Powerbanks extend the battery life of your smartphone with extra juice you can tap into while on the go or when there’s a power outage. If you own a smartphone, then you should probably have a power bank as an accessory too. But choosing the right power bank depends on your budget, your smartphone, and how much power you want out of it.
Power banks come in various shapes and sizes. I personally own several. The most important thing to remember is the capacity of your smartphone and the power bank you want. This is measured in milliamp Hours or mAh. As a rule of thumb, you should purchase a power bank that’s twice and more the capacity of your smartphone battery. That way, you can charge your smartphone at least two or more times.
Before you buy a powerbank
Since most smartphones have at least 3,000mAh rechargeable batteries, my recommendation is that you should buy a power bank with a minimum of 10,000mAh. However, 20,000mAh is ideal which can charge a typical smartphone at least 4 times.
There are power banks that are bigger than this. However, aviation restrictions might keep you grounded. Typically the biggest capacity of a power bank that can get on a plane is about 20,000mAh.
Besides battery capacity, another thing to keep in mind is the number of input and output ports on the power bank. Input ports are for charging. Usually, you’ll have a Micro USB, Lightning, and USB-C ports for this. The USB-C port, in particular, can sometimes be bi-directional meaning it can be used for both charging the power bank and charging your devices. A typical power bank will have a Micro-USB port and Lightning port. Fast-charging power banks will have a USB-C port which pumps a lot more power.
The outputs ports are usually the bigger rectangular-shaped USB-A ports similar to what you would find on a standard USB wall charger. They are used for charging your smartphone.
They support both standard charging at 10W and Quick Charge (QC) 3.0 fast charging which supports up to 18W. Wondering if your phone supports QC, here’s a list[pdf] of QC versions and supported devices. Fast-charging power banks have USB-C Power Delivery(PD) ports that can output as much as 45W of power. All this depends on the smartphone you have and which charging standard it supports.
Also, there are power banks that support Qi-wireless charging enabling you to juice up your smartphone without a cable. The key question to ask yourself here is if your smartphone supports wireless charging. If it does, then you can take advantage of the convenience of wireless charging at the expense of the speed of charging.
Lastly consider the time it takes to recharge the power bank itself. Micro-USB port is the most common interface for recharging the power bank, but at 10W it’s also the slowest. Consider a power bank with either a one-way or bi-directional USB-C input/output port for recharging the power bank because it’s 2-3 times faster than a Micro-USB port.
That said, let’s get into it. Summarily;
- Best powerbank for iPhones: Anker PowerCore Slim 10000 PD – $34.99
- Best fast-charging powerbank for any phone: INIU 20W USB-C PD3.0/QC4.0 10500 mAh Power Bank – $25.99
- Best universal powerbank: RavPower 20000mAh 18W Portable Charger 3-Port Power Bank – $35.99
- Best powerbank with wireless charging: AUKEY 10000mAh PB-WL02 Basix Wireless Charging Power Bank – $39.99
- Best high-capacity powerbank: Fochew 15W wireless 30,800mAh 25W USB-PD Powerbank – $27.95
2-Pack Miady 10,000mAh Dual-port Powerbank
The Miady 10,000 mAh is one of the best deals for an inexpensive power bank that offers standard 10W charging. This power bank offers two 5V/2.4A outputs ports that can charge any smartphone at normal speeds using a standard USB-A to Lightning/USB-C/Micro USB cable. That includes iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, Pixels, Xiaomi, Huawei, Moto, etc. It has a Micro-USB port for slower and USB-C input ports for faster recharging. Miady is offering, not one but two power banks for just $19.99 on Amazon.
If you want more capacity, you can top up $6 and get the 2-Pack Miady 15000mAh model instead for $25.99.
Ekrist Dual-port 25,800 mAh Power bank
Looking for the cheapest high-capacity power bank with good reviews, then this Ekrist 25800 mAh power bank is what you’re looking for. For a price tag of $19.47, it comes with two USB-A 5W and 10W ports. For recharging, it comes with one Micro-USB input port. This power bank can recharge itself in 8~12 hours with 2.1A (10W) input charger which is a long time. I wish they included the faster charging USB-C instead. Where it lacks in charging speed, it compensates with a sweet price point and high battery capacity.
Anker PowerCore Slim 10000 Power Bank
Anker brings its PowerIQ technology to portable power banks with this PowerCore Slim 10000mAh power bank. PowerIQ is Anker’s proprietary charging technology that delivers the right amount of power to different portable devices. This power bank is slim and light comes with one output PowerIQ USB-A port that delivers 2.4A of current. It comes with two input charging ports; a Micro USB port and a faster charging USB-C port. The USB-C port is for recharging the power bank only. It can’t be used for charging your smartphones. It goes for $21.99 on amazon.
If you want the one with a bi-directional USB-C port, then you’ll have to get the $34.99 20W PowerCore Slim 10000 PD model instead. It supports USB-C PD meaning power flows in either direction — that is charging your phone or recharging the power bank. This option is great if you have an iPhone 11/12/13, Galaxy S20/21, or any of the flagship smartphones.
Aukey 10000mAh PB-N73S 18W PD USB C Portable Charger
This 10000mAh power bank is slim, portable, and feels premium. It has two USB-A QC 3.0 fast-charging output ports delivering up to 18W power output. It comes with one USB-C PD bidirectional for fast recharging the power bank and fast charging your smartphones. It’s priced at $19.99 on the Aukey website. Aukey was recently kicked out of Amazon.
If you want more capacity, then consider this $28.99 AUKEY 20000mAh PB-N74 Portable Charger model instead. It also has a lot more input/output ports increasing the number of devices you can charge with it.
Anker PowerCore Essential 20000mAh Power Bank
If you want to go with something with a lot more capacity, then you should consider the Anker PowerCore Essential 20000mAh Power Bank instead. This power bank doubles the capacity of the Anker PowerCore slim with a 20000 mAh battery and two USB-A PowerIQ output ports for charging two phones simultaneously at 2.4A per port. For recharging the power bank, you have the standard Micro USB input port which can take about 10 hours to fully recharge, or the faster USB-C port which takes about 5 hours with a USB-C charger. This power bank goes for $59.99 on amazon.
If you’re looking at smartphone power banks with the same capacity but with a bi-directional USB-C PD port, then consider the $66.99 Anker 20W PowerCore Essential 20000 PD. It comes with one USB-A IQ output port and another 20W USB-C PD port used for both charging and discharging the power bank. If you have an iPhone 11/12/13, Pixel 4/5, Galaxy S20/21, then this is a better option.
Xiaomi Redmi 20,000 mAh 18w Powerbank
The Redmi 20,000mAh is a power bank from Xiaomi, a Chinese company renown for producing premium products at unbeatable prices. This Powerbank was my daily driver for some time and I loved it. The build quality is great.
It comes with two big USB-A port outputs 5.1V/2.4V (12.24W), 9V/2V(18W), or 12V/1.5V (18W) output on a single port and 5.1V/3.6A on dual-port usage. It uses variable voltage meaning it will supply whatever amount of power your device takes—up to 18W. You can charge the power bank using Micro-USB or USB-C ports.
They are rated 5V/2.1A, 9V/2.1A, 12V/1.5A which is between 10W-18W input power. If you want to charge faster, use the USB-C port with a compatible USB-C cable and wall charger. This power bank goes for $34.99 on Amazon, Amazon India for ₹ 1,999.
Read more: Xiaomi Redmi 20,000mah 18w Powerbank Review: A Powerhouse on the Go
imuto 30000mAh QC3.0 USB-C PD Portable Charger
This imuto 30000mAh is a high-capacity power bank that provides fast charging to QC 3.0 or USB-C PD devices up to 18W. It comes with two USB-A QC 3.0 output ports capable of fasting compatible devices running Qualcomm processors.
That would include smartphones like LG V30/, Q9, G5/6/7 Nokia 6/7/8/9, Redmi Note 5/9, Sony Xperia XZ/1/2, Xiaomi Mi 5/6. This power bank also supports USB-C PD up to 18W making it ideal for charging flagship smartphones such as iPhone 11/12/13, Pixel 4/5, Galaxy S20/21, and more.
The USB-C port is bidirectional, so it can also be used to fast-charge the power bank itself. This power bank goes for $39.99 on amazon.
2-pack INIU 20W USB-C PD3.0/QC4.0 10500 mAh Power Bank
Another great QC 3.0/4.0 power bank with USB-C PD support is this 10500 mAh power bank from INIU. It provides fast charging up to 18W through two USB-A QC 4.0 ports and one bidirectional 18W USB-C port.
The USB-C port is used for both charging and discharging the power bank brings the total of output ports to three. That’s three devices being charged at the same time. INIU is offering two power banks for $36.99, but if you want just one, you can get it at $25.99 and $27.99 for the 20,000 mAh model.
If the size is really important to you, then we recommend this $32.99 AINOPE 10,000mAh 18W QC 3.0/USB PD that’s as small as a deck of cards.
RavPower 20,000mAh 18W Portable Charger 3-Port Power Bank
This is probably the universal power bank that is ready to charge just about any of your smartphones. It can be charged by your existing iPhone USB-A to lightning cable and charge the iPhone with the same cable through one of the QC 3.0 USB-A ports. It can be charged by a slower Micro USB port.
In the output department, this power bank has two USB-A iSmart, PD, QC ports, and one bi-directional 18W USB-C PD port for charging and discharging the power bank. In total, it has 5 input/output ports for charging just about any smartphone or accessory. RavPower was recently banned from Amazon, so you’ll have to order it from their website for $35.99.
If you’re looking for something with fewer ports to specifically fast-charge your iPhone 11/12/13 or any of the flagship Android phones, then consider this $22.99 RavPower 10000mAh Power Bank 20W USB-C Portable Charger model instead.
Fochew 15W wireless 30,800mAh 25W USB-PD Powerbank
This power bank from Fochew supports not only wired fast charging via QC 4.0 and USB-C PD but also Qi-certified wireless charging. You get 5W, 7.5W, 10W, and 15W Max wireless fast charging. That’s great for charging Airpods and other TWS earbuds that support wireless charging.
On the cable’s end, you get two output QC 4.0 fast-charging ports with 18W power output. It also has a bidirectional USB-C PD 25W port for charging and discharging the power bank and one Micro USB port for charging. For just $27.95, this power bank offers a lot more than what you pay for.
Another Qi-certified portable power bank with wireless charging is the Anker PowerCore III 10K Wireless Portable Charger. It’s packed with a 10000mAh battery, offers 10W wireless charging, 18W fast charging via USB-C PD all for a premium price of $49.99.
AUKEY 10,000mAh PB-WL02 Basix Wireless Charging Power Bank
Another power bank with Qi wireless charging is the Aukey PB-WL02 Basix wireless charging power bank. It has a 10000mAh battery and supports 5W, 7.5W, and 10W wireless charging which is able to wirelessly charge Apple Airpods, iPhone 11/X, Galaxy S8/20/21. On the wired end, you get an 18W USB-C PD port and another 18W QC 3.0 USB-A port for fast charging.
This power bank comes with a handy flip-out stand that provides comfortable viewing for your phone while you charge it. This wireless power bank goes for $39.99 on the Aukey website which is slightly less than the Anker PowerCore III wireless power bank mentioned above.
If you’re looking for something from Ravpower, then consider this 5000mAh Portable Ultra-Slim Wireless Charger. But at $35.99 for this at half the battery capacity, I would rather go with the Aukey or Anker option instead.
So there you have it; our top smartphone charging power banks. If you have seen any great products online, let us know in the comments below.
