Quick Answer
Anker’s naming is the actual problem
Nano. Nano II. Nano 3. Nano Smart Display. Prime. 511, 735, A2669, A121D. Anker builds the best travel chargers on the market and then names them like they’re trying to lose you: which is why the most common question in packing forums isn’t “is Anker good,” it’s “which Anker do I buy?”
You already know the brand is the answer. What you don’t know is whether the extra you’d pay for a Prime buys anything real, whether 65W and 67W are meaningfully different (they aren’t), and whether the one with the little screen is clever or a gimmick. So here’s the map: six chargers, one recommendation, and an honest note on which of these are overkill for the trip you’re actually taking.
Short version before we go deep: if you carry a laptop, buy the Prime 67W. If you carry a laptop and hate spending money, buy the 735. If you carry a phone and nothing else, buy the Nano 30W and stop reading.
The smallest Anker worth packing. 30W from one USB-C port is full speed for an iPhone 15/16/17 Pro and takes an iPad Air to about 50% in 45 minutes, with prongs that fold flat. The catch: one port only, so it can’t cover a phone and a laptop at once, and no cable is included.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonA 45W single-port charger with a tiny screen that names the connected device and shows live charging wattage: genuinely handy for proving a sketchy hotel outlet or plug adapter is actually delivering power. TÜV-certified Care Mode drops charging temperature for overnight use. The catch: the display buys convenience, not extra watts.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonThe classic leave-the-power-strip-at-home charger: 65W to a single USB-C port charges a 13-inch MacBook at full speed, and three ports cover a laptop, a phone and earbuds together. The catch: the prongs don’t fold, so it’s the least pocket-friendly block here.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonThe best watts-per-cubic-inch in Anker’s travel lineup: 67W to one device, 65W across two, about 64.5W across three, in a block roughly 1.5 inches square with folding prongs. Anker rates it 51% smaller than Apple’s original 67W adapter. The catch: it costs more than the 735 for the same port count. You’re buying size and ActiveShield 2.0 monitoring, not more watts.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonThe battery that completes the kit. 10,000mAh (~36–37Wh) is about 1.97 full charges for an iPhone 15 Pro and sits far under the 100Wh airline limit, with the USB-C cable built into the body so you can’t leave it behind. The catch: 30W is plenty for a phone but too slow to be a real laptop backup.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonRated for the full 240W USB-PD 3.1 ceiling, so it will never be the thing throttling your charger: including whatever 100W+ laptop brick you buy next. Upcycled-braided nylon, tested by Anker for 100-year bend durability. The catch: it’s USB 2.0 for data, and overkill next to a 30W phone charger.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonThe best Anker chargers for travel, at a glance
This is the table to screenshot. Read across the wattage and port columns and the decision usually makes itself: the only genuinely close call is Prime 67W versus 735, and that one comes down to whether folding prongs are worth the premium to you.
| Product | Wattage | Ports | Size / weight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anker Nano 30W | 30W | 1× USB-C | Palm-sized, foldable prongs | Phone-only carry-on |
| Anker Nano 45W Smart Display | 45W | 1× USB-C | ~47% smaller than the 30W charger, 180° foldable prongs | Checking real charging speed on the road |
| Anker 735 (Nano II 65W) | 65W | 2× USB-C + 1× USB-A | Compact, fixed prongs | Laptop + phone + earbuds together |
| Anker Prime 67W GaN Our pick | 67W single / 65W dual | 2× USB-C + 1× USB-A | ~1.5 in square, foldable prongs | Best all-round travel charger |
| Anker Nano Power Bank 10,000mAh | 30W | Built-in USB-C cable + 1× USB-A | 10,000mAh / ~36–37Wh | Backup battery with the cable attached |
| Anker Prime 240W Cable | 240W rated | USB-C to USB-C | 6 ft braided nylon | Feeding any charger here at full speed |
Verdict: Buy the Prime 67W if you travel with a laptop, the Nano 30W if you don’t: everything else here is a specialist.
Anker Prime 67W GaN: the one most travelers should buy
Start here and you’ll almost certainly stop here. The Prime 67W pushes 67W to a single USB-C port, which is full-speed charging for a 13-inch MacBook Air or Pro, then drops to 65W across two devices and about 64.5W across three, so a laptop, a phone and a watch all charge from a block roughly an inch and a half square. Anker states it’s 51% smaller than Apple’s original 67W adapter, and unlike the 735 the prongs fold flat, which matters more than it sounds when it’s living loose in a packing cube.
ActiveShield 2.0 monitors temperature continuously and throttles before things get warm: the sort of feature you never notice until you leave a charger running under a hotel pillow. PPS support means Samsung phones get their full 25W Super Fast Charging rather than a polite trickle.
The honest catch: it costs more than the 735 for the same three-port layout and roughly the same watts. What the extra buys is volume and monitoring, not speed. If your charger lives in a bag pocket and never leaves it, the 735 does the same job.
- 67W single-port, full-speed 13-inch MacBook charging
- Three ports (2× USB-C + 1× USB-A) cover laptop, phone and earbuds
- About 1.5 inches square, 51% smaller than Apple's 67W adapter
- Folding prongs, unlike the Anker 735
- ActiveShield 2.0 temperature monitoring and PPS support
- Costs more than the 735 for near-identical power
- No cable in the box, budget for a rated one
- Overkill if you never travel with a laptop
Anker 735 (Nano II 65W): the same job for less money
The 735 is the charger that made GaN mainstream, and it has aged well. 65W from a single USB-C port charges a 13-inch MacBook Pro or Air at full speed; plug in a second USB-C device and it splits to 45W + 20W; add a third and you get roughly 40W / 12W / 12W. That last split is the one to remember: three devices at once means nothing charges fast, so plan on laptop-plus-phone as the realistic pairing and let the earbuds top up overnight.
The trade-off is physical, not electrical: the prongs don’t fold. Two fixed pins sticking out of a block in a soft bag is how chargers punch holes in things. It’s a small annoyance for a real saving, and if you’re comparing across brands rather than staying inside Anker’s lineup, our GaN wall charger roundup puts it head-to-head with UGREEN and Baseus equivalents.
Anker Nano 30W: the smallest one worth packing
If your trip is a phone, headphones and maybe an e-reader, everything above is dead weight. The Nano 30W hits full charging speed for an iPhone 15/16/17 Pro, takes an iPad Air to around 50% in 45 minutes, supports PPS for Samsung’s 25W Super Fast Charging, and folds down to something you lose in a dopp kit. It’s the Anker 511 (Nano 3) if you’re matching model numbers.
The catch is the obvious one: one port. It cannot charge a phone and a laptop simultaneously, and there’s no cable in the box. As a second charger for the other side of the hotel bed, or the only charger on a weekend trip, it’s close to perfect.
The specialists: 45W Smart Display, the Nano power bank, and the 240W cable
Three picks here solve narrower problems, and it’s worth being blunt about which you actually need.
The Nano Smart Display 45W is a single-port charger with a small screen that identifies the connected device and shows live charging wattage: which sounds like a gimmick until you’re in a guesthouse wondering whether the outlet, the plug adapter or the cable is the reason your phone gained 4% in an hour. It’s around 47% smaller and 36% lighter than the original 30W charger, has 90° and 180° folding prongs, and its TÜV-certified Care Mode lowers charging temperature by roughly 9°F for overnight charging. But 45W through one port is still one port, and the display adds zero watts. Buy it if diagnostics appeal; skip it otherwise.
The Anker Nano Power Bank (10,000mAh) is the battery half of the kit. Roughly 36–37Wh and about 1.97 full charges for an iPhone 15 Pro, with a retractable USB-C cable built into the body plus a separate USB-A port, and 30W in both directions so it refills fast from any charger above. It’s made with 80% post-consumer recycled plastic (model A1259). Its limit is honest: 30W won’t meaningfully charge a laptop. If batteries are your real question, the Anker power bank comparison ranks the full range, and our best travel power banks roundup covers other brands too.
The Anker Prime 240W cable exists because of the constraint most people never think about (see the next section). Rated to the full 240W / 48V-5A USB-PD 3.1 ceiling with an upcycled-braided nylon jacket Anker tests to 100-year bend durability, it will never throttle anything you own. It’s USB 2.0 for data, so it’s a charging cable, not a file-transfer cable, and it’s overkill paired with a 30W phone charger.
How to choose an Anker charger: the three rules
1. Match watts to the device, not to your ambition. USB-C Power Delivery works in tiers. Roughly 20–30W covers full-speed phone charging, including Samsung’s 25W Super Fast Charging and Apple’s fast-charge iPhones. 30–45W handles thin ultrabooks and tablets like the MacBook Air. 65–100W and up is what a performance laptop needs to charge at full speed. Buying a 67W charger for a phone-only trip is paying for headroom you’ll never touch.
2. Your cable is a wattage ceiling. A plain USB-C cable with no e-marker chip is rated for 60W (3A at 20V). Pulling 100W requires an e-marked 5A cable, and anything up to 240W needs a cable specifically rated for 48V/5A Extended Power Range. USB-PD 3.1, published in 2021, added 28V, 36V and 48V EPR modes to lift the old 100W ceiling, but both the charger and the cable have to support EPR for it to happen. An unrated cable doesn’t warn you; it just quietly caps charging at its own limit while you blame the charger.
3. Check the input rating before you fly, not at the gate. GaN chargers replace silicon transistors with a semiconductor that switches at far higher frequencies and wastes much less energy as heat (roughly 5% loss versus 10–15% for silicon) which is why a 100W GaN block can be smaller than an old 5W silicon one. Most USB-C GaN travel chargers accept 100–240V input, so a plug-shape adapter is all you need abroad; a few specific Anker Nano models are printed at 100–220V. Read the printed rating on the charger itself, then pair it with a proper universal travel adapter rather than a voltage converter you don’t need.
And the rule that applies to the battery, not the chargers: the TSA and FAA cap uninstalled lithium-ion batteries, including power banks, at 100Wh with no airline approval needed. From 101–160Wh you need airline approval and are limited to two spares; over 160Wh is banned from passenger aircraft outright. All spare batteries and power banks must travel in carry-on baggage: never checked. The Nano 10,000mAh at ~36–37Wh isn’t close to the line.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Anker charger for international travel?
The Anker Prime 67W GaN 3-Port charger is the strongest all-rounder: it fits a phone, tablet, and laptop’s charging needs into one compact block with folding prongs, and most Anker GaN chargers accept a wide global voltage range so only a plug-shape adapter is needed, not a converter. For a phone-only trip, the Anker Nano 30W is smaller and lighter.
Can I bring an Anker power bank on a plane?
Yes. The TSA and FAA allow spare lithium-ion power banks up to 100 watt-hours (Wh) in carry-on baggage with no airline approval required. The Anker Nano 10,000mAh (about 36-37Wh) and Anker 20,000mAh (about 74Wh) both fall well under that limit; power banks are never allowed in checked luggage.
What’s the difference between the Anker Nano and Anker Prime charger lines?
Nano chargers are Anker’s compact, budget-friendlier single- or dual-port models (30W-65W) aimed at phones and light laptops. Prime chargers, like the Prime 67W GaN 3-Port, are Anker’s flagship line with more advanced GaN tech, ActiveShield 2.0 temperature monitoring, and Anker app integration, typically at a similar or larger port count in an even smaller footprint.
Do I need a separate charger for my laptop and my phone when traveling with Anker gear?
Not if you pick a multi-port model: the Anker 735 Charger (Nano II 65W) or Anker Prime 67W GaN both have two USB-C ports plus a USB-A port and can push a full 65-67W to a laptop from one port while a phone charges from another, so one charger covers both devices.
Why are GaN chargers smaller than regular chargers with the same wattage?
GaN (gallium nitride) chargers use a semiconductor that switches power far more efficiently than the silicon in older adapters, losing roughly 5% of energy to heat instead of 10-15%. That efficiency means smaller heat sinks and fewer components, so a 65-100W GaN charger like the Anker 735 or Prime 67W can be a fraction of the size of an old-style laptop brick of the same wattage.
Does the Anker Prime 67W charger fast-charge a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?
Yes. The Anker Prime 67W GaN 3-Port charger delivers up to 67W to a single USB-C port, which covers full-speed charging for a 13-inch MacBook Air or MacBook Pro; splitting power across two or three ports at once drops the per-port wattage to about 65W and 64.5W total respectively.
The bottom line
One charger, one battery, one rated cable. That’s the whole kit, and for most travelers it’s the Anker Prime 67W GaN, the Nano Power Bank 10,000mAh, and a cable that won’t throttle either. Travelling light with just a phone? The Nano 30W alone is enough. Watching the budget with a laptop in the bag? The 735 does 95% of the Prime’s job with prongs that don’t fold. Tap any card above for the current price, then round out the bag from the travel gear hub .