Top 5 Mini Size Jump Starters for your Car – Small but Powerful.

If you are after a small but powerful pocket-size jump starter for your car, and your storage space is at a premium. Well then check out these 5 top-rated 12v micro-boosters. All of them are well-known brands and have hundreds of positive reviews online but which is the best?

We got hold of 5 of the best pocket-size jump starters, to see if they really do live up to all the hype. So to make the cut they all had to be able to fit into a jeans pocket and be around 8000mAh in capacity. We think this should be the minimum capacity for a successful jump pack. Any less and you will have trouble starting the average-size family car.

Updated 2023

Best Pocket Size Jump Starters Reviewed and Specs

Our Pick	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
Brand	DBpower	TopDon	NOCO	NexPow	Gooloo
Model		JS1200	Boost G50	Q10S	GE1200
Battery Size	21800 Milliamp Hours	10000mAh	35 Watt-Hour Lithium-Ion	12800mAh	21800mAh
Peak Amps	2500A	1200A	1500A	1500A	2500A
Size	7.5 x 3.5 x 1.4 inches	7.87 x 5.04 x 3.74 inches	7.7 x 3.4 x 1.9 inches	6.3 x 3.15 x 1.57 inches	6.18 x 2.95 x 1.42 inches
USB Out	1 Type-C Input/Output (5V 3A) 1 USB Output (5V 2.1A) 1 Smart USB Output (5V/9V/12V 18W); 1 DC Output (12-16V 10A).	5V USB3 x2 USB-C QC18W USB1 QC18W ( 5V3A, 9V2A, 12V1.5A ) USB2 (5V/2A) DC (10A Max 16.8V)	2,1A USB In/Out	2 USB outputs (5V/3A)and (5V/2.1A)	(5V 2.1A, 5V 2.4A/9V 2A) and 12V 10A jack
Weight	1.36 pounds	2.09 pounds	‎2.7 Pounds	2.1 Pounds	1.19 pounds
LED Light	Yes	Yes Ultra Bright	Yes	Yes	Yes
Carry Case	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Price	$$	$	$$$	$	$
Where to Buy

Features of Pocket Size Jump Starters

Each of these pocket jump starters are very similar in size and features. All have a USB out for charging your phones and tablets, as well as overload safety circuits. So which one is the best?

If you need a reliable and feature-rich car pocket jump starter, then our Number 1 pick is the DBpower 2500. We actually use this one for our everyday commute for a Toyota Corolla. Along with using it to charge the kid’s phones and various tablets. It even fixed a Samsung tablet that was not turning on due to a flat battery. A slow trickle charge fixed the issue while on a road trip in the car.

Our DBPower is also smart enough to start a Toyota Prius. We tested the DB Power the other month when a work colleague had a flat battery on his Prius. We were able to come to his rescue and jump-start his Prius. Simply amazing for such a small unit.

It’s better to use one of these smart jump packs, rather than use a direct cable car to car jump start. This is because portable boost packs have built-in protection like –

• Over Current Protection
• Short Circuit Protection
• Overload Protection
• Over-voltage Protection
• Overcharge Protection.

This protection makes them very safe to use. Read on for more in-depth reviews and videos on each of these car pocket jump starters.

No.1 – DBPower 2500A Jump Starter

I purchased this portable car micro jump starter a while back after many hours of research online and talking to other mechanics. If you are after value for money then this is the one to get.

With one of the smaller footprints around and backed by a well-known reliable company. You can rest assured that your pocket booster will not fail in your time of need. It is an update to the excellent older DBpower 600A. We reviewed the DB Power 600A a while ago and it passed with flying colors.

3 Modes Emergency LED Lighting
It has 3 modes of LED light (high, strobe, and SOS flash.) It’s an emergency lifesaver when you go camping, have a picnic, break down or in a power blackout with no lights. You will have some form of light. As it’s LED it will last for many hours.

Battery Level Indicators
With blue power LEDs, you will immediately know how much power reserves you have left. 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%. These indicators are on the top surface, which makes the battery level easy to read.

21800mAh Portable Charger
It charges cell phones, tablets, kindles, and anything with a USB port, and then some. Charge your device together anywhere anytime. Use it in the car to recharge either your phone or your children’s devices. The included USB cable works as a charger for both the unit and micro USB port devices.

For those that want to know the finer details on the USB outputs it has 1x Type-C Input/Output (5V 3A); 1x USB Output (5V 2.1A); 1x Smart USB Output (5V/9V/12V 18W); 1xDC Output (12-16V 10A). 

For a more detailed review then check out our post on the fantastic DBPower 2500A Jump Starter

No. 2 – TopDon 1200A Peak Car Jump Starter

This is the jump starter you tend to see in many workshops and garages. It’s built tough and as such is slightly larger and heavier than the others reviewed here.

• Full Power: With heavy-duty terminal clamps and 1200A current peak amperage, this battery power booster will crank your 6.5L and lower gas engine and 4L Diesel vehicles back to life fast. You can crank your engine up to 25 times before the battery will start to go flat when fully charged. You will have plenty of time to start your engine.
•  External Power: The 10000mAh jump box can serve as a power bank, charging your smartphones, tablets, and Kindles at smart speeds of QC3. With the included 2x USB outs.
• LED Lighting: Super bright light with high output, strobe. and SOS modes. This will enable you to see clearly in the dark, replace a tire or fuse. and notify others about your broken-down car.
• Smart Safety Circuit: The Etable has advanced safety features, such as sparks resistance, inverse current protection, short-circuit protection, reverse polarity protection, overload protection, low-voltage. and over-current protection. Being able to work in high and low temperatures (-10°c to 40°c).

This little Pocket Car Jump Starter, use a high power out Lithium-ion polymer battery cell. This means it can jump-start your Gas/Petrol, Diesel or Motorcycle, RV, tractor, light-duty trucks, mower, cargo vans, ATVs, snowmobiles, boats, and Jet-skis.) You will always have a backup power supply to start your vehicles.

If you are after a more powerful jump starter at a great price then check out our review on the TopDon 3000A jump starter. It is one of the most powerful jumpstarters we have ever tested but it has a large form factor to suit the larger internal battery and electronics.

No.3 NOCO Peak Battery Jump Starter Power Bank

The NOCO GB50 is one of the most popular brands of jump starters on the market. It is an ultra-portable, lightweight, and compact lithium-ion car battery jump starter pack for 12-volt batteries.

As being popular and very reliable it also has a higher price than the others mentioned here. But you pay for reliability and customer service.

• 3-in-1 Starter: With a fully charged35 Watt-Hour Lithium-Ion battery capacity starter (1500A peak), you can boost your car battery 12V (up to 7L gas engine 4.5L Diesel engines), motorcycles, snowmobiles, and boats.
• Smarter Power: The 2.1A integrated circuit support, this jump starter can be used as a power bank to charge your phones and tablets. It is able to keep a constant current and fast charge your phones with a maximum of 2.1 amps speed.
• Built-in LED Flashlight: 3 modes of illumination in the dark: There are 7 lighting modes such as Bright solid, SOS, and Strobe. There are 4 LED lights for charging indication. 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%
• Safety First: You won’t have any issues with the included safety features like overheating, over-current, overcharging, and short-circuit protection. Its intelligent circuit protection means you and your vehicles are safe.
• A 12-month warranty is provided to give you peace of mind.
• Portable & Compact: Palm-sized and lightweight, easy to carry or store in the glove compartment, or under the seat of your car.
• The rubberized outer layer of this jump starter prevents scratching on your vehicle.

No.4 NEXPOW 1500A Ultra-Portable Pocket Car Jump Starter Power Bank

• This small 12800mAh Lithium Polymer jump starter. It is lightweight and has a very small footprint.  It’s powerful enough to jump-start 12V gasoline vehicles, light-duty trucks, boats, and more, for up to 20 times on a full charge.
• The 12800mAh Lithium Polymer power bank charges all your cell phones, tablets, PSPs and more by using the 2x USB out ports or the 1x USB C In/Out connector. Can be charged to the full condition by using the USB-C connection point.
• Ultra-bright built-in LED flashlight with 3 mode, flash, strobe and SOS signal that helps you when you need it
• Best Protection Ever with overload protection, short-circuit protection, reverse polarity protection, overcurrent protection, overheat protection, reverse current protection and overcharge protection to ensure the safety of usage.
• Low power leak battery that can hold power for 3 – 6 months but it is best to recharge this jump starter every 3 months.

With the all-new ultra-portable design, this 3-in-1 mini jump starter is so small that it will easily fit under a car seat or in the glove box. This powerful small car battery jump starter has 1500Amp peak current has enough power to bring your car back to the road 20 times upon a full charge. Full Charging Time will take between 3-5 Hours

 

How to jump-start a car?

Make sure the number of indicator lights is no less than 3 by press the On power button once.

Connect the red battery clamp of the jumper cable to the vehicle’s positive (+) battery terminal. Clamp the black battery jaws of the jumper cable to the vehicle’s negative (-) battery terminal. Plug the cord of jumper cable into the start socket. Start the vehicle. When the vehicle starts, remove the jumper cable from the jump starter within 30 seconds. Simple really.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, any one of these will do for a small family car. These are cheap enough to own one for each car. (If you are a multi-car family.) Don’t let your family members travel without a backup jump starter.

Be aware of some fake units being sold on eBay, these can be dangerous if they don’t have the proper safety circuits or have a substandard battery. All the pocket-size jump starters mentioned here are sold on Amazon. They have been tested fully to comply with state regulations.

Having used this DBpower 2500A for 1 year now, I can definitely recommend it. It will be replacing some of the older larger units from DBPower. It’s time for the new and improved models to take over.