The Best USB Car Chargers for Road Trips and Fast Charging

A car charger is not a complicated device. The best USB car charger is the one that charges your phone quickly, does not overheat, allows multiple devices to charge, and remains compatible with whichever USB cable you (or your passengers) happen to have available. It is usually also a trusted brand, with certification to international standards—not a janky gas station charger that'll blow a fuse with an internal short or offer insufficient protection against dust and debris.

I put car chargers to the test with ammeters and phone apps, and on multi-hour road trips, to make sure each one lived up to its promises. The best car charger I've found is the three-port Anker 167.5W Nano ($38), which combines 100-watt fast-charging capability for auxiliary devices, plus dual-port USB-Cs, USB-A capability, and safety features that include overheat protection.

If you shun dangling cords, I offer the Anker 75W Fast Charger ($30) with slightly lower top amperage but a retractable cable. And for families whose kids can't live without constant tablets in the back seat, there's the DeWalt 72W Front and Back Seat Charger ($45).

For other power needs, check out WIRED's guides to the Best Portable Jump Starters, Best Power Banks, Best MagSafe/Qi2 Power Banks, and Best Laptop Power Banks or Best Portable Power Stations.

This three-port charger from Anker offers pretty much everything I want from a USB car charger while remaining hearteningly compact and affordable. The 100W fast-charging USB-C port kicks out nearly 7 amps at top speeds, enough juice to charge my Macbook Air to 50 percent in about 25 minutes, before fast-charging slows down, and does the same for my iPhone. But especially, Anker's PowerIQ technology smartly assesses the differing voltage needs of various phones to avoid over- or under-voltage. I've never actually seen this Anker on sale on Amazon above $40.

It also doesn't hurt that Anker makes some of WIRED's most trusted portable power technology—tech whose reliability we've verified over years of real-world testing. You don't overwhelmingly want a janky cheap charger that blows a fuse. Good insulation and a tiny built-in fan effectively lower overheating versus other fast-chargers, though you'll still notice some heat when charging at 100 watts or above. USB-A capability is welcome for versatility, though my testing showed somewhat lower power than advertised on that port.

Either way, I was able to charge both my top-pick portable jump starter, the 4000A Wolfbox ($120), in a little over an hour while also keeping my phone topped off on a road trip—which is pretty much as high-demand as I get while also blasting AC and the radio, and this caused no problems with the 15-amp circuit on my older car. But note that while most modern cars run on 20-amp fuses, the max capacity for this charger when drawing from all three ports does run pretty close to the max load for an older-model car charger. The charger is able to draw quite close to the maximum amperage on a 15-amp fuse.

A similar budget pick: The lower overheating on my top-pick Anker bodes well for longevity, which means it might still be a cheaper option in the long haul. But note that a similar three-port fast-charger from Chinese brand Ugreen ($21) performed comparably on charging speeds. But it also got significantly hotter within 10 minutes of fast-charging.

A retractable charging cable has the distinct merit of keeping your car tidy, without dangling charging cords to get tangled between your foot and the gas pedal. It also obviates the need to remember a cable at all. This Anker model offers a 2-foot cable that retracts quite easily back into its base after a quick tug on the cable, neat as you'd like. The cable's 45W fast-charging capability will max out the charging capability of most iPhones.

Anker is a brand I trust for charging technology. But it's worth noting that retractable cables introduce a couple failure points that could lower longevity. The cable can't be swapped out if it gets worn, and the retraction mechanism itself could wear out. Tidiness has a price, it seems. This said, the charger is not overly expensive, usually retailing closer to $20.

The modern car family involves a nest of devices—parents in the front seat charging phones, children in the back with tablets, somehow watching the same thing over and over. And nothing ends the peace of a road trip quite like a tablet running out of juice halfway through an episode of Bluey.

This DeWalt is a good solution, offering decent (but not great) 30-watt charging on the USB-C port for front-seat parents, and a couple of auxiliary USB-A ports to keep maintenance charge on backseat devices. DeWalt is a power tool brand, of course, and so these ports were likely designed for a tool or two resting in the back seat. But kids have tools, too, and this'll serve their needs.

It's perhaps frustrating that the back seat chargers are USB-A. But I haven't found a good USB charger with a back-seat USB-C charging setup, assuming your car doesn't have a back seat charger of its own. And so while this DeWalt is a compromise, it's the best compromise I've found so far.

Frequently Asked Questions

How I Selected and Tested USB Car Chargers

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For this round of car-charger testing, I looked first for known quantities and trusted charging technology brands like Anker, Belkin, and Ugreen. I also ordered and tested devices that other credible sources had ranked as their favorite USB chargers, making sure that each charger is broadly available and easy to find. Needless to say, I only assessed and recommend UL-certified chargers, and avoided dodgy-looking brands: Short circuits in cars aren't fun, for me or for you.

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

I then set about testing the claims for each car charger, using ammeters for each port on each charger, testing with an ammeter while pulling max loads. I additionally used the Ampere phone app to test the peak draw for a Motorola Razr and an iPhone 13, and also tested to see whether the charger heated up while pulling max draw—both using the phone app and an infrared thermometer.

I tested with each charger's included cord, where relevant, but also with a fast-charging cable on USB-C devices that advertise this capability. For my top contenders among 100-watt fast chargers, I also tested to see how long it took to charge a Macbook Air M4 and my top-pick jump starter, the 4000A Wolfbox.

As with every device tested by the WIRED Reviews team, I subjected my top-pick chargers to real-world road tests. I went on multi-hour road trips with devices plugged in. I charged portable jump starters or laptops while also charging phones. I tested durability in real-world conditions that may also involve grubby fingers. I assessed each device not just for brute speed, but for versatility in different use cases. For now, I favor chargers that offer both USB-C and USB-A capability, so as not to leave any devices out in the cold.

I also checked up on customer reviews for each of these chargers. If I saw any customer complaints, I tried my darndest to replicate them. I jammed chargers in and out of the ports, and wobbled the chargers around in their sockets. I acted the way people act when they're fumbling for a device charger they're not looking at while driving.

Are Cheap USB Chargers Unsafe?

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I've put a bit of emphasis on trusted brands while testing USB chargers, and this isn't by accident. The world is full of dodgy gas station or Amazon chargers, and bad cables, with insufficient electrical insulation and inconsistent current delivery.

Bad USB-C cables and electrical insulation are known fire hazards in the worst cases, but inconsistent voltage is also just bad for your phone or laptop battery over time. Poorly made chargers, connectors, and cables can have higher resistance (leading to overheating), bad or inconsistent connections, and poor protections against shorts and surges. All of these things are bad. At worst, they can fry your device or lower your battery longevity.

As a rule of thumb, look for language that a product is “UL-Listed” or "UL-Certified" not merely "UL-Classified" or “Recognized.” The latter two mean that a product has been tested only against specific hazards or under specific conditions. Listed and Certified products have fully passed all tests within a given standard. WIRED will only recommend chargers that are UL-listed or -certified.

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Scosche PowerVolt 60W Dual-Port Charger for $20: This dual-port USB-C charger from California car brand Scosche is the simplest thing imaginable. Two USB-C ports, each separately rated at 30 watts. Each charges quickly and is reliable. Though this Scosche doesn't offer a fast-charging option for laptops, it's perfectly optimized for a pair of phones—and admirably low-cost. If you're mostly just going to charge a phone, this is a tight runner-up to my top-pick Anker—especially if you're pretty sure you'll never need a USB-A charger in your car.

Anker 40W Two-Port Charger for $20: Like the Scosche, this Anker is a purpose-driven phone charger with two USB-C ports. It's a little lower-powered than the Scosche, with a little less juice than the newest generation of phones can support. But the price is right if you're willing to accept lower charging speeds.

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

Belkin BoostCharge 42W Dual-Port Charger for $24: This compact, well-insulated dual-port charger from California tech accessory brand Belkin is great as a budget option, with decently fast USB-C and USB-A charging. Just note that the tiny device might be a bit shallow for some deeper car chargers, and that when plugged in, the charger has a nonnegotiable and oddly bright LED light that stays on even when no device is charging. This won't bother you unless it bothers you.

Nekteck 45W Two-Port Car Charger for $32: This basic, bare-bones Neckteck charger is a decent compromise for those who need fast charging on a QC 3.0-compatible USB-A device. While a 45-watt max speed for USB-C charging isn't fast by modern standards, it's still faster than most phones. And the QC 3.0 USB-A charger is significantly faster than most USB-A chargers, for those with older devices.

Lisen 90W Charger With Cord for $20: This charger from Chinese car-tech company Lisen performed reasonably well in testing, though true fast-charging isn't available and the listed charge speeds are a little confusing and don't add up. The coiled cord is not able to be retracted or removed, making this charger a bit ungainly for daily use, but the option on a 60- or 90-inch cord does make this Lisen the rare device suitable for charging a USB-C phone or tablet in the back seat. This said, I tested a shorter cable, and longer USB-C cables are notoriously finicky for high amperage.

The six-port Ai Aikenuo back seat charging kit is useful for keeping a large number of devices charged up for work use or larger families, but it disappeared from Amazon right before this guide's publication. I'll monitor to see if this is a momentary glitch or whether it's been discontinued.

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