The Finest Automotive Cellphone Mounts of 2024

How We Tested Car Phone Mounts

Our Expert Tester

GearJunkie knows cars, and our staff knows their vehicles inside and out. Lead tester Scott Tharler has been writing about car accessories for 25 of the 35 years he’s been a licensed driver.

In that time, he’s logged hundreds of thousands of miles behind the wheel, crisscrossing the U.S. in the early days and, more recently, taking his three kids to their daily activities. Along the way, Tharler has used and written about myriad devices, including third-party Bluetooth speakerphones, backup cameras, cellphone boosters, and many other gadgets that plug into audio jacks, USB, 12-volt adapters, and OBD-II ports.

Our Testing Process

During several weeks of real-world testing, we installed eight car phone mounts — usually with multiple units side-by-side. We stuck an encased Google Pixel 6 Pro and iPhone 15 loaded into one or more mounts. With those secured, we drove over curbs, speedbumps, and gravelly stretches of road (in addition to smooth pavement just around town). The aim was to mimic the conditions the average driver faces daily while bouncing the rides around a bit.

If a phone holder failed by not staying mounted or easily dumping the phone, it didn’t make our list. We rated the ones that did based on factors such as ease of installation, steadiness, adjustability, price, and special features. We’ll continue to assess additional phone mounts for future iterations of this guide.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Car Phone Mount

Selecting a car phone mount isn’t easy — or, let’s face it, fun. It’s one of those products that, when it’s doing its job, just fades into the background. Conversely, when it fails, the results can range from offputting to truly disastrous.

To make matters worse, seemingly every electronics, office supply, and grocery store carries phone mounts not to mention the many online retailers. You might even be tempted to walk in or click through and just grab the first one you see. But finding the right car phone mount for you requires some thought and research.

This handy how-to-choose guide has all the essential information compiled to find the best solution that fits your needs. We discuss why you should and shouldn’t consider particular types of phone mounts and which features matter most. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know to decide which car phone mount will work best for you.

Universal vs. Custom Mounts

Custom mounts are made for particular vehicles. For instance, a version of the Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 only fits the air vents of two specific Tesla models. And when ordering the ProClip USA Center Dash Mount, you indicate your vehicle’s make, model, and year, and they deliver a base that clips into a specific spot in your exact vehicle.

You might expect that custom mounts are prohibitively expensive, but not necessarily. For instance, the ProClip we tested was $75, and the Pitaka was just $60. They were a little more than some of the universal mounts we tested, but definitely worth it if you care about clean, purposeful design.

Window, Vent, and Dash Mounts

Although other mounting locations exist, these three are collectively the most popular, each with pluses and minuses.

Window mounts can’t help but be in the way. Even with a long enough extension arm, a phone mounted to the center of your windshield will significantly decrease your field of view. If you mount it a little out of the way on the left side, you’ll still need to wonder when it’ll simply peel off on a hot day.

Even if they stay stuck to your windshield with suction and/or stickiness, window mounts aren’t always very stable. They also put your phone in an exposed area where it can get so hot that it shuts down. So, needless to say, we’re not fans of window mounts as a rule.

Vent mounts are a mixed bag. As mentioned above, they tend to put your phone at a reasonable height. But the problem is how they attach. For instance, the alligator clamp style seems like a good idea. But the problem is the awkward dexterity; it can require pinching to open and/or tighten them. Either way, the phone’s weight in such a holder could close the vent, directly affecting your air circulation.

The Scosche MagicMount Pro 2 4-in-1 Vent/Dash‘s rubber prong style, which we tested, was fine. But we prefer the ones that also employ a retractable hook arm for extra stability, such as the Peak Design and Pitaka models featured. Just be careful not to overtighten the arm, lest the first big bump you go over pop the air vent slat right off.

Dash mounts, unfortunately, suffer from some of the same quibbles as window mounts in terms of visual obstruction and susceptibility to heat. On top of that, they’re even less reliable on a textured dashboard. But their saving grace, as with the Nite Ize, is that these mounts can be positioned on a smooth surface further from the windshield and even on a vertical/angled part of your dashboard.

Size

The small stature of the Peak Design and the Nite Ize was a big factor in our highlighting those mounts, but only in combination with how rock-solid they function. In other words, being a small phone mount doesn’t make it good. Be sure to check out how much metal (vs. plastic) is used in its construction.

Adjustability

Phone mounts can be adjustable in a few ways. For example, the Scosche MagicMount kit includes multiple mounting options on the vent and dash. The Baseus mount can be adjusted in several directions, sliding, pushing, pulling, tilting, and swiveling it into just the right position.

And the Nite Ize can be pivoted around that steel ball in tiny increments. But even the fixed, stiff ProClip could be slid left or right within the dashboard seams. Most car phone mounts are adjustable in some way, but some more than others.

Portability

Although a phone mount’s portability does have something to do with its size, it has more to do with how easy or painful it is to remove and reinstall. So if you get a phone mount that’s easy to uninstall, toss in a bag without it breaking or taking up too much space, and reinstall, that’s certainly a bonus.

It’s also another reason not to want to deal with the messy, sticky pads and suction cups found on dash and window mounts, even though they can sometimes be washed and reused.

Charging

Juicing up your device on the go seems like a no-brainer. But if you want a charging mount, there are a few things to consider.

Wired charging can happen in one of several ways. The mount can simply position your phone in a way that exposes your phone’s charging port, to which you can attach a cord and adapter you supply. Some phone mounts — such as the wired charging version of the ProClip — include those accessories and position the charging cord in a way that when you slide the phone into the mount, it goes right onto the cord and is ready to charge. We didn’t test any systems like this, so we can’t speak to how much finagling they’d take.

Wireless charging mounts are great for how easy they are to attach your phone and rotate it to whatever orientation you want. But you need to be careful about a couple of things. First, MagSafe doesn’t always mean it’s a charger, as with the Scosche MagicMount. Second, phones and cases vary greatly in their magnetic sticking power.

This means that although MagSafe is a convenient attachment method, your phone/case combo may not stick as strongly as others. For this reason, we appreciated being able to test the Peak Design in conjunction with one of their special, super magnetic phone cases. Similarly, if you rock an Android or older iPhone, to do wireless charging you’ll need a MagSafe adapter, ideally included with the phone mount.

Another key thing to look for with wireless charging is whether it’s the older, slower version (7.5 watts) or the newer, faster version (15 W). On product pages and websites, look for “Qi2” as a feature. And just like with the wired versions, it’s obviously nicer when the mount comes with a 12V adapter and charging cord.

Bonus points if the adapter offers more volts, the cord is USB-C and the kit includes stick-on cable guides to keep your dashboard as uncluttered as possible.

Design

The minimalist looks of the Peak Design and Nite Ize might speak to you. Or perhaps the carbon fiber look of the Pitaka matches your design sense. But beyond the aesthetics, how well-built the mount is matters. We’d go to battle any day with either the ProClip or the Tackform. They look and feel so well conceived with high-quality parts that are as heavy, durable, and reliable as the vehicles we drive.

Price & Value

Budget

At the budget range, you can expect to spend anywhere from $15 to $50. You may not get perks like premium materials, wireless charging options, and creative mounting locations, but you can still find solid, reliable holders in this price range. For example, The Baseus JoyRide Pro Car Backseat Mount ($14) has worked well and hasn’t given us any problems with stability or reliability throughout weeks of testing.

Mid-Tier

The average price of our eight tested mounts is $62. This mid-tier range can be used as a general guideline about how much you may want to spend on a great car phone mount. In this range, you’ll find car phone holders that offer charging, more mount adjustability, and burlier materials. The Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 ($60), for example, is MagSafe compatible, has wireless charging, and NFC custom functions.

Premium

While you can get excellent car phone holders without breaking the bank, there’s still a correlation between price and build quality. The three highest-priced models we tested — Peak Design Car Vent Mount ($100), Tackform Car Seat Phone Holder ($80), and ProClip USA Center Dash Mount ($75) — are each superbly designed and constructed. Each offers an extremely secure hold, a pleasing aesthetic, multiple charging options, and MagSafe compatibility.

Frequently Asked Questions