A car phone holder that wirelessly charges your device and keeps it secure can make for safer and better-connected motoring, especially after the laws on phone use were recently tightened up, so you can now be fined for doing almost anything on your phone while behind the wheel.

We tested all of our phone holders by fitting them in a car with conventional horizontal vent slats, and using each holder over a set route. We assessed them for ease of fitment, as well as for how securely they held a phone while on the move. We also considered how compatible they are with differing handset brands, how easy the phone was to reposition while in the holder, how quickly the holder charges the phone, and whether it included overcharging or overheating protection.

Price £24.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 15W

This pad is a slightly different take on a wireless charger. It has the benefit that it can be used on any flat surface, but not all cars have a flat cubby to place it on, which then makes it next to useless because the phone isn’t fixed to the pad at all and will simply slide off if it’s not in a suitably secure recess. If your car does have an appropriate spot for it, however, this is a good option if you want to charge your phone but also keep it out of sight.

Price £28.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 15W

This is a rather blinged-up, vent-mounted device, that has a metallic finish and various lights to show when it’s started charging, but feels quite cheaply made. It has a hook-style mount that tightens over the vent’s blade, but it’s not as supportive as most of the other holders. A sensor that automatically opens and closes the arms as the phone is seated in the holder works well, and the device is compatible with any wireless charging phone, including older models that use QC wireless charging.

Price £15.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 10W

The Juicer Buddy feels flimsy, but the big problem is that the grip that attaches to the vent strut is spring-loaded. This means that, unlike the holders that screw tight, it doesn’t clamp securely and wobbles slightly when you’re driving. It does the job, though, and charged our phone just fine, but rivals feel more secure and better made and charge a little faster.

Price £7.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 10W

The Arteck phone holder is easy to mount securely to a horizontal air vent, and the same ball-joint fixture that all of our vent-mounted chargers have gives 360-degree rotation so that you can have your phone mounted portrait or landscape. It feels cheaply made, and there’s no battery overheating or overcharging protection, but it’s very affordable and comes with a 24-month warranty if you need it.

Price £12.80 | Buy from Halfords | Maximum charging speed 10W

This is a straightforward phone holder that attaches securely to an air vent and is compatible with any Qi wireless charging device. It stops your phone from wobbling thanks to spring-loaded arms, and the light that goes around the back of the holder gives a nice visual flair. However, you need two hands to get your phone fitted, and with no lower support, it feels like the phone’s at risk of slipping out.

Price £16.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 15W

The Ultrics looks and feels a little cheap, but its arms automatically release and grip your phone, so getting started is an easy one-handed job. With a very similar screw-tightened, ball-joint mount as most other vent-mounted holders here, it’s easy to fit and feels secure when installed. Lights on the back of the device indicate when it’s charging, although they’re bright enough to be annoying at night. It supports both Qi and older QC forms of wireless charging.

Price £26.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 15W

The Hopeme is the smartest, most minimalist-looking holder here. It feels very solidly made, with weighty aluminium parts, and it fits to a normal vent blade very easily with no screw tightening or sticky pads; it uses magnets to secure your phone instead. The phone feels secure when stuck to it, and there’s overheating and overcharging protection. However, it’s only compatible with Apple’s MagSafe phone cases; if it were more widely compatible, it would have won this test.

Price £32.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 15W

This chunky phone holder looks intrusive, but the washable rubber feels very durable and has an appealing, no-nonsense aspect to it. Installation is as simple as sticking it to the dashboard and plugging it in. The phone is held very steady and the dash-top placement means that it’s in your line of sight. Charging speed is good, and you don’t have to be particularly precise with phone placement for charging to begin. It’s not pretty, but it works well and it feels like it’ll last.

Price £29.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 15W

This charger is easy to install onto a standard horizontal air vent, but it probably won’t fit your car if you have rotary or recessed vents instead. The lower plastic support that the phone sits on feels quite brittle, but quality is otherwise good, and the automatically releasing and gripping rubberised arms make it easy to fit or remove your phone one-handed. A light that pulses when your phone is charging is a nice touch. Charging is quick, and the charger works with any phone that meets the Qi global wireless charging standard.

Price £21.99 | Buy from Amazon | Maximum charging speed 10W

This holder can be mounted to a vent with a secure, screw-tightened clamp and 360-degree rotation – as with many others here – or it’s supplied with sticky pads and a flexible, extended ‘gooseneck’ that means you can fit it in cars that don’t have conventional vents. The plastics feel sturdier than most others, it’s secure and easy to adjust on the move, and there’s a function that senses and responds if the phone is getting too hot. It may not be the quickest or the snazziest to look at, but the MPOW is the best overall option, given its competitive price, straightforward functionality, 24-month warranty and the fact that it promises to fit any car.

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