Characteristics of series–series and series–parallel topologies when fed from a constant-voltage fixed-frequency supply have been studied. Characterization helps understanding the fundamentals of the topologies and helps in selection of particular topology for a particular application. For studying the characteristics a prototype of IPT coils has been developed in the laboratory. Parameters of the coil have been found using finite-element analysis software JMAG. Characteristics have been simulated in MATLAB Simulink and results obtained have been compared with those obtained from the hardware implementation of the characteristic. It has been shown in this paper that series–series topology has ideal current-source characteristics and series–parallel topology has ideal voltage-source characteristics. © 2017, Indian Academy of Sciences.