Best 18650 battery charger
What 18650 charger are you looking for?
You need to consider certain things before choosing your new battery charger. You may not want or need all those bells and whistles. Or maybe you are a bit geeky and love to know every detail about your batteries and analyze them.
Safety is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, many, if not most, chargers on the market are questionable and can do more harm than good. Please don’t buy a lithium-ion charger just based on the low price! By the way, the list includes chargers for round cells that use slots, unlike a hobby charger. We don’t have any hobby chargers on the list because we are only talking about 18650 batteries.
BLF and CPF member HKJ have tested these chargers thoroughly. The complete reviews will be linked in the descriptions.
Looking for chargers that also fit a 21700 battery? Check out our 21700 chargers page. And don’t forget to check out our recommended flashlight batteries.
Best single slot charger
Xtar ANT MC1 Plus
Small Micro USB charger for Lithium-ion batteries!
- It only charges Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V), and no rechargeable NiMH or NiCad
- Can handle some long batteries
- Input 5V USB only.. no mains
- 0.5A-1A charge current
- Change current depending on the slider.. so the shorter batteries get charged at 0.5A, larger at 1A.
- Charges only! (There is no discharge function)
- Read full review here
This Micro USB Li-ion charger is about as good as the Klarus K1, except for a few things. It can not charge LiFePO4 batteries, and the charge current for a 10440 battery is a little high at 0.5A. However, since the K1 has been discontinued, it is still a recommended charger for single cells.
Best 2-bay chargers
Nitecore UMS2
2-Bay multi-chemistry charger.
- AA, AAA, NiMH, NiCd, Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V)
- Can handle long batteries up to 75mm
- 0.2A-1.5A auto-charge current
- Up to 3A charger current with QC mode (1 battery)
- Up to 4A current with 2 batteries (2A per battery)
- LCD Display with current, voltage, etc.
- Old micro USB plug
- Read the full review here
This is my go-to charger for my longest cells, but works fine with shorter cells as well. If you have all sorts of 18650 batteries, with button tops, USB ports, and protection boards, the UMS2 takes it all.
The review shows that the charger stopped a bit before the batteries were fully charged, but mine charges up to 4.22V, which is just a little on the high side. Just keep this in mind when you get one, and double-check yours charging to 4.2V
The only real negative is the micro USB port it has. Also, you have to use the included USB cable to reach the max charge currents.
Xtar VC2L
2-Bay multi-chemistry charger.
- AA, AAA, NiMH, Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V)
- Can handle long batteries, including 18650 & 21700
- USB-C input
- 0.5A-2A charge current
- Small LCD Display with readings
- No discharge or refresh function
- Price: ~$20
The Xtar VC2L is a simple charger with only 1 button for charging most of the general batteries used in flashlights, ranging from rechargeable NiMH batteries to long 18650 batteries.
Consider this one if you want a simple charger for your 18650 batteries. However, if you also want to charge 10440 or other small batteries, the lowest charge current, at 0.5A, might be a bit too high.
Best Lithium Ion Charger with 4 bays
Miboxer C4-12
4-Bay special charger with power bank feature
- AA, AAA, NiMH, NiCd,Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V)
- Can handle the longest batteries
- 0.1A-3A charge current
- USB out at 1A ( power bank function)
- Large LCD Display
- Read full review here
This charger is one of the fastest chargers on the market that can charge 26650 batteries at 3A.
Opus BT C3100 / BT C3400
The second best 18650 analyzer
- AA, AAA, NiMH, NiCd, LiFePO4 (3.2V), Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V) and Li-ion 4.35V (3.8V)
- Can handle long batteries
- Can charge 4.35 batteries with a hidden switch
- 0.2A-2A charge current
- It can handle most cylindrical batteries on the planet
- Large display
- Read the full review here
Before owning the SKY RC3000, I used the Opus BT C3100 primarily for my 18650 batteries.
The charger can handle AA, AAA, Lithium, and even 4.35V lithium batteries (after using the hidden switch inside). It charges, discharges, does capacity checking etc.. for below $40. I highly recommend it! This is an excellent and affordable charger for people who want to diagnose the quality of their batteries.
SkyRC MC3000
The best 18650 battery charger
- AA, AAA, NiMH, NiCd, LiFePO4 (3.2V), Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V) and Li-ion 4.35V (3.8V)
- Can handle long batteries
- Maximum control over every detail
- 0.2A-3A charge current
- Can handle literally every cylindrical battery on the planet
- Large display
- Bluetooth compatible
- PC connector
- Read the full review here
This charger does everything you can think of. It can charge all kinds of chemistries, discharge, test, plot, check, read, listen, or whatever. This is my personal go-to charger analyzer! You can set your own programs, currents, etc. This is really the most advanced charger in the world, period. If you want maximum control over your charging, get this one, and be done with it.
Best Lithium Ion Charger with 8 slots
Miboxer C8 smart charger
8-bay 18650 charger
- AA, AAA, NiMH, NiCd, LiFePO4 (3.2V), Li-ion 4.2V(3.6V) and Li-ion 4.35V (3.8V)
- Can handle long batteries and the widest D and 32650 batteries
- 0.1A-1.5A charge current (If all slots are used, only 0.8A per battery)
- Large LCD display
- Read the full review here
Miboxer has been active on the charger market for a few years now. I was actually surprised to see the Miboxer mentioned so often in this list, but I can’t help it, because they are great chargers. The test confirms that you can set a charge current manually up to 1.5A per battery. Keep in mind, that this is only possible using up to 4 batteries. If you use all 8 slots, it will be reduced to 0.8A per battery.
For large 32600 batteries, 0.8A is pretty slow, but for 18650 batteries, that would mean a maximum of 4.5 hours of charging… and usually less with lower capacity cells.
A great feature is the wide variety of chemistries and batteries it charges. If you need to charge many batteries and many kinds of batteries simultaneously, this is the one you are looking for.
ps. I once bought the Efest LUC C8 a while ago, but didn’t like how it worked with the touch panels etc.. so I don’t recommend buying the Efest in case you were wondering.
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