The best car battery chargers 2023

An in-depth guide to the best car battery chargers for improving battery health and longevity.

best smart battery chargers

by Aaron Hussain |
Updated on

If prevention is the best medicine, buying the best battery charger has to be better than relying on a jump start from your neighbour should your car's battery go flat. All batteries can go flat, whether it's due to the lights being left on all night or just failing due to age.

There are many different types of battery chargers available, all designed to do different things to your battery. The most obvious is the portable jump starter, effectively a brick of electricity designed to get a completely dead car battery going in a few seconds, but that represents just one of the battery chargers you can purchase.

Alternatively, if you own a cherished but little-driven classic that spends most of its life indoors, a trickle charger will be all that's needed to keep you on the road.

The best battery chargers shortlist:

Editor's choice: CTEK 2005 Portable Charger - Buy now from Amazon UK

Best battery trickle charger: AA 12 V Car Solar Battery Trickle Charger - Buy now from Amazon UK

Best big engine jump starter: GOOLOO GT3000 Jump Starter - Buy now from Amazon UK

We've been hard at work looking for our favourite battery chargers, examining them on performance, price, versatility and usability. Car battery chargers are on hand to recharge and, in some cases, recondition your battery, and we have the best examples for 2023.

The best battery chargers in detail:

Get 36% off

best car battery chargersVia CTEK
Price: £205.73 was £319.99

Description

While most battery chargers will do one thing exceptionally well, this portable option from CTEK

Pros

  • Exceptional versatility
  • The only thing you'll need for battery care

Cons

  • Not a quick jump starter

On sale

best battery chargersVia CTEK
Price: £62.99 was £94.99

Description

The CTEK MXS 5.0 was developed in Sweden and has been a reliable and best-selling charger for

Pros

  • Smart monitoring for optimum charge
  • Compact design

Cons

  • Not suitable for dead batteries

On sale

best battery chargersVia Bosch
Price: £56.41 was £77.86

www.autodoc.co.uk

Description

Bosch has got most things covered here at a pretty good price, as the C3 will happily tackle most

Pros

  • Good value
  • Automatic charge control

Cons

  • Needs mains power

The best portable jump starter

best battery chargersVia NOCO
Price: £134.95

Description

Delivers 1250 amps. Suitable for use on petrol engines up to 6.0-litres and 4.0-litre diesel. The

Pros

  • Exceptional battery-boosting abilities
  • Useful secondary features

Cons

  • Overkill for a small engined car

On sale

best battery chargersVia CTEK
Price: £63.20 was £79.00
Alternative retailers
Halfords£79.00View offer

Description

Designed specifically for use with cars with a start/stop function. This technology can put quite

Pros

  • Ideal for stop/start batteries
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • No fast charge facility

On sale

best battery chargersVia AA
Price: £35.52 was £43.72

Description

This AA 12v solar trickle charger is affordable and can be used on most vehicles - from cars to

Pros

  • No mains connection required
  • Ideal for trickle charging

Cons

  • Solar panel need direct sunlight

On sale

best battery chargersVia GOOLOO
Price: £95.96 was £119.95

Description

Like the NOCO above, the Gooloo GT3000 Jump Starter is compact enough to fit easily in a car's

Pros

  • IP65 weather rating
  • Very compact

Cons

  • Instructions could be better

The different types of battery charger

Traditional chargers

Provided the battery hasn't been drained to the point of damage, you can recharge it with a mains-powered charger. This is often the most traditional technology you'll find, fundamentally unchanged for decades, so there are cheap, robust options. For the small amount extra it costs to get a more sophisticated charger with a boost function, there's little reason to skimp here. Chances are, if you've got a battery flat enough to need charging, you'll benefit from the jump-start, too.

Battery booster

Traditional jump packs are a little more sophisticated than a car battery in a little box. Yes, you can jump a car from another battery, but doing so has become riskier as more sophisticated electronics proliferate. However, another battery is heavy, bulky and a bit of a faff. Modern micro technology has led to the creation of pocketable power packs that can charge your smartphone or jump-start your car. These are really only suitable for emergency use, but with the advantages of replenishing USB devices and quickly recharging from your car's 12V socket or USB. They take up no more space than an owner's manual; they're also really easy to carry about for emergencies. The downside of the portable nature is that the clamps and cables can be quite flimsy. But for occasional use, it's not a biggie.

Connecting your car battery charger: A guide

As cars have become more sophisticated, they've also become more sensitive to fluctuations in voltage. When attaching a charger, you should connect the positive to the positive battery terminal whether using clamps or a quick-connect cable. The earth should be connected to the car bodywork or engine at a suitable point – not the battery itself. This ensures any voltage monitoring circuits are 'aware' of the battery status. Always connect with power off, then switch power on to the charger. On older tech, it avoids sparks; on newer tech, it allows time for the electronics to optimise the charging programme. You can also avoid poor connections and make it easier to disconnect and drive by using the manufacturer's extension cables and permanent attachments – a very convenient way of keeping infrequently used cars ready to go.

Aaron Hussain is a commercial content writer at Bauer Media writing for Parkers and CAR. He is obsessed with classic cars and anything with a fascinating story to tell.

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