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The 9 Best Light Bulbs of 2024

Light up your life—and every room in your home

collage of the Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs on a green background

The Spruce / Brian Kopinski

Finding the right light bulb is a crucial step in setting the perfect ambiance in any space. Changing out a bulb in a room can make it feel more warm and inviting, set an energetic tone, or improve color clarity and contrast. 

Since the United States has moved away from incandescent lighting to more energy efficient options, LED light bulbs are available in a full range of styles, color temperatures, and brightness levels to suit a variety of purposes.

“No one choice fits everyone,” says Keely Smith, lead interior designer at JD Elite Interiors. “Warmer tones suit some better, while others prefer the brighter look of cooler light. The space and what you'll be doing there also matter. For tasks or an energy boost, a little cooler light may help more than very warm light.”

If you’re worried about LED light bulbs being too cold or harsh, our recommendations all have high color rendering index (CRI) ratings. The CRI rate measures how accurately the light reflects colors versus making them seem off. Bulbs in the 90+ range on the CRI scale will show hues very similarly to sunlight. This is important for tasks like applying makeup or selecting clothing colors, according to Smith.

With that in mind, we researched hundreds of light bulbs from all of the major manufacturers to find the ideal choices for each room in your home. We considered factors like color temperature and brightness, energy efficiency, style, longevity, and useful features like dimming and smart home connectivity to give you all of the best options.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall

GE Relax LED 60 Watt Soft White

Amazon GE Relax LED 60 Watt Soft White

Amazon

What We Like
  • Comfortable soft white light

  • High 92 CRI for natural colors

  • Good heat management

  • Dimmable

What We Don’t Like
  • Basic LED bulb appearance

  • Buzzes with some dimmer switches

We love that GE Relax HD LED light bulbs produce a soft white light that’s easy on the eyes. They’re bright enough for most applications, and they’re dimmable, which is why they’re our recommendation for the best overall light bulbs. 

These are standard A19 bulbs with an Edison base, so they’ll work in most of the light fixtures and lamps around your house, including ceiling fixtures, ceiling fans, and freestanding lamps. They have excellent heat management, so you can use them in most fixtures without worrying about reduced light output due to heat buildup.

  • Light bulb brightness is expressed in lumens. Bulbs with a higher lumens rating are brighter than bulbs with a lower rating. If you’re used to thinking about light bulbs in terms of watts, a 60W incandescent bulb puts out about 800 lumens, and a 100W incandescent bulb produces about 1,600 lumens.
  • Lumen output is important because different activities require different levels of light.
  • For functional lighting, you should aim for a range of around 1000 to 1500 lumens, providing sufficient illumination for tasks. For mood lighting or a soft ambiance, look for bulbs in the range of 500 to 800 lumens.

These bulbs are part of GE’s HD Light product line that also include Reveal HD and Refresh HD—all of which are designed to produce more vivid colors in higher contrast than standard LEDs. We especially like the Relax HD LEDs because they create a warm, inviting atmosphere that’s perfect for bedrooms, living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms—anywhere you might have used a traditional 60W incandescent light bulb in the past.

They’re almost six times more efficient than incandescent bulbs though, consuming just 10.5W to produce nearly as much light output. If you prefer a higher color temperature for rooms like your bathroom and kitchen, we think the GE Reveal HD+ is an excellent alternative.

While these bulbs are dimmable, they have issues with some dimmer switches. They can also emit an annoying buzzing sound when paired with some incompatible dimmers. To reduce the likelihood of that happening, GE provides a compatibility chart that you can check to see if your switch will produce flickering or buzzing. The dimming function works well when paired with a compatible switch.

Quantity: 4 | Lumens: 800 lumens | Color Temperature: 2700K | Watts: 10.5W (60W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best Value

Philips LED Basic Soft White

Amazon Philips LED Basic Soft White

Amazon

What We Like
  • Less glare and eye strain

  • Versatile for any room

  • Bright

What We Don’t Like
  • Not as efficient as other options

  • Not dimmable

If you aren’t interested in spending hour after agonizing hour identifying the ideal light bulbs for every room and occasion, we think these Philips Basic Frosted LED bulbs are an excellent option that you can use just about anywhere. 

For a four-pack that is less than $10, they aren’t decorative, and they aren’t dimmable, but we like that they provide plenty of light at a color temperature that’s comfortable to the eyes. They also utilize EyeComfort technology, which reduces eye strain by producing less glare and flicker, and minimizes the output of blue light wavelengths.

The soft white light these bulbs produce is ideal for living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms, but you can also use these in your kitchen, bathroom, and other areas in a pinch. 

Philips also sells a 5000K daylight bulb version as well. These will give you bright, cool lighting and will increase visibility. Plus, it still has the same EyeComfort technology as the Basic Frosted to help reduce eye strain.

Quantity: 4 | Lumens: 800 | Color Temperature: 2700K | Watts: 10W (60W equivalent) | Dimmable: No

Best for Living Rooms

Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt

Amazon Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt

Amazon

What We Like
  • Maximum illumination

  • Wide dimming range

  • Warm and inviting light

What We Don’t Like
  • Basic, non-decorative appearance

  • Flickering issues with some switches

Living rooms need to accommodate a variety of activities throughout the day, which is why we like the flexibility of these Luxrite bulbs. They’re bright enough to provide functional and task lighting, with 1600 lumens of light output per bulb, but they’re also dimmable from full brightness all the way down to just 10 percent of full output. 

They have a very basic, non-decorative appearance, so they’re best paired with light fixtures where you can’t exactly see the bulb. It’s also important to use these bulbs with a compatible dimmer switch, as some switches do cause flickering issues.

These bulbs provide a warm light that’s ideal for living rooms, with a color temperature of 2700K that’s very close to incandescent lighting. We think that’s perfect for creating a warm and inviting atmosphere at night with the bulbs dimmed a bit, or you can set them to full brightness when task lighting is required. 

Since they’re fully dimmable, you can also adjust them to match your needs at any given moment, like mood lighting when you’re watching a movie, or at just the right level for reading without any eye strain.

Quantity: 6 | Lumens: 1600 lumens | Color Temperature: 2700K | Watts: 15W (100 watt equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best for Bedrooms

Sylvania 60W Soft White LED Dimmable

Amazon Sylvania 60W Soft White LED Dimmable

Amazon

What We Like
  • Relaxing light

  • Renders vivid natural colors

  • Fully dimmable

What We Don’t Like
  • Basic LED bulb appearance

  • Not JA8 California Compliant

These soft white LED light bulbs from Sylvania are perfect for bedrooms. They’re bright enough to provide functional lighting when you’re getting ready in the morning or reading at night, with a maximum output of 800 lumens. They’re also fully dimmable to create a warm and relaxing atmosphere at the end of a long day. 

They’re a good fit for bedroom light fixtures, and they also work well in bedside table lamps. They’re Energy Star rated, but they aren’t JA8 compliant, which could be an issue if you’re in California and need to conform to those stricter regulations. (JA8 dates back to the 1970s and provides guideline requirements for energy-efficiency in new buildings.)

Sylvania classifies these bulbs as soft white, but with a color temperature of 2700K they produce a warm light that isn’t too far off from traditional incandescent bulbs. When paired with a compatible dimming fixture or lamp, one bulb can function as a comfortable reading light, and provide much less intense light for those instances where you find yourself needing to get up in the middle of the night.

Quantity: 1 | Lumens: 800 lumens | Color Temperature: 2700K | Watts: 9W (60W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best for Kitchens

Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt Equivalent Dimmable Natural White

Amazon LUXRITE A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt Equivalent Dimmable Natural White

Amazon

What We Like
  • Bright enough for task lighting

  • Very natural light

  • Dimmable

What We Don’t Like
  • Very basic LED bulb appearance

  • Flickers with some switches

These Luxrite Natural White LED light bulbs provide the exact sort of bright, natural light that you need to have in a kitchen. With a color temperature of 3500K, they produce light that renders your food in high contrast colors that look very close to what you’d see outside in natural daylight. They’re also capable of putting out enough light to provide task lighting, so you’ll be able to see what you’re doing when chopping up food and preparing meals.

These bulbs turn on instantly, with no warm up period, and no flickering when used with a compatible light switch. There are some flickering issues when used with incompatible dimmers though, so check to make sure that your dimmer switches are either specifically designed for LEDs or have an LED setting. 

The dimmer function isn’t strictly necessary, but it is a nice option to have later at night when bright task lighting isn’t required because you’re just grabbing a snack or something to drink.

Quantity: 6 | Lumens: 1600 lumens | Color Temperature: 3500K | Watts: 15W (100W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best for Dining Rooms

Sylvania LED TruWave Natural Series A19 Light Bulb 75W Equivalent

Amazon SYLVANIA LED TruWave Natural Series A19 Light Bulb 75W Equivalent

Amazon

What We Like
  • Reduced blue light

  • Clean color rendering

  • Excellent dimming performance

What We Don’t Like
  • Doesn’t have 90+ CRI

  • Flickers with some light switches

Dining rooms require lighting that creates a warm and inviting atmosphere, while also showcasing the colors and textures of your meals. That’s why we recommend Sylvania TruWave Natural Series Dimmable LEDs for this sort of use. 

These light bulbs cut out unnecessary blue light, which creates a relaxed atmosphere that’s easy on the eyes, but they still manage to provide an 80+ CRI. That isn’t as high as some of our other recommendations, but it provides plenty of color and clarity for your meals so that your hard efforts in the kitchen won’t go to waste.

With a maximum output of 1000 lumens, these bulbs provide plenty of light during meals. They’re also fully dimmable, with excellent dimming performance, which comes in handy if you enjoy relaxing around the table for a bit of friendly conversation when dinner is over. 

They do exhibit a bit of flickering with some light switches, but that’s a dimmer switch issue and not a bulb problem. If you stick with dimmer switches that are specifically built for LEDs, or that have an LED mode, you’re unlikely to have any issues.

Quantity: 6 | Lumens: 1000 lumens | Color Temperature: 2700K | Watts: 11 W (75 W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best for Bathrooms

GE Reveal HD+ LED Light Bulbs 40 Watt A19

Amazon GE Reveal HD+ LED Light Bulbs 40 Watt A19

Amazon

What We Like
  • Natural lighting

  • Produces accurate colors

  • High contrast between colors

What We Don’t Like
  • Some issues with dimming

  • Could be brighter

These GE Reveal HD+ LED light bulbs provide highly accurate color clarity and contrast without any unnatural yellow undertones, which is essential for bathroom lighting. Whether you’re getting ready in the morning and trying to color match your outfit, putting on makeup, or taking care of other personal grooming tasks, you’ll look the same under these lights as you do outside in natural daylight.

The color temperature is technically closer to the warm white range than natural white, but don’t worry about that. GE’s Reveal HD+ technology results in a remarkably high CRI for very accurate true-to-life colors, while remaining easy on the eyes. They’re also dimmable, which can come in handy at night when you don’t want to blast your eyes with super bright light. The dimming feature does have some smoothness issues, but GE provides advice to help you with that.

If you aren’t a fan of standard A19 bulbs in your bathroom, you might consider picking up some Globe-style GE Reveal HD+ light bulbs instead. They aren’t quite as bright as the A19 style bulbs, but they use the globe bulb style that looks great in vanities, and they provide the exact same color clarity and contrast that’s so important in bathroom lighting.

Quantity: 4 | Lumens: 610 | Color Temperature: 2850K | Watts: 8 W (60 W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best Smart

TP-Link Kasa Smart Bulb 1000 Lumens Color Changing Dimmable Smart WiFi A19

Amazon TP-Link Kasa Smart Bulb 1000 Lumens Color Changing Dimmable Smart WiFi A19

Amazon

What We Like
  • No hub required

  • Bright and colorful

  • Works with Alexa and Google Home

What We Don’t Like
  • No Homekit support

  • Uses more power than others

These multicolor Kasa Smart Wi-Fi light bulbs are bright, colorful, and don’t require a hub. Built-in Wi-Fi allows these bulbs to connect directly to your Wi-Fi network, with an Android and iPhone app that lets you adjust the color and brightness. 

We like that they also support Alexa and Google Home, so you can operate them with voice commands—including color and brightness control—and also integrate them into your daily routines with automatic activation based on the time of day and other triggers. They won’t support Apple HomeKit right out of the box, but savvy smart home enthusiasts can add HomeKit support through Homebridge.

These bulbs provide 1000 lumens of light, and they’re fully dimmable, so they’re suitable for every room in your house. The color temperature is fully adjustable as well—all the way from warm white to cool white—so it’s easy to set just the mood you’re looking for. Adjustable color temperature is just the beginning though, as these multicolor bulbs are capable of producing 16 million colors, with a convenient color wheel in the app to help you find just the right shade. They do consume a little more power than other 60W equivalent bulbs, but they still use about 80 percent less power than an actual 60W incandescent bulb.

Quantity: 2 | Lumens: 1000 | Color Temperature: 2500 - 9000K | Watts: 11 W (60 W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Best for Ceiling Fans

Feit Electric Enhance 60-Watt Equivalent A15 Dimmable

Home Depot Feit Electric Enhance 60-Watt Equivalent A15 Dimmable

Home Depot

What We Like
  • Sturdy construction

  • Rated for use in damp areas

  • High 90+ CRI

What We Don’t Like
  • Not bright enough for task lighting

  • Unsuitable color temperature for kitchens

While it’s important to balance your ceiling fans for a number of reasons, you can’t reduce the vibrations imparted to the built-in lighting down to zero. If you’ve ever noticed that your ceiling fan light bulbs fail faster than the other bulbs around your home, that’s the main reason, and it’s why we like the Feit Electric Enhance for this job. 

These sturdy LED bulbs are rated for use in ceiling fans, which means they can withstand a lot of shaking without breaking. They’re also rated for use in damp locations, so you can use them indoors as well as in three season rooms and covered patios.

These light bulbs emit a soft white light that isn’t bright enough for task lighting, but it’s perfect for creating a warm and inviting atmosphere in your living or dining room, or relaxing in your bedroom after a long day. 

They’re fully dimmable when paired with a compatible dimmer switch, and they turn on instantly to full brightness without any warm up period. These bulbs also produce very natural light that results in vibrant colors, with a 90+ CRI that comes very close to matching the results from incandescent lighting.

Quantity: 2 | Lumens: 750 | Color Temperature: 2700K (Soft White) | Watts: 8.3 W (60 W equivalent) | Dimmable: Yes

Final Verdict

We recommend GE HD Relax LED as our best overall light bulbs because they create a warm, cozy atmosphere without excessive yellow undertones. They have a remarkably high CRI of 92, for very accurate color rendering, and they’re also dimmable. If you’re looking for something simpler, the Philips LED Basic Frosted LED that we recommend as best value light bulbs aren’t dimmable, but they produce a very cozy atmosphere with Philips’ EyeComfort technology to reduce eye strain.  

What to Look for in a Light Bulb

Usage

When selecting light bulbs, it’s important to think about where the bulbs will be used. “The most important things to think about are the size of the space and the activities usually done there,” says Smith. Kitchens and workspaces call for bright, white light, while warmer light can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere in your living room. You can use one kind of bulb throughout your home, but selecting the ideal brightness and color temperature for each room can result in more comfortable and livable spaces.

Type

There are four different types of light bulbs that will all work in the fixtures and lamps around your home, but most of them have been phased out due to energy efficiency regulations. All of our recommendations use LED technology, but there are circumstances where you might want to seek out another type.

  • Light-Emitting Diode (LED): LED light bulbs are significantly more efficient than any other type of light bulb. They use about 50 percent less energy than CFL bulbs and 90 percent less than incandescent bulbs, and they don’t contain harmful chemicals like mercury. They’re available in dimmable and non-dimmable versions, and they can be designed to emit light in any color temperature.
  • Incandescent: For many years, this was the only option for light bulbs in residential applications. These bulbs pass electrical current through a filament, which heats up and produces visible light. They are very energy inefficient, as most of the power they draw is converted into heat instead of light. You can still find them for sale in some places, but they have been phased out of production in the United States and are difficult to find. Since these bulbs produce a lot of heat, they are useful as heat lamps in applications that require both heat and light like reptile terrariums.
  • Halogen: These are technically a type of incandescent bulb, but they are filled with halogen gas. That helps them produce more light and last longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. Halogen bulbs produce the closest thing to natural light, white light, or daylight. They aren’t very energy efficient though, and they have been phased out in the United States, so they’re difficult to find.
  • Compact Fluorescent (CFL): These bulbs pass electrical current through a mixture of gasses that typically includes mercury vapor. They’re significantly more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, and they also last much longer. They aren’t as efficient as LEDs though, and disposal is complicated by the inclusion of mercury.

Size and Shape

Light bulbs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they’re differentiated by shape codes that consist of a letter and a number. The letter indicates the basic shape of the bulb, and the number indicates the size. In addition to the shape code, every light bulb has a base type that indicates what kind of fixtures and lamps it will screw or plug into. 

According to Smith, “The shape of a light bulb isn't just about how it looks - it also affects how the light spreads out and which fixtures it will fit in.” Our recommendations are all A19 bulbs with E26 bases, because that’s the size, shape, and base type that works in most residential light fixtures and lamps.

If you have different types of fixtures, like recessed lighting, then you will need a different type of bulb. You can still follow our basic recommendations, but look for a variation that matches the size, shape, and base type required by your fixtures. For example, we recommend GE Relax LED Soft White Bulbs as the best overall light bulb, but the A19 style doesn’t work with recessed or track lighting. If you need bulbs for recessed or track lighting, you would instead want GE Relax LED Flood Lights in the BR30 style.

Brightness and Temperature

The brightness of a light bulb indicates how much light it puts out, and temperature refers to the color of the light. Brightness is measured in lumens, and higher numbers indicate brighter bulbs. Temperature is measured in Kelvins, with lower numbers appearing yellow or orange, and higher numbers appearing white or blue. Orange-hued light is referred to as warm, while white and blue light are referred to as cool.

“Kelvin values around 2700k to 3000K produce warm, yellowish light suitable for a cozy atmosphere, while higher Kelvin values (around 5000 to 6500K) give off cooler, bluish light that can mimic daylight,” says Mike Rivers, operational director of Fusion Office Design. “So, for different situations, you can opt for a specific range of color temperatures accordingly.”

  • Bedrooms: To create a relaxing atmosphere, bedrooms do well with warm light and functional lighting that isn’t too bright, with 1,000 to 2,000 lumens in a color temperature of 2700 to 3000K.
  • Living rooms: Since living rooms are used for a variety of purposes, they should be fairly bright, but with warm light to create an inviting space, so 1,500 to 3,000 lumens with a color temperature of 2700 to 3000K works well.
  • Kitchens: Kitchens need to be bright, with task lighting that makes it easy to see what you’re doing, so 3,000 to 4,000 lumens with a color temperature of 3000 to 4000K is ideal.
  • Dining rooms: It’s important for a dining room to be both bright and inviting at mealtime, so 3,000 to 4,000 lumens with a color temperature of 2700 to 3000K works well.
  • Bathrooms: For efficient personal grooming, bathrooms should be bright, with about 2,000 to 4,000 lumens. Bathrooms can also benefit from a cooler color temperature of 3000 to 4000K.

Dimming Options

Incandescent, CFL, and LED bulbs all have dimming options, but it’s a complicated issue. You can use any incandescent bulb with a dimmer switch, but only some CFLs and LEDs are designed for dimming. To avoid headaches, Smith has this advice: “Make double sure it says dimmable right on the package before buying. Not all kinds work well with dimmers.”

We recommend a number of dimmable LED light bulbs, like our best for ceiling fans recommendation, the Feit Electric Enhance. You can’t just replace an incandescent bulb with a Feit Electric Enhance and expect it to dim, because dimmer switches that are designed for incandescent bulbs won’t work with CFLs or LEDs.

Using a dimmable CFL or LED light bulb with an incompatible switch can cause flickering, unpleasant noises, and shorten the life of the bulb. Some dimmer switches are specifically designed for CFL or LED light bulbs, and others include a toggle to switch between bulb types or a trim dial to eliminate flickering.

Why Trust The Spruce?

This article was written by Jeremy Laukkonen, a freelance writer for The Spruce. Laukkonen has a decade of experience writing about and reviewing consumer technology and appliances, and his writing has appeared in other outlets like Digital Trends, Lifewire, and Entertainment Weekly in addition to The Spruce.

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