5 easy ways to charge a laptop in your car when you're working on the go

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• Charging a laptop in a car will likely require buying a special kind of charger.
• The fastest way is with an inverter, which turns a car's cigarette lighter into a standard outlet.
• If you have a new laptop with USB-C, you could charge it with a power bank or car adapter.

If your job relies on having a working laptop at all times, then you'll need a way to keep it charged in any situation, even when you're on the road. Or, if not for work, perhaps you're looking to charge a laptop and other electronics in a van or RV while camping.

Whatever the reason, charging a laptop in a car is actually easy, but it'll likely need some extra gear. In general, there are five ways to charge a laptop in a car, each requiring a specific accessory. 

How to charge a laptop in your car

Using a power inverter

You'll want a power inverter if you want the fastest charge possible with the widest range of devices. This type of device plugs into your car's cigarette lighter (also called the auxiliary power outlet) and converts your car's DC (direct current) electrical charge into an AC (alternating current) charge, which is what most small devices use. Essentially, you can plug in a laptop's power cord as you would with a standard wall outlet.

One of the most popular power inverters on the market is the Bestek 300W. This one offers both standard three-prong plugs and USB ports, meaning you can charge multiple devices at once. It also has a built-in fuse that acts as a surge protector. 

If you also want to power larger devices, like a TV or desktop computer, you'll probably need a bigger inverter that connects directly to the car's battery, like this 1000W model from DeWalt. However, this is unlikely to be a scenario for most people.

Avoid using power inverters while your car is off. Doing this for extended periods can drain your car's battery.

Using a USB charger

Most modern laptops have adopted USB-C for charging. If your car has USB-C ports, charging a laptop is easy: simply plug both ends of a USB-C cable accordingly, and, assuming the port's wattage is high enough, your laptop should start charging (you may need to start the car up). Just don't expect it to charge as quickly as it would using a wall outlet.

If your car doesn't have USB ports, they're already taken, or the wattage isn't high enough, you can use a USB-C car adapter, such as this 130-watt charger from Ugreen or a 65-watt option from Aukey. They plug into your car's cigarette lighter, letting you connect a USB cable to charge your laptop. Ensure the adapter you buy supports Power Delivery (PD) and delivers a high enough wattage — that could be 45 or 65 watts, depending on your particular laptop.

The cigarette lighter port may provide more power than a car's built-in USB port. If you want fast charging, consider an adapter.

Using a power bank

Power banks, also known as portable chargers or portable batteries, are common for recharging phones, but some can even power laptops. They are convenient, as long as you remember to keep them charged.

For laptops, the best power banks offer an output of at least 60W (most laptops need this wattage to charge at full speed), and an AC outlet or USB-C with Power Delivery port or both. Power banks with AC outlets can support any laptop charger. PD ports only support USB-C connections but offer higher wattage than USB-A ports, which lets them charge bigger devices, like laptops.

In addition to wattage, you need a power bank with a capacity of at least 10,000 milliampere-hour (mAh). Anything less may not be enough to recharge a laptop sufficiently.

If your laptop uses a proprietary charger (meaning it doesn't use a USB connection), you'll need a power bank with an AC adapter, like the Mophie Powerstation Pro AC and the Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC. But if your laptop uses USB-C, you can use a standard PD power bank, like the Nimble Champ Pro Portable Charger and Anker Laptop Power Bank.

Using a portable power station

For most people, this might be overkill. But if you need a reliable power source wherever you go, consider investing in a portable power station.

Like power banks, a power station needs to be charged before use (manufacturers recommend keeping it constantly charged until you're ready to use it). Its battery life is exponentially longer than a standard power bank, and it offers more ports and tends to last longer without experiencing battery decay.

Power stations range from small to large, depending on the battery size, but they're all going to be heavy. For a standard vehicle, the smallest units are easier to take from the car to home when they need recharging, which could be often, depending on usage. Larger vehicles may be able to support heavy-duty power stations, but these are difficult to maneuver. Regardless, you have to be able to charge them easily.

There are plenty of power stations on the market, and some even support charging via external solar panels, which is ideal for campers. The best options we've used come from Goal Zero, Jackery, and Anker, but notable portable power station makers also include Bluetti, Dometic, and EcoFlow.

Using a laptop car charger

Laptop car chargers are power supplies designed for a specific laptop model to plug into a car's cigarette lighter. However, as more laptops switch over to the USB-C standard, this type of charge has become increasingly rare.

In our research, the only company that still sells laptop car chargers is Dell, but even their charger doesn't support all laptop models. Try looking up your laptop model to see if the manufacturer offers a dedicated car charger.