USB-C Power Bank & Wall Charger Comparison
August 2017 Ian Chiu
One of the many highlights of the reversible USB-C connector and cable is undoubtedly the increase of guaranteed power, more than triple from USB 3.1’s 4.5W (5V 0.9A) to current 15W (5V 3A). When coupled with USB Power Delivery 2.0, output can be increased by severalfold to 100W (20V 5A) over a USB-C connection to power and recharge even the most power-hungry laptops.
USB Power Delivery?
That being said, there are two types of USB-C power banks and wall chargers you can buy today. The ones that leverage USB Power Delivery (PD) 2.0 standard can supply power more than the usual 15W. They are needed to recharge everything from MacBooks to Nintendo Switch.
Third-party USB-C AC chargers commonly support anywhere from 30 to 60W output whereas current generation of power banks can deliver 45W of power. In comparison, non-PD chargers and batteries are limited to maximum output of 15W (5V 3A) over USB-C.
Some of these products are supplemented with proprietary charging technologies (i.e. Samsung Fast Charge and QualComm Quick Charge). Their respective fast charging modes, however, only kick in when paired with compatible phones or tablets. In other words, they cannot supercharge your devices (e.g. Nintendo Switch, Apple MacBook, Dell XPS, Razer Stealth etc.) that comply with the USB Power Delivery 2.0 specs.
As of this writing, there are only a handful of USB PD power banks and power bricks that can recharge a USB-C laptop at full-speed while it’s under active use. Improved versions will certainly come as the technology matures and as market demand increases.
For comparison, below is a product chart featuring some of the latest USB-C power banks as well as third-party USB-C wall and car chargers we found to be worth checking out.
USB Power Delivery (PD) Power Bank Comparison
 Anker PowerCore+ PD |  Omnicharge Omni 20 |  Mophie PowerStation XXL |  Moshi IonSlim 10k |  Razer Power Bank |
|
| USB Power Delivery? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rated Battery Capacity: | 26,800mAh | 20,100mAh | 19,500mAh | 10,000mAh | 12,800mAh |
| Power Port(s): | 1x USB-C (bi-directional) 2x USB-A outputs | 2x USB-C (bi-directional) 2x USB-A outputs | 1x USB-C (bi-directional) 1x USB-A output | 1x USB-C (bi-directional) 1x USB-A output | 1x Micro-USB input 1x USB-C input 2x USB-A outputs 1x USB-C output |
| USB-C Output(s): | 5V 2A (10W) 5V 3A (15W) 15V 2A (30W) | 5V 3A (15W) 9V 3A (27W) 12V 3A (36W) 15V 3A (45W) 20V 3A (60W) | 5V 2A (10W) 5V 3A (15W) 15V 2A (30W) | 5V 2A (10W) 5V 3A (15W) 15V 2A (30W) | 5V 3A (15W) 9V 3A (27W) 12V 3A (36W) 15V 3A (45W) 20V 2.25A (45W) |
| USB-A Output(s): | 5V 3A (15W) | 5V 3A (15W) | 5V 2.4A (12W) | 5V 2.4A (12W) | 5V 2A (10W) 9V 2A (18W) 12V 1.5A (18W) |
| Proprietary Charging? | Yes Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 | No | No | No | Yes Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 |
| Power Passthrough? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 1.7" x 3.82" x 0.88" 9.7 x 4.3 x 2.24cm | 5.0" x 4.8" x 1.1" 12.7 x 12.2 x 2.7cm | 5.9" x 3.3" x 0.9" 15 x 8.38 x 2.3cm | 5.5" x 2.91" x 0.51" 14 x 7.4 x 1.29cm | 4.95" x 3.1" x 0.9" 12.6 x 7.8 x 2.34cm |
| Weight: | 1.27lbs 576g | 1.1lbs 506g | 0.86lbs 390g | 0.52lbs 236g | 0.74lbs 335g |
| Color(s): | Black | Black | Black | Titanium gray | Black |
| Warranty: | Lifetime | One year | Two years | One year | One year |
USB-C Car & Wall Charger Comparison
 Belkin BoostCharge Pro 140W Charger $97.49 |  Mophie speedport 120 Charger $99.95 |  Satechi 200W 6-port Charger $149.99 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Power Output: | 140W | 120W | 200W |
| Power Port(s): | 3x USB-C 1x USB-A | 3x USB-C 1x USB-A | 6x USB-C |
| Maximum Wattage Output by Port: | 140W (Port 1) 65W (Port 2) 65W (Port 3) | 100W (Port 1) 100W (Port 2) 20W (Port 3) | 140W (Port 1) 140W (Port 2) 100W (Port 3) 100W (Port 4) 20W (Port 5) 20W (Port 6) |
| Fully-loaded Charging Output: | 65W (Port 1) 45W (Port 2) 20W (Port 3) 12W (USB-A) [source] | 67W (Port 1) 20W (Port 2) 20W (Port 3) 12W (USB-A) | 65W (Port 1) 45W (Port 2) 20W (Port 3) 20W (Port 4) 20W (Port 5) 20W (Port 6) [source] |
| USB-A Output: | 5V 2.4A (12W) | 5V 2.4A (12W) | Not applicable |
| Interchangeable Plugs? | Yes | No | No |
| Power Cable Length: | Not applicable | 1.5m power cable | 1.5m C5 power cable |
| Dimensions: | 80 x 80 x 36mm | 75 x 95 x 31mm | 105 x 105 x 35mm |
| Weight: | 344g | 453g | 622g |
| Warranty: | One year | Two years | One year |
Nexcopy manufactures a variety of PC-based and standalone USB duplicator solutions.
PC based systems support advanced USB functions such as write protection, CD-ROM partition and multi-partition creation, while standalone systems are ultra-fast, high speed USB copiers duplicating gigabytes of data quickly and accurately.