If you require a quick answer, the best car battery charger is the CTEK MXS, which is available in several power options and is designed to provide excellent charging performance, restoration of battery life and reconditioning of dead batteries. However, if you require additional smart features, the NOCO Genius is the best alternative.
To rate the car battery chargers within our roundup, we based our recommendations on testing, our experience using multiple chargers, the latest research and several factors. Some of the factors we considered included the charger’s performance, smart features, ease of use, build quality, compatibility, design, warranty and value for money.
Best Car Battery Charger Overview
- Best Overall: CTEK MXS
- Best Smart: NOCO Genius
- Best Professional: TOPDON Tornado 9000
- Best Solar: AA 4.8W
- Best All-Rounder: Bosch C3
- Best Budget: Nexpeak 10A
Below is a list of the best car battery chargers that are easy to use and suitable for all car batteries.
The Best Car Battery Chargers
1. Best Overall: CTEK MXS 5 Battery Charger & Conditioner
By far one of the most popular car battery chargers available in the UK is the CTEK MXS series and for good reason too. Available in several power modes, the MXS series is a Swedish-made smart battery charger that promises to provide the best charging performance thanks to its fully automatic 8-stage charging process.
As well as providing excellent charging performance, this charger also restores battery life and reconditions flat batteries.
- Easy to use with the charging status displayed via the lights on the front panel
- Multiple power options to choose from (5 to 10A)
- Suitable for all car batteries
- Restores battery life and reconditions dead batteries
- Spark free, reverse polarity connection
- Desirable trickle charging functionality
- Backed by a 2 year warranty
- Robust construction that can be used outdoors
- Relatively expensive when compared to the alternatives
Although the CTEK MXS has been around for a while and comes with a premium price tag, its popularity speaks for itself and it’s the best car battery charger on the market. We’ve owned both the 5A and the 10A models (as shown in the “How We Rated” section below) and have been impressed by both. The only reason we upgraded from the MXS 5 to the MXS 10 was because we wanted additional charging power and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Whether you want a car battery charger primarily for charging your car’s batteries or as a trickle charger, the CTEK MXS ticks all the boxes. It’s also used by many car manufacturers as an OEM charger too, which is a testament to its quality and ability to deliver reliable charging performance.
2. Best Smart: NOCO Genius 10 Smart Car Battery Charger
Another smart car battery charger that’s very popular and highly rated is the NOCO Genius 10, which is also available in several power options. In terms of its functionality and design, it’s very similar to the CTEK MXS but the Genius offers slightly more in terms of “smart” features with various charging modes and advanced diagnostics.
The NOCO brand has been producing car battery chargers for several years but the all-new Genius series has seen many improvements and is now more powerful and slightly smaller in size too.
- New and improved design with additional performance
- Intuitive smart features such as "Force Mode" for charging extremely dead batteries
- Doubles up as an automatic trickle charger
- Multiple power options available (1A to 50A)
- Compatible with all 6V and 12V car batteries
- Offers great value when you consider all of its functionality and performance
- Certain aspects of the construction could be improved (we found the connectors lacked quality)
If you want a smart car battery charger that provides you with advanced diagnostics, multiple modes and all the information you need about your battery, the NOCO Genius is the perfect solution. Considering all of its smart functionality and performance, it also offers great value too, which is always a great added bonus.
When compared to the CTEK MXS series, they both offer different pros and cons, which makes it difficult to state which is best. However, during testing of both, we did find the quality of the CTEK to be slightly better and for the “average car owner”, the additional smart features found on the NOCO Genius may never be used.
Therefore, if you want additional smart features at a more affordable price, the NOCO Genius is the best option. However, for better quality and a renowned reputation for reliable battery chargers, the CTEK is the best alternative.
3. Best Professional: TOPDON Tornado 9000 9-Stage Charger
TOPDON is gaining a great reputation for their professional car diagnostic tools and their latest line of car battery chargers are following that great reputation. The Tornado 9000 in particular is their flagship charger and it has been specifically designed for professionals and car enthusiasts. With 9 stages of battery charging and compatibility with the largest list of battery types, there is almost no battery that the Tornado 9000 can’t repair, charge and condition.
- Digital display that allows you to visualise information more easily
- Provides a maximum charging capacity of up to 90A
- Selection of modes to restore your car's battery
- Advanced temperature monitoring with the inclusion of a built-in temperature sensor probe
- 9-step smart battery charging functionality
- Suitable for all car batteries
- Most expensive car battery charger within our roundup
- Not suitable for the "average car owner"
Overall, TOPDON’s Tornado 9000 is a professional car battery charger that provides the best in battery optimisation, charging, and maintenance. Although the premium price tag is off-putting, its list of features makes it a worthwhile investment for any professional and it certainly won’t disappoint.
4. Best Solar: AA Solar Battery Trickle Charger
If you are looking to make the most of the sun with a solar car battery charger, the AA has the perfect solution. Their 4.8W charger is designed to maintain your car’s 12V battery by keeping it topped up whilst parked.
To use this solar charger, you can simply place it on your car’s dashboard so that it’s facing the sun and use the supplied connector to plug it into your car’s OBD2 port. Alternatively, you can use the supplied clamps to directly connect the charger to your car’s battery. If your car is protected with a car cover, we recommend making a hole in your cover so that the solar charger can receive sunlight to keep your car’s battery topped up.
- Supplied with battery clamps and an EOBD connector
- Compatible with most car batteries (including stop/start)
- Easy to install and setup
- Provides more than enough power to maintain a healthy car battery
- No LED's or digital display to tell you if it's working correctly
For cars that are parked outside and not driven frequently, a solar car battery charger is a great solution to maintaining your car’s battery and this AA 4.8W charger is one of the best on the market.
During testing, we really liked the fact that it could be connected to your car’s OBD port as it made the installation far easier. However, it’s important that you understand that this charger is only suitable for maintaining a healthy battery. Therefore, if your car’s battery is completely dead, you’ll need to use a standard charger to restore its charge.
5. Best All-Rounder: Bosch C3 Car Battery Charger
Bosch has a great reputation for quality that you can trust and their C3 car battery charger follows that reputation. It’s an automatic smart charger that’s easy to use at a touch of a single button and it can be used for a wide variety of 6V and 12V batteries. This particular model also features trickle charge as well as multiple safety functions.
- Built to a high standard by a reputable brand
- Clear LED indicator that informs you of the battery's charge status
- Suitable for the majority of car batteries
- Supplied with multiple connectors to best suit your requirements
- During testing, we found it easy to setup and use
- Lacks features found on similarly priced alternatives
To conclude, the Bosch C3 is an excellent all-round car battery charger that ticks all the boxes for an “average car owner”. It does lack features but if you simply want to charge and maintain your car’s battery, it’ll do exactly that.
6. Best Budget: Nexpeak 10A Car Battery Charger
If you are on a tight budget and require a cheap car battery charger that you can rely on, the Nexpeak brand has the answer. This is because their charger not only provides plenty of performance but it’s also built to a relatively high standard that’s also backed by an impressive two-year warranty for complete peace of mind.
In terms of its functionality, it has a 7-stage quick charge and it also features pulse repair, winter/summer temperature compensation, multiple modes of protection and a large digital display.
- New and improved charger that's also available in a red or yellow design
- Offers outstanding value for the money when you consider it's a 10A charger
- 8 forms of smart protection modes
- Great build quality with thickened cables, wrapped connectors and even a cooling fan
- Backed by a two year warranty
- Easy to use with a clear digital display
- Not backed by a reputable automotive/tools brand
- During testing, we found that the leads were much shorter than alternative chargers
To conclude, the Nexpeak 10A charger is an excellent bit of kit for the money and by far the best car battery charger you can buy on a budget. Compared to similarly priced alternatives, it offers far more functionality and the new and improved design has certainly made this charger even better. The only drawback is the short leads (from the charger) but this isn’t an issue when using an extension lead.
How We Rated
As we own several cars, we can’t drive them all at once and this means that we have many batteries that we need to charge and maintain. Therefore, over the years we’ve had the pleasure of testing several chargers. Our two favourites that we use regularly are the CTEK MXS and NOCO Genius chargers (as shown in the photos below) and we highly recommend both.
However, to keep up our commitment to reviewing and testing the latest car battery chargers (for this article), we are continually testing out the latest offerings from top brands in the UK. This means that when we notice a brand has released a new and improved charger, we will attempt to buy it and put it to the test (where applicable).
During our testing, we analyse the car battery charger’s build quality (i.e. clamp quality as shown in the photo below), ease of setup and use, available modes (fast charging, restoring dead batteries and much more) and effectiveness. To test its effectiveness and overall performance, we used a battery tester to provide a readout of the battery’s state of charge and health.
Below is a video that we posted on our YouTube channel that shows us putting our top recommendation (CTEK MXS) to the test. As you can see in the video, it’s very straightforward and there is a clear indication of its state of charge.
As well as our testing and experience using multiple car battery chargers, we also based our recommendations on the latest research and several factors. Some of the factors that we took into consideration included the charger’s performance, smart features, ease of use, build quality, compatibility, design, warranty and value for money.
Conclusion
Even if you have the best car battery in the world, without adequate charge, it won’t be of any use. Therefore, owning a car battery charger that you can rely on to restore your car’s battery to its original state of charge is crucial.
Within our roundup, we’ve included chargers that are suitable for the “average car owner”, enthusiasts and professionals. Although there are hundreds of battery chargers on the market, hopefully our list of recommendations helps you choose the best. However, if you require further information, feel free to get in touch and we will try to help out where possible.
