Best Travel Adapters and the Plug Type Each Country Uses

For most trips one universal adapter with a strong USB-C port is enough. The EPICKA TA-105S costs about $25 on EPICKA’s own store, has plugs for Europe, the UK, the US and Australia, and gives 45W from one USB-C port. If anything you carry has an earth pin, buy a grounded adapter for the region you are visiting instead: Ceptics sells them at about $11 for three.

Check one thing before either. An adapter changes the shape of the plug and nothing else. Whether your device survives the trip depends on the voltage printed on it, which is covered below.

Everything here comes from the makers’ own specifications and from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the body that sets electrical standards. None of it is a judgement of how an adapter performs in the hand.

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Plug types and voltage by country

The IEC gives each plug shape a letter, from A to O, and lists the plugs, voltage and frequency for every country on its World Plugs page. Its site refused our requests, so this table is from the Internet Archive’s saved copy of that page.

The letters you will meet most, as the IEC describes them:

• Type A and B: two flat parallel pins. B adds a round earth pin.
• Type C: the two-round-pin Europlug. The IEC says it fits E, F, J, K and N sockets too, which is why one plug covers most of mainland Europe.
• Type E and F: the earthed European plugs. E is the French pattern, F the German one, often called Schuko.
• Type G: three rectangular pins with a fuse inside the plug. The UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong use it, and it is one of the two types listed for Nigeria and the UAE.
• Type D and M: three round pins in a triangle. D is the Indian plug. M looks the same with much larger pins and is the South African one.
• Type I: two flat pins in a V with an earth pin. The IEC notes the Australian plug also works in Chinese sockets.

Adapter or converter

Every maker on this page says the same thing in its own words: a travel adapter does not convert voltage. Anker says it of the Nano Travel Adapter, EPICKA prints it in capitals, and Skross’s FAQ says its adapters are not voltage converters.

Skross adds the part that matters: laptops, phones and cameras hardly ever need a converter, because their chargers are built for anything from 100V to 240V. Its advice is to check what is printed on the power supply.

Ceptics explains how to read that label. Look for the word INPUT followed by a number and a V:

• A range, such as 100-240V 50/60Hz. The device works on any mains supply in the world. Pack an adapter and nothing else.
• A single figure, such as 120V or 230V. The device works only on that voltage. In a country with a different supply it needs a voltage converter as well as an adapter.

Skross gives the example of what goes wrong: a European hairdryer in the US may only blow weak, cool air, and an American one in Europe may overheat and be damaged. Skross notes that some hairdryers have a switch for the two voltages, and Ceptics says single-voltage devices are often also sold in a version marked for worldwide voltage.

EPICKA goes further and advises against running high-power appliances through its adapters abroad even when they are dual voltage, because the fuse may blow. A converter that can run a hairdryer is not small money: EPICKA’s own 2,000W model is about $90. Buying a hairdryer at the other end is often the cheaper fix.

Universal adapters compared

Prices are from each maker’s own store in US dollars, rounded. A “No” under Grounded means the adapter has no earth connection. EPICKA’s manuals put it plainly: do not use it with appliances that need a ground wire.

• EPICKA TA-105S, about $25. Three USB-C ports and two USB-A beside the AC socket. EPICKA lists 45W from the first USB-C port, falling to 30W when a second port is in use. It says the socket accepts 12 of the 15 plug types and names the South African Type M as one it does not. EPICKA TA-105S on Amazon
• EPICKA TA-105+, about $20. The plain version: 28W shared across all its USB ports, with 15W the most the USB-C port gives. That is enough for phones and earbuds overnight and too little for a laptop. For $5 more the TA-105S is the better buy. EPICKA TA-105+ on Amazon
• EPICKA Pulse Duo 65W, about $50. Two USB-C and two USB-A ports, with 65W from one USB-C port for a laptop. EPICKA states that its four plugs do not fit Type D or Type M sockets, so it is not the one for India’s round-pin sockets or South Africa. EPICKA Pulse Duo 65W on Amazon
• Anker Nano Travel Adapter, about $26. The lightest here at 3.77 ounces, with built-in A, C, G and I plugs that Anker says cover 146 countries, and a 20W USB-C port. The catch is the AC socket: Anker says it takes only two-pin Type A and slim Type C plugs, and not Type G, E or F. A charger with a UK three-pin plug will not go into it. Anker’s US store showed it sold out, and its UK store listed it at £26.99. Anker Nano Travel Adapter on Amazon
• Ceptics UP-9KU, about $15. The cheapest universal here. Its USB ports share 17.5W, with 15W the most from USB-C, and Ceptics says the socket accepts two-pin and three-pin plugs from every country except the South African Type M. Ceptics UP-9KU on Amazon
• Skross PRO Light USB AC45PD World. The grounded one among the universal adapters here. Skross, a Swiss company, lists its wall plugs as three-pole for Type B, E, F, G and I sockets, which is the US, most of Europe, the UK and Australia. It has a 45W USB-C port and a replaceable 7A fuse, good for 1,750W at 250V. Skross’s own site shows no price, and at 256 grams it is the heaviest here. Skross PRO Light USB AC45PD on Amazon

Single-region adapters

A fixed adapter for one plug type is smaller and cheaper than a universal one. The Ceptics GP series is the one to look at, because each has a universal input socket and a full earth connection. Ceptics says the socket accepts plugs from every country except South Africa, so it does not matter which country your own plug comes from.

• Ceptics GP-7, Type G, about $11 for three. For the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong. Rated 13A at up to 250V. Ceptics GP-7 on Amazon
• Ceptics GP-9, Type E/F, about $11 for three. For Germany, France, Spain and most of mainland Europe. Rated 13A. Ceptics GP-9 on Amazon
• Ceptics GP-5, Type B, about $11 for three. For the US and Canada. Rated 10A. Remember the supply there is 120V. Ceptics GP-5 on Amazon
• Ceptics GP-10, Type D, about $11 for three. For India’s three-round-pin sockets, which none of the universal adapters above fit. Ceptics GP-10 on Amazon
• Ceptics GP-5PK, about $15. Five of them in one set: Types B, C, G, E/F and I. Ceptics GP-5PK on Amazon

Ceptics also sells Type I for Australia and China as the GP-16 and Type M for South Africa as the GP-10L, at the same price. None of these has a USB port, so your own charger goes into it.

Which to pick

• Phone, tablet and laptop that charge by USB-C: the EPICKA TA-105S. Step up to the Pulse Duo 65W only if the laptop needs more than 45W.
• Anything with an earth pin: a Ceptics GP adapter for the country, or the Skross PRO Light if you want one adapter for several regions.
• From Nigeria or the UK to the US: a universal adapter whose socket takes a Type G plug, or the Ceptics GP-5. Not the Anker Nano. Check every label for 100-240V first, because the US supply is 120V.
• From the US to Nigeria, the UK or the UAE: the Ceptics GP-7. The supply is 230V, so a 120V-only appliance stays at home.
• To India or South Africa: the Ceptics GP-10 or GP-10L. EPICKA says its universal plugs do not fit Type D or M.
• The lightest thing that works, for two-pin chargers only: the Anker Nano.

A power bank usually travels in the same pouch. Our guide to 10,000mAh power banks has the airline rules for carrying one.

What happened to the old picks

The 2021 version of this page had four adapters. EPICKA’s universal adapter lives on as the TA-105 family above. Ceptics still sells plug sets. The other two could not be confirmed at their makers.

Zendure no longer lists a travel adapter on its own store, which now sells solar storage systems, power stations and batteries, so the Passport II Pro is gone. OneAdaptr‘s website returned a notice that the store is unavailable, so we could not check the OneWorld adapters and have left them out.

We found no plug adapter on Belkin‘s US store. Its UK store sells a 70W three-port GaN charger with swappable UK and EU plug tips at £39.99, which suits someone moving between those two regions and nobody else.

Quick answers

What is the difference between a travel adapter and a converter?

An adapter changes the plug shape so it fits the wall socket. A converter changes the voltage. Devices marked 100-240V need only the adapter.

Do I need a voltage converter for Europe or the UK?

Only for a device marked with a single voltage such as 120V. The supply in the UK and the EU is 230V, and phone and laptop chargers marked 100-240V run on it as they are.

What plug type does Nigeria use?

The IEC lists Types D and G at 230V and 50Hz. Type G is the three-rectangular-pin plug also used in the UK, and EPICKA and Ceptics both put Nigeria under their UK plug.

Which travel adapter works in India?

The IEC lists Types C, D and M for India. A Type C Europlug fits the two-pin sockets, but for the three-round-pin Type D you need a dedicated adapter such as the Ceptics GP-10.

Can I use a hairdryer with a travel adapter?

Only if the hairdryer is rated for the local voltage and stays under the adapter’s limit, which is 6A on the Anker Nano and 10A on the EPICKA models. EPICKA advises against it even then.

Prices move, so confirm on the maker’s store before you pay.