Bidirectional shape memory alloy (SMA) wire actuators play a critical role in driving applications thanks to their characteristics in memory shaping and good overall performance. SMA wire actuators were often studied at a single load type, and there is no comprehensive comparison investigation of different SMA wire actuators in the literature. In this paper, the driving characteristics of four available types of SMA wire actuators, namely, dead-load, biased spring, differential type, and biased superelastic SMA wire actuators are modelled mathematically and then tested in laboratory settings. The characteristics of SMA wire actuators are quantitatively measured and then compared under a range of application scenarios. The output displacement and thermal-electric models of NiTi SMA wires are derived based on the Brinson constitutive model with stress effects in consideration. A customized SMA wire actuator test device is developed to evaluate the theocratical models and benchmark testing four types of SMA wires and their driving characteristics, including structure, design, displacement, response and recovery time, energy efficiency and hysteresis properties. The SMA wire phase transformation characteristics of the four actuators are tested under different activation currents, and then quantitatively compared. In conclusion, this paper adds theoretical and experimental significance to the literature on SMA wire actuators. The reference value on the phase transformation characteristics of SMA wires can be used to guide SMA application in industrial designs and enable theoretical studies in complementary research areas. Display omitted •Displacement and thermo-electric models are built for the variable stress SMA.•A new type of SMA wire actuator with superelastic SMA is innovatively proposed.•SMA wire phase transformation characteristics are tested for 4 types of actuators.•The driving characteristics of four SMA wire actuators are studied and compared.•Application suggestions for these four types of SMA wire actuators are provided.