The best portable electric car heaters can be a lifesaver in the winter. Luckily, there are many different electric heating options for cars and larger vehicles, including heaters designed for RVs, compact heaters meant to defrost your windshield, and heated massager cushions that can help you warm up in a hurry.

Otherwise, read on to see the best portable electric car heaters to get.

Your car might take a while to warm up on its own, but at least you can accelerate your own comfort with the COMFIER Massage Seat Cushion with Heat, which looks to live up to its name. With three heating pads and two heat level settings, it promises to start warming you up within a minute, helping to ease the frigid feeling of getting into a half-frozen vehicle.

Best Overall

COMFIER Massage Seat Cushion

  • Warms and massages

  • Multiple massage settings

  • Has car + home adapters

  • Just vibration massage

And that’s not all. Thanks to 10 vibrating motors dispersed throughout the back and seat of the pad, you’ll also get a nice massaging feeling while you warm up and drive. It has five programmed settings and three intensity levels, so between the heat and the massaging capabilities, it shouldn’t take long before you get comfy for your commute.

Looking to fill your RV with heat and minimize your reliance on propane? Caframo Limited’s True North Space Heater provides plenty of warmth for your camper, with five heat settings to suit your needs up to a maximum wattage of 1500, plus a dual overheat protection system to avoid dangerous overheating.

Best for RVs

Caframo Limited True North Space Heater

  • Powerful heater

  • Looks like a car heater

  • Reports of non-functional units

Customer reviews point to a powerful blast of heat that circulates quickly through your heater and generates only noise, particularly on the lower settings. It’s still pretty compact at 9.25 x 4.4 x 4.4 inches and just over 5 pounds, with a metal and plastic look that works well in an RV and can be easily mounted to a wall or ceiling.

Ideal for RVs, passenger vans, and light-duty utility vehicles, the Zerostart 2600900 Interior Car Warmer packs a lot of heat into a small device, providing 900 Watts/120 Volt AC/3,000 BTU of power. It’ll warm up the inside of your ride while also clearing the frost from your windows, getting you both comfortable and ready to roll.

Runner-up, Best for RVs

Zerostart 2600900 Interior Car Warmer

  • Strong heating power

  • Overheating protection

  • Not for smaller cars

Customer reviews suggest that it’s great for getting your car toasty warm before you even step out of the house, plus it has a safety sensor that automatically shuts the heater off should it reach extremely hot temperatures.

SNAILAX’s Massage Car Seat Cushion is a less robust massaging option, but it’s also more affordable as well. This massage cushion, which plugs into your car’s lighter port, both heats and massages to get you warmed up and comfortable in a hurry. It has three built-in heating pads that cover the back and seat, with optional auto shut-off timers.

Runner-Up, Best Heat Massager

Snailax Massage Car Seat Cushion

  • Affordable price

  • Heats and massages

  • Only for car use

  • Just six vibration motors

Meanwhile, the six vibration motors provide a massaging feeling to your upper and lower back, hips, and thighs, with five different massage mode settings and four intensity settings. With a soft polyester finish, seat straps, and an anti-slip surface on the bottom, the SNAILAX Massage Car Seat Cushion can make your next cold-weather journey a lot more pleasurable.

Best Budget

  • Great value

  • Compact size

  • Modest heating power

A frosty windshield is one of the worst parts of coming back to a half-frozen car. Even if you can tolerate the frigid feeling inside your car, you might not be able to get moving for a while until the frost clears. Luckily, that’s where the FERRYONE Portable Car Heater comes in handy. This dash-mountable heater is designed to help clear your view in a hurry.

Best Defrosting

FERRYONE Portable Car Heater

  • Defrosts windshield

  • Compact design

  • 360-degree swivel mount

  • Not much power

It plugs into a 12V lighter port and rapidly defrosts your windshield with a blast of hot air. At 150W, it’s not going to provide a ton of heat to warm up the inside of your car in a hurry, but this little device should be very handy for its intended task.

While those other massaging cushions stick with vibrating pulses to deliver relief, the Zyllion Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager has heavy-duty rotating balls that rotate as they work into your muscles. All the while, the balls optionally heat up, delivering warmth and comfort. It’s perfect for a long drive in the winter, warming you up while keeping you cozy and comfy.

Best Shiatsu Heat Massager

Zyllion Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager with Heat

  • Strong shiatsu massage

  • Heats while it massages

  • Both car + home adapters

  • Could feel bulky in car seat

Zyllion’s massager is a versatile option that can be used for the upper and lower back, plus it comes with both car and home plugs for use anywhere. It’s compact and affordable—a very helpful companion for your winter aches and pains.

Here’s another shiatsu heat massaging option, albeit more targeted towards the upper back and heck. The Naipo Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager drapes around your neck, delivering relief as the heated shiatsu balls push and prod your muscles.

Runner-up, Best Shiatsu Heat Massager

Naipo Shoulder & Neck Massager

  • Massages and heats

  • Car and home adapters

  • Could be distracting for some

While a bit less versatile than the Zyllion massager, given its shape, it still delivers a lot of comfort as it both massages and heats you up in the process. Naipo includes both car and home power adapters so that you can use it anywhere, and it’s a good way to start winding down on a cold drive home—or get warmed up in a cool car in the morning.

About Our Trusted Experts

Sean Ludwig is a full-time gadgets writer who has amassed bylines in publications such as Gizmodo, VentureBeat, PCMag.com, and Fast Company.Andrew Hayward is a freelance writer and editor who has covered gadgets since 2006 and had his work appear across the web, magazines, and books.

COMFIER’s Massage Seat Cushion with Heat is our pick for the best option for most car drivers, as it can warm you up safely and with little hassle, with the added benefit of vibration-based massaging as well. However, if you drive an RV or you’re looking for a small heater to defrost your windshield, we recommend the Caframo Heater. It provides up to 1500W and has overheating protection.

What to Look for in a Portable Electric Car Heater

Functionality - What do you need the heat for? Are you trying to keep an RV warm in the winter, warm your body with a heated cushion, or melt the frost on your windshield so that you can get going? There are heaters designed for each need.

Compatibility - Make sure your car can handle the 12V lighter port plug that many of these heaters use, otherwise you’ll need a car power inverter to plug in a traditional two-prong plug and draw power from your vehicle.

Price - Ultimately, a heater has to fit within your budget, so consider your needs and whether you want to shell out for something significant or just want something affordable. We have included a wide range of options on this list.

  • Do portable car heaters really work?
  • As our article explains, while a portable car heater powered by the cigarette lighter outlet can’t stand-in for the full heating system of your vehicle, a 12-volt heater wired directly to the battery with an inline fuse is much more capable. A universal heater that relies on coolant rather than an electric heating element is an even more powerful alternative, but they’re expensive and difficult to install.
  • Can you run a propane heater in your car?
  • No. Using a propane heater in your car, particularly with the windows closed, is a bad idea. Propane heaters not only produce propane exhaust but also generate a lot of water vapor/moisture; without proper ventilation, the available oxygen can be quickly exhausted. They also present a risk of fire.
  • Are portable car heaters safe?
  • Used properly, the heaters on our list are extremely safe; many 12V heaters, for instance, have an inline fuse for safety. That said, most residential heaters, even portable ones, aren’t designed for or safe to use in your vehicle.

As our article explains, while a portable car heater powered by the cigarette lighter outlet can’t stand-in for the full heating system of your vehicle, a 12-volt heater wired directly to the battery with an inline fuse is much more capable. A universal heater that relies on coolant rather than an electric heating element is an even more powerful alternative, but they’re expensive and difficult to install.

No. Using a propane heater in your car, particularly with the windows closed, is a bad idea. Propane heaters not only produce propane exhaust but also generate a lot of water vapor/moisture; without proper ventilation, the available oxygen can be quickly exhausted. They also present a risk of fire.

Used properly, the heaters on our list are extremely safe; many 12V heaters, for instance, have an inline fuse for safety. That said, most residential heaters, even portable ones, aren’t designed for or safe to use in your vehicle.