Of all the car battery chargers, trickle chargers will probably find the most use for car owners. Designed to keep your battery from going flat when the car isn’t in use, these handy gadgets are an affordable way to not end up reliant on a jump starter.
A trickle charger will simply maintain your car’s battery as long as it’s plugged in. A great tool for car batteries that discharge quickly or for use on vehicles you don’t use for long periods of time, a trickle charger is a popular choice for owners of classic cars, recreational vehicles and even motorhomes that sit dormant most of the year.
They’re especially useful in the winter, too. If you have a classic or special car that you don’t want to use much over the winter, hooking it up to a trickle charger will keep its battery maintained until the salt clears from the roads. This will handily prevent you from having to use a jump starter.
The best trickle chargers at a glance
We’ve looked at price, power, compactness and any nice extra features to select our top trickle charger choices. So, without further ado, here are the best trickle chargers that can keep your car batteries happy.
The best trickle chargers
On sale now
It currently stands as one of the best sellers, and it's not hard to see why. It's great value, caters for loads of cars, is built to be durable, and is incredibly smart at monitoring and maintaining your battery accordingly. It does though, suffer from a few drawbacks such as short leads and very expensive add-ons.
Read our review of the CTEK MXS 5.0
Pros
- Great quality charger
- Comes with useful accessories
Cons
- The wiring is too short
Best solar trickle charger
Rrp: $199.99
Rrp: $199.99
Beyond that, it works as a standard battery charger, power bank and trickle charger. CTEK say that the CS FREE features intelligent trickle charging to ensure the battery is always in the best condition possible without the need for mains power. An optional solar panel makes this truly off-grid but also swells the price to eye-watering levels.
Pros
- All you need for car battery care
- Top build quality
Cons
- Solar power bank isn't for everyone
Best value trickle charger
My initial thoughts on the Ring RSC804, were that it was a lightweight trickle charger and that it was simple to set up. In fact, the instructions were essentially diagrams, and while these weren't complicated, I would've preferred to see some written instructions to confirm I was doing everything correctly.
There were charging modes for different battery types for both cars and motorbikes, such as 12V and 6V lead-acid batteries (including stop/start batteries). I feel trickle charger manufacturers don't explain these different battery types clearly enough in their instructions - but this is by no means a criticism aimed just at Ring.
Once connected up to my battery and the mains electricity, the Ring's large LCD screen fired into life and got to work straight away once on the correct 12V setting - it even provided a handy blue lit background for the initial reading. Despite the interval between charging, my battery didn't really need a lot of charging, so I left it for several hours doing its thing. Not too long into the charge, the LCD display reading switched from the voltage reading to 'full'. But I had no real idea about the maintenance cycle and if that had finished. I assumed everything went well.
What I plan to do to check this battery is fully charged, is to check with another trickle charger in early April if the battery needs more topping up. However, I am fairly confident the battery is ready to be installed back in my classic for spring time driving. For the money, I don't think many people can complain at this trickle charger's ability among more costly rivals.
Reviewed by Dave Kirby
Pros
- Value for money
- Effective
Cons
- Not as refined
Most comprehensive trickle charger
I primarily use my Genius10 for occasional trickle charging on my fleet of three classic cars, which are unused for five months of the year over winter. And when I say occasionally, it can be a three month gap between trickle charging. This is not the interval I'd recommend between charges, but my own availability to get to the cars during that time is limited. This is why I originally wanted a trickle charger that could maintain and improve the condition of the batteries and prolong their lifespans. After all, large batteries are expensive these days.
So I have the unique opportunity to provide a long-term review of owning and using a Genius10 over two years. It might just be me, but after that time I still find the Genius10 complicated to use, as there are several modes for different kinds of batteries. That's right, this trickle charger can charge almost anything; whether you have a normal 12V, AGM, lithium, motorbike, or leisure caravan battery. I haven't used it for any of these other battery types, just the normal 12V ones in my vehicles.
Due to the long periods between using the Genius10 though, I found in March 2025, I was unsure of the correct setting once again to use on a battery that hadn't been charged in three months. Having said that, I know now I had it on the correct 12V setting, but there was still an issue. Maybe it was due to the cable being too short like the CTEK MXS range, or I hadn't established a good enough connection between the clamps and the battery terminals on the first attempt, but after four hours the Genius10 showed an error meaning that the battery initially failed to charge.
On the second attempt after cycling through the settings and back to normal 12V, it charged up, and the charging indicator lights ascended both in colour from red to orange to green, and in size. When the big green light starts to slowly flash it means that the battery is charged, but is now maintaining. It must have been on this maintaining stage for well over 10 hours, but I didn't know how long it needed to do this. In the end, rightly or wrongly, I turned it off. A fully charged and maintained battery will show a solid green light when it's done - but having observed a fault on the first attempt, I was left wondering if my Genius10 was working properly.
My previous uses of the charger never gave any real issues, so I will report back once I have tested this on another vehicle that hasn't had its battery charged in three months.
The NOCO Genius 10 has several charging and reconditioning modes including a Force Mode which allows you to charge batteries as low as 1 or 0 volts. Once it's fully charged, it takes over and reconditions your battery and keeps the level topped up without overcharging. It also has a thermal sensor which helps to prevent overcharging in hot weather and undercharging in cold temperatures.
Reviewed by Dave Kirby
Pros
- Incredibly comprehensive and smart trickle charger
- Very good quality
Cons
- Cable is quite short
Best for stop/start systems
Stop/start systems can strain your battery. You might notice this if you're expecting the engine to turn off, but it doesn't at some points. The CT5 helps keep the charge in the battery maintained, so your car's tech works as well as it should.
Pros
- Perfect for cars with stop/start systems
- Great quality trickle charger
Cons
- The instructions aren't the easiest to read
Best simple trickle charger
It also has the same Force Mode which helps charge up dead batteries and has the same thermal temperature sensor to cope in hot and cold temperatures. There aren't as many battery reconditioning modes as on the Genius10, but this is reflected in the price. For someone who wants an ultra-simple, good-quality trickle charger, this is a great option.
Pros
- Compact size makes it useful in tight spaces
- Useful in hot or cold temperatures
Cons
- Same issues as the Genius10
Best budget trickle charger
It features a couple of safety features too, to protect your battery, namely protection against short-circuiting, overloading and reverse polarity. Keeping a battery topped up doesn't get any simpler than this.
Pros
- Affordable
- Simple to use
Cons
- Only works on lead-acid batteries
What you need to know about trickle chargers
What are the different types of trickle chargers?
Mains-powered trickle chargers are the simplest way of trickle charging, simply plugging into a standard three-pin plug and connecting to your engine. While it means your car is tethered to a power source, it is a good option if your car is kept in a garage. Battery-powered options work the same as mains-operated chargers but use an internal battery to provide the volts to your battery. These are often rechargeable via a USB port and mean you can trickle charge your car on the go. Solar-powered ones are a bit cooler because they solely rely on the great orb of fire in the sky (the sun). A solar battery charger means they’ll effectively charge your car for free so long as there is sun and the solar panel is in direct sunlight. If you need to move around a lot, though, we can recommend the best portable battery chargers.
Why is my battery going flat?
As batteries age, they become less efficient and so will discharge quicker. This is why it’s recommended you replace them every couple of years. Modern cars are also jam-packed with electronics, stop/start systems included, that can help drain a car’s battery. You can check the status of your car’s battery using a specific battery testing kit. These help you detect whether it’s low on charge or whether it’s a good idea to start the car right up.
Computers, alarms, central locking and even the little clock will contribute to a discharging battery. This will then be compounded if you leave your car for long periods of time without driving it. If your battery dies on the road or see someone else’s conk out, then it’s always a good idea to carry a set of jump leads.
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