Tiny yet powerful, the best budget USB charger we tested is now even cheaper | Life and style

A beefy USB charger with half a dozen ports can be great for charging your laptop, phone and even USB bike light all at once, but the real heroes are the pocketable chargers small enough to always be around when you need them. That’s where the Anker 511 Nano 3 fits in.

When I tested 22 different USB chargers to find the best, this little charger easily took the crown for best budget charger thanks to its strong power delivery, compact size and a very hard-to-beat everyday price. That price just got better, though, with an Amazon Prime Day deal bringing it down from its usual $19.99 to just $12.34.

I already have a couple of these chargers floating around in my home and have no shortage of other chargers. But at $12.34, I’m almost tempted to stock up on even more because they’re just that good.

First, the 511 Nano 3 is impressively small. It has folding prongs to shrink up for storage, and it weighs just 0.08lbs. If you can find room in your bag or pocket for earbuds, you can find room for this charger. Many peers this size only put out 20W, but the 511 Nano 3 delivers 30W. That’s plenty for phones, tablets and even enough for some low-power laptops including Apple’s MacBook Neo.

It’s also reliable. Despite a compact size that often correlates with overheating, the 511 Nano 3 proved capable of delivering its full 30W for 30 minutes straight, and provided 20W for an hour straight. Some chargers, especially in this price range, can only deliver high power levels for a little while before they have to drop down to lower levels, so the 511 Nano 3’s dependability is notable.

Geeks will also appreciate that it supports four different voltages, and a standard called programmable power supply. That means it works with a wider array of devices than cheap competitors, and charges them at the fastest speeds they can handle. Other low-cost chargers I tested weren’t as versatile, such as the Anker 511 Nano Pro and Amazon Basics Fast Charging USB-C Nano GaN Wall Charger.

Many competitors at this price lack basic safety certifications, but the Anker 511 Nano 3 proudly sports a TÜV Rheinland badge, meaning a trusted third-party lab has certified it safe.

With all that in mind, it should be pretty clear why the 511 Nano 3 was already a good deal at $16. With Amazon’s Prime Day discount bringing it down to $12.34, you can afford to grab one for your backpack, your kitchen drawer, and your car glovebox. The deal even applies to all the fun colors the charger comes in, including lilac purple, misty blue and natural green.