The Best Power Banks
Verified by
Hadleigh V. Lead Product Analyst
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Three publications that run laptops off their test batteries landed on the same pick. PCMag named the Anker Laptop Power Bank its best for laptops, saying it charges power-hungry machines as effortlessly as it charges a phone. Engadget made it its laptop pick as well, and in CNN Underscored's phone, tablet and laptop rounds it tied for the win in most of them.
The cables are why reviewers keep coming back to it. Two USB-C cords live in the body, one retractable and one that doubles as a carry strap, so there is nothing to forget at home. A third USB-C port and a USB-A port bring it to four devices at once, and the 25,000mAh cell holds 90Wh, under the 100Wh airline carry-on limit.
A single port puts out up to 100W, enough to fast-charge most laptops, and the bank shares 165W across all four. Tom's Hardware found it ran cool through its laptop discharge test. Anker's own Prime 300W scores higher on our chart because of its raw output, but it lists at $229.99, nearly double this bank's $119.99.
What It Won't Do
At 595 grams it is a heavy thing to carry every day, close to three times the weight of the Anker Nano. Output drops once several devices share it, which PCMag flags, so two laptops won't both get 100W. Engadget found the display picks up smudges easily. It isn't the most powerful laptop bank either: the Prime pushes 140W from each of two ports, and Tom's Hardware measured the Sharge Shargeek 170 holding more than 90W all the way to empty.
ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes puts power banks through a lab round of capacity and output tests, and his best overall is the Anker Nano with a built-in USB-C cable. He scored it 3.8 out of 5, with 9 of 10 for travel, and called it everything most owners want from a power bank. CNN Underscored, which times how much charge each bank adds in 30 minutes, named it the best charger for phones after it tied for the top iPhone 16 result.
The attached cable makes it. It doubles as a strap, so the bank goes into a pocket with nothing else, and a spare USB-C port and a USB-A port handle a second and third device. A small color screen shows the exact percentage left.
Anker sells it for $49.99, well under half the price of our top pick, and at 215 grams it weighs about a third as much.
What It Won't Do
Thirty watts suits phones, earbuds and tablets, but CNN notes it isn't the fastest at this price, and it won't keep a laptop going. With several devices plugged in the total falls to 24W. There's no wireless charging, ZDNet's main complaint, so MagSafe users are better served by the Baseus PicoGo AM52. The 10,000mAh cell holds about 36Wh, a fraction of our top pick's 90Wh.
Who Should Buy Which
Anker Laptop Power Bank (25K, 165W)
The laptop power bank PCMag and Engadget both pick, with two built-in USB-C cables so you never pack a cord
- Laptop users who work away from outlets
- Travelers charging a laptop, phone and earbuds from one bank
- Anyone tired of packing separate cables
- Flyers who need to stay under the 100Wh airline limit
Anker Nano Power Bank (10K, 30W, Built-In Cable)
ZDNet's best power bank overall and CNN Underscored's pick for phones, with a built-in USB-C cable that doubles as a strap
- Daily phone and earbud top-ups
- Pocket or small-bag carry
- Budgets around $50
- Owners of USB-C phones