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If you’re like me, you’re probably frustrated with the large power brick that ships with your laptop. It takes up too much room in your bag, it’s impossible to keep the cables tidy, etc. If you’re after a smaller and easy to keep tidy laptop charging setup, then I can help.
This is my personal laptop charging setup. I use a Lenovo Laptop which according to the power brick is a 45W charger. Most laptops require at least 45W. You can check what you need on the brick of your original charger but as a word of advice, you’re unlikely to find a solution for gaming laptops that are power-hungry. If your existing power brick doesn’t tell you the watts required, you can calculate it as Watts equals Volts x Amps.
The good news is if your Laptop charges via USB C you can find a more convenient and portable USB C travel charger solution. It’s also a good alternative if you have lost or damaged your original setup and need a replacement laptop charger; or if you just want a spare laptop charger for home, school, college, etc. My personal preference is I leave the heavy factory laptop charger in the office and use one of these smaller chargers as a travel laptop charger.
My personal USB Laptop Charging setup is as follows:
Top Pick – Best Replacement USB C Laptop Charger / GREAT VALUE!
PWR+ USB C Laptop Charger
This PWR+ model for under US$25 is the best solution if you want a like for like replacement. It’s the best value and cheapest replacement USB C laptop charger I have found. I like that the power brick has a LED light and the 12ft end to end cord length (from power adaptor to USB C plug) means no headaches when traveling or in a conference room with power outlets far away. It’s also UL certified, which is a must have if you want safety and to protect your laptop. The reason this is my top pick is it works with any laptop, outputting 30W, 45W, 61W, and 65W. The
PWR+ USB laptop charger
often pops up on Amazon with discount coupons. Buy this to keep at home, keep the original in the office – no more lugging a charger on the daily commute.
65W Option – Replacement USB C Laptop GAN Charger
Anker 65W GAN Charger – Compatible with Lenovo, Dell, HP
This is one of the more compact GAN chargers I have found. It only has a single USB C port, but that’s perfectly acceptable for my needs. The power plugs fold down into the unit. A plus is when it’s plugged in, it doesn’t block any outlets. It retails for about
US$40 on Amazon
and is frequently on sale. There’s a similar
60W version
with USB C and USB A which is OK, slightly bigger, and if you can get it on sale might be worth considering if you want to charge your laptop and phone at the same time. Although it’s hard to justify the price premium over the PWR+.
45W Option – Replacement USB A/C Charger (Not compatible with all laptops)
Anker 4 Port 1xUSB C and 3xUSB A Charger (1x USB C and 3x USB A)
This is an option if you have a laptop that only needs 45w and wouldn’t mind being able to also charger your phone, but it’s not compact. The upside is you get 4 ports (1x USB C and 3x USB A). The USB C port is only rated at 45w. It also has a long power cable, which is much good for in-flight use where it’s sometimes harder to get a brick to stay in place. It’s
about US$45 on Amazon
. Technically you’re not saving any space compared to your laptop power brick but you do pick up extra USB C and USB A ports so you can charge your laptop, iPhone, Airpods, iPad, and more all at once. Again, why I think this is essential for flights.
Must Buy – USB C Laptop Charging Cable
Uni USB C to USB C 100W Braided Cable
Why? This is rated up to 100W so it gives you more than enough upgrade protection. It’s long enough, at 10ft and it’s braided nylon, which is so much easier to keep neat and tidy. The lugs that you use to plug in and out have a heavy-duty feel which gives me confidence in their reliability. The cable is also a decent thickness which suggests it will last a long time. It retails for close to
US$10 on Amazon
. You have to buy this to be able to charge your laptop with one of the Anker options above, but you won’t need it on the PWR+.
Recommended – USB C to Lightning Cable
Uni USB C to Lightning Braided Cable
If you’re going to go for a USB C charger, you might as well charge your iPhone with a USB C lightning cable. I really like this cable, it has all the same benefits as the USB C to USB C to cable (nylon braided, quality connectors, etc.). It’s a bit shorter, at 6ft but definitely worth it. It retails for
under US$15 on Amazon
.
General Observations
Everything in the above setup can also happily charge an iPad Pro. I have also used this setup on a work-supplied HP laptop. I’ve also bought the same setup for my child’s school laptop (Mac) as I’d prefer he use the PWR+ USB C charger to and from school, just in case he leaves it there (we keep the original one at home). Anker does make some larger power bricks, including a 100W version with 4 ports but at $100 it’s a little out of my price range. I did miss the change of grabbing it when it went to $70 and if it drops to that price again, I will grab it. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with the PWR+ for price, value, and performance.
Any and all advice, guides, and reviews are unbiased and based on my personal experience. If you buy through affiliate links, I may earn commissions, which helps support my website. This does not have an impact on posts or my opinion of any reviewed products. If you find this post helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon . It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!