A small scale vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) generator is designed and the magnetic levitation method is used to increase the efficiency of this type of wind turbine. Magnetic levitation is inserted by using rare earth permanent magnets, the repelling force of magnets are used to suspend the rotating part of both the turbine and generator. Moreover, this design of simple generator which can easily drive without a geared mechanism, lessen cost and the complexity of the system by reducing the quantity of driving components. Three phase output is obtained from the designed generator which is converted into direct current through a three-phase rectifier to charge the batteries. The performance of proposed prototype is also tested experimentally. From the results it is found that the designed wind turbine performs optimally and efficiently as predicted by the developed design process. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.