4 compact batteries that are more powerful than you think

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A portable battery pack or charger is a handy gadget that can help you charge your phone without an outlet when you’re away from a wall outlet. However, it is not always convenient to travel with a huge power bank despite its higher battery capacity if you want to charge a phone or mobile accessories just once. Fortunately, several brands offer power banks that are more compact and lighter than the competition without compromising battery capacity.

But with so many options on the market, it’s not easy to find a truly compact battery that has a usable capacity rating and offers good charging speeds. Therefore, we have done the work and selected some of the top-rated options after looking at the device specifications and buyer reviews, as well as expert advice when available. For our recommendations, we focus on batteries that have a small footprint and weigh less than 100 grams per 5,000 mAh of their marketed capacity.

Anker’s Nano Power Bank is a compact, lightweight portable charger that weighs just 3.5 ounces and is about the same size as a lipstick case or thick lighter. It still packs a 5,000mAh battery; However, since it has a rated capacity of 2,600 mAh, you can only expect it to provide that much power to your phone or mobile accessories. It also comes with a built-in USB-C connector as well as a standard USB-C port.

Another highlight of the Anker offering is support for 22.5W charging. While this charging speed isn’t particularly impressive, it’s still pretty decent and will charge your phone in a reasonable amount of time. The company claims it can charge an iPhone 15 from zero to 43% in 30 minutes. Other features include support for direct charging, which allows you to continue charging the phone while recharging the power bank.

Plus, at its list price of $27, it doesn’t cost much, and you can choose from five color options. This is one of the best portable chargers according to Consumer Reports. Amazon shoppers also gave the power bank a good average rating of 4.3, based on over 15,000 reviews. Buyers like its portability and the built-in USB-C connector; However, some are not very happy with the limited battery capacity. There are also some complaints about disconnection issues with the built-in connector.

Aptly named, the INIU Pocket Rocket P50 is one of the smallest 10,000 mAh batteries you can buy. It’s just a little smaller than a credit card in length and width. It’s also quite lightweight at just 5.6 ounces and packs three USB ports for charging, including two USB-C ports, which can deliver up to 45W of power when used individually. There is also support for USB Power Delivery (USB PD), Programmable Power Delivery (PPS), and Samsung Super Fast Charging 2.0, making it a great choice for Apple, Google, and Samsung devices.

The third USB-A port allows for charging at up to 18W. However, when using all three or two ports simultaneously, the output power will drop to just 15W total. In other features, there is a digital display to show the battery percentage, and the company provides a braided USB-C cable that doubles as a lanyard. Additionally, its capacity is rated at 6,200 mAh, which is slightly higher than what you get in many other 10,000 mAh power banks.

The INIU Pocket Rocket P50 costs $33 and received an average rating of 4.2 out of 5 on Amazon, with over 3,000 reviews. People are happy with its build quality, size, and portability. However, a small number of buyers complain that their power bank is faulty and dies within a few days or months. Experts from Reviewed, WSJ Buy Side and T3 were also impressed and highlighted its affordability, design and availability of three ports, but point out its slow 20W self-charging speed and the fact that the supplied cable is only rated at 3A, which doesn’t suit Samsung’s fast charging technology.

If a 5,000 mAh power bank is a little too small for your needs, CukTech sells a reasonably compact 10,000 mAh portable charger called the 30W Mini Power Bank. Although it’s just over an inch thick, it’s only the size of a credit card and weighs 6.9 ounces. To put its weight in context, it’s less than the weight of an iPhone 17 Pro, meaning you’re essentially carrying another phone around with you. The rated capacity is 5,600 mAh, which means it can provide at least a full charge to most popular phones, except the OnePlus 15 or 15R with their 7,000+ mAh batteries.

In other highlights, you get 30W support for your phone and for charging the power bank itself. There’s also a USB-C port and a USB-A port to handle most devices, and the former is good for the full 30W, while the latter tops out at 22.5W. Additionally, the company includes all the common safety technologies related to power banks, including overcurrent protection, short circuit protection, and temperature protection. Another advantage of the CukTech offering is its aggressive pricing, and you’ll only have to pay $26 for it, the same price as Anker’s Nano Power Bank.

Amazon shoppers also gave it a solid average rating of 4.4 out of 5, based on nearly 450 reviews, with people liking the fast loading speed, compact design, and good price. That said, some buyers are seeing defective units and warranty issues. ChargerLab did a teardown and said the power bank’s construction shows good workmanship and is a solid choice for anyone looking for a small power bank.

Baseus, a mobile accessories brand based in China, offers another very compact portable charger, the PicoGo AC22 Mini, which not only packs a 10,000 mAh battery but also has some cool features. For example, it can provide up to 45W fast charging via USB Power Delivery (USB PD), a feature that’s hard to find in such a design. It also comes with a built-in retractable USB-C cable, saving you the hassle of carrying a cable separately. Despite these features, it only weighs 6 ounces, has a smaller footprint than the CukTech 30W Mini Power Bank, and is about the size of an AirPods case.

It also has the same 5,600mAh rated capacity as the CukTech offering; however, it supports a slower charging speed of 20W to recharge the power bank itself. Besides the built-in USB-C cable, the Baseus Power Bank has an additional USB-C port, direct charging support, a host of safety precautions, and a smart display that shows available battery percentage and fast charging status.

It’s priced at $40 and has an average rating of 4.2 on Amazon, based on around 150 reviews. Buyers praise its build quality, small form factor, and charging speed. However, some people complain about having faulty units.

There’s no shortage of portable chargers on the market, including power banks that do more than just charge. However, if you want something truly compact and portable, the number of choices diminishes. Still, you can find a reasonable selection. When selecting compact batteries, we focused on reputable brands and looked through their portfolios to find some of the most compact and miniature batteries. We’ve limited our selection to only include portable chargers with a battery capacity between 5,000 mAh and 10,000 mAh, because anything lower, after taking into account the rated capacity, would be too small to offer a decent amount of charge, and anything higher would become too big and heavy to be considered compact and portable.

More importantly, weight was an important consideration for us, so we excluded all portable chargers weighing more than 100 grams for 5,000 mAh of battery capacity. Finally, we considered Amazon reviews and expert opinions where available to narrow down the choices, and all of our recommendations received an average buyer rating of 4.2 or higher out of 5.