Best Car Phone Holder 2025: The Easiest to Use and Most Secure Windshield, Vent, and Dashboard Mounts
Keep your phone safe and visible for hands-free GPS, calls, and music
If you own one of the millions of vehicles that don’t have a modern built-in touchscreen, the next best (and safest) thing to do is get yourself the best car phone holder you can. In fact, when it comes to legally and safely operating a phone while driving, you may not have much choice other than to have a dedicated hands-free car kit.
We know it can be a hassle to find an elegant phone holder for your car, and there’s often some small snag that will turn setting up your phone, or removing it when you leave your vehicle, into a struggle. As with most things, there are a lot of junk phone holders out there, and you can believe us when we say we’ve tried too many of them for our own good.
Based on our testing of the most popular and promising car phone holders on the market today, we’ve put together a quick roundup of some of the best of the best. We’ve also included a handy buying guide at the end to help you pick the right one for your needs.
Best car phone holders: At a glance
| Best vent mount for security | Syncwire Car Phone Holder (~$12) | Check price at Amazon |
| Best phone mount for wireless charging | Ottie Easy One Touch 2 Wireless Charging Phone Mount (~$50) | Check price at Amazon |
How we test car phone holders
We fit each car phone holder to the windshield, dashboard, or air vent of a small SUV, then use it for up to a week with either an iPhone or a Samsung phone. Depending on the design and features of the mount, we use it with and without a silicon case.
During that time, we consider how easy it is to fit, remove, and reposition the phone. We drive on both urban streets and country roads to see how difficult it is to dislodge the phone from the grip or magnetic mount, with at least one test over bumpy or uneven ground to see how well the mount works in more extreme conditions. Finally, we check any additional features – including wireless charging – to see how well these work in everyday use.
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The best car phone holders you can buy in 2025
1. Syncwire Car Vent Mount: Best vent mount for security
Price when reviewed: $12 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… keeping your windscreen clear
- Not so great for… people who like landscape mode
Vent mounts have a lot of advantages: they’re typically easy to fit and remove, they don’t block the windshield, and they don’t take up much cockpit space. They’re not without their downsides, however. Vent mounts are not always as stable or secure as windshield and dashboard holders. That’s not the case with this Syncwire model. Its chunky silicon claws had an iron grip on our vent when we tested it, and its clever spring-loaded mechanism held our phone just as securely – it can even cope with super-sized phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The ball joint on this vent mount gives you a wide range of tilt and swivel to help keep the phone in view. Plus, with a little practice, we found you can insert and remove your phone single-handed, as the arms release when you pull the phone vertically out of its cradle. Unfortunately, it can only hold the phone in portrait position, but this is one affordable, sturdy mount.
Key specs – Weight: 8.1oz; Mounting: Grip on air vent; Max phone width: 7in; Colors: Black
2. Belkin Car Vent Mount: Best vent mount for landscape viewing
Price when reviewed: $25 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… people who like landscape orientation and still want to keep their windshield clear
- Not so great for… No notes here!
If some vent mounts have a problem, it’s that they don’t hold your phone reliably in landscape mode. This isn’t a massive issue if you’re happy with your phone in the more conventional portrait mode, but if you’re using your cell as a GPS then having the extra horizontal screen space makes more sense.
This is where the Belkin Car Vent Mount comes into its own, with two spring-mounted, rubber-gripped, aluminum arms to hold your phone securely. Belkin’s holder is one of the strongest vent mountings we’ve seen to keep the whole shebang in place. It can cope with cases up to about an eighth of an inch thick and will happily take phones up to five and a half inches wide – which will cover even big-screen monsters like the iPhone 16 Max or Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. It had no problems holding our test Samsung Galaxy A71. It even has useful routing for a charging cable. If your vents can take the strain, this is a great option.
Key specs – Weight: 1.28oz; Mounting: Grip on air vent; Max phone width: 5.5in; Colors: Black and aluminum
3. iOttie Easy One Touch 2 Wireless Charging Phone Mount: Best in-car wireless charger
Price when reviewed: $50 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… people who hate cables
- Not so great for… fast charging
Looking to charge your phone while you’re out on the road? This windshield or dashboard holder incorporates a 10W Qi wireless charger (with 7.5W support for iOS devices) into a mount with an ingenious one-touch mechanism that lets you insert and remove your phone one-handed. The spring-loaded arms and adjustable foot can cope with devices up to almost a quarter inch wide, and will hold your phone firmly in place, aligning it dead-center to give you the best wireless charging connection possible.
The mount fits onto the windshield or dashboard using an ultra-strong suction cup, while the telescopic arm pivots and extends so you can keep your phone out of the way but still in view. iOttie includes a dual USB car charger, though the power cord is a little on the short side. There are cheaper in-car charging cradles out there, but not many that are so convenient or well-designed.
Key specs – Weight: 7oz; Mounting: Suction cup to windshield or dashboard; Max phone width: 3.7in; Colors: Black
4. ESR HaloLock Magnetic Wireless Car Charger: Best MagSafe car charger for iPhones
Price when reviewed: $20 | Check price at Amazon
- Great for… Magsafe iPhone users
- Not so great for… third-party cases
ESR’s lightweight mount and charger is a top option for recent iPhones, giving you a MagSafe mount that fits into a vent with ease and provides secure 18W wireless Qi charging via a USB-C cable connected to your car’s USB outlet. The ball joint on the vent mount means it works with both horizontal and vertical vents, while the support arm holds the central square pad steady no matter how rough the road. ESR also sells a dashboard version, if you would rather have it fitted there.
Admittedly, there’s no additional support beyond the glossy MagSafe plate, which is a little limiting, but it still kept a tenacious grip on our compatible test iPhone. So long as the phone wasn’t in a silicone case, we couldn’t fault it and, while our test phone’s case weakened the grip, ESR sells its own MagSafe cases that won’t suffer the same problem. This is a smart compact holder and charger that will make your iPhone proud.
Key specs – Weight: 5.1oz; Mounting: Vent clip grip; Max phone width: N/A – fits iPhone 12 to 16; Colors: Black
How to choose the best car phone holder for you
From our testing, we have found there are two considerations when buying a car phone holder: One, will it fit your phone? And two, will it fit your car? The good news is that the mounts listed above will fit most popular phones; however, the other half of the equation is a little more complicated. There are numerous methods for attaching a phone holder to your dashboard or windshield and, in our experience, not all of them will suit every car.
You can also get suction grips and cradles that attach directly to your dashboard, though they are unlikely to work if your dashboard has a textured surface.
A windshield mount is another option, though you should follow your specific state’s laws regarding their legality. While poor-quality rubber suckers may slowly lose their grip and drop off, a good mount can be very convenient. Some designs even include supports that rest on the dashboard.
Another possibility is to connect the holder to your car stereo, assuming you have one. Or a base that fits in your car’s cup holder.
One of the most popular options is a clip that attaches to your air-conditioning vent. These are ideal for lighter smartphones but the grip might not be firm enough to hold heavier devices. It can also obstruct airflow.
A final option to explore is a permanent bespoke mount for your phone. For example, ProClip imports custom units for just about every model and make of car, manufactured by the Swedish firm Brodit – a company that’s been making in-vehicle mounting solutions for over 40 years
What types of phone-attachment methods do mounts have?
Certain phone mounts have clips or arms that hold the phone securely – simply slide the device into place when you get into the car and remove it when you leave.
Other mounts use a magnetic connection that usually requires you to attach a metal strip to your phone, either by sticking it on the back or by sliding it into its case – the latter is obviously better, as you won’t want to affect your phone’s aesthetic appeal.
Apple’s MagSafe tech, as found across the iPhone range since the iPhone 12, opens up another even better option, where the mount simply holds your iPhone via its built-in MagSafe charging pad.
The final, clunkier option features a mount with a ball and socket attachment: you’ll need to stick a metal socket to the back of your phone case which then clips to a ball on the in-car mount. These are less than ideal for fairly obvious reasons.
What other features should I look out for?
There’s not a lot to in-car phone mounts: they either hold your phone securely or they don’t. However, you might want to check whether the holder allows you to access the phone’s USB or lightning port so you can charge your phone, particularly if you often use your phone for a GPS.
Certain mounts integrate their own Qi wireless charger, meaning you can charge your phone without plugging it in, but there will have to be a cable between your car’s USB port or 12V socket and the charger, so make sure it doesn’t dangle anywhere that might obstruct your driving.
How do I use a cell phone holder legally?
There’s every chance you’ve been in an Uber where part of the windshield is covered by a wall of phones. That’s not an example to follow. As a general rule, such mounts should be located on the bottom of a car’s windshield on the driver or passenger side, providing windshield mounts are legal in your state. Always check your state laws before buying.
The following states do allow windshield mounts: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont.
Some states allow windshield mounts with conditions and, for these eight states, mounts are either exempt from regulations or not specifically listed in those regulations: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, and Utah
Wherever you place your phone mount, do not install them near or over an airbag or in any location that obstructs the driver’s vision or interferes with vehicle operation.
