Most households have more cords than they can keep track of. Instead of daisy-chaining surge protectors and playing find-an-outlet, you could just buy a single USB charging station. With options including a multiple-device public charging station and a portable charger that’s mostly a bunch of USB ports on a long charging cord, simplifying your charging situation is easy with these USB hubs for charging and syncing.
We’ve reviewed the best USB charging stations for 2021, whether you need a few extra ports or many. You’ll be able to find a charging station that reduces your outlet headaches and meets your device power needs at home or in the office.
This article concerns mostly those options with USB ports, so you’ll need to check out the best wireless chargers if you’re looking for options to charge your phone wirelessly. If you’re after speed and nothing else, then check out the best fast chargers or the best portable battery chargers if you need to keep your smartphone juiced on the go.
Vertically arranged hubs are a godsend when physical space is at a premium, and Wyness’s Tower Power Station provides six USB ports, two of which provide fast charging. As a smaller tower, it’s perfect for sitting on a desk or nestling into a community space like a living room. The design isn’t anything particularly unique, and it doesn’t provide the fastest charging speed available, but the black model will easily blend into a variety of environments, and there’s a blue and white, purple and white, and pure white version if you’re looking for a slightly different style.
Perfect for tucking into a smaller space, SuperDanny’s Power Strip gives you a small boost in charging ability for a wide range of devices. The four USB ports can keep smartphones and tablets topped up, while the two AC outlets on top can charge up laptops, power lamps, or anything that requires an AC outlet. The outlets are widely spaced, so you can fit in two bulky plugs at once, and the USB hub itself has a range of safety features like surge protection, to make sure you’re well protected against faults. A great choice for a crafting space, shared area, or bedside area.
Simple and small, Bull’s USB hub can charge up to four devices, while taking up about as much space as a credit card. That’s an impressive achievement, and it means it’s a great choice for a bedside table, or anywhere space is limited. Granted, it won’t be the fastest charger around, and the white body is likely to get grubby over time (as white plastic often does). But at this price, this is a pretty good bargain.
The intelligent design of the Hercules Tuff charging station is one of its strongest assets: The plastic dividers divide the charging dock and can easily accommodate phones of a variety of sizes (including their cases), and will glow blue when being charged so you know when one is already active. It’s a good fit for a family charging hub or similar situation where everyone can benefit from quick use. This model has six ports and comes with four Lightning cables for Apple devices, a Micro USB charging cable, and a USB-C charging cable, but we recommend stocking up on a small pack of smaller cables to suit your device if you’re not using a number of iPhones or iPads.
While Microsoft’s dock is technically designed with Surface laptops in mind, it’s an excellent fit for any office, classroom, or similar space where professional connections are important. There are two front-facing USB-C ports for easy connections and charging, with two rear-facing USB-C ports to make UHD video connections to external monitors easier to handle. There are also two USB-A ports on the back, and a Gigabit Ether port to support streaming. The Buy at Amazon station also supports security locks like Kensington brand to keep them safe if they need to stay in specific rooms.
This charging station supplies ample power to sustain an entire home’s worth of active devices. You get four USB ports, and Anker ’s PowerIQ and VoltageBoost technologies ensure your device is charged as quickly as possible without exceeding the supported rate. The maximum output for a single USB port is 2.4A, with a total maximum rating of 8A and a combined output of 40W. It plugs directly into the wall with fold-out prongs that slot neatly away for travel. The Buy at Walmart.com is an efficient, durable, and portable option. Anker prioritized usability with this charger, alerting users that it’s ready to charge with a blue light that turns on when you connect it to an outlet. Fast charging power is quite strong with this port, offering 2.4A at every plug-in. Unfortunately, there isn’t a Qualcomm Quick Charge port, so you won’t get QC-fast charging.
Powkey’s power bank isn’t pretty, but it’s very powerful, offering not only four USB ports but two AC outlets for charging larger devices. An informative LED light system shows how much power you have left in the charger, making it a great option for fishing and camping trips. It’ll charge a range of devices, including Android phones, iPhones, iPads, and pretty much anything, and so is perfect for when you want to make sure you’re not stuck without juice. Also, note the two available charging input options: A traditional outlet connection and an alternative for solar power. Enormous power output requires serious preparation, so it will take a good three to four hours to fully charge this bank.
But why should you even buy a USB charging station? After all, you probably have a bunch of USB adapters just lying around. Well, it’s for the same reason you might have a power strip — for ease of use and expanding your options. If you have three devices that need charging, a single AC outlet and USB adapter aren’t going to cut it. Instead, plug a USB charging station into that outlet and charge all of your devices at once.
Your choice of USB charging stations is going to depend heavily on the devices you have to charge. Have a lot of smartphones and tablets that often need charging in a single area? Then get a charging station with as many USB ports as possible. Have a laptop too? Keep an eye out for a charging station with at least one AC outlet as well. There’s a massive range of charging stations available, and a number even function as power banks as well, so you can take them outdoors with you too.
Simon Hill is an experienced technology journalist and editor who loves all things tech. He is currently the Associate Mobile Editor at Digital Trends. He has spent more than a decade writing about smartphones, wearables, tablets, software, computing, videogames, and robots all over the internet for Tech Radar, Android Authority, USA Today, VentureBeat, Deal News, and many other places. His work has also appeared on Yahoo! Tech, CNN, Fox News, Lifehacker, and Christian Science Monitor. He also spent several years working in the games industry as a game designer and producer. He lives in Scotland with his wife and two kids.
Jackie is an obsessive, insomniac tech writer and editor in northern California. A wildlife advocate, cat fan, and photo app fanatic, her specialties include cross-platform hardware and software, art, design, photography, video, and a wide range of creative and productivity apps and systems. Formerly senior editor at Macworld and creativity editor at The Next Web, Jackie now writes for a variety of consumer tech publications.
Freelance technology journalist and writer living in (somewhat) sunny Scotland. Gamer, tea addict, never without a good book.
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