Finding yourself far from a wall socket when your phone hits five percent is positively nervewracking. If you stash a portable battery in your bag, you can avoid that feeling altogether. But there are thousands of power banks out there and it can be tough to pick the right one for what you need. I’ve spent a few years testing dozens of batteries and found the best power banks for different scenarios. Whether you need a quick reup for your phone or a huge brick to keep your laptop alive, you’ll find something fitting here.

Best power banks for 2026

What to look for in a portable battery pack

Battery type

Nearly every rechargeable power bank you can buy (and most portable devices) contain a lithium-ion battery. These beat other current battery types in terms of size-to-charge capacity, and have even increased in energy density by eight fold in the past 14 years. They also don’t suffer from a memory effect (where a battery's lifespan deteriorates due to partial charges).

Flying with portable batteries

You may have heard about lithium ion batteries overheating and catching fire — a recent Hong Kong flight was grounded after just such a thing happened in an overhead bin. Current restrictions implemented by the TSA still allow external batteries rated at 100Wh or less (which all of our recommendations are) to fly with you, but only in your carry-on luggage — they can’t be checked.

Recently, Southwest Airlines was the first in the industry to take that rule one step further. Now, flyers on that airline must keep power banks in clear view when using them to recharge a device. If the portable charger isn’t actively in use, however, it can stay in your carry-on bag in the overhead bin.

Capacity

Power bank manufacturers almost always list a battery’s capacity in milliamp hours, or mAh. Smaller batteries with a 5,000mAh capacity make good phone chargers and can fill a smartphone to between 50 and 75 percent. Larger batteries that can recharge laptops and tablets, or give phones multiple charges, can exceed 25,000mAh and we have a separate guide that covers that entire category. 

Unsurprisingly, the prices on most batteries goes up as mAh capacity increases, and since batteries are physical storage units, size and weight go up with capacity as well. If you want more power, be prepared to spend more and carry around a heavier brick.

You might think that a 10,000mAh power bank could charge a 5,000mAh phone to 100 percent twice, but that’s not the case. In addition to simple energy loss through heat dissipation, factors like voltage conversion also bring down the amount of juice that makes it into your phone. Most manufacturers list how many charges a battery can give a certain smartphone. In our tests, 10,000mAh of battery pack capacity translated to roughly 5,800mAh of device charge. 20,000mAh chargers delivered around 11,250mAh to a device, and 25,000mAh banks translated to about 16,200mAh of charge. That’s an average efficiency rate of around 60 percent.

Wireless

Wireless charging, whether through a bank or a plugged-in charging pad, is less efficient than wired connections. But it is convenient — and in most cases, you can carry around and use your phone as it refills with a magnetically attached power bank.

Power banks with wireless charging are far better than they once were. Just a couple years ago, the ones I tested were too inefficient to recommend in this guide. When batteries adhering to the Qi2 wireless charging standard started arriving in 2023, performance markedly improved.

To gain Qi2-certification, a device has to support speeds of up to 15 watts and include magnetic attachment points. The MagSafe technology on iPhones were once the only handsets that were Qi2-compatible, but now Google’s Pixelsnap tech brings both the higher speed and magnetic grip to Pixel 10 phones. Samsung may follow up with its own version in future releases.

The latest wireless charging standard, Q12 25W, is supported by the new iPhone 17 phones as well as the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL. Battery packs that are Qi2 25W-enabled are starting to hit the market as well, and the Ugreen MagFlow was the first on the scene.

Ports

USB-C ports can deliver faster charges than USB-A ports, and most of the portable chargers we recommend here have Type-C connections. But Type-A jacks are still handy if you need to use a specialized cable for a certain device (my camera’s USB-A to micro USB cable comes to mind).

There’s also variation among USB-C ports. Larger banks with more than one port will sometimes list different wattages for each. For example, a bank with three ports may have two 65W ports and one 100W port. There will also be at least one in/out port on the bank, which can be used to charge the battery itself or to deliver a charge to your device. Wattages and in/out labels are printed right next to the port — and always in the tiniest font possible (remember, your phone is an excellent magnifying glass if you ever have trouble reading them).

As with standard wall chargers, the port’s wattage will determine what you can charge. A phone will happily charge off a 100W connection, but a 15W plug won’t do much for your laptop. And remember, the cable has to match the maximum wattage. A cable rated for 60W won’t deliver 100W speeds.

Luckily, some of the best power banks include a built-in USB-C cable. That’ll not only ensure you have the right cord, it’s one less thing you have to remember to bring along.

Design

Once, most rechargeable batteries were black with a squared-off, brick-like design, but now they come in different colors and shapes with attractive finishes and detailing. While that doesn’t affect how they perform, it’s a consideration for something you’ll interact with regularly. Some portable power banks include extra features like MagSafe compatibility, a built-in wall plug or even a kickstand. Nearly all have some sort of indicator to let you know how much available charge your power bank has left, usually expressed with lighted pips near the power button. Some of the newer banks take that a step further with an LED display indicating remaining battery percentage.

How we test best power banks

First, I considered brands Engadget reviewers and staff have tried over the years and checked out customer ratings on retail sites like Amazon and Best Buy. Then, I acquired the most promising candidates and tested them in my home office.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

For testing, I used each battery to charge both an iPhone and an Android phone, as well as an iPad and a MacBook Pro for the larger portable chargers. I let the devices get down to between zero and five percent and charged them until the devices were full or the power bank died. 

For reference, here are the battery capacities of the device I've used for testing over the years:

• iPhone 11: 3,110 mAh

• iPhone 14 Plus: 4,325 mAh

• iPhone 15: 3,349 mAh 

• iPhone 16: 3,561*

• Galaxy S22 Ultra: 4,855mAh

• iPad Air: 7,729mAh

• 16-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro: 27,027mAh

*The iPhone 17 has a slightly larger battery at 3,692mAh

I continuously update this guide as companies release new products.

Other power banks we tested

Here are a few picks that didn't quite make the cut, but are worth mentioning. 

Belkin Stage PowerGrip

If you’re into iPhonography, this clever accessory could be worth a look. Belkin’s Stage PowerGrip is a 9,300mAh power bank that has both a wireless charging pad and built-in cable. But it’s also a Bluetooth shutter with a quarter-inch tripod thread. The design resembles a standard digital camera and provides a sturdy grip once you magnetically attach your phone (make sure you’re either using a MagSafe case or no case to ensure a solid connection).

The shutter is conveniently placed and the remote speed was quick enough to capture the cute things my cat was doing. The accessory can even act as a stand while it charges in either landscape or portrait orientation. As a power bank, it’s slow, taking about two hours to get my iPhone 16 from three to 98 percent, but it has enough juice for a full refill plus a little more, which could help if you’re out taking pictures all day.

Anker MagGo for Apple Watch power bank

The Anker MagGo for Apple Watch power bank combines a 10K battery with a built-in USB-C cable and a pop-up Apple Watch charger. I didn’t formally test it as it’s a little too niche, but it deserves a mention for saving my keister on two occasions. Driving to a hike, my watch told me it was down to 10 percent. Thankfully, I had this and could refill the watch before I got to the trailhead. Later, on an interstate trip, I realized the travel charging station I’d brought was a dud. This kept my watch alive for the week I was away. It does a good job simply charging a phone via the handy on-board cable, too. But for those with an Apple Watch, it’s extra useful.

HyperJuice 245W

Hyper’s massive-but-sleek brick is one nice looking power bank. The HyperJuice 245W packs a hefty 27,000mAh capacity, enough to refill my tester phone about four times and get a MacBook Pro from near-dead to 75 percent. It only has USB-C ports, but you at least get four of them. USB-C only is probably fine for most situations, but a USB-A port would be nice for charging the occasional older peripheral. The 245 wattage is pretty high for a power bank and it was indeed speedy. It filled a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in just over an hour. But it’s the same price and capacity as our Mophie Powerstation pick for laptop banks, and that one has a better variety of ports. Hyper’s battery is also comparable to Anker’s laptop battery, which is cheaper, has built-in cables and has nearly the same capacity. Plus, that bank is just as swanky looking.

EcoFlow Rapid magnetic power bank

I was curious to try out the first power bank from EcoFlow, a company that primarily makes larger power stations and whole-home backup batteries. The first offering in the brand’s Rapid series is a Qi2-enabled magnetic charger with a 5,000mAh capacity. It looks quite nice with shiny silver accents and soft-touch grey plastic on the MagSafe-compatible front. There’s a little pull-out leg that sturdily displays your phone as it charges and the attached USB-C cable lets you refill devices directly, then tucks out of the way when it’s not in use. But it didn’t outperform our top pick in the MagSafe category, in terms of both charging speeds and the amount of charge delivered.

Mophie Snap+ Powerstation Mini

The Mophie snap+ Powerstation Mini is terribly well-built. It feels premium with a rubberized contact point for the MagSafe charging pad and a stand that runs the entire width of the bank itself, making it extra sturdy. It’s compact, too, but only carries a 5,000mAh capacity, which gets you a partial charge on most newer or larger phones. Our current MagSafe/iPhone pick has double the capacity, a stand and a digital display — for just $20 more than the Powerstation Mini.

Power bank FAQs

What's the difference between a portable power bank and a portable charger?

A slew of terms are used to describe power banks, including portable batteries, portable chargers, external battery packs and even, somewhat confusingly, USB chargers, which is what wall chargers are often called. They all mean the same thing: a lithium ion battery that stores a charge so you can refill a smartphone, tablet, earbuds, console controller, ereader, laptop, or just about any other device with its own built-in, rechargeable battery. 

There’s little difference between the terms, so the specs you’ll want to pay attention to are capacity (expressed in mAh), size and weight so you can find the right balance between recharging what you need and portability.

Power stations, on the other hand, are distinct. These are bigger units (often around the size of a car battery) that can be used to charge multiple devices multiple times, but notably, they can’t be taken on airplanes.

Does fast charging actually ruin your battery?

Not exactly. The real enemy of a battery’s longevity is heat. The faster you charge a battery, the more heat is generated. Modern phones have features that keep the battery cool while charging, like physical heat shields and heat sinks, as well as software features that slow down processes that generate too much heat. Phone manufacturers are keen to promote a phone’s fast-charging abilities, so they had to figure out ways to make faster charging work.

While there aren’t long-term studies on what fast charging does to a phone, a study on EV batteries (which use the same general concept of charged lithium ions flowing from one side of the battery to the other, absorbing or releasing a usable charge) showed a very slight decrease in capacity over time with only fast charging — though what actually made a larger difference was how hot the battery itself was, due to ambient temperatures, when it was charged.

In short, fast charging could be slightly harder on your battery than normal charging. But the safeguards most smartphones have make that difference fairly negligible. To really ensure you’re optimizing charging capabilities, limit your phone's heat exposure overall.

Can you use a power bank for all your devices?

That depends on the size of the bank and the size of your device’s battery. A small 5,000mAh battery isn’t strong enough to charge laptops, but a portable charger with a 20,000mAh capacity will give your computer a partial refill. You also have to consider port compatibility. If your device has a USB port, you’ll be able to easily find a cable to connect it to a battery. If your device has a more unique port, such as a DC port, you won’t be able to use a battery. Devices with an AC cable and plug can be charged, and sometimes powered (such as in the case of a printer or speaker), by larger laptop batteries with AC ports.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-power-bank-143048526.html?src=rss