or so.

Upgrade pick: Scosche PowerVolt Power Delivery Dual USB-C Fast Charger

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

The Scosche PowerVolt Power Delivery Dual USB-C Fast Charger is a rarity: a power brick with two USB-C ports. During our initial research and testing, it was one of only two available and the only model of its kind to be certified safe by the USB-IF. The Scosche charger delivers the promised 18-watt performance from both ports, meaning you can charge two phones at full speed at the same time or fast-charge your phone and another USB-C accessory. It’s as small as anything else with the same power, and it’s our choice for anyone who has more than one USB-C device.

When plugged into the PowerVolt with a USB-C–to–Lightning cable, an iPhone XS will charge from zero to about 50 percent in 30 minutes and to 80 percent in an hour, compared with about 17 and 33 percent over the same respective time periods when you use the charger that comes with the phone. Both the Scosche and the Aukey PA-Y16—the only other dual USB-C charger available—performed as expected when we ran them through the Total Phase test; they’re also the same size and price.

The one thing that sets the PowerVolt apart from the Aukey, its only direct competitor with two USB-C ports, is that it has USB-IF certification, which means an independent lab has verified that it meets a set of criteria for safety and performance. Although we didn’t rely on the existence of USB-IF certification in evaluating every charger in this guide, that stamp of approval sets the two otherwise-equivalent models apart.

The PowerVolt is roughly the same shape as, but just slightly larger than, the Anker PowerPort PD 2; it measures about 2.6 by 2.5 by 1.1 inches, or just about 0.1 inch longer and wider. Its ports are situated in the same place, stacked horizontally on the face opposite the folding prongs. Unlike the Anker, it lacks a status light, which could be a negative if you like to be assured the charger is plugged in or a positive if you’re a light sleeper and you plan to keep this charger by your bed.

Scosche’s warranty is one of the best we’ve seen. The PowerVolt is covered for three years, double what Anker offers. When we’ve tested the company’s customer service, we’ve been impressed by the fast response times.

Budget pick: Anker PowerPort II

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

If you don’t care about getting the absolute fastest charging speeds, or if you just want the most affordable option that still delivers full USB-A power from two ports, we recommend the Anker PowerPort II. It’s about the size of Apple’s single-port 12W charger that has come with past iPads, but it includes two ports that can simultaneously charge two devices at 12W each.

This means you get the fastest (non–Quick Charge) charging rate that USB-A offers. We confirmed these speeds with our power-load and ammeter setup: An iPhone XS went from zero to 35 percent charged in a half hour and a little over 70 percent in 60 minutes, compared with 50 percent and 80 percent charged in the same respective periods with a USB-C charger like the PowerPort PD 2.

Measuring about 2.2 inches square and just over an inch thick, this Anker model is about 0.3 inch wider and taller than a stock iPad charger but the same thickness. It’s small enough that it can easily fit in a bag or even some pockets.

Best for charging more than two devices: Anker PowerPort 4

Photo: Michael Murtaugh

The Anker PowerPort 4 offers four USB-A ports in a compact design, making it ideal for a couple who’s traveling (or one person who uses a ton of gear). It’s what I personally carry when my wife and I are on the go, charging our iPhones and Apple Watches from a single outlet.

The PowerPort 4 is one of the fastest multiport chargers we tested across all of its ports. Despite its advertised 40-watt maximum output, we measured 12-watt draw from all four ports at the same time, for about 48 W total. Unless you have a Quick Charge–capable device, that’s as fast as USB-A can charge, and many multiport chargers like this can’t provide that much power to every port at the same time; for example, the last two ports on the RAVPower 60W 6-Port Desktop Charger with QC 3.0 (RP-PC029) maxed out at 10 watts when the others were in use during our tests. Even if the speeds do drop a bit in practical use, you can still be sure of fast USB-A charging across all the ports.

At just over an inch thick, the PowerPort 4 is the same thickness as all of the other Anker chargers we recommend in this guide. It’s ever so slightly wider and taller than the Anker PowerPort PD 2. Rather than requiring a cable between the wall outlet and the charger’s body as most multiport chargers do, the Anker PowerPort 4 plugs directly into an AC outlet (without covering the second outlet), so it’s less bulky to carry than an adapter that requires a cable.

The competition

USB-C

The RAVPower USB C Power Delivery Charger (RP-PC108) is an impressive runner-up to the Anker PowerPort PD 2 if you value size over power. It’s roughly the same thickness as our top pick but about half an inch shorter and narrower. The USB-A port supports the same 12-watt power draw, and the USB-C port supports 18-watt charging. But here’s the rub: Unlike on the Anker, the ports on this charger don’t both support full-speed charging at the same time—if you charge on both ports, the combined speed drops by roughly 50 percent.

The Aukey Amp 36W Power Delivery Wall Charger (PA-Y16) performed just as well as Scosche’s dual-port USB-C charger and has almost exactly the same dimensions. But the Scosche has the advantage of USB-IF certification, meaning it’s been independently verified to perform as expected.

The Nekteck PD 39W USB-C & 12W USB-A Travel Charger is more powerful than the models we recommend, and it comes with a USB-C–to–USB-C cable. But it’s physically larger, and the extra power is superfluous for charging a phone.

The RAVPower 30W 3-Port Wall Charger with USB-C (RP-PC060) we received for testing didn’t support USB PD over its USB-C port, which meant slower charging, especially when the phone’s battery was nearly empty. Plus, its total output was only 30 watts across the three ports, so you’d get slower speeds if you were charging on all of them at once. RAVPower has updated this charger’s listing to say it now supports 18 W charging, though, so we’ll test the new version at a later point.

The RAVPower 60W 5-Port USB Charging Station (RP-PC059) is better suited for a desk than a bag, and its amperage reading in the Data Center software was all over the place, in contrast to the smooth levels we saw from better-performing chargers.

ESR’s Dual-Port 36W PD Charger has the same ports and power output as the Scosche PowerVolt, but it’s not USB-IF certified. In this case, we think you should spend a few extra dollars for the peace of mind of USB-IF certification.

Aukey’s Minima 27W arrived in packaging calling it “Minima 30W,” and the hardware we received has different power profiles than what’s listed on the company’s website. That strangeness aside, the Minima is larger and more expensive than the Anker PowerPort III Nano, and the extra power is more than necessary to charge a phone.

USB-A only

The RAVPower 36W Quick Charge 3.0 Wall Charger (RP-PC006) is larger than the Anker dual–USB-A chargers we recommend for about the same price. Its only advantage is QuickCharge 3.0 support, so if you have a compatible phone, you may prefer it.

The ZMI PowerPlug 4-Port Charger is shockingly cheap. (At this writing it’s selling for $10, and the company told us the price would never be above $20.) Each port is rated for 2.4 amps. Although our tests confirmed this, a tiny bump above that power-draw level—even as small as 0.01 amp—caused the variable load to reset. The other chargers we tested offered more wiggle room at their maximum output without resetting.

We determined that the RAVPower 60W 6-Port Desktop USB Charging Station with iSmart (RP-PC028) and the RAVPower 60W 6-Port Desktop Charger with QC 3.0 (RP-PC029) were both too large for travel and that we’d prefer a similarly priced model with USB-C if we were using our charger at a desk.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions.

Why you should trust me

I’ve reviewed car chargers for Wirecutter since 2014, monitoring every noteworthy new charger. Additionally, I’ve tested hundreds of other charging accessories, researching and writing our guides to USB wall chargers, USB-C laptop chargers, and USB-C accessories, among others. Previously, for three years I was the accessories editor at iLounge, where I reviewed more than 1,000 products, including numerous charging options.

Because USB-C can be dangerous business—subpar chargers and cables can fry innocent phones and laptops—I’ve also used specialized testing hardware to ensure the safety and reliability of every charger we’ve considered for this guide. This step allows us to definitively say that our picks work exactly as advertised, putting out the right levels of power and adhering to safety standards.

Should you get a car charger (or upgrade one you already have)?

Even if your car has a USB port for integrating music playback and phone calls with your car stereo, and even if that port can charge your phone, spending $20 or so for a dedicated two-port charger can be worth it. That’s because the built-in USB ports in most cars put out only 5 watts, which isn’t enough to charge a tablet or even newer smartphones at full speed. If you’re running an app like Waze or Google Maps, your car’s USB port may not charge your phone faster than your phone uses power, so you can end up at your destination with the same battery level on your phone as when you got into the car. Good USB-A chargers can charge more than twice as fast (12 watts), and the latest USB-C chargers can charge modern smartphones at up to 18 watts as long as you use a cable that plugs into the smaller port instead of the USB-A cable that probably came with your device. (This is our favorite cable for iPhones.)

Even if your car’s USB port does offer higher-speed charging, most cars have only one port. All of our picks let you charge two or more devices from a single accessory outlet—something your family and friends will appreciate.

However, if you recently bought a multiport USB charger that provides at least 2 amps from each of its ports (look for the “output” listing in the small print on the body of the charger), you have less reason to upgrade. Although you’d be able to charge some devices slightly faster with our top picks, the difference wouldn’t be big enough for you to spend more money on a new model right now.

Since many compact laptops charge at 30 or 45 W, you can even use this Nekteck charger to quickly fill them up on the go. In our tests, its USB-C port charged the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro—both of which are capable of laptop-like 45 W charging—at their fastest rates, something no other car charger we tested could do. The larger iPad reached 33 percent charge in half an hour and 65 percent in one hour. (Some popular laptop models, including the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros, can draw 60 W or even 90 W, so they won’t charge as fast as they can with their included wall chargers.) Our tests with Total Phase software showed that the USB-C port behaves as promised, and it didn’t throw up any red flags that would make us cautious about using it.

The body of the Nekteck PD 45W combines glossy black plastic and matte metal elements. It’s not a fashion piece, but it does look pretty good next to the cheaper appearances of some competitors. It sticks out 1.4 inches from the outlet, and its face is an oval 1.6 inches tall and 1.1 inches wide with a blue LED to indicate when it’s plugged in. While the Nekteck PD 45W is compact and unobtrusive, it isn’t so short that it’s difficult to remove, as some other car chargers are.

The Nekteck PD 45W car charger is the only model we tested that includes a USB-C–to–USB-C cable, a $10 to $20 value if bought separately. You can keep this cable in your car to charge your Android phone, computer, or iPad Pro without having to buy a separate accessory. We’ve verified that the cable adheres to standards; it’s not only safe, but it also has a sturdy build quality. In addition to passing our own tests, the charger has been certified by the USB-IF, which means it’s been independently tested for safety.

Similar to the coverage from most reputable charger brands, Nekteck’s standard warranty period is 12 months, with a six-month extension if you sign up for the company’s newsletter. We’ve found the customer support to be helpful, both in response speed and in addressing our concerns.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Unlike some chargers, the Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger doesn’t have illuminated USB ports, which would make plugging in cables in a dark car a little easier.

Upgrade pick: Scosche PowerVolt Power Delivery Dual 18W USB-C Car Charger

Photo: Sarah Kobos

If you want to simultaneously charge two phones at the fastest speeds possible, we recommend the Scosche PowerVolt Power Delivery Dual 18W USB-C Car Charger (CPDC8C8). It’s the only car charger with dual USB-C ports from an accessory maker we trust. Each port supports 18-watt charging speeds, even when you use them at the same time, and it’s not much larger or much more expensive than the Nekteck 45-watt charger.

In our testing, an iPhone XS, when plugged into the PowerVolt with a USB-C–to–Lightning cable, charged from zero to about 50 percent in 30 minutes and to 80 percent in an hour. That’s roughly 15 percent more battery life than your phone would get from a standard 12-watt USB-A charger. Android phones, including the Google Pixel family and the latest generations of the Samsung Galaxy line, would see similar gains compared with using USB-A chargers. The Scosche also performed as expected when we ran it through the Total Phase test, showing the proper power rates and no errors, so it should be compatible with any device that charges on the USB-C standard.

The Scosche PowerVolt is a little bigger than the Nekteck PD 45W car charger, but it has two USB-C ports instead of one. Photo: Sarah Kobos

Like the Nekteck PD 45W car charger, the Scosche PowerVolt has USB-IF certification, which means an independent lab has verified that it meets a set of criteria for safety and performance. Although we didn’t rely on USB-IF certification in making our recommendations for this guide, that stamp of approval makes us even more comfortable with our picks.

Scosche’s warranty is one of the best we’ve seen. It covers the PowerVolt for three years, almost double the coverage that Anker—one of the most reputable companies in the business—offers. When we’ve contacted Scosche’s customer service, we’ve been impressed by the fast response times; we got a response to one support inquiry within three hours.

Budget pick: ZMI PowerCruise C2 36-Watt Dual USB Car Charger with QC 3.0

Photo: Sarah Kobos

If you don’t want to spend more than $10 or so on a charger and aren’t concerned about USB-C speeds, we recommend ZMI’s PowerCruise C2 36-Watt Dual USB Car Charger with QC 3.0. To be fair, any dual-port USB-A charger from a reputable brand will work as well as any other. But the PowerCruise has a slight edge because it’s the rare charger that supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 charging technology on both ports (if you have a compatible phone), and it has the most aesthetically pleasing design in the category.

Like every dual-port charger we tested, the PowerCruise properly allowed 12-watt power draw from both ports. An iPhone XS should reach 35 percent from empty in half an hour, and about 73 percent in an hour. Although we don’t think you should buy the PowerCruise only because it supports QC 3.0—most phones these days will charge just as fast or faster on a USB-C charger—the fact that it offers that support, for the same price as non-QC chargers, adds extra value and makes it the best USB-A option for a larger variety of phones.

Dual–USB-A chargers from good companies are all about the same, but the PowerCruise is made of metal, which is nice. Photo: Sarah Kobos

Whereas most car chargers are plastic, the PowerCruise is made of silver-colored brass. It has a substantial heft (something that makes it feel premium) and a clean look. It also sports a glowing ring between the charging stem and the 0.8-inch-tall head, though the ports themselves aren’t lit.

Also great: RAVPower Quick Charge 3.0 54W 4-Port Car Adapter (RP-VC003)

Photo: Sarah Kobos

Four ports might seem like overkill to some people, but if you really need to charge more than two devices at once in the car, the RAVPower Quick Charge 3.0 54W 4-Port Car Adapter (RP-VC003) is a great pick. It fits four fast USB charging ports into a package that’s not much larger than the Nekteck PD 45W.

With a black metal body that sticks out 1.4 inches from the car’s outlet, and a face that’s 1.8 inches tall and 1 inch wide when oriented vertically, the charger isn’t unreasonably large. Its ports are aligned in a single row, so you can rotate the charger 90 degrees if a horizontal orientation better fits your car’s setup.

The RAVPower RP-VC003 charger is as compact as a charger can be with four USB-A ports crammed on the front. Photo: Sarah Kobos

The RP-VC003 did fall a bit short in our tests, but not in a way that we think will affect most people. All three standard USB ports put out the proper 12 watts (2.4 amps, 5 volts) when we used them individually, and the Quick Charge port offered the right 2-amp, 9-volt charging figure. But when we tested the maximum draw on all four ports at once, one of the non–Quick Charge ports dropped to 0.8 amp. Since it’s rare for devices to draw the whole 12 W available on a USB port—the power draw tapers off as a battery fills up—we don’t think this problem will affect too many people. Even with this minor drawback, the RAVPower charger is still a better option than the limited competition.

What about cheap dual-port 12-watt chargers?

There’s no shortage of small, $10-ish, dual-port USB-A chargers from reputable brands. Scosche’s ReVolt, RAVPower’s RP-PC031, RP-PC106, and RP-VC006, Aukey’s CC-S7, Anker’s PowerDrive 2, and AmazonBasics’s Dual-Port USB Car Charger all perform identically to one another. Some are shorter than others and end up looking like they’re part of your car when installed, and some have glowing ports that make it easier for you to plug in a cable when it’s dark. But they all work fine, and they’re decent buys if you find a great sale or it’s easier to pick up one of these over the ZMI PowerCruise C2.

The competition

Aukey’s Expedition Flush-Fit 18W is a tiny metal charger offering a single 18-watt USB-C port. We generally recommend chargers that don’t sit flush because they are harder to remove, and think you can get a better deal for a multiport charger. In our tests, one of the power profiles was an unusual 12V/1.75A (21 watts), which doesn’t match the 12V/1.5A listed on the charger itself. For that reason alone, we’d be wary of using it.

Satechi’s 72W Type-C PD Car Charger provides more power than any other model we tested, with 60 watts from the USB-C port (enough to charge a 13-inch MacBook Pro at full-speed) and 12 watts from the USB-A port. But it doesn’t come with a charging cable, and that much power is overkill for most devices. If you often find yourself needing to charge your laptop in the car, the Satechi will be a good choice for you, but most people will be better off with the Nekteck charger, which includes a cable and offers 45-watt charging that will also work with most laptops.

Anker’s PowerDrive Speed+ Duo has a 30-watt USB-C port (as opposed to the Nekteck’s 45-watt port), doesn’t come with a cable, and generally sells for a few dollars more than the Nekteck. It’s otherwise a good choice if you prefer the aesthetics of the glowing blue ring around the charging face.

Aukey’s CC-Y7 supports only a 27-watt output from its USB-C port, and it isn’t USB-IF certified.

In our testing, the Anker PowerDrive Speed+ 2 didn’t support full Quick Charge speeds, despite its specs.

RAVPower’s Dual USB Car Adapter (RP-PC022) failed when we tried to charge devices on both the USB-A and USB-C ports at the same time.

We don’t recommend the AmazonBasics 4-Port USB Car Charger because it required us to unplug and reconnect our test iPads a few times to get the proper 2.4-amp power draw from each port. Eventually, all four were providing the right amount of power, but we found the RAVPower RP-VC003 to be more reliable.

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