5 Best Power Banks and Portable Chargers to Keep your Phone Alive

Picture this: you’re on your way home from a long day out. Maybe you’re on your way back from a difficult hike, or maybe you’ve had one too many at a celebration with friends, and now you’ve got to find your way home. You look down at your mobile phone and, shock horror, it’s out of battery.

That plan you had to get an Uber home from the bar, or to find your way back to the nearest train station, has been derailed by your phone’s dying battery – or maybe you just used it too much, no judgement here.

Or maybe you’ve arrived at the airport only to discover your iPad, laptop, or (god forbid) headphones are out of juice.

This is an easily solvable situation, with powerful and portable power banks now available at almost any major electronics retailer. But, with all the different port selections, battery sizes, and brands, it can get overwhelming to figure out which ones will just work.

We’ve done the dirty work for you, and rounded up what we consider to be the best power banks and portable chargers for a number of needs. Prepare to say good by to your nomophobia (that’s a phobia of having no mobile phone, and yes, it’s real.)

Related: The Best iPhones You Can Buy Today

The Best Power Banks and Portable Chargers

The Best at a Glance

Product	Capacity	Connectivity	Price
Ugreen’s Magnetic Wireless Charger	10,000 mAh	20W USB-C port 15W Qi-enabled plate	AU$69.95
Ugreen’s 145W	25,000 mAh	140W USB-C port 65W USB-C port 22.5W USB-A port	AU$149.95
Anker’s Nano Power Bank	5,000 mAh	Two 22.5W USB-C ports	AU$59.95
Anker’s Prime 27,760	27,650 mAh	Two 140W USB-C ports 18W USB-A port	AU$299.95
Belkin’s Boost Charge 10k	10,000 mAh	15W USB-C port Two 12W USB-A ports	AU$59.95

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Why Trust Us

This list was compiled through Man of Many’s expert knowledge of all things tech that spans more than a decade. Whether in the office or out in the wilderness, our team is rarely if ever without a device or a backup power source. While most of these products were selected based on personal experience, some were chosen after careful research.

1. The Best for Most: Ugreen’s Magnetic Wireless Charger

• Capacity: 10,000 mAh
• Weight: 220g
• Connectivity: One 20W USB-C port, 15W Qi-enabled plate
• Fast Charge: Yes
• Price: $69.99

When it comes to most people, you probably just want something that will keep your phone charged when you’re out and about. There are certainly more ‘no-frills’ options out there that literally just a battery pack with a USB port attached, but why settle for something basic when you can get something slightly better for about the same price?

So, what is it about Ugreen’s Magnetic Wireless Charger that puts it above those basic options? Well, the hints are all in the name. This battery pack can be attached to your device magnetically, which makes it easier to transport (no more annoying wires to worry about while you’re out on a hike), plus it’ll charge whatever device it’s attached to through a 15W Qi-enabled rubber face plate.

You can just put the power bank on the back of your device and forget about it. It’s been designed by Ugreen to sit comfortably out of the way of most modern camera placements so as to not hinder your ability to take the shot you want, and also has a single 20W USB-C port on the bottom of the device to charge it, or to charge a second device at the same time.

10,000 mAh is about the minimum we’d recommend when it comes to a portable battery charger at this point due to how most phone batteries are sitting somewhere between 4,000 mAh and 5.000 mAh. A 10,000 mAh battery pack will net you a few full charges of one mobile device, or spread out enough power to keep everything alive until you have to time to charge it all again.

2. The Upgrade Pick: Ugreen’s 145W

• Capacity: 25,000 mAh
• Weight: 505g
• Connectivity: One 140W USB-C port, a 65W USB-C port, and a 22.5W USB-A port
• Fast Charge: Yes
• Price: $149.99

If you’re looking for something a bit bigger and beefier than the norm, Ugreen’s 145W has you covered. It has a very solid 25,000 mAh battery that can charge a phone or tablet (or anything smaller than that, really) back to full multiple times, and can charge some of the best laptops back to full at least once per charge.

That’s right! Thanks to the impressive 140W USB-C output on the 145W you can adequately recharge a laptop, and keep something like a M3 MacBook Air, which has a battery size of around 13,000 mAh, fully charged a few times a day.

Our testing found that the MacBook Air already lasts around 15 hours, so adding this device to the mix would triple that to 45 hours. That’s more than enough to get you where you need to go without access to a wall plug, unless you’re working out of a forest. We’re using the MacBook Air as our example, but you can realistically substitute it for any USB-C powered device and see similar results.

The best part? The 145W comes with an included 65W USB-C charger that can take the battery from 0-100 in around two hours, meaning that with two hours of charge time you can potentially triple the runtime of your other devices. It’s a really good deal if you’re doing any significant travel and need to keep a few devices topped up while in transit, or if you’re going camping for the weekend and need a way to keep that portable speaker powered.

Related: The Best Android Phones You Can Buy Today

3. The Ultra-Portable: Anker’s Nano Power Bank

• Capacity: 5,000 mAh
• Weight: 100g
• Connectivity: Two 22.5W USB-C ports
• Fast Charge: Yes
• Price: $59.99

We normally wouldn’t recommend any power bank with a capacity under 10,000 mAh, but Anker’s Nano Power bank serves such a specific use case that we think it’s worth highlighting here. Yes, it does have a much smaller capacity than anything else on this list, however it’s also much smaller in size and is naturally far more pocketable.

Rather than being a whole separate device that you plug your phone into through a cable, the Nano is tiny and feels more like you’re plugging it into your phone. It’ll attach via a fold-out USB-C or Lightning port (depending on which model you pick up) and will start powering your device without adding any significant weight or bulk.

If you’re not the kind of person that goes out on long hikes, or travels much for work, but you still need something to keep your phone charged through days out or TikTok rabbit holes, the Nano isn’t a bad option. There’s even a second USB-C port on the side that can be used to both recharge the bank or power a second device, though that’ll eat through the limited 5,000 mAh battery even faster.

And yes, the device was designed to work with most phone cases – the retractable USB-C port has a bit of length to it – though anything thicker than 4.9 mm is too big. Sorry Otterbox fans.

4. For the Digital Nomad: Anker’s Prime 27,650

• Capacity: 27,650 mAh
• Weight: 667g
• Connectivity: Two 140W USB-C ports, and one 18W USB-A
• Fast Charge: Yes
• Price: $299.95

Yes, this does look like overkill for most people. But you’re not most people, are you? If you spend a lot of your time on the road using portable devices – phones, tablets, laptops, headphones – and can spend a while between opportunities to refuel everything back up to a full tank, Anker’s Prime could be a pretty solid investment.

The price feels daunting for a power bank, but you’re getting something that’ll be able to power a high-powered phone several times over, as well as multiple other devices, without needing a charge. Plus, when you do have a chance to recharge, you can actually both USB-C ports into the wall to cut down on the time you need to take charging. It’ll get you back on the move faster, and help keep whatever you’re up to on schedule.

One piece of advice, though: the Prime can provide you quite a bit more information than other power banks thanks to a display that takes up almost an entire side of the brick, such as the current current being passed through each port. That screen uses power, obviously, so if the charger isn’t in use make sure that it’s turned off or you’ll find it’ll have dissipated a bit of that juice before you actually need it, which is obviously not ideal.

Even saying that, the Prime is an awesome travel companion.

Related: The Best Tablets for Work and Play

5. Best on a Budget: Belkin’s BoostCharge 10k

• Capacity: 10,000 mAh
• Weight: 268g
• Connectivity: One 15W USB-C port, and two 12W USB-A ports
• Fast Charge: No
• Price: $59.95

We’d still recommend the Ugreen Magnetic Wireless Charger over the BoostCharge, but if you’re keen to save a bit of money and don’t need the wireless or magnetic features, this is probably the best bang for your buck you’ll get under $100.

The BoostCharge is more or less the standard of portable chargers. It has a good capacity, good port options, and functions as a no-fuss power bank that you can just plug in and forget about.

The design of the BoostCharge hasn’t changed much over the years, but why fix what isn’t broken? It still uses four LED lights to signal how much charge is left in the battery, and really, that’s all you need to know.

Despite the name, the BoostCharge doesn’t support any kind of fast charging, but does have a decent 15W output through the single USB-C port – that’s not going to get up and running quickly, but it’ll still be very useful when you’re in a pinch. It’s a pretty feature bereft power bank, but for the money, it’s fantastic.

What to Look for in a Great Portable Power Bank

When buying a portable power bank, one should consider the internal performance but also the exterior design. Sturdy construction is important but so too is a travel-friendly layout, the kind that can easily fit inside your pocket. Of course, if you’re charging laptops or appliances, you should scale up accordingly and expect a little more size and weight. As for things like battery performance and charging speeds, use the following specs as a reference.

Battery Capacity

If you want to recharge your smartphone you’ll want at least 10,000 mah to get it back to full. If it’s for a laptop you’ll want to find a portable charger that has a capacity of at least 20,000 mAh. This is because most laptops have a battery capacity of around 10,000 mAh and take more than this to recharge. More important, however, is charging output wattage.

Charging Speed

Speed and power output are more important if you’re shopping for a power bank to recharge your laptop as they often require at least 60W of power to recharge. However, this can vary amongst manufacturers. In doing our testing and research, we’ve included several options on our list that have more than enough power to recharge new Apple Macbooks and Windows-based laptops. If you’re shopping for a fast portable charger for your iPhone or Android look for power banks that use USB-C PD for over 20W of output.

Travel and Legal Capacity Limits

Lithium-ion (i.e. rechargeable) batteries and portable batteries that contain lithium-ion can only be packed in carry-on baggage during air travel. On most airlines, each battery is limited to a rating of 100Wh (or 27,000 mAh). You can potentially bring two larger spare batteries (up to 160 Wh) but only after receiving airline approval. We often remove these from our bags at security to avoid any scrutiny from bag staff.