The best Bluetooth car adapters ensure you can enjoy hands-free audio in your car — no matter how low-tech your car might be. You don't have to spend a fortune on this process, and the only setup you need to worry about is plugging into your car's aux socket.
That's all it takes to wirelessly sync up your phone with your car's stereo system, letting you enjoy your favorite audiobooks, podcasts and streaming playlists while you drive.
What are the best Bluetooth Car adapters?
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Best Bluetooth car adapter overall
The Echo Auto 2 isn't just your run-of-the-mill Bluetooth adapter. It's also one of the only ways you can add Alexa to a car that doesn't already have it. So not only can you have your phone wirelessly hooked into your car's stereo, you can also use Amazon's voice assistant to control various phone features completely hands free.
That includes the likes of music, podcasts, phone calls and even text messages. Better still, the Echo Auto lets you tap into your smart home systems, no matter how far away they might be. All powered by a system of improved microphones that can pick your voice up no matter what interference there might be.
Other features of note include an Auto Mode for your phone, to make it car friendly, as well as a number of different mounting options that let you pick and choose where the Echo lives in your car. Though with the sleek, speaker-like design, you may want to keep it out in the open.
Best plug-in Bluetooth adapter
The Anker Soundsync A3352 is a simple Bluetooth adapter that's incredibly easy to use. Pairing takes less than a minute, and setting it up in your car is as simple as plugging it into your car's stereo port. Better still you can swap out the silver plug for a standard 3.5mm cable for a little more versatility. Either way the sound quality is great, and just as seamless as plugging in directly
That cable is included in the box, and means you have the ability to tuck the Soundsync somewhere out of the way. Dedicated volume buttons on the Soundsync itself give you an extra way to control the volume, while the power button also doubles as a Play/Pause button. Sadly these buttons are a little small for practical use.
Battery life is also good, with Anker promising up to 12 hours, though you can keep it plugged in via the included USB-C port.
Best budget Bluetooth car adapter
The UGreen Bluetooth Adapter is another simple Bluetooth adapter that mimics the same style as the Anker SoundSync — albeit slightly larger. The size is advantageous since it means there are larger buttons, and simpler control, though it does take up more space as a result.
Sound quality is just as good, and the battery life is enough to get you through everything but the longest of road trips. But you don't need to rely on it if you need longevity, thanks to the UGreen's ability to play and charge via USB-C simultaneously. Again you can choose between the silver plug and 3.5mm cable, letting you choose the best positioning for your car.
Best compact Bluetooth car adapter
While pricey for what it offers, the Smof Bluetooth Car Adapter offers a low-tech solution with an extra long set of cables that gives you a lot more choice on where to position the control puck — aided by the extra long cable and magnetic base. Sadly it doesn't have a battery, and needs constant USB power to operate.
While it is functional the design could have been improved. The forward and back buttons double as volume controls when you press and hold each key. This is the opposite to most Bluetooth adapters, and means changing the volume is less precise and more prone to errors.
But the audio quality is good no matter how you control it. There is a noise isolator in the box, which promises "high-definition sound," though I honestly couldn't tell the difference between having it plugged in and not.
Best FM transmitter Bluetooth adapter
It may seem a bit redundant to connect to a Bluetooth adapter, only for your audio to be transmitted via an FM frequency. You'd think there would be some degradation, but the sound quality is surprisingly good for something so low-tech. Setting the FM frequency is easy via the small dial, and ensuring the optimal connection between your phone and radio.
The Lencent FM transmitter does require your 12v port to operate, but in return it offers two USB ports. One for charging (around 7.5W), while the other is capable of charging (2.5W) and playing music from USB-storage. The compact design also means this isn't going to take up a lot of space in your car, and should mostly go unnoticed.
There's also a microSD card slot for music playback, which is accessed by pressing the forward button. The backward button, beyond its obvious purpose, was also able to activate Gemini on my phone — which could be quite useful if you want hands-free control over your device. Plus, if you want a hardwired connection, there is a 3.5mm jack to plug in whatever devices are capable of doing so.
Best Bluetooth adapter for charging
Once again the FM transmission on the Sumind Bluetooth FM transmitter is surprisingly high quality, with very little difference between it and a physical connection. Again this is powered by the 12V socket, with dedicated buttons for tuning the FM frequency, and an adjustable arm to better position the screen to the driver's preferences.
Sumind's transmitter is a little more complex than Lencent's, thanks to all the different buttons and microSD support. Personally, switching back between the card and Bluetooth is a little tricky, and my advice is to pick one or the other and stick with it. The volume dial also offers minimal volume control, so you're better off sticking with your car's own stereo controls instead.
But once you get used to how it works, the Sumind FM transmitter is a great piece of kit — an ideal tool for older cars. It's even able to check the status of your 12V battery whenever you switch on your engine. Plus there are two USB charging ports, one promising 2.4A and the other that claims to support Quickcharge 3. Upon testing, though, both ports offer around 7.5W of power a piece. So don't worry about using the wrong one by mistake.
How we test the best Bluetooth car adapters
The first point of evaluation for the best Bluetooth car adapters is to check the design, and see how they actually connect to your car. For the majority of them, this involves plugging into the 3.5mm aux port - either via a cable of some kind of plug.
Once the connection is made, we check to see how it affects placement within the car, and whether the adapter itself has buttons or dials that can be safely utilized by the driver while the car is still moving. This also involves checking to see if any battery-powered adapters will still work when plugged directly into a power source.
Each adapter is then set up and connected to a smartphone, which then plays music from both a streaming service and local files. it's here that we gauge audio quality, and whether there's any interference. If there is static or some other issue, we tested the adapter with a different car to see if that solved the issue - if not, changing up the plug or cable to troubleshoot the issues.
Once that's out of the way we test the different controls to see what they do, and how effective they actually are. Following on from this we tested the various extra features, such as USB ports, microSD card readers, and so on. Generally just to see how well they work, and how simple or confusing they are to use.
Which Bluetooth car adapter is right for your car?
The kind of adapter you need will all depend on your car, and the capabilities it has. Obviously modern cars with their own Bluetooth connections won't necessarily need an adapter, though in most cases there's nothing stopping you from using one if you feel the need.
If your 3.5mm aux port is readily accessible, then a simple plug in Bluetooth adapter should be enough to suit your needs. Especially since they keep the adapter fairly stable while you drive. Wired adapters can also accomplish this, though you will need to deal with cable management and finding a place for the adapter to live.
If you need your aux port id inaccessible, non-existent or you can't utilize it for whatever reason then you should opt for an FM transmitter. Many modern options are powered by your car, either from the 12v socket or USB, and can still connect to your phone via Bluetooth.
These adapters transmit a low-powered FM signal that can be picked up by your car's radio, which makes it the most accessible system available. The fact the transmission is low-powered means you don't need an FCC license to own and use it either.
