Best portable EV chargers and smart cables in 2026, and when you do not need one

A smart charging cable is a portable EV charger that records every charging session and sends it through an app, Wi-Fi or a mobile network. The best-known models cost roughly €600 to €1,450 each, and none of them is needed for a Luxembourg employer to reimburse home charging of a company car at real cost.

This guide explains what a portable charger is, what it actually delivers on a Schuko or CEE socket, compares the models sold in Luxembourg and Germany, and answers the question fleet managers ask: do you need a MID meter to be reimbursed? A word of transparency: Voltaback sells no hardware. We are software that reimburses home charging at real cost, so we can say plainly when a smart cable is worth it and when it is not.

Type 2 cable, portable charger, smart cable: what is the difference?

Three devices look alike but do different jobs.

• A Type 2 cable (Mode 3) connects a wall-mounted or public charging station to the car. It has no control electronics: the station manages the charge. This is the cable you keep in the boot for public chargers.
• A portable charger (Mode 2) plugs into a Schuko or CEE socket. Its control box talks to the car, sets the current and handles protection, such as fault detection and often a temperature sensor in the plug.
• A "smart" cable is a portable charger with an added energy meter and connectivity (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, sometimes a SIM card). It logs each session: kWh, duration, time.

To match a cable to your use, see also our charging cable page.

How much power do you really get at home?

A portable charger never charges faster than its power source allows. Real power is the lowest of three limits: the socket, the portable charger and the car's on-board charger, which is often capped at 11 kW on AC.

In Luxembourg, the grid also sets the limit. Creos requires a prior request through the myCreos portal for any charging station above 4.6 kW single-phase or from 7 kW three-phase, installed by an approved electrician. A red CEE socket meant to charge at 11 kW should therefore be treated like a charging station of the same power: ask your electrician whether a request applies. Source: Creos, je recharge ma voiture.

For most drivers, who charge on a Schuko or blue CEE socket, the 11 or 22 kW printed on the box only matters on the road or in a workshop fitted with red CEE sockets. To pick the socket itself, read our guide to charging from a home socket.

More power can mean a higher bill

A portable charger on a red CEE socket draws 11 kW, several times the reference power of many households (often 3 to 7 kW). Every kWh above that threshold carries a Creos surcharge. So use the device's current limit: at 16 A single-phase, or 6 to 8 A three-phase, you still put 30 kWh or more into the battery overnight without exceeding the threshold for long. The exact amounts are in the price section below.

How we compared

We kept the criteria that matter when you equip one or several drivers:

• Usable power on the driver's installation, not the device's maximum.
• Adapters: Schuko, blue CEE, red CEE, automatic adapter recognition.
• Meter: present or not, MID-certified or not.
• Connectivity: Bluetooth (data on the phone), Wi-Fi (depends on the home network) or SIM (independent of the home).
• Durability: IP rating, crush resistance, behaviour in the cold.
• Price, multiplied by the number of vehicles, plus adapters.

Prices come from manufacturers, German retailers and the 2024 portable charger test by ADAC, the German automobile club, as no equivalent Luxembourg test exists. VAT is 17 % in Luxembourg against 19 % in Germany, so shelf prices in Luxembourg may differ slightly.

The buying criteria in detail

Behind the datasheets, five points make the difference in daily use:

• Safety functions: residual current detection (including DC fault current), temperature monitoring in the plug and the adapter, detection of a badly wired socket, automatic shutdown. A temperature sensor in the Schuko adapter is the most important safeguard on older sockets.
• Protection rating: at least IP54 for outdoor use, ideally IP67 as on the Juice Booster 3 air and the NRGkick, which survive a downpour or a puddle.
• Cable length: 5 m is enough in your own garage, 7.5 m is the usual compromise, 10 m helps when the socket is far from the parking space but makes the device heavier.
• Weight: from about 2 kg (Juice Booster 3 air) to around 4 kg (NRGkick with a 5 m cable). Noticeable for a device that travels in the boot every day.
• Fine current control: a device that adjusts power in small steps (the NRGkick in 0.1 A increments) makes it easier to stay below the household's reference power.

Source for weight and protection rating: emobility.energy, portable chargers compared 2026.

The best portable smart chargers in 2026

1. Juice Booster 3 air: the most versatile

Portable charger from 1.4 to 11 kW, waterproof and light, with an app and a wide range of adapters (Schuko, blue CEE, red CEE and many foreign sockets). It recognises the adapter and sets the current automatically.

• Price: Traveller Set at €1,449 in the ADAC test (test winner, grade 1.6); about €1,040 to €1,430 depending on the set at German retailers.
• Strength: one device for home, holidays and site sockets.
• Limit: 11 kW maximum; the manufacturer does not claim MID certification for the meter.
• For whom: employees who charge on varied sockets, field technicians.

Source: ADAC, portable charger test.

2. NRGkick: the most fleet-oriented

Austrian portable charger up to 22 kW, with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, solar integration and automatic recognition of its plug attachments. The manufacturer offers versions and services for fleets (nrgkick.com).

• Price: €1,426 in the ADAC test with solar and OCPP functions (grade 1.8); the current entry model is about €825 excluding VAT at a German retailer.
• Strength: data a fleet platform can use.
• Limit: price per vehicle, built-in meter without confirmed MID certification, a device to manage at every hire and departure.
• For whom: fleets that want hardware metering for cars charged in many places.

3. go-e Charger Gemini flex 2.0: best power for the price

Portable charger in 11 or 22 kW versions, supplied with a red CEE plug (16 A or 32 A) and optional adapters. It includes an energy meter, Wi-Fi, a 4G eSIM with free data for at least five years, OCPP 1.6, an API and MQTT. go-e runs a dedicated website for Luxembourg.

• Price: about €620 to €825 for the 22 kW version at German retailers.
• Strength: built-in mobile connection, open protocols.
• Limit: the datasheet states the meter is not MID-certified and not compliant with legal metrology.
• For whom: tech-savvy drivers, small fleets that handle their own data.

Source: go-e, Gemini flex 2.0 datasheet.

4. The simple portable charger, no connectivity

The emergency cable supplied with the car, or a portable charger without an app, does exactly the same electrical job. The ADAC test covered devices from €190 to €1,449. A driver who always charges in the same place is usually well served by a simple branded model. Avoid unbranded devices from online marketplaces: insist on a rating plate and a declaration of conformity.

A note on many "best portable EV charger" rankings found online: they are written for North America, where "Level 1" (120 V) and "Level 2" (240 V) chargers use a J1772 plug and NEMA sockets. In Luxembourg and the rest of Europe, cars use the Type 2 connector and Schuko or CEE sockets, so check the plug standard before buying.

Privacy: GPS and SIM in the cable

Some connected models offer a mobile module with GPS as an option, the SIM version of the NRGkick family for example. For a private owner it is theft protection. But if the employer provides the device and receives its data, the cable's location can reveal where the employee is.

In Luxembourg, any geolocation by the employer is monitoring within the meaning of article L.261-1 of the Labour Code: employees and the staff delegation must be informed beforehand, and the staff delegation can ask the CNPD for an opinion within 15 days. Source: CNPD, vehicle geolocation. Location is not needed to reimburse charging electricity; switch it off, or choose a solution that never collects it.

Comparison table

Prices exclude installation, checked in 2026; they change often.

Our verdict by need

• Cross-border commuter who charges every night in the same place, in Arlon, Thionville or Trier: a simple portable charger on a dedicated circuit or a blue CEE socket is enough. Connectivity adds almost nothing to the charging itself.
• Apartment without a charger: a portable charger helps if your parking space has a dedicated socket. The real hurdle is the co-owners' vote, not the cable.
• Holidays and varied sockets: Juice Booster 3 air with its adapters.
• Hardware metering without Wi-Fi: go-e Gemini flex (eSIM) or the connected NRGkick.
• Company car to reimburse: no smart cable needed. Software measures charging on the existing installation and applies the employee's contract price.

On the road: a portable charger at public stations?

At a public Chargy station you need an ordinary Type 2 cable (Mode 3), not a portable charger: the station controls the charge. Some portable chargers offer a Type 2 adapter so they work there too, but a separate Type 2 cable is lighter and cheaper. On trips, the portable charger shows its strength on sockets: at a holiday home, a campsite, with family or in a workshop with red CEE sockets.

Checklist before you buy

1. Which socket do you have at home, and which sockets do you want to use away from home?
2. What AC power does your car accept (usually 7.4 or 11 kW)?
3. Is the meter needed for billing? If so, check MID certification in the datasheet, not in the marketing copy.
4. Where does the data go? Manufacturer cloud, your own platform or just the phone, with or without location.
5. How many adapters do you really need? Each one costs around €100.
6. Who owns the device in the fleet, and what happens when an employee leaves or changes car?

If the answers to points 3 and 6 get complicated, the problem is usually not the cable but the reimbursement method.

Do you need a MID meter to be reimbursed?

No. No Luxembourg text requires a MID-certified meter to reimburse electricity for a company car. Luxembourg has no official flat rate per kWh either. What matters is being able to justify two things: the kWh actually charged into the car, and the price the employee actually paid.

On the tax side, a solid reading of the Grand-Ducal regulation of 23 December 2016 treats the car's energy as a running cost covered by the flat-rate benefit in kind (0.5 or 0.6 % of the list price per month for an electric car), provided the measured real cost is reimbursed. No text says so explicitly, so have your fiduciary confirm this treatment. Any amount above real cost would be taxable salary. Source: Grand-Ducal regulation of 23 December 2016, consolidated text.

This is where smart cables fall short. Their meter is usually not certified, it only measures the energy flowing through it, and it does not know the home's tariff. Voltaback relies on the home's MID-certified meter, not on a standalone cable meter. The kWh come from vehicle data, each session is tied to the right car, and the measurement was audited by an independent third party at a 1.22 % relative error.

Price matters as much as measurement

A kWh charged at night costs about €0.19 in Luxembourg on a dual-rate offer (energy, Creos network fee of €0.051/kWh excluding VAT, 8 % VAT). If charging pushes the household above its reference power, Creos adds €0.0765/kWh excluding VAT, bringing a night kWh to about €0.27. Source: Creos, tariff structure guide.

Cross-border workers, about 49 % of employees according to the IGSS, charge under their country of residence's contract: about €0.24 per kWh at night in Belgium with a dual-rate meter, about €0.32 in Germany. A single Luxembourg price under-reimburses these employees. Only each contract's real price is neutral.

The limits of smart cables for a fleet

For a private driver, a smart cable is a convenience. For a fleet, it becomes an inventory of devices to manage.

• Multiplied cost: 40 cars with a €1,000 charger each means €40,000 of hardware, before adapters and replacements.
• Loss and theft: a portable charger lives in the boot or the parking space; if it disappears, you buy another.
• Data gaps: no Wi-Fi in the underground car park, app not synced, a session done with the car's own cable. Every gap is a charge you cannot justify.
• Export and payroll: data sits in each manufacturer's app; someone must extract it, consolidate it and match it to payroll, often run by a fiduciary.
• Firmware, hires and departures: updates to follow, devices to collect, reset and reassign.
• No link to the tariff: the cable measures kWh, not euros. You still need each employee's contract, whether in Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany or France.

Worked example: 40 company cars over four years

The assumptions are deliberately cautious. Even without internal effort, the hardware route ties up over €35,000 in devices before the first kWh is reimbursed.

A connected wallbox has similar limits, plus one installation per home: see our article on the connected charging station for a fleet.

Luxembourg subsidies do not cover portable cables

The new 2026-2030 subsidy for private charging stations, in bill no. 8577, is not yet final. As presented, it covers new chargers above 3.7 kW, installed by an approved electrician: 50 % of costs excluding VAT, capped at €750 for a standard charger installed in 2026 and €1,200 for a smart charger.

A portable cable on its own is not an installed charging station. For chargers whose parts can be detached to work as a portable device, guichet.lu asks for proof of the serial number: if you are considering such a hybrid model, check eligibility before buying. Source: guichet.lu, private charging station subsidy 2026.

Reimbursing without a smart cable: software measurement

The simplest option for a fleet is to add nothing at the employee's home. Voltaback is 100 % software: it connects to more than 48 car brands, records each charging session (date, duration, kWh), applies the real price of the employee's electricity contract and produces a monthly export ready to import into your payroll software.

• Any installation: Schuko, CEE or wallbox, house or apartment building, in Luxembourg or in a cross-border worker's home country. See also our article on charging with or without a smart meter.
• Security and privacy: ISO 27001 certified since 2 December 2025, GDPR compliant; the company never receives drivers' geolocation.
• No devices to manage: nothing to buy, lose or collect.

To compare options for your fleet, see our alternative to connected chargers and cables. To estimate charging times by socket, read our guide to EV charging time.

Give your drivers the right tool, not necessarily a cable

A good portable charger is still useful for charging away from home. But to reimburse home charging across a fleet, cross-border workers included, software measurement saves buying, tracking and replacing one device per car.

Contact our team to see how Voltaback reimburses your employees' charging at real cost, with no hardware at all.