Best Desk Pad With Wireless Charging UK

A desk pad with wireless charging earns its place when your phone spends the day on the desk anyway, because it turns that patch of mat into a charging spot you never have to think about. We compared eight of them sold in the UK, priced from £17.49 to £39.99, on the size of pad you actually get, where the charging coil sits, and whether the phone has to be placed with care. The one we would order for most desks is the VOVIPO 3 in 1 at £24.99, because you get a proper 90 x 40 cm mat and a charger in one purchase.

Most of these hide a compromise worth knowing before you buy. The charging module takes up part of the pad, so the mat is often shorter than a plain one at the same money. Several need a 9V power adaptor that is not in the box. And almost all charge at 15W only if the phone supports that rate, which many older handsets do not.

Quick comparison

1. VOVIPO 3 in 1 Wireless Charging Mouse Pad, £24.99

The VOVIPO is the one we would put on a normal desk because it does not make you choose between a mat and a charger. The pad measures 90 x 40 cm, which covers a full keyboard and the mouse area beside it, and the coils sit in the corner furthest from your typing hand.

The listing describes three charging positions: 15W for a phone, 5W for earbuds, and a third spot that suits a watch or a second handset. That is what separates it from the flood of pads with one coil in a corner, and if you already own wireless earbuds the extra spot gets used daily. The surface is soft fabric over a grip base, so a mouse tracks cleanly and the pad does not skate when you push back from the desk.

The honest caveat is placement discipline. There is no magnet to pull the phone into line, so a handset nudged off centre will sit there not charging. Amazon showed low stock when we checked, so the price moves.

Verdict: the one we would recommend for most home desks, because it gives you a full size mat and three charging spots for £24.99.

2. BoltSafe Premium Charging Desk Mat, £39.99

The BoltSafe is the most expensive pad here and the only one built like desk furniture rather than a gaming accessory. It is reversible, with vegan leather on one face and felt on the other, so you can flip it to suit the desk or the season.

The charging module is a separate magnetic puck you place on the left or the right, which is genuinely useful if you are left handed or your phone lives on the far side of the keyboard. It runs 15W to a phone and 5W to earbuds, and there is a shallow storage flap along one edge for paper or a cable.

What you give up is simplicity. A separate puck is one more thing to align and one more thing to lose, and the leather face shows fingerprints on a dark colour.

Verdict: our pick if you want the tidiest desk on the list and will use the storage flap, at £39.99.

3. TARKARI 15W Magnetic Charging Mat, £32.99

The TARKARI is the one to look at if you carry a phone with a MagSafe style back, because the magnets do the aligning for you. Drop it near the charging zone and it snaps into the right spot, which removes the most annoying thing about a flat charging pad.

The listing quotes stepped output of 5W, 7.5W, 10W and 15W to match what the phone accepts. The pad measures 800 x 300 mm with a 4 mm body, long enough for a full size keyboard plus a mouse, though 100 mm shorter than the 90 cm pads here. Ten lighting modes can be switched off completely, and switching them off is the first thing we would do on a work desk.

The catch is the magnet itself. A phone without magnetic alignment, or one in a thick case, will not hold, and the pad then behaves like any other charger with a coil you find by eye.

Verdict: the best choice for a magnetic phone, and the one we would pick for a desk that doubles as a gaming setup, at £32.99.

4. HAUTOCO 15W Wireless Charging Mouse Mat, £31.99

The HAUTOCO is a 900 x 300 mm pad, the widest thing here, and it puts the charging hardware at one end with an adjustable phone holder rather than a flat coil. If you take video calls at the desk, having the phone propped at an angle while it charges is the point of it.

The listing calls it a six in one arrangement and quotes 15W plus fifteen lighting modes. Treat the device count as marketing arithmetic rather than six coils, because the useful parts are the pad, the coil and the stand. At 4 mm with a rubber base it sits flat, and the weave is fine enough that a mouse glides without a separate pad.

The holder is the compromise. It stands proud of the mat, so it eats the space where a second monitor or a speaker might go, and a phone in a thick case may need the insert removed to charge at full rate.

Verdict: our pick for a wide desk where the phone needs to stay visible during calls, at £31.99.

5. GIM 15W Wireless Charging RGB Mat, £25.49

The GIM is a straightforward gaming mat with a charger built in, and at £25.49 it is the cheapest way to get a certified 15W coil inside an 800 x 300 mm pad. The surface is a low friction fabric tuned for optical sensors, and the edge lighting runs ten modes with a memory function.

Qi certification is the detail worth paying for. The charger is certified to the standard rather than described loosely as compatible, which matters when a phone sits on it for hours every day. It charges a phone at up to 15W and nothing else, so earbuds need their own cable.

Sort the power before it arrives. The listing states a 9V 2A adaptor is required for the full 15W rate and it is not included, so a standard 5V phone plug gives a slower charge and you will blame the pad.

Verdict: the sensible mid price pick when you want the pad and the coil and nothing else, at £25.49.

6. ELUTENG RGB 4 in 1 Charging Pad, £24.99

The ELUTENG goes after the Apple desk specifically. The listing describes charging a phone, a watch and earbuds at once on an 800 x 300 mm mat, with fifteen lighting modes and a phone holder built into the edge.

For a desk with an iPhone, AirPods and an Apple Watch, that replaces three cables with one pad. The watch position is the part that matters, because most mats here leave a watch out entirely and a watch needs its own small coil. The textured microfibre surface gives a mouse more control than the slick leather pads and slightly less speed.

The trade off is that a three device pad asks you to keep three objects in fixed spots. On a desk where everything has a home that works, and on a desk where you move things all day you will be pushing the phone back into position.

Verdict: the one we would pick for an iPhone and Apple Watch desk, at £24.99.

7. Loyobo Large Leather Charging Pad, £22.99

The Loyobo is a 73 x 33 cm leather style pad with a magnetic 15W charger in one corner, and it is the smallest pad here. That makes it the right answer for a desk under 120 cm wide, where a 90 cm mat would leave no bare surface at either end.

The magnets matter more than the size for anyone with a MagSafe phone, and the listing says a magnetic ring is included for phones that lack one, which covers most recent Android handsets. The leather face wipes clean in one pass, so coffee and ink come off instead of soaking in.

At 73 cm it takes a compact keyboard and a mouse and little else. If you use a full size keyboard with a number pad, or want a notebook on the mat, this one is too small.

Verdict: our pick for a small desk or a MagSafe phone, at £22.99.

8. Qumox 15W RGB Charging Mat, £17.49

The Qumox is the cheapest pad here at £17.49 and it still gets you a 15W coil, an 800 x 300 x 4 mm body and ten lighting modes. On paper that undercuts the GIM by £8 for the same headline specification.

The surface is a dense micro woven fabric with a rubber base, so the mouse tracks with control and the mat grips a desk that gets leaned on. The 4 mm thickness matches pads costing twice as much and sits flat out of the roll without weights.

The saving shows in the finish. The edge is cut and bound rather than stitched, there is no magnet to help align a phone, and the charging zone is smaller than the printed area suggests, so a phone placed near the edge of the graphic will not charge.

Verdict: the cheapest sensible way into a charging desk pad, at £17.49.

How wireless charging mats actually work

Every pad here uses inductive charging to the Qi standard, which the Wireless Power Consortium maintains. A coil in the mat creates a magnetic field, a coil in the phone turns it back into current, and the two have to line up within a couple of centimetres for a transfer to happen at all.

The 15W figure is the top of the Qi extended power profile, not a guarantee. A phone that only accepts 5W or 7.5W draws that and no more, and the pad runs cooler. That is why two people with the same mat report different speeds. Heat matters too, because wireless charging wastes energy as warmth and a phone in a thick case on a fabric pad has nowhere for it to go.

Does the pad size still matter

Yes, and more than the charging specification does. A pad too small for your desk leaves the keyboard half on bare wood, which is the problem a mat exists to solve. Measure the width you use rather than the width of the desk.

The 90 x 40 cm pads cover a full size keyboard and the mouse area with room spare, and they suit a desk 120 cm wide or more. An 800 x 300 mm pad saves 10 cm of depth on a shallow desk where a 40 cm mat would hang over the front edge. Check where the coil sits as well, because a pad whose charger ends up under your mug is a pad you will stop using.

Anything that clamps to the desk needs bare surface rather than mat. A monitor arm, a keyboard tray or a lamp clamp will not grip through 4 mm of rubber and fabric. Our guide to keyboard trays covers the clamp problem, and the cable management box guide deals with where the pad's own power lead goes.

What to check before you buy

Start with the adaptor. Several pads need a 9V 2A supply for their full rate and ship with only a cable, so a 5V phone charger halves the speed and you assume the mat is faulty. Then check your phone: a handset with a metal back, or one older than about 2018, may not support wireless charging at all, and a case over about 5 mm can block the field.

Decide about lighting too. Ten or fifteen modes sound like a feature until the pad glows under your monitor at night. Every pad here lets you switch it off, and on a work desk you will. If the phone is all you want to charge and the desk already has a mat you like, a small separate puck costs less and does the same job. For the rest of the kit, see our guides to plain desk mats, desk organisers and monitor risers.

Frequently asked questions

Can a charging desk pad charge through a phone case?

Usually, if the case is under about 5 mm thick and has no metal plate inside. Silicone and thin leather cases are fine. Wallet cases with cards, magnetic car mounts with a metal plate, and anything with a metal back will block the field, so the phone either does not charge or charges very slowly.

Why is my 15W pad charging slowly?

Three reasons cover most of it. The phone may only accept 5W or 7.5W, the adaptor may be a 5V phone charger rather than the 9V 2A supply the pad needs, or the phone may be sitting slightly off the coil. Move the phone until the charging indicator appears, then leave it alone.

Is a charging pad bad for a phone battery?

Wireless charging generates more heat than a cable, and heat is what ages a battery, so a pad that leaves a phone warm for hours is worse than a cable. Used for a top up during the day it is fine. For the slowest, coolest charge, plug the phone in overnight instead.

Do these pads work with earbuds and a watch?

Some do and some do not, and the listing is the only reliable guide. The VOVIPO, BoltSafe, ELUTENG and HAUTOCO pads all quote a second or third charging spot for earbuds or a watch. The GIM, Qumox and TARKARI pads charge a phone only, so earbuds need their own cable.

Can I use a charging pad on a glass desk?

Yes, and the grip base on most of these holds well on glass. What you should avoid is putting the pad on a metal desk surface directly over the charging area, because a large steel sheet can interfere with the field. A glass top with a wooden frame is not a problem.

Does the charging area get hot enough to mark the desk?

No, the mat insulates the desk from the coil and the heat stays in the phone. What does mark a desk is the rubber base on a freshly varnished surface, which can leave a faint outline after months in one place. A felt or leather pad avoids that entirely.

Our verdict

Buy the VOVIPO 3 in 1 pad at £24.99 if you want one answer. It gives you a 90 x 40 cm mat, a 15W phone coil and a spot for earbuds, and it costs less than the two cheapest pads here that only charge a phone.

Choose differently for a reason. The BoltSafe mat at £39.99 if the desk has no drawers and you want the storage flap, the Loyobo pad at £22.99 for a small desk or a MagSafe phone, or the Qumox at £17.49 if you want the cheapest 15W mat that works.

For more home office kit, browse the latest reviews and guides, or start with the desk mats guide if you would rather keep the charger separate.