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A MagSafe wallet will save you from the inevitable three-pocket pat down each of us does on our way out the door. Rather than having a standalone wallet that sits separately, a MagSafe wallet will keep your most important credit, debit, and ID cards securely snapped onto the back of your iPhone. What this accessory lacks in space (you won’t be able to overstuff it with every loyalty card and receipt), it makes up for in efficiency. The best MagSafe wallets will allow you to go minimal without worrying you’ll need to go back home for anything.
How we chose the best MagSafe wallets
On its face, a MagSafe wallet is a relatively simple tech accessory: It attaches to the back of your iPhone magnetically and holds some cards for you. The devil, however, is in the details. Our recommendations, which cover a wide range of prices, factored in their material and card capacity, which are critical to consider when deciding the best one for you. All of these wallets should be able to survive daily use for several years without losing their magnetization or looking overly grody.
The best MagSafe wallets: Reviews & Recommendations
Ready to ditch your old bulging wallet once and for all? A MagSafe wallet, which is even thinner than the most slimline RFID wallet, will offer convenience without adding too much unnecessary bulk to your iPhone or becoming a nuisance to use.
Best overall: Spigen Valentinus
Specs
- Material: Faux leather
- Card capacity: 3
- Price: $29.99
Pros
- High card capacity
- Textured anti-slip molding
- Comes in multiple sizes and colors
Cons
Spigen’s Valentinus is the best-designed MagSafe wallet we could find, so it’s worth its slightly higher price. The wallet can hold up to three cards—though Spigen offers a two-card version at a reduced cost—and has ribbed webbing on its inner side to prevent it from slipping off your iPhone. To dislodge your cards, you can pull at them from a cutout at the top, push on them from a cutout at the bottom, or remove the MagSafe wallet and push them up through a cutout on its underside.
Spigen says a mechanism inside its wallet puts pressure on the cards at all times to prevent them from getting dislodged accidentally. The company used vegan leather for its MagSafe wallet, which it says was sourced sustainably. While it won’t patina like a true leather wallet, wear and tear from everyday use shouldn’t damage it in an unsightly way. It’s just a little more expensive than many of our other MagSafe wallet recommendations, but the little design flourishes help it edge out the rest.
Best splurge: Apple iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe
Specs
- Material: Microtwill
- Card capacity: 3
- Price: $59.99
Pros
- Eco-friendly
- First-party solution
- Supports Find My
Cons
Leave it to Apple to make the most technologically advanced (and expensive) MagSafe wallet. If you can get over its high price tag, you’ll find a lot to like about this accessory. It’s made from Microtwill, which Apple says has a suede-like feel, and marks the first time Apple has moved away from using premium leather in its accessories. The ecological difference is stark: 68 percent of this MagSafe wallet is made from post-consumer recycled material. A cut-out on the top and back of this wallet allows you to pull and push your cards out of it, respectively.
Attaching this accessory to your iPhone will do more than just secure it magnetically. The wallet will actually pair to your phone and active location sharing as an item in Apple’s Find My asset tracking app, which is incredibly helpful when traveling. (Another way to get this feature is to pick a wallet that can accommodate an AirTag, though that will take up a bit more pocket space.) None of our other MagSafe wallet recommendations have that, and it’s a feature so powerful that it justifies this accessory’s $60 price tag.
If you’re cautious, sustainably minded, and aren’t budgetarily constrained, Apple’s iPhone FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe is well worth your time and consideration.
Best design: ESR Magnetic Wallet
Specs
- Material: Vegan leather
- Card capacity: 5
- Price: $29.99
Pros
- Doubles as a stand
- High card capacity
- Bifold style
Cons
If you’d like the flexibility of a MagSafe wallet with the capacity of a traditional one, ESR’s Magnetic Wallet is the right option for you. This is essentially a bifold wallet with three card slots on the outer pocket and two additional ones inside. A plastic sleeve on one of the inside card slots was designed for an ID, which you can easily show to someone without having to remove it each time. The bifold style of this MagSafe Wallet also allows you to open the accessory up to use it as an iPhone stand. You can adjust it to any angle between 15 and 160 degrees to prop up your phone, which is helpful if you’re on a FaceTime call with friends, Zoom with colleagues, or just want to watch a video while eating.
The downside to this bifold design is that it’s significantly bulkier than most of the svelte MagSafe wallets we’re recommending. You’ll feel it in your pocket or when holding your iPhone. If this wallet’s larger size is necessary due to the number of cards you must keep on you at all times, you’ll find much to like about ESR’s Magnetic Wallet.
Best slim: Caseology Nano Pop
Specs
- Material: Vegan leather
- Card capacity: 2
- Price: $22.99
Pros
- Made from vegan leather
- Three cutouts for easy card removal
- Svelte design
Cons
ESR’s wallet above is great for those with many cards, but if you only need to carry a couple of them in your wallet, Caesology’s Nano Pop is an inexpensive, eco-friendly option. It’s slimmer than some of our other MagSafe wallet recommendations because it can only hold two cards. That may make it a no-go for some, but it’s a key feature if you’d like to reduce your daily carry as much as possible. You can get through most purchases with just one ID and a single debit or credit card—especially if you’ve embraced Apple Pay to store your other cards.
You can access the cards inside the Nano Pop by pushing up on the cutouts on its bottom and back or pulling them upward from its top opening. Another benefit to choosing a MagSafe wallet with a lower capacity is its smaller price tag. If you’re wary about spending too much on a MagSafe wallet and worried about how much bulk it’ll add to the back of your phone, we highly recommend Caseology’s Nano Pop, which solves both issues.
Best budget: ZoyiNsgu Magnetic Wallet Card Holder
Specs
- Material: Vegan leather
- Card capacity: 3
- Price: $9.79
Pros
- Three cutouts for easy card removal
- Comes in 17 colors
- Price
Cons
If you want a simple, inexpensive MagSafe wallet, this one from ZoyiNsgu will suit you just fine. It looks simple, which may be bothersome if you care about your phone’s aesthetics as you hold it, but it comes in 17 color variations, so you can find one that best matches your style. It has all the other features we like in more expensive MagSafe wallets, including a three-card capacity, eco-friendly construction, a multi-cutout design for easy card removal, and an integrated metal clip that holds cards in place but costs under $10. You won’t find any fancy bells and whistles here, but ZoyiNsgu’s Magnetic Wallet Card Holder covers all the basics really well.
You’ll have to make many decisions to determine which MagSafe wallet will work best for you. Below are the factors we considered most important when selecting the recommended ones:
Material
MagSafe wallets come in various materials, but we’ve stuck with the more eco-friendly faux leather and fabric. Leather wallets are less environmentally friendly but will patina as they age, keeping them attractive after thousands of trips in and out of your pocket. Synthetic materials won’t age as gracefully, but they’re more eco-friendly.
Number of cards supported
All of the MagSafe wallets we’re recommending can hold more than one card, but typically no more than two or three. This tech accessory is best used by those who have largely embraced contactless payments through Apple Pay but feel safer keeping a physical credit or debit card on them in addition to an ID, just in case.
Cost
Spending money on an object typically designed to hold your money can seem a little irritating, which is why our MagSafe wallet recommendations range pretty significantly in price. You’ll definitely be able to find one that fits within your budget.
Phone compatibility
MagSafe, Apple’s magnetic connector for electronic devices, was coined as a term for MacBook power cords in 2006 and introduced as an iPhone hardware feature with the iPhone 12 in 2020. MagSafe uses a series of internal magnets ringing an iPhone’s charging coil to snap securely to compatible accessories. Our MagSafe wallet recommendations are compatible with every iPhone model released since the introduction of that feature. Apple hasn’t changed how MagSafe has worked since its inception, so this accessory should continue to work until they do. That said, Apple can change the way its hardware works during any revision (they just changed the iPhone’s charging port in 2023), which is something to keep in mind. Also remember that, in order to use a wireless charger, you will have to remove a MagSafe wallet, so maybe keep a Lighting or USB-C cable handy.
FAQs
Q: Why get a MagSafe wallet?
You should get a MagSafe wallet to keep your most important ID and credit or debit cards on you at all times. By having them physically attached to your iPhone, you have a lower risk of leaving them at home.
Q: How reliable is MagSafe?
MagSafe is incredibly reliable. The magnets in these wallets and the iPhone are strong enough to keep the two attached as they move in and out of your pocket throughout the day.
Q: Can you fit four cards in a MagSafe wallet?
Not typically. Most MagSafe wallets are designed to fit two to three cards. You may be able to squeeze a fourth card inside a MagSafe wallet but run the risk of damaging it. We do have one recommendation that can hold more than four cards, but it is quite a bit bigger.
Q: Can you keep cash in a MagSafe wallet?
If you only keep one card in your MagSafe wallet, you can keep some folded banknotes inside.
Q: How much does a MagSafe wallet cost?
This depends on its material and card capacity. Our recommendations range in price from $10 to $60.
Final thoughts on the best MagSafe wallets
MagSafe wallets are a legitimately helpful iPhone accessory that can keep you from the anguish of realizing you’ve left your credit cards and ID at home. Getting one is relatively inexpensive, and you’re ultimately reducing the size of your daily carry. It may take a while to get used to having an extra appendage attached to the back of your phone, but once you get over that, you should have no other issues.
Why trust us
Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.
Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.
