The beefiest of battery chargers, car jump starters can sit ready to inject a brief but powerful jolt of electricity into a dead battery to get an engine running again. Also known as battery boosters, these products are the ultimate cure for a dead car battery.
There was a time when car jump starters required the arms of Popeye just to lift them into position. The good news is that you can put away the spinach – most modern jump starters are small enough to fit inside your glovebox and can weigh less than a kilogram, thanks to rapid developments in battery tech.
Amazon Spring Sale 2025: the best discounts on jump starters
Running between 25th and 31st March 2025, Amazon’s Spring Sale Deal Days event is happening right now and is your chance to save big money on all-things automotive. This includes jump starters from all the favoured brands, including NOCO, Ring Automotive and GOOLOO.
Save 26%: NOCO Boost X GBX45 – was £134.95, now £99.96
Save 30%: Ring Automotive UltraBoost 1,000A – was £89.99, now £62.55
Save 27%: NOCO Boost Plus GB40 – was £109.95, now £79.96
Save 37%: GOOLOO GT4000S – was £149.99, now £94.99
Save 25%: NOCO Boost XL GB50 – was £159.95, now £119.96
Of course, a trickle charger is always a nice thing to have when you’re leaving a car parked for a while. But jump starters are there for the worst of times. When you need to drive your car, but the battery has drained flat, a jump starter can be a lifesaver. And if your battery hasn’t degraded enough, a jump starter can also prevent the need for a new battery as well. The trouble is, a car battery nowadays has a lot to deal with.
The best jump starter power packs at a glance:
As modern cars are packed with electrical features that can quickly drain a car battery, it can take only a couple of weeks of inactivity before your battery lacks the power to start your car. It especially doesn’t help if you have a wired dashcam installed, either. And with car jump starters happy to sit in your glovebox until needed, it’s worth the investment for when the worst happens. We’ve found the best jump starters and tested a handful to find out how good they really are.
How we tested the jump starters
Most of the jump starters you see below were tested almost to their limits. We tried them out on a set of used vehicles that were bought for under £1500 each. All had dead batteries at the time of testing, and we mounted the jump starters where they were based to see if we could kick some life back into them again.
The conditions outside were mild and damp. Each vehicle hadn’t been driven for weeks between them, deliberately done to simulate a situation where you might require a jump starter in the moment. With an MG TF, we even left the lights on when parked to replicate somebody doing it accidentally.
What we look for in jump starters
Primarily, they need to be good at feeding life into dead batteries. So, power is the key aspect of the things as well as being capable to jump a variety of engines. Most jump starters are suited to petrol and diesel engines of a certain size, so really, the bigger the better in this case.
Next up is portability. Keeping a jump starter in the boot of a car can be very handy if and when the battery suddenly dies. Size and weight come into the portability question, so the easier a jump starter is to carry around, the more points it will receive on that front.
In terms of value for money, we’re a lot more flexible because quality jump starters will often have a premium price tag on them. They’re built for slightly different segments and purposes, much like cars, and so we will bear this in mind once we round up our findings. We will score a product well if we think it’s worth the cash.
The best car jump starters tested 2025
On sale now
But that's not the only thing that impressed us. When you want to use it as a power bank, it'll charge up your phone within record time. When you want to use it as a torch or assist battery jumping in low-light conditions, it'll do so with no effort required. The LEDs are immensely bright and useful for other tasks.
The build quality feels premium and expensive. You get the impression that NOCO appeal to a higher-end market than the others - and despite the GBX45 costing a sizable margin more than the competitors on test, we ultimately feel like it's worth it. It's worth paying the extra because you'll appreciate that it's an extraordinary machine both in quality and capability, and a great companion to keep in the boot of your vehicle.
Read our in-depth, singular review of the NOCO Boost X GBX45 here.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Great quality item with premium materials
- Flawless performance and ease of capabilities
- Charges up phones very quickly and powerful lights
Cons
- Possibly overkill if you only own a Supermini
| Weight: | 0.59kg |
| Dimensions: | 9.19 x 12.6 x 20.9cm |
| Max engine capacity: | 6.5-litre petrol/4.0-litre diesel |
| Amps: | 1250A |
| Extras: | Flashlight, power bank |
On sale now
Rrp: $124.95
Rrp: $124.95
We tried the GB40 out on a 2.4-litre petrol-powered Volvo V70, and found it to be an instant success. I hooked up the terminals, pressed the power button, and the 5-cylinder tank simply switched into life like it suffered nothing. I found the unit very easy to place in the battery well, yet both of the clamps took a great amount of effort to open up due to their stiffness.
The build quality is second to none, too. Both the GB40 and GBX45 use the same materials and construction, and it's clear that both cater to a premium market that runs along the same lines as CTEK. The power bank feature is also a Godsend for charging your phone on the go. Not only is your mobile device charged quickly, but not a lot of power is taken from the device. This applies to both GB40 and GBX45 models.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Same premium-level quality as the GBX45
- Effortless at jump-starting a dead battery
- Very versatile with the lights and power bank features
Cons
- Not useful if you have an enormous engine
| Weight | 225g |
| Dimensions | 11.7 x 20.8 x 10.7cm |
| Max engine capacity | 4.0 litre petrol, 3.0 litre diesel |
| Amps | 1,000A |
| Extras | Power bank, flashlight |
The best jump starter for portability
How did it perform at its primary task, then? Well, I simply hooked it up to the MG TF we have as a Parkers products test bed, turned the power on before turning the key, and the engine fired straight into life. Of course, the little 1.6-litre engine was very small for a jump pack that caters for petrol engines up to 8.5 litres, but the GE1200 proved itself to be a dependable unit for most vehicles out on the road today.
I was initially quite disappointed by the exterior materials of the GE1200. They're not quite as nice-feeling as its competitors, and you don't get the impression that it's built to the highest standard. Most GOOLOO jump starters sit around the £50 mark, but this one is £80, so I would've liked a bit more quality for the price point.
Having said that, it does cater for bigger engines than a number of others tested. And it comes with a very useful carry case, which makes it a great option for easy portability. So perhaps build quality has been traded off for the purposes of power and usability. It also has USB slots to act as a power bank as well as a flashlight feature for low-light jump starting and other things.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Comes with carry case, making it more portable
- Excellent safety features integrated
- Loads of different variants available
Cons
- Exterior plastics aren’t as nice as others
| Weight: | 0.89kg |
| Dimensions: | 27 x 20 x 7cm |
| Max engine capacity: | 8.5-litre petrol, 6.0-litre diesel |
| Amps: | 3,000A |
| Extras: | Flashlight, power bank |
Best jump starter for trickle charging as well
Rrp: $199.99
Rrp: $199.99
It really was a thorough test because the battery had gone completely flat at the time of testing with not even lights on the dash. Given this would be the scenario of someone in need of such a device, the CS FREE was given quite a task.
Nevertheless, I hooked it up, simply turned it on, and the device seemed to automatically detect that this was a battery in need of a fast charge, and so set itself in the 'Start' setting. I left it do do its thing, and around 15-minutes later, I returned to the vehicle and turned the key. Sure enough, the old German saloon fired up into life - and sounded pretty smooth as well.
I was impressed at the CS FREE's performance in this scenario, and would 100% rely on it to provide some life back into a dead battery on any car, old or new. The other impressive thing is the sheer quality and versatility of the item; you can tell it's targeted towards a premium sector of the market because the materials and overall feel is reassuringly durable. The fact you can use it as a trickle charger as well as a power bank for camping trips makes this the most versatile jump starter you can get.
You do however, have to trade off the immediacy of power supply that a jump starter usually has. Otherwise, the CS FREE is great.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Multi-purpose use, including trickle charge functions and power bank
- Build quality is immensely good to reflect the price point and target market
- Has a sleek, modern design that we like very much
Cons
- Not a quick car jump starter, making emergency situations tricky
| Weight: | 1.4kg |
| Dimensions: | 24.8 x 9.8 x 7.8cm |
| Max engine capacity: | N/A |
| Amps: | N/A |
| Extras: | Trickle charger, battery maintainer, power bank |
The best jump starter for simplicity
How did it get on in our test, then? Well, our Ford Puma's battery had run flat, so we hooked it up, turned the key, and it fired up without any hesitation to report. The effortlessness of the start-up was comparable to our experience with the two NOCOs, and that can surely be a great compliment for any jump starter. Truthfully speaking, every jump start-up is different depending on the car and battery's condition at that moment, but the Draper did the task amazingly.
I would prefer for it to have some form of rubber grips, so it can easily stay in place in the engine bay - or even some form of magnet technology like the Worx. But for the purpose of simplicity and no-nonsense, this unit is great. It even comes in a useful carry pack, which makes it more portable than a handful of others we've tried.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Performed excellently in our test
- Caters for a wide range of engines with up to 6.0 litre petrols and 4.0-litre diesels
- Durable build quality and materials
Cons
- Lack of rubber grips can be annoying in an engine bay
| Weight | 0.82kg |
| Dimensions | 17.6 x 8.3 x 3.2mm |
| Max engine capacity | 6.0-litre petrol, 4.0-litre diesel |
| Amps | 1,200A |
| Extras | Flashlight, power bank |
The most versatile jump starter
Nevertheless, I found it a bit tricky at first to spit some life back into the engine. For instance, it went into an over-voltage safety mode on my first attempt. After repositioning the clamps, the engine slowly cranked into life, and all was well. I'll give the benefit of the doubt by suggesting it was user error that the car didn't fire up first time - the clamps were positioned slightly differently.
The build quality was a little bit less tactile than the NOCO units, but this is to be expected as the brand branches into other machines other than jump starters.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Torch functions are varied and very useful
- Magnetic base is a huge plus point
- Capable and powerful enough
Cons
- Build quality cannot match the NOCOs, despite the price point
| Weight | 475g |
| Dimensions | 31 x 10 x 12cm |
| Max engine capacity | 4.0 litre petrol, 2.0 litre diesel |
| Amps | 1200A |
| Extras | Power bank, many flashlights |
The best jump starter for smaller engines
The answer? The little engine coughed and misfired like it had an ongoing winter flu. It took about four or five starts before the engine spitted into life without immediately cutting out again. It's probably a sign that new sparkplugs and HT leads are needed, but where credit is due, the Ring jump starter supported every crank of the key and held on until some life was generated back into the car again.
Its performance then, was pretty flawless. The 500A UltraBoost can support petrol engines up to 3.0 litres, so it didn't have any trouble dealing with our tired little MG. It also has USB and USB-C ports, which can be used to charge up your mobile device while on the go. It also has a flashlight function, which, strangely, sits on the side of the device. My best guess is that you can illuminate what you're doing while the device is placed horizontally.
You can get 1,000 or even 1,500A versions of the UltraBoost. But if you've got a small engine under 3.0 litres, this 500A jump pack should have all the bases covered.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Comes in a useful carry case containing all equipment
- Has proven very tough and copes with re-cranking a misfiring engine
- Good overall build quality and materials
Cons
- Is limited in the size of engines it can jump
| Weight: | 0.84kg |
| Dimensions: | 4.2 x 25.4 x 94.cm |
| Max engine capacity: | 3.0-litre petrol, 1.5-litre diesel |
| Amps: | 500A |
| Extras: | Flashlight, power bank |
The best heavy-duty jump starter
Nowhere in the Draper's instructions does it suggest what the maximum engine size is for the unit to fire up. We can assume therefore, that you'll be pretty safe, no matter how small or large your engine may be. Nevertheless, it'll happily charge up whatever your engine may be with ease. It's a huge help that the leads are a bit longer than the others, which is great if you need to place the unit a distance away (within the battery) from the terminals.
I like that it also comes with an air compressor unit; it's a little more fragile-feeling than a standalone unit, but it does the job amicably in an emergency.
Review by Aaron Hussain
Pros
- Multiple functions, including an air compressor
- Longer leads than the others, which is useful for reaching them across the engine bay
- It feels durable enough, partly due to its weight
Cons
- Immensely heavy at a whole 7kg, making it not as portable as the others
- Tricky to position in an engine bay
| Weight | 7kg |
| Dimensions | 34 x 19 x 35cm |
| Max engine capacity | Not listed |
| Amps | 800A |
| Extras | Light, power bank |
FAQs and things to remember with car jump starters
What features should I look for in a car jump starter?
Engine sizes have been shrinking in recent times, and unless you’re running a huge land yacht of a car, you won’t need a hugely powerful jump starter. While portable battery chargers are comfortable with almost any engine, most jump starters will cover up to 6.0-litre petrol and 4.0-litre diesel engines. But you should always check the rating before you buy.
There’s some serious voltage running through both a jump starter and a set of jump leads, and electricity can cause pain and fire if not used properly. Look for non-sparking leads as well as protection against overcharging and reverse polarity. After all, for the money you’re paying, you should expect it to be safe to use.
Additionally, many of the jump starter power packs feature a torch and USB ports for charging a smartphone or tablet. In the event of a breakdown, both features could prove very useful and are worth the small price premium.
What should I do with the battery if it needs jump-starting?
If the battery was flat, ask yourself why. It might be something simple like an interior light left on, but if not, it could be time to replace the battery. If that’s the case, you’ll want to prioritise replacing the battery at the earliest opportunity.
A jump starter pack is very useful, yet should only really be used if you can get to an automotive store or safely at home. Batteries deteriorate over time, and their performance suffers in cold weather. A battery tester is a useful tool to check the condition of your battery to make sure it’s still got some life left, or whether you need to charge it up or buy a new one.
Can jump starters do other things?
If you pick the right one, they absolutely can. Each of the jump starters we tested had multiple functions other than a couple of clamps and a load of electrons yearning for release. The two NOCO units and most others also double as power banks and torches, and this is incredibly useful for camping or going on holiday.
The CTEK CS FREE differs from the rest, though. This is because primarily, it’s an intelligent battery charger which acts as a trickle charger as well as being able to boost some power into a battery in as little as 15-minutes – which was the feature we tried out on this test. We love the sheer versatility of it, and rate it just as highly as the other, more conventional battery jump starters.
If you want the last word in jump starter/torches, Worx will happily oblige with the WX852.1. It doubles as an inspection light as well as a powerful LED torch. It’s even shaped like one, which helps massively when you need to use it that purpose.
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