No, you do not need to charge the scale. The scale uses 4 AAA batteries (included with purchase), no USB/power cord is necessary.
**Please note, we have received a few reports from users that the batteries that were sent with the scale were not working. If you are one who received faulty batteries we offer our sincere apologies. You are welcome to use your own AAA batteries or reach out to our support team to obtain 4 new batteries on us.