Top 6 compared
The best car battery chargers
A car, motorcycle or mower battery kept charged and healthy while it sits unused, ready whenever you need it.
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The top 6 at a glance
A smart charger does more than put charge back into a dead battery. It checks the battery first, charges it in stages, then drops to a maintenance charge and stays there, so a car that’s only driven on weekends, a classic laid up for the winter or a motorcycle in the garage starts on the first try. Garage chargers bring a dead battery back overnight; small maintainers keep a stored one full.
NOCO’s guide sets out the usual safety steps: charge somewhere well ventilated, fit the red clamp to the positive terminal first and the black one to the chassis or engine block away from the battery, and take them off in reverse. Ring terminals, where included, can stay bolted to the battery.
What matters
- Amps: the bigger the figure, the faster a dead battery comes back.
- 6V support for classics, older motorcycles and some tractors.
- Battery type: AGM in many newer cars, lithium only where listed.
- Temperature compensation, if it lives in a cold garage.
#1CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger (4.3A, 12V)
$75–$100
An eight-step charger that checks the battery, charges it and then keeps it topped off for as long as it stays connected, adjusting the charge for the temperature as it goes. CTEK started out in 1997 in Vikmanshyttan, a village in Sweden.
What owners say: Owners say it keeps batteries full without overcharging, from a BMW’s 92Ah AGM battery to cars that sat for two weeks and still started strong, and like the quick-connect cable that can stay on the car. A few had one fail at around ten months.
A closer look: Choose the program by battery: the small-battery setting for motorcycles and mowers, the normal one for cars, and the AGM option for the batteries in many newer cars. It charges batteries up to 110Ah and maintains ones up to 160Ah, which covers most cars, pickups and SUVs.
- 8-step automatic charging
- Charges batteries up to 110Ah
- Small-battery setting for motorcycles
- Dustproof and water-resistant
- 5-year warranty
Best for: Set-and-forget winter care
- Charging current
- 4.3A
- Battery voltage
- 12V
- Battery types
- Lead-acid (AGM, EFB)
- Maintenance mode
- Yes
- Repair mode
- Recond mode
- Temperature compensation
- Automatic
- Display
- LEDs
#2NOCO GENIUS5 Smart Battery Charger (5A)
$50–$75
Charges 6V and 12V batteries, lithium (LiFePO4) as well as lead-acid, so one charger covers the car, a 6V classic and a lithium motorcycle battery. NOCO goes back to 1914, when Joseph Henry Nook founded the company.
What owners say: Completely dead batteries have come back to life on it, owners report, and they like how much smaller it is than the chargers it replaced; it handles AGM and lithium too. Reliability is the split, with a few units stopping after a couple of months, and the manual covers only the basics.
A closer look: The bracket and screws in the box let it live on the garage wall. The charge lights climb from 25 to 100 percent, then the green one pulses while it maintains. Lithium mode is only for LiFePO4 batteries with their own management system, as NOCO’s guide points out.
- Wall bracket and screws included
- Charges batteries up to 120Ah
- Charge lights climb to 100%
- 3-year warranty
Best for: Garages with several kinds of battery
- Charging current
- 5A
- Battery voltage
- 6V and 12V
- Battery types
- Lead-acid (AGM, gel), lithium
- Maintenance mode
- Yes
- Repair mode
- Auto desulfation, Force Mode
- Temperature compensation
- Automatic
- Display
- LEDs
#3NOCO GENIUS2 Smart Battery Charger (2A)
$30–$50
The GENIUS5’s smaller sibling: 2 amps for 6V and 12V batteries, lead-acid or lithium. NOCO designs it for batteries up to 40Ah, the size in most motorcycles, mowers and ATVs, and says it will maintain bigger ones, so it also suits a car that sits for weeks.
What owners say: Small and simple to use, owners say, and it copes with lead-acid, AGM and lithium alike; one credits it with saving a car battery they’d have replaced. Opinions split on how reliable it is and on the maintenance mode, and some miss an SAE quick-connect plug.
A closer look: At 2 amps a full-size car battery that has gone completely dead takes a long while, so it’s at its best keeping a stored car, motorcycle or mower topped off between rides. The mounting bracket in the box lets it hang on the garage wall next to whatever it looks after.
- For batteries up to 40Ah
- Maintains larger batteries too
- Wall bracket included
- Safe to leave connected
- 3-year warranty
Best for: Small engines and stored cars
- Charging current
- 2A
- Battery voltage
- 6V and 12V
- Battery types
- Lead-acid (AGM, gel), lithium
- Maintenance mode
- Yes
- Repair mode
- Auto desulfation, Force Mode
- Temperature compensation
- Automatic
- Display
- LEDs
#4Schumacher SC1280 Battery Charger and Maintainer (15A)
$50–$75
A 15-amp garage charger that brings a big, dead battery back overnight, then drops to a 3-amp maintain mode; 6V batteries get a gentler 2 amps. A screen shows the voltage and how full the battery is, and it can test a battery and run a desulfation cycle on a tired one.
What owners say: Fast is the word owners reach for: a dead battery is full by morning, and it’s small and light for a 15-amp charger. The screen divides them, as some read the live voltage and percentage while others say it won’t show the real voltage, and a few report it stopping at 80%.
A closer look: Run a dead car or truck battery on the 15-amp setting, then leave it on the 3-amp maintain mode if the vehicle is going to sit. The 6V setting covers old tractors and classic cars, and the tester is worth a look before deciding whether a battery is worth saving.
- Built-in battery tester
- Auto voltage detection
- Reverse-polarity protection
- 1-year warranty
Best for: Big, dead batteries charged fast
- Charging current
- 15A (2A at 6V)
- Battery voltage
- 6V and 12V
- Battery types
- Lead-acid (AGM, gel, deep-cycle)
- Maintenance mode
- 3A maintain mode
- Repair mode
- Desulfation mode
- Temperature compensation
- No
- Display
- Digital (voltage, %)
#5Schumacher SC1355 Battery Maintainer (1.5A)
$20–$30
A small 1.5-amp maintainer for keeping a car, motorcycle or boat battery healthy through a season in storage, with a desulfation mode for batteries that have started to flag. Clamps and ring terminals both come in the box, so a bike or mower can stay wired up all winter.
What owners say: Owners leave it on diesel trucks, motorcycles and summer cars through the winter and find them ready to start, and one figures it has saved hundreds in new batteries. Some have had theirs for years; others lost one within two months.
A closer look: Bolt the ring connectors to the battery terminals once, leave the cord where it can be reached, and from then on plugging in takes a second. At 1.5 amps it’s a maintainer first: use it to keep a healthy battery full rather than to rescue a dead one in a hurry.
- Clamps and ring terminals included
- Reverse hook-up protection
- Smart trickle charging
- 1-year warranty
Best for: Boats and motorcycles in storage
- Charging current
- 1.5A
- Battery voltage
- 6V and 12V
- Battery types
- Lead-acid (AGM, deep-cycle)
- Maintenance mode
- Yes
- Repair mode
- Desulfation mode
- Temperature compensation
- No
- Display
- LEDs
#6NOCO GENIUS1 Smart Battery Charger (1A)
$20–$30
The size of a soap bar, this 1-amp charger keeps a car, motorcycle or mower battery topped up through the winter and can nurse a flat one back from as low as 1 volt. It handles 6- and 12-volt lead-acid and lithium batteries, adjusts for the temperature in the garage, and can stay connected for months.
What owners say: Owners call it reliable and easy to use and most leave it on the battery all winter; whether it brings a flat battery back, how quickly it charges and how long the unit lasts all get mixed reports, with some having one stop working within weeks.
Heads up: It is a 1A maintainer: for charging a big truck battery from flat, the 5A GENIUS5 or the 15A Schumacher SC1280 above is far quicker.
A closer look: At 1 amp it is a maintainer rather than a quick charger: connect it to a healthy battery and forget it, and allow a day or more to bring a run-down one back. The clamps swap for the ring-terminal lead in the box, which can be left bolted to the battery so the charger plugs in without opening the hood each time.
- Size of a soap bar
- Charges batteries down to 1V
- Ring-terminal lead in the box
- Can stay connected for months
- 3-year limited warranty
Best for: Hooked up for months at a time
- Charging current
- 1A
- Battery voltage
- 6V, 12V
- Battery types
- Lead-acid (AGM, gel, flooded), LiFePO4
- Maintenance mode
- Yes
- Repair mode
- Force Mode, desulfation
- Temperature compensation
- Thermal sensor
- Display
- LEDs
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 6.
| Feature | #1CTEK MXS 5.0 | #2NOCO GENIUS5 | #3NOCO GENIUS2 | #4Schumacher SC1280 | #5Schumacher SC1355 | #6NOCO GENIUS1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Runner-up | Most powerful | Best budget | |||
| Picked Rating | 9.3 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.6 |
| Price | $75–$100 | $50–$75 | $30–$50 | $50–$75 | $20–$30 | $20–$30 |
| Charging current | 4.3A | 5A | 2A | 15A (2A at 6V) | 1.5A | 1A |
| Battery voltage | 12V | 6V and 12V | 6V and 12V | 6V and 12V | 6V and 12V | 6V, 12V |
| Battery types | Lead-acid (AGM, EFB) | Lead-acid (AGM, gel), lithium | Lead-acid (AGM, gel), lithium | Lead-acid (AGM, gel, deep-cycle) | Lead-acid (AGM, deep-cycle) | Lead-acid (AGM, gel, flooded), LiFePO4 |
| Maintenance mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3A maintain mode | Yes | Yes |
| Repair mode | Recond mode | Auto desulfation, Force Mode | Auto desulfation, Force Mode | Desulfation mode | Desulfation mode | Force Mode, desulfation |
| Temperature compensation | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | No | No | Thermal sensor |
| Display | LEDs | LEDs | LEDs | Digital (voltage, %) | LEDs | LEDs |
| Best for | Set-and-forget winter care | Garages with several kinds of battery | Small engines and stored cars | Big, dead batteries charged fast | Boats and motorcycles in storage | Hooked up for months at a time |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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