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We tested 20 of the market's top car phone mounts for any vehicle on a road trip to pick the best choices for you.
Cellphones are integral to our daily lives; we use them for work, for fun, and, of course, for communication. They've even infiltrated our vehicles, where they provide music, maps, and hands-free messaging.
Since holding a phone in your hand is far too distracting when driving, when you must use yours for navigation or selecting the right music, a car phone mount is the tool you need.
Another solution is phone mirroring, and almost every new car today has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, which can broadcast information from your phone onto a screen in the car, either via a USB cable or, in some cases, wirelessly.
But if your car doesn't have it, or you want to display an app that isn't part of the limited number that work with these features, a car phone mount is still a great option.
The idea of a car phone mount is simple: display necessary information while minimizing distraction. To combat the distraction factor, phone holders have been engineered to hold your phone close to your line of sight to the road.
Three main types of car phone mounts have emerged: cupholder, vent, and window/dash. All perform the same basic function, but in different locations that cater to your vehicle.
In general, car phone mounts range in price from $20 to $70. The pricing seems to correlate more with the number of features than the quality of the mount. Surprisingly, one of our favorites was among the cheapest.
Wireless charging, simple expansion in the cupholder, and automatic clamping on the phone. Excellent cup mount at an affordable price.
Cup holder grip: Excellent Phone grip: Great Grip adjustability: Excellent Charging: Charges through case
Top-notch vent grip with adjustable knob, strong magnet without case, looks sharp, braided cord. Does not come with a cigarette-lighter adapter, only a USB-C connection. Will also need a separate sticky magnet, as this lacks one in the package.
Vent grip: Excellent Magnet strength: Great without case, decent through thick case (you will need a separate sticky magnet) Charging: Charges through case
Fantastic budget-friendly window/dash mount. The suction-cup operation is easy to attach and remove. The head telescopes for easy adjustment. However, the tabs require two-hand operation.
Suction-cup strength: Great Phone grip: Excellent Grip adjustability: Decent; requires two hands
Right off the bat, cupholder mounts are practically useless unless you have raised cupholders up by your radio and HVAC controls. They're great for truckers, cargo vans, and some pickups, where they can provide a nearly ideal position for your phone—with a drawback being one less spot for that gas-station slushy.
Pros: —great for vehicles with raised cupholders —ideal phone positioning and adjustability
Cons: —only usable in certain vehicles —takes up a cupholder place
Vent mounts blend some attractive perks to create a cheap and useful place to secure your phone. They come in all kinds of variations, including magnets and clamp types, and they might include wireless charging. The line of sight is excellent, but you will lose out on some air-conditioned airflow.
Pros: —great line of sight —works with just about every kind of vehicle
Cons: —clamping, which varies greatly among designs, is sometimes inadequate —blocks airflow from the vent it's mounted to
If you're looking for the best line of sight to your phone, a window/dash mount is hard to beat. In either location, you can adjust your eyes between the phone and the road in the shortest distance.
This comes in handy during tricky city driving, where taking your eyes off the road can cause you to miss a turn. However, the excellent line of sight to your phone comes with diminished road visibility, and any blockage increases risk.
Pros: —fantastic line of sight —flexibility to mount on windshield or dashboard
Cons: —impedes road visibility —can leave a residue ring on windshield —dash mounting requires a sticky mounting plate
When testing these mounts, we used five parameters: mounting strength, phone grip strength, grip adjustability, magnet strength (if applicable), and charging operation (if applicable). These parameters were tested under aggressive driving on curves and simple hand tests to simulate jarring driving.
We used the base iPhone 13 and, when testing with a case, an OtterBox Commuter. During testing of magnet strength and charging operation, we tested each applicable mount with both case-on and case-off tests and noted the results.
For the magnet test in particular, none of the mounts had magnets powerful enough to hold the phone through the case. To combat this, a stick-on magnet is included with most magnetic mounts—but this adds an accessory to your case, which some folks don't necessarily want.
In short, to fully enjoy the strength of a magnetic phone mount, removal of the case or installation of the sticky magnet is required.
To test all of these phone mounts, we took a trip behind the wheel of a Genesis G70 3.3T Sport Prestige. The four-door sports sedan proved to be adaptable on the journey, which included roads through cities and mountains. Hearing the twin-turbo 3.3-liter V-6's bellow bouncing off buildings provided just as much enjoyment as carving up the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The front seats were comfortable for long stints, and the side bolsters stiffened in Sport and Sport+ modes for more spirited driving. The back seat's lack of legroom, however, makes the G70 a poor choice for a people mover. For the driver, Brembo brakes, two turbos, and a raucous exhaust will enhance an off-the-beaten-path road trip.
To test the phone mounts, we took a road trip from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Norfolk, Virginia, with various stops along the way. We went through Pittsburgh, where we enjoyed a nice view of the Steel City, then stopped at the Flight 93 National Memorial in the hills of central Pennsylvania. Onward we darted down back roads through the foothills of Appalachia, skirting the Potomac, until we reached the I-95 corridor and Norfolk.
Returning to Michigan, we took a different path. We traversed westward through Virginia until we reached the northern gateway to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here, the Genesis was at home—relishing the curves and giving voice to its throaty exhaust. A few mounts didn't survive the g-loading here.
At Buena Vista, we left the parkway and danced around the mountains of West Virginia to Charleston, blaring John Denver the whole way. Throughout the state's rural countryside, the Genesis stuck out like a sore thumb. A quick skip up to Columbus returned us to flat terrain, and we stayed on the highway for the rest of the trip back to Grand Rapids.
Cupholder grip: Good once you manage to separate the adapters to find the correct size Phone grip: Great Grip adjustability: Excellent
Supreme phone-grip adjustability. Unsure how necessary two phone slots are. Built well. Nesting cup design is a royal pain.
Cupholder grip: Good once you manage to separate the adapters to find the correct size Phone grip: Great Grip adjustability: Excellent
Awesome choice for ride-sharing. Excellent adjustability. Nesting cup design is difficult to use. Comes with two containers of Purell hand sanitizer that fit perfectly in the slot.
Vent grip: Poor Magnet strength: Excellent
MagSafe compatible. Slides off over bumps and will take your phone with it.
Vent grip: Great Magnet strength: Decent, better with included stick-on magnet
Buttons to open and close the vent grips are strong and easy to use.
Vent grip: Poor Magnet strength: Good, better with included magnet Charging: Charges through case
MagSafe compatible. Vent grip very difficult to rotate initially—we thought it was defective at first.
Vent grip: Poor Phone grip: Great Grip adjustments: Excellent, easy one-handed operation
Vent grip: Good Magnet strength: Decent without case, better with included sticky magnet Charging: Charges through case
Vent grip: Good Phone grip: Good Grip adjustment: Decent, requires two hands
Vent grip: Decent Magnet strength: Good without case, decent with case Charging: Charges through case
Only compatible with MagSafe iPhones.
Vent grip: Great Phone grip: Good Grip adjustment: Decent, requires two hands
Rotates fine, but tilting is limited thanks to stubby design.
Suction grip: Great Magnet strength: Decent, stronger with included sticky magnet
Tough to remove, even with suction cup deactivated.
Suction grip: Great Magnet strength: Good, better with included sticky magnet
MagSafe compatible. The Extendo function is super easy to use and unlocks a ton of positioning options.
Suction grip: Great Magnet strength: Great, even better with included magnet
MagSafe compatible. Magnet would work through a thin case without need for the sticky one. Not easy to remove from window.
Suction grip: Good Phone grip: Great Grip adjustment: Great Charging: Charges through case
Suction grip: Good Magnet strength: Decent, better with included magnet Charging: Works through case
Suction grip: Good Phone grip: Good Grip adjustability: Great, arms close automatically Charging: Charges through case
Suction grip: Good Phone grip: Good Grip adjustability: Great, one-handed operation
Alexa is handy in certain situations, but beware—the mount does not charge your phone.
Choosing the right phone mount for you and your vehicle really comes down to where you want to see the display. If you have high cupholders, that style might be the easiest route. If you want to see your phone raised toward the road without mounting it on the dashboard or windshield, a vent mount is a great choice. And if you want the best line of sight to your phone, albeit with a slight knock against overall visibility, a window/dash mount would work for you.
Whatever your personal preference, remember that safety is the theme here. Our phones should be on display only for necessary things—not for scrolling Facebook or catching up on your streaming shows. So go out there, fire up your favorite maps app, throw your phone on your new mount, and enjoy your next drive!
This totally depends on what kind of car phone mount you're looking for. There are mounts with magnets, clamping arms, wireless charging, and even Alexa integration. Our advice is to think about the features you'd most prefer and search for a phone mount with them in mind.
Depends on the car. Cupholder mounts are super easy to use, but you need a vehicle with cupholders near the windshield. Vent mounts are great, but the phone blocks airflow from the vent it's mounted to. And window/dash mounts are an optimum choice for line of sight with the road, but they can decrease your visibility through the windshield or leave a sticky ring on your dashboard.
No. Modern chip technology is made with nonmagnetic materials, so your phone is totally safe.
Car vent mounts are safe, but phones are a distraction no matter where they are. However, you can minimize risk by positioning your vent mount near your view of the road.
All of the dashboard and windshield car phone mounts we tested had impressively strong suction cups. However, they won't stick well if the mounting surface is dirty or porous. Clean the inside of your windshield with glass cleaner and dry with a lint-free towel.
For dashboards, either attach the suction cup to the included mounting plate—or clean and dry your dash well, and avoid placing over any holes, cracks, or porous material.
Vent-style car phone mounts are designed to secure to just about any style of air vent without causing damage. However, installing the mount incorrectly can cause issues.
When sliding a vent mount onto the fin of an air vent, push consistently and smoothly, without any jerking motions. If you need to exert an excessive amount of force to slide the mount on, try a different approach. This is one of the most common ways your car's air vents can get damaged.
With a combined 206 years of automotive publishing experience, Hearst Autos—Car and Driver, Road & Track, and Autoweek—knows cars better than just about anyone, and the Gear Team delivers honest evaluations, hands-on tests, and product reviews driven by decades of knowledge and experience. We get our hands on almost every product, tool, and piece of gear we feature; we evaluate gear on its own merits, and tell you the truth.
If we can’t get our hands on the gear, we rely on the combined wisdom of our writers and editors, as well as auto experts we trust. We’ll never say anything is “the best” if we wouldn’t recommend it to our friends or buy it ourselves, and we won’t tell you we’ve tested something if we haven’t. Learn more about our product testing here.