Best Portable Phone Chargers and Power Banks 2021 [Updated]

Smartphones are now a vital part of our daily lives. The depth of integration they have managed to achieve in our lifestyle is amazingly staggering. With literally every person holding a smartphone and using it while commuting, sitting, walking, and in some cases even driving. But the problem is smartphones drain their batteries awfully quickly.

The world is waiting for a breakthrough in the battery technology, but as long as it may take to achieve that, we have found another way to remain connected with our popular smartphones wherever we go. The introduction of power banks or portable phone chargers has miraculously changed the way people dealt with battery drainage.

Never miss again an important phone call, an email that had to be sent right before your phone died or an emergency situation where you wished your mobile phone was alive. The simplest solution is to buy an extremely portable phone charger with maximum capacity, so you are never again stranded with a dead phone in your hands.

With the market swarming with a plethora of numerous options for portable phone chargers or power bank, it can be quite an ordeal to select the perfect one for you. We have taken the pain to narrow down the best options on the market so you can decide on what works for you perfectly.

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Last update on 2023-11-23 | Details

Best Portable Phone Chargers | Power Banks

Anker PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C/Type-C Ultra-High-Capacity

Huge capacity, Intelligent charging, incredibly lightweight

Capacity

This Anker PowerCore portable charger has a whopping 20100mAh capacity. To put it in context, it can fully charge your iPhone, MacBook and iPad Air 2. This is amazingly large capacity, and once you tuck it away in your backpack, you can travel with a peace of mind and know that you have a huge battery backup with you. It comes with a USB-C port and cable so you can charge your USB-C supported devices – such as the new MacBook – on the go. It also comes with USB to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable and a warranty of 18 months with a travel pouch. An excellent complete package for all your charging needs.

Portability

Weighing only a pound, this neat little charger is a perfect size. You can tuck it into your pocket or put it in your purse, and you won’t even feel it there. It has 2 USB ports and a USB-C port so that it can charge three of your devices simultaneously. It perfectly fits the saying “Big things come in small packages.”

Amperage

This is where it gets interesting; this powerful little monster comes with a smart-charging IC Power IQ and current-stabilizing technology they call VoltageBoost to detect and adjust the optimal amperage required by your mobile. So you can charge any device with it, and it will charge it replicating the behavior of your original charger. Sweet, right? We think so too. Maximum amperage is 2.4A on the usual USB ports and 3A on USB-C port.

Recharge Time

It can be fully recharged in 7hours with a 2.4A charger and the USB to USB-C port that it comes with. If you consider the capacity, it is a very impressive recharge time. To top it all off, it comes with a power surge and short circuit protection, so you don’t accidently fry your devices.

Last update on 2023-12-01 | Details

RAVPower 20100mAh Quick Charge Portable Charger

Massive capacity, Blazing fast charging, USB-Type C support

Capacity

With a huge 20100mAh capacity, it can charge an iPhone 6S & 6 around eight times, a Galaxy S6 phone for around five times or an iPad Air more than once. This gives you the ultimate freedom to charge your RAVPower once and roam around without the worries of a dead phone or tablet or laptop. A complete battery solution for you.

Portability

It weighs 13.3 ounces and considering its humongous capacity; this weight is extremely impressive. You can take it around anywhere in your pocket, or purse or backpack with ease. Comparing it to its competitor Anker PowerCore+, it is 6.7 ounces lighter. But the shape of this portable charger is somewhat bigger than that one. All in all, it isn’t any trouble carrying it around.

Amperage

It comes with a very impressive amperage. RAVPower boasts a Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology that charges QC 2.0 or 3.0 supported devices up to 80% in just 35 minutes. That is useful gives you a lot of flexibility on your travels or when more people have to charge their devices i.e. perfect for traveling in groups. It also supports USB-Type C input and output. It gives a 2.4A on USB and QC, 3A on USB-Type C.

This charger also has an iSmart module that recognizes the optimal current for your device and thus charges it as fast as your original phone charger.

Recharging Time

With a Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 USB charger, you can get this device recharged in just 4.5 hours. This Qualcomm Quick Charge charger comes with the package. It also comes with the necessary USB to USB-Type C and USB-Type C to USB-Type C cables.

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AmazonBasics Portable Power Bank

Light as a feather, quick recharge, incredibly cheap

Capacity

With a comparatively small capacity of 5,600 mAh, this Power Bank can fully charge your iPhone 5S twice before running out of juice. This portable tphone charger for a meager price of $19 gives you an incredibly high value for money. Since it has a low capacity, it is also very thin and light which is perfect if you don’t like to keep bulky power banks. It uses a lithium-ion polymer battery to keep it light-weight and safe.

Portability

At 4.5 ounces, this is the lightest power bank we have reviewed. You can walk around all day with this little device in your pocket, and you won’t even feel a nudge. This serves the real purpose of a portable charger. For people who want a lightweight power bank, this is perfect. It is incredibly light in your pocket, pun intended.

Amperage

It gives a 2.4A amperage which is enough for all devices. It does not have an intelligent system to recognize the type of device you are connecting, so you should use the original (or at least trusted) cable with it.

Recharging Time

It gets recharged in 4 hours via a laptop USB. This is a reasonably quick time for a power bank to get charged. Seeing that you can recharge your phone twice with this portable charger, it is not bad at all.

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Zendure 2nd Gen A3 Portable Charger

Huge Capacity, Sturdy Body, Very long standby charge

Capacity

It has a capacity of 10,000mAh which is impressive for a device that is just 7.2 ounces heavy. It can charge your phone at least 3-4 times. Depending on which phone you use, it can probably do more. If you have a phone with 2000mAh battery, it can charge it even more than four times.

Portability

This portable charger gets extra style points owing to its awesome lightweight design. This kind of capacity with a feathery-light weight and extra protection is quite wholesome for a frequent traveler. Its Crush-proof composite material, a dual-injection molding, and shock-absorbing central belt make it one of the most durable portable chargers we have seen.

Amperage

It is intelligent enough to recognize the optimum charge required by your device to charge faster and sets itself to that. Another interesting feature it offers is Charge Through, which lets charge Zendure while charging your devices as well. It requires a minimum 2A power source, though. Also, it has an Auto On feature that automatically turns on charging when a compatible device is connected, eliminating the need to press the power button every time.

Zendure provides an incredible standby time. It retains 95% of the charge up to 6 months (in a state where no USBs are connected to it). This makes for an impeccably smart travel companion. Once you charge this sturdy little charger, it will last through thick and thin with you.

Recharging Time

It takes around 4 hours to charge on a 1.5A source. Pretty impressive recharging time too in our opinion.

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EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank

Monstrous capacity, awesome design

Capacity

As the name suggests, this monster packs a 20000mAh capacity that is enough to charge several of your devices. You can charge your phone, your tablet, and your laptop several times over with this portable phone charger. It also gives you safety protection in case of short circuits, overcurrent or overcharge.

Portability

Weighing a pound, you cannot expect a power bank with this much capacity to be in ounces. It still has a compact size and can fit in your pocket. If you require larger capacity, you will have to bear just a tad bit of extra weight. Nothing you cannot handle, though.

Amperage

According to EasyAcc, it gives up to 4.8A output on 4 USBs, which is the maximum we have seen. It also detects the optimum current for your device and changes it accordingly.

Recharging Time

With a 4A input, this monster will be ready to go again in 6 hours. All in all, very impressive timings.

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Tylt ENERGI 5K+ Battery Pack

Very low budget, reasonably good capacity

Capacity

5,200mAh capacity will give you 2-3 times of full recharge for your mobile devices. This goes in line with the similar capacity range batteries we have reviewed.

Portability

At 4.5 ounces, it slips into your pocket quite smoothly and is compact enough not to bulge much. It also has a very nice case which makes it look almost like a mobile phone.

Amperage

It gives you an amperage of 3A which is enough to support all mobile and tablet devices.

Recharging Time

This portable charger can be juiced up fully in 6hours. With 6hours spent on its charging, it will give you 2-3 cycles of your mobile phone’s battery.

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Lepow® POKI Series 5000mah Portable External Battery Pack

Sleek design, super light, short recharge time

Capacity

This portable charger gives you the capacity of 5000 mAh which gives you either 1.9 charges of iPhone 6, 2.2 charges of iPhone 5S or 1.2 charges of Samsung 5S. The capacity of this charger is not much, and it is best suitable for emergency usage.

Portability

The design of this portable charger is quite sleek and sexy. It fits in your pocket and is slim enough not to make it bulge out of place. It is portable, but for people who get annoyed by extra things in their pocket, it might be too much. It is, however, perfect if you have the backpack or a purse to carry. It only weighs 6.4 ounces, so in your pocket or backpack, it doesn’t put extra weight.

Its sleek design has a nifty digital strip that shows you the remaining battery capacity when you swipe on it.

Amperage

Its S+ technology recognizes the equipment you are charging with it, meaning that whether you charge a tablet, a phone or a camera with it, it will give you the optimum charging speed and you can charge your gadgets in a jiff.

Recharge Time

The biggest edge this one has over the previous one is that its recharging time is super short. It recharges completely in 3-4 hours. That is quite natural given its short capacity. For people who don’t like to wait around or simply don’t find enough time to recharge these power banks, this is a better option.

The first question that must arise in your mind is what exactly to look for when purchasing a portable smartphone charger, right? Well, that is a great question, and we will discuss it thoroughly as follows.

Things to Consider When Buying a Portable Phone Charger

1. Capacity

The capacity of a portable smartphone charger is described as the number of times it can charge your mobile phone completely. It is measured in milliampere-hour (mAh) and is the same unit that measures the capacity of your mobile phone’s battery. If your mobile phone has a battery of 2000mAh, and you buy a portable mobile charger of 20,000mAh, then it can charge your phone roughly ten times.

That isn’t so black and white, though, power losses due to the conversion of voltage and circuit resistance result in a little lower capacity than mentioned. Nonetheless, this metric is used to ascertain the number of times the portable charger will be able to charge your phone.

2. Portability

As the name suggests, portability is rather a seriously important characteristic to a “portable” phone charger. Although these power banks weigh quite less and are sized to fit a palm, in most cases, there is still quite a lot of variation in their weights and sizes. Power banks with more capacity tend to pricier and heavier, but that is not always the case. As we will see in a while, many of these portable phone chargers are light as a feather and have huge capacities.

3. Amperage

Amperage of a portable phone charger decides how fast it is going to charge your phone. You must have found yourself in a position where you plug your iPhone with a cheap charger, and it takes ages for it to charge, right? That is because of cheap wall chargers and low-quality power banks do not have enough amperage that is required to charge your phone or tablet with efficiently, or faster.

Power bank or portable battery manufacturers usually ship them with 0.5A, 1A, 1.5A, or 2A of amperage. Which one is better for your device depends on your particular device. Most tablets, for example, require a 2A output charge their batteries at a fast speed.

4. Recharge Time

All these portable smartphone chargers need juice for themselves too naturally – that is the only way they can charge other devices. A big concern for these portable chargers is how much time do they require to recharge themselves fully? A portable charger is useless if it takes all day to restore itself.

It goes against the basic idea of having a portable charger. So we have to take into consideration this factor seriously before buying a portable charger.

Conclusion

Portable smartphone chargers are dominating the market and are the go-to accessory for most smartphones owners that spend most of their days outside homes. It is an incredibly impressive invention to keep people connected and never lose to the daunting accidents of dead phones and minimally charged gadgets. We think everyone who deals with important lines of work and has to be on the field should own one of these. Moreover, it is an inexcusable necessity for travelers.

A perfect portable charger would be able to give you at least 5000 – 20,000 mAh capacity and should be lightweight. Another important factor is you should always buy a charger that has an IC or is intelligent enough to recognize your device’s optimum current, only then will it be charging it at reasonable times.

Anything else will leave you in turmoil of agonizing wait. It will test your patience. Having security protection against short circuits and power surges should be preferred. After all, your smartphone is your ally, and you do not want to let it down.