Best Surge Protector of 2024

You spend a lot of money on your electronics, so protecting them from getting fried by power surges — with reliable and affordable surge protectors — should be a given. Plus, preventing wear and tear on the delicate hardware inside modern electronics is important for longevity, so picking the right hardware for this job is vital. But if you have no idea where to start, we’ve got you covered.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a big difference between power strips and surge protectors. A power strip is essentially just a wired, multi-outlet extension of a power outlet. A surge protector adds in circuitry, which is designed to prevent damaging power spikes from making their way to your TV, soundbar or really anything that’s plugged in. 

One of the easiest ways to tell if the product you’re considering is a basic strip or an actual surge protector is by checking if it has a joule rating. All surge protectors will have one, and it’s essentially how much of a power surge it can protect against. These devices do wear down over time, and while there’s no easy way to tell how much the protection is reduced, some strips do offer a dedicated “protected” LED. Most manufacturers recommend replacing a surge protector every few years. For more about how they work, check out these 10 shocking facts about power strips. 

What is the best surge protector overall?

We ran rigorous testing on 16 of the top surge protectors available for under $100, and the standout performer against all of our requirements was the APC P11U2. Its impressive amount of outlets — 11 in total — is worthy of note, and six of them have a generously wide design to provide spacing that can accommodate larger power adapters — plus it comes with USB ports that allow you to directly charge your devices, has high joule rating (more on that in a bit) and a conveniently long power cord. It even comes with a lifetime $250,000 equipment protection policy, which can provide a little peace of mind.

That, along with its exceptional functionality, makes this our recommendation for the best surge protector currently available. However, for those seeking surge protection with specific features or smaller sizes (the P11U2 is pretty large), we have more recommendations below worth checking out.

Best surge protectors of 2024

<div content="LIST ITEM" superlative="Best surge protector overall" description="

The APC P11U2 checks all the boxes for what I was looking for in a surge protector. It has six widely spaced plugs, plus five more that are closer together and two USB ports. It has 2,880 joules of protection, well above my test’s average. Coincidentally, editor Ty Pendlebury has one in his testing lab. APC offers a lifetime $250,000 equipment protection policy.&nbsp;

Overall build quality is quite solid, even though the protective covers for each outlet are superfluous and come off easily. The cord to connect the power strip to the wall is quite long, 8 feet, which is convenient. The P11U2 is fairly bulky, but if you want something smaller and don’t need 11 outlets, the $33 APC P8U2 loses one row of the wide-spaced outlets for a much smaller footprint overall, though the joule rating and protection policy are also lower.&nbsp;

It’s not flashy and doesn’t have some of the features of some of my other picks, but for a basic, solid, surge protector, it’s the one to get.&nbsp;

” page-position linktext linkurl like=”~ Above average joules” dislike=”~ Bulky
~ Lack of features” can-collapse=”true” can-truncate=”true” truncate-on-page-load=”true” offer=”{"id":"e982ac38-17e1-4435-8dd7-6f844e0abbfc","label":"APC by Schneider Electric SurgeArrest 11-Outlet PDU","slug":"apc-by-schneider-electric-surgearrest-11-outlet-pdu","edition":["US","ES"],"imageId":"6551c272-b82f-43da-ba2e-b80cd817413d","imgUrl":"/content/image/redirect/6551c272-b82f-43da-ba2e-b80cd817413d/resize/75×56","typeLabel":"Tech Product","objectType":"content_product","icon":"type-icon ct-cmg-tech-product ct-small"}” techobjectinfo=”{"uuid":"e982ac38-17e1-4435-8dd7-6f844e0abbfc","slug":"apc-p11u2-surge-protector","name":"APC P11U2 Surge Protector","productType":"PRODUCT","updateType":"PRISM","mod":1722409193442}” overridecredit=”Geoffrey Morrison/CNET” overridecaption=”” imagegroup=”{"uuid":"a23bd469-5dd0-4fa7-98a8-0042c1b361a7","alt":"best-surge-protectors-4-of-9","caption":"","credits":"Geoffrey Morrison/CNET","imageData":{"id":"a23bd469-5dd0-4fa7-98a8-0042c1b361a7","filename":"best-surge-protectors-4-of-9.jpg","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/45058d54d475ef7f0c019e8371dc8048aa391aaf/hub/2023/04/18/a23bd469-5dd0-4fa7-98a8-0042c1b361a7/best-surge-protectors-4-of-9.jpg?auto=webp&height=500","dateCreated":{"date":"2023-04-18 22:51:30.000000","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false},"size":"","float":"","lightbox":false,"imageUrl":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/45058d54d475ef7f0c019e8371dc8048aa391aaf/hub/2023/04/18/a23bd469-5dd0-4fa7-98a8-0042c1b361a7/best-surge-protectors-4-of-9.jpg?auto=webp&height=500","imageCaption":"","imageCredit":"Geoffrey Morrison/CNET","imageAltText":"best-surge-protectors-4-of-9","imageFilename":"best-surge-protectors-4-of-9.jpg","imageWidth":1920,"imageHeight":1080,"imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageDateCreated":"2023-04-18","imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” usepricing=”false” ng-block=”{"id":"qrw2mbq6tsyc7g3","type":"listicle"}” edition=”us” data-key=”cnetlisticle__219ff289-957b-4620-a7ce-d73a00029f62″ index=”1″ contenttype=”Best List – Precap” pagelayout=”Default – Article Page” tagslugs=”gap-project,hv180,freelance-update” isbestlistredesign=”true” imagecredit=”Geoffrey Morrison/CNET” imagealttext=”best-surge-protectors-4-of-9″ class=”c-bestListProductListing”>