In theory, purchasing a bulb with a short payback time and 20-year lifespan often seems like a good choice. Compounded with the increasing number of smart home products, LED bulbs may one day become just as familiar to us as the 60-watt incandescent. Still, how do these extra-terrestrial bulbs stack up? Which LED bulb is best for your home? Some have a 30-year lifespan or emit a better light quality than your standard 60-watt incandescent, while others dim via a smartphone app. Some emit a range of colored light, while others require smart hubs to connect across your entire home.
But there are a few things to consider when buying LEDs. They won’t look exactly like your old incandescents, but you can still find bulbs which suit your taste. Without further ado, here are our picks for the best LED light bulbs.
Cree 60W Equivalent Soft White LED
Best white LED bulb
In recent years, Cree has established itself as one of the premiere LED bulb manufacturers in the world, creating affordable, effective lighting solutions to replace the energy-sucking incandescent bulbs that plague our poor light sockets. In particular, their “Soft White” 60W equivalent bulb offers an incredible combination of longevity, brightness, and value no other bulb can touch.
Capable of emitting 815 lumens while consuming just 10 watts of energy, the hyper-efficient A19 standard bulb — rated at 25,000 hours of use — works with all dimming switches, meaning you won’t encounter annoying buzzing sounds or malfunctions when adjusting the brightness of the bulb. It’s also backed by a 10-year warranty and remains incredibly cost-effective — it comes in packs of four, six, or eight.
Cree recently revamped its entire lineup of bulbs to improve its color rendering index; these bulbs score 85+ on a scale of 0 to 100, meaning they should more accurately reflect an object’s true colors compared to some lower-scoring LEDs.
Philips Hue LED smart bulb starter kit
Best LED smart home ecosystem
The smart home is more popular than ever, evidenced by the myriad “smart hubs” currently available. Assuming you’re not concerned with your house becoming self-aware, you may very well want to invest in a smart hub to control your security, your thermostat, and — of course — your lighting. Several hubs on the market interface with LED smart bulbs, but the Philips Hue family remains the best smart home ecosystem for those looking for complete control.
The base model fits a standard E26 base, emits 800 lumens of light, and consumes a mere 9.5 watts of power. The white LED bulb boasts a rating of 25,000 hours of use and features a dimming setting if combined with the Philips Hue Dimmer Kit. The Hue Starter Kit includes the Hue bridge hub, as well as two standard white LED Hue bulbs, but the real reason we recommend the Hue family over all others is due to the numerous Philips offerings which seamlessly interface with Hue. From spotlights to lighting strips, the bridge connects with up to 50 Hue lights at once and owners control it via an accompanying mobile app for Android and iOS. They’re not the cheapest LED products, but the ease of access — combined with the power to control your entire home’s lighting at once — makes this our first choice when it comes to smart LED ecosystems.
eufy Lumos Smart Bulb
Best budget smart LED bulb
We had the opportunity to tinker with the 9W eufy Lumos Smart Bulb recently, and not only is the model a solid budget option — the bulb itself is one of the best LEDs we’ve tested. Like eufy’s other smart home products, the Lumos Smart Bulb requires a small setup process to connect the bulb to the EufyHome app. Once the bulb is synched, you can easily adjust the brightness from your smartphone or tablet and even set weekly lighting schedules. This is a handy security feature to utilize while you’re away on vacation.
This unit also pairs with Alexa and Google Assistant to add a hands-free voice-activation option for those so inclined. Then you can simply ask your digital assistant to dim the lights or turn them off entirely at the end of the night — because manually flipping a light switch is so last century. The Lumos Smart Bulb will dish out up 800 lumens when set to full brightness.
Lifx A19 LED Lights
Best color-changing LED bulb
The Lifx A19 LED Light is a color-changing LED bulb that doubles as a smart LED bulb, which makes it too convenient to overlook. The bulb, which Lifx fitted for standard E26/E27 sockets, emits an impressive 75 lumens per watt. It provides saturated and rich colors, and the accompanying mobile app for Android, iOS, and Windows 10 devices also allows users to choose from more than 16 million colors and hues via a simple color wheel.
The Lifx remains one of the few available smart bulbs capable of operating independently of any smart home ecosystem, as the bulb features built-in Wi-Fi. This means it doesn’t require a hub. Furthermore, it integrates with Nest, SmartThings, Google Home, and Alexa for voice-control. The app also offers a slew of unique features such as the ability to group bulbs together and change their settings simultaneously. The bulb lasts roughly 22 years, though we expect a shorter lifespan if you’re constantly playing with the settings.
