Best car phone mounts in 2024

iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount review
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The best car phone mounts are the perfect tool for drivers, especially if your car doesn't have a screen of its own. A solid mount lets you turn your phone into a useful driving tool, keeping it on hand for when you need it — but in a way that doesn't distract you from the road ahead. The problem you might face is picking the right mount for your car, because there's a lot of choice out there.

Personally we're big fans of the TopGo cup holder phone mount. It's more or less impossible to find a car without a cupholder these days, and the flexible arm means you have a lot more freedom in positioning your phone compared to vent or dash-mounted options. Cars with neglected CD players could also benefit from iOttie's Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount, which clips onto the CD player slot to make what would be wasted space more productive. Those who prefer a simple and minimalist design should opt for something like the Belkin Car Vent Mount, which clips onto your phone when needed but otherwise blends into the rest of your dashboard.

But that's only scratching the surface of the number of car phone mounts on sale. Luckily for you we've done some testing with a bunch of of them to help you figure out the good from the bad. Here are the best car phone mounts you can buy right now.

The quick list

Here are the best car phone mounts you can buy right now, based on our own testing. You can scroll down the page to find more in-depth information about each model and what exactly makes them so great.

What are the best car phone mounts?

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

Best Car Phone Mount Overall

TOPGO Cup Holder Phone Mount

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
For people who don’t want to stick something to their car.

Specifications

Price: $33
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Orientation: 360-degree
Compatabiulity: Phones up to 3.5 inches wide
Type: Cup holder

Reasons to buy

+
The mount can be rotated into portrait and landscape
+
Keeping the mount away from air vents is always a good idea, especially on particularly cold or hot days
+
It’s easy to insert your phone into the mount and just as easy to take it back out, too

Reasons to avoid

-
You’ll lose a cup holder
-
Some car layouts might simply make this mount impractical
-
This mount isn’t great to look at when you aren’t using it

Using a cup holder isn’t the most obvious place to keep your phone mount, but it works surprisingly well. Thanks to its long neck and sturdy construction, we found this holder will hold your phone high enough that it's easily visible while also keeping it out of your field of view. In our testing we found that the holder can jiggle around a little when on bumpy roads, but that’s difficult to avoid given the way this thing works.

The benefits of putting your phone holder into a cup holder are obvious: You don’t lose an air vent or have to deal with suction cups, and damn near every car has cup holders as standard. You’ll lose a place for your skinny latte of course, but that’s the price you pay for not being too hot or cold or worrying that your phone will fall at any moment.

Read the full TopGo Cup Holder Phone mount review

Best car phone mount for older cars

iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
Putting your neglected CD player to good use

Specifications

Price: $20
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Orientation: 360-degree
Type: CD Slot

Reasons to buy

+
The mount can be rotated into portrait and landscape
+
Using a CD player slot means you don’t lose an air vent or have to make sure it’s mounted firmly on your dashboard
+
The mount is strong and doesn’t move when you tap or rotate your phone

Reasons to avoid

-
Not all cars have CD players
-
People who need to use the included Bracket might have a battle on their hands
-
No charging capabilities

We’ve tested a lot of phone holders and the iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount is one of our favorites for a simple reason — it takes that CD player that you likely never use and gives it a new lease on life. During our testing we found that installation of the Easy One Touch 4 mount is simple, and the holder almost completely disappears when not in use.

Once set up, your phone isn’t going anywhere and the chances are good that your CD slot will be high enough that your screen is never more than a quick glance away. If you don’t use your CD player — who does? — you can leave the mount installed and you won’t even notice it’s there. Magic.

Read the full iOttie Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot Mount review

Best car phone mount for vents

Belkin Car Vent Mount

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
The simple option.

Specifications

Price: $25
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Silver
Orientation: 360-degree
Type: Vent

Reasons to buy

+
The mount can be rotated into portrait and landscape mode
+
Construction is solid and will stand up to daily use
+
Cable management is a feature other mounts don’t have
+
Nice soft grips mean your phone won’t be damaged

Reasons to avoid

-
There are cheaper options
-
The mount doesn’t charge your device
-
Some larger phones might not fit if they’re wearing a case

Belkin's imaginatively-named Car Vent Mount isn’t the cheapest option around, but it does have something most of its competitors don’t: cable management. Belkin included an area for you to keep your charging cable so it doesn’t fly around your car when you aren’t using it, and we found it to be surprisingly effective. There were no more stray cables blocking all those important buttons in our car

Beyond the cable management component, there isn’t an awful lot to the Belkin Car Vent Mount and that isn’t a bad thing at all. What it does, it does well and that’s to hold a phone steady while you drive.

Read the full Belkin Car Vent Mount review

Best suction cup car phone mount

iOttie Easy One Touch 5 Smartphone Car Mount

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
Proving suction cups don't have to be terrible

Specifications

Price: $30
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Orentiation: Portrait and Landscape
Design: Suction Cup

Reasons to buy

+
You don’t lose any air vents
+
Once attached it will definitely stay that way
+
Putting your phone into the holder is a cinch
+
The telescopic arm gives you more flexibility than other mounts

Reasons to avoid

-
Getting the mount off the dash can be a real battle
-
Pretty big and can get in the way when not in use
-
As good as that suction cup is, you still need a surface to attach it to

The iOttie Easy One Touch 5 instils confidence in a way few other mounts do. That’s all thanks to its large suction cup that we found to be absurdly strong. Once mounted, an extendable arm means you should be able to put your phone where you want it, bringing it within reach. You can’t change the angle of that arm, so you’ll need to have the whole thing pointing in the right direction.

Like some of the best mounts, this one holds your phone rock steady when you’re driving around, and putting the device into the holder is a simple one-handed affair. People with huge phones should be good to go thanks to the three-point mounting system that can be moved at will.

Read the full iOttie Easy One Touch 5 review

Best car phone mount for MagSafe

Sandmarc Active Car Mount with magsafe

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
For the people who want magnetic charging

Specifications

Price: $60
Wireless Charging: Up to 7.5W
Color: Silver
Orientation: Vertical
Type: Vent

Reasons to buy

+
Strong magnets to hold your phone steady
+
Charges your phone while you drive
+
Looks the part, unlike some cheaper options
+
Come with a charging cable in the box

Reasons to avoid

-
Arguably on the pricey side
-
Works best with iPhone 12 and MagSafe, needs a magnet to use it
-
Clip mechanism means you need something to attach it to

If charging your iPhone while on the move is your game, the Sandmarc Active Car Mount is the place to look first. This holder is only compatible with Apple’s more recent iPhones, thanks to its use of MagSafe-compatible mount means it’s one of the better-looking holders we tested.

In terms of charging, the Sandmarc holder is limited to 7.5W, so it isn’t true MagSafe as such. The magnets are super strong, however, and I didn’t have any issues in terms of movement during testing.

Read the full Sandmarc Active Phone Mount review

Best magnetic car phone mount

YOSH magnetic car phone mount

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
The cheap and cheerful option

Specifications

Price: $11
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Orientation: 360-degree
Type: Vent

Reasons to buy

+
The magnets are strong and your phone won’t budge from the holder
+
Almost invisible when you aren’t using it
+
Comes with multiple magnets in the box so you can use two phones with it

Reasons to avoid

-
You’ll lose an air vent
-
The mount won’t charge your phone and magnets don’t support MagSafe

If the absolute smallest holder you can find is all you need, the YOSHI magnetic mount is for you. As small as a coin, this little thing is surprisingly powerful thanks to the magic of magnets. It’s one of the cheapest options we came across too. Sometimes cheap and cheerful is all you need and this YOSH holder is the epitome of that.

The only potential issue with this holder is the fact you need to affix a disc to the back of your phone — something for the magnets to attach to, It can make the back of your phone look a little untidy, but the mount itself is more than good enough at its job to make that a minor issue. Despite being so small, an iPhone 12 Pro was kept firmly in place by the grip of the magnets — which is seriously impressive.

Read the full Yosh Magnetic Car Phone Mount review

Best car phone mount for pop sockets

popsocket popmount car phone mount with phone attached

(Image credit: Popsocket)
The quirky option.

Specifications

Price: $30
Wireless Charging: No
Color: Black
Type: Suction cup

Reasons to buy

+
The only phone holder designed specifically for your PopGrip 
+
You don’t need to remove the PopGrip to use your phone in your car 
+
Works with just about any PopGrip on the market today. 

Reasons to avoid

-
Useless if you don’t use a PopGrip, so you’re stuck in that ecosystem. 
-
Some might prefer a different mounting method. 

If you’re someone who uses a PopSocket to make their huge phone less unwieldy, putting it into a car phone holder can be an issue. As you might expect, the PopSockets people have an answer to that in the form of the PopMount 2 Car Dash holder.

The PopSockets PopMount 2 Car Dash holder has a strong suction cup that should do the trick on most dashboards. The angle of the phone can also be adjusted, and it’s a relatively good-looking bit of kit even when there’s no phone in it — plus its design means it can be folded away when not in use. If you use a PopSocket, this is the one for you.

Read the full Popsockets Popmount 2 review

What to look for in a car phone holder

What you need in a car phone mount all depends on what kind of car you have. In its most basic form a phone mounts needs to be able to hold your phone upright, and in a position that means it won't be moving around on even the bumpiest of roads. Beyond that, you also need the screen to be visible without blocking your view of the road ahead.

For all this you need to be able to find a mount that comfortably fits somewhere on your dashboard. There's a lot of choice here, and there are phone mounts capable of fitting in places you never dreamed could be used to store a smartphone. At their most basic you're looking at a mount that fits in an air vent, or a suction cup that can be stuck to the windshield or dash. But there are also mounts that can be fitted into cup holders, tape decks and even CD players. Assuming you have the space, that is.

You’ll also need to take your phone’s unique qualities into account, like if it has MagSafe or you need something that can accommodate a PopSocket or similar stand. This roundup covers all bases and there should be an option for everyone right here.

How we test car phone holders

Each car phone mount we've reviewed has gone through the same testing regimen, in the same car and (where possible) using the same iPhone. The process begins by making sure the holder can find a solid grip on whichever part of the car it's supposed to attach to — be it the windscreen, air vent, or something else.

It's crucial that this positioning not blocking the drivers' view of the road ahead, but also that the driver can see the phone screen at a glance. Otherwise the mount is failing at its primary goal.

From there it's a case of seeing just how easily a phone can be inserted and removed from the mount. This also involved checking how well any moving parts work, and whether any additional features can do their jobs correctly. This is especially important for mounts that support charging — wireless or otherwise.

Then it all comes down to the design and how conspicuous those mounts are when not in use. A car phone mount may not be essential on a quick local trip, and it's important to know if it'll be particularly cumbersome or whether it can practically disappear.

Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.