Types of Phone Chargers Ranked by Charging Speed

Although they look alike, charging technology explains the difference between phone chargers. Some chargers may claim to be “fast,” but they can take up to three hours to fully charge your device, whereas others can fully charge a device in under an hour. Here is a list of standard phone chargers from slowest to fastest.

List of Different Types of Chargers

Here is the comprehensive list of types of phone chargers:

1.USB-A Chargers (5W–10W)

These dated chargers used to come with all phones, and do so at a price. These chargers can take up to three hours to fully charge your device and are really only recommended for budget devices or charging overnight.

2. Micro-USB Chargers (5W–15W)

While these chargers come with fewer phones these days, they used to come with a lot of Android phones and are now somewhat dated. With charging times between 2 and 3 hours to fully charge your device, these chargers fall in the middle of the pack. The prongs of these chargers also tend to break or come loose over time.

3. Wireless Chargers (5W–15W)

The convenience of wireless chargers outweighs any charge speed (5W–15W). Qi charging is quicker than some wired options, but wireless charging is still less efficient than wired charging.

4. USB-C Chargers (18W–30W)

USB-C chargers provide speeds that are almost three times faster than the dated USB-A chargers. With charge times that drop down to ~1.5 hours, these are great general-use chargers. The thin plug design and reversible plug are great improvements over the older charging cables.

5. Fast Charging (Quick Charge / Power Delivery, 30W–65W)

Things get more interesting here. Technologies like USB Power Delivery (PD) and Qualcomm Quick Charge let phones and chargers agree on a higher power output, somewhere in the range of 30W to 65W. Chargers packed with this amount of power can take your phone from fully drained to 50% in 30 minutes. These are ideal for folks who need to do some battery (percentage) bumping.

6. Proprietary Super Fast Chargers (65W+)

Other companies have taken charging to the next level: OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, etc., charging past 120W. Charging fully puts other chargers to shame, taking 15 minutes or even less. But beware, because they are proprietary; these chargers require their own special charging cable to reach these speeds. Even if you use a charger from the same company, it may not reach the same speeds.

7. GaN (Gallium Nitride) Chargers

Technologies like Gallium Nitride charging allow more power to be packed more efficiently. Gallium Nitride chargers pull less needless wattage and thus run cooler than conventional silicon chargers. These devices can be made smaller and more portable while holding higher power outputs (100W, even higher). Because of these innovations in charging, GaN is the superior charging choice to bring with you.

Which Charger Should You Buy?

For most people, 18W-30W USB-C chargers are the best combination of fast charging speeds and reasonable prices. 

If your phone has fast charging capabilities and you need to charge your phone quickly, it is worth spending the extra money on a PD or Quick Charge charger that is at least 30W. 

Just keep in mind that both your charger and phone need to fully support the fast-charging capabilities at a specific speed; having a 100W charger might not help you if your phone is capped at a charging capability of 20W.

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