Adjustable DC Lab Bench Power Supply: Honest Review at $57

When your workbench needs a proper power supply and your budget disagrees

Anyone who has spent time doing electronics work — whether it is charging LiFePO4 batteries, testing circuits, or doing electrochemical projects like anodizing metal — knows the frustration of the power supply problem. The good ones cost serious money. A decent bench unit from a brand like Rigol or Keysight will set you back $200 to $500 easily. The cheap ones either lie about their output voltage, lack proper current limiting, or have no way to pre-set the output before you connect a sensitive component.

So when I came across this adjustable DC lab bench power supply on AliExpress — currently sitting at $57.63 after a 50% discount — I wanted to look at it properly rather than dismiss it as another generic unit.

What you actually get

This is a switching-mode bench power supply with a digital display, adjustable voltage output across a wide range (up to 60V or 120V depending on the model variant you choose), adjustable current limiting, and — the feature I think matters most — a dedicated output ON/OFF button.

That ON/OFF button sounds like a minor detail until you have burned a component because you connected it while the voltage was already live. The ability to pre-set your target voltage and current limit on the display, and then activate the output only when everything is connected and ready, is genuinely useful workflow for anyone doing proper bench testing.

The unit is compact and lightweight. Reviewers consistently mention this — the Spanish reviewer specifically noted it as compact and very light while working well. It ships with a power cable and two crocodile clip cables, so you can put it to work straight out of the box.

Actual real-world usage reported by verified buyers covers a solid range: one US buyer uses it specifically for the output button workflow during device testing; a Canadian buyer used it to charge LiFePO4 batteries with the fine-tune knobs to dial in precise charge voltage and amperage; a Ukrainian buyer purchased it specifically for anodizing titanium jewelry, which requires tightly controlled voltage at specific values. That last use case is a reasonable real-world test of voltage accuracy.

What surprised me when reading through the reviews is the consistency on voltage accuracy. The Spanish buyer checked the output with a voltmeter from zero to 60V and found the difference between indicated and actual voltage was minimal. For a unit in this price range, that is not something you can take for granted.

The honest limitations

I want to be direct here. The review count is low. That means there is not enough long-term ownership data to say confidently how this unit holds up after six months or a year of regular use. Early buyers are satisfied, but early buyers are often the enthusiastic ones.

Second, and this matters depending on your application: this is a switching power supply, not a linear one. Switching supplies introduce a small amount of electrical noise into the output. For most hobbyist and DIY work — charging batteries, testing microcontrollers, electrochemical projects — this is completely fine. If you are working with precision audio circuits, sensitive RF equipment, or very low-noise measurement setups, you need a linear supply, and this is not that.

There is also no documentation about the build quality of the internal components or the protection features beyond current limiting. Worth noting that at this price, you are not getting a brand with a service network behind it.

What does $57 normally buy you in this category?

Price: $57.63 (was $115.26)

At this price point on the mainstream market, you are typically looking at entry-level units with a 30V ceiling, a basic digital display with no output preset function, and unreliable current limiting. Brands like Korad offer decent units in the $60–80 range but usually top out at 30V. To get a unit that reaches 60V or 120V with a proper output control button and verified voltage accuracy, you would normally be looking at $120 to $200.

The 50% discount here puts a wider-range unit with useful features at a price where it genuinely undercuts what you would spend elsewhere for comparable functionality. That is the honest comparison.

Buy it if...

• You are a hobbyist doing electronics testing, battery charging (especially LiFePO4), or electrochemical work and need precise voltage control up to 60V or higher.
• The output ON/OFF preset workflow matters to you — you want to set voltage and current before connecting anything live.
• You want something compact and functional for occasional to regular bench use without paying brand-name prices.
• You are comfortable with a switching supply for your application.

Skip it if...

• You need a linear power supply for noise-sensitive audio or precision measurement work.
• You plan to use it in heavy continuous production and need documented long-term reliability data.
• You already have a 30V bench supply that covers your current needs and the extended voltage range adds no real value.

Verdict

My honest take: for the specific user this is aimed at — the electronics hobbyist, the battery tinkerer, the person doing anodizing or small-scale electro-chemistry — this power supply does exactly what it says it does, at a price that makes it genuinely worth considering. The output preset button alone justifies the purchase over cheaper alternatives that lack it. The main caveat is the limited long-term ownership data, which means you are taking a modest risk on durability.

At $57.63 with a 50% discount applied, it is hard to find a comparable unit with this voltage range at this price. If the specs match your use case, it earns a straightforward recommendation.

Check it out here: https://www.ali-ex.com/cJYoVK