The Best Grow Lights for Lush Indoor Greenery, According to Months of Testing

Best Overall

LBW LED Grow Light

$30 at Amazon

The LBW Grow Light provides a great way to keep your house plants alive and thriving: It's full spectrum and contains all wavelengths needed for photosynthesis. You can use it at all growth stages, too, from seedling to germination to flowering. The 15-inch tripod stand extends up to 48 inches, so it's an ideal choice for bigger plants, though you can also hang it from the ceiling if you want more coverage and don’t want to use the tripod.

Setup was easy—all we had to do was tighten a few screws and parts together. Plus, extending the tripod stand as our plants got taller proved to be similarly intuitive. The grow light itself proved to be very effective: Our spinach and tomatoes grew significantly quicker beneath the LED light than they did on our window sill, and after six months of use, it's still exceeding our expectations. It has allowed our plants to thrive throughout the winter months, with no noticeable changes in quality.

You won’t have to worry about it being too dim, either, as it offers 30 watts of bright light. However, you cannot adjust the brightness levels, so it might not be ideal for growing different plants in one room. The light was bright enough to be seen through our window at night from a distance, so we recommend angling it downward to avoid this visibility. Overall, we felt that the grow light positively impacted our plants, and we experienced significant growth with all our seedlings. Since it's compact, we also think it would work well in a small apartment. 

Type: LED bulb | Wattage: 30 watts | Size: 15.75 by 7.87 by 7.87 inches

Best Budget

Leoter Grow Light for Indoor Plants

$24 at Amazon

Offering dimmable modes, full-spectrum lighting, and USB connection, the Leoter Grow Light is a helpful companion for sprouting plants indoors. It comes with a remote and timer for intervals of three, nine, and 12 hours, along with four light heads on a long gooseneck, so you can grow flowering plants, vegetables, and herbs. During testing, we found it to be effective at growing plants at all different stages. We tested the 12-hour timer, and the light worked consistently and accurately throughout. While we like this feature, we wish it had a longer interval available.

The light gives off a purplish glow, which is bright but not the brightest out of all the options we tested. Unlike our best overall choice, it has nine dimmable modes you can adjust if your plants need more or less light. It worked really well with our tomato and spinach plants—both grew much faster and healthier than the ones without a grow light. After six months of use, we still have no complaints—this is an effective and inexpensive choice.

Type: LED bulb | Wattage: 40 watts | Size: 13.46 by 5.71 by 3.27 inches

Best for Small Plants

AeroGarden Trio Grow Light

$78 at Amazon View on Aerogarden.com $120 at Lowe's

The AeroGarden Trio Grow Light is a beginner-friendly option that helped our plants grow stronger and faster than natural light alone. We recommend this pick for those who want to decorate with plants because its streamlined and compact construction can seamlessly blend with most aesthetics. It has three adjustable arms, though they are short and can only accommodate plants up to 12 inches tall. For that, we recommend it for small desk plants or an indoor herb garden only.

Setup was a breeze and only required us to plug it in and position the lights for our plants. It also comes with a connected app, which we found a bit confusing. Thankfully, the light worked fine without it, but we wish we had access to the custom features like brightness and weather settings. Despite this drawback, there are plenty of standout qualities. It has a convenient timer that keeps the lights on for 10 hours, mimicking the natural sunlight cycle (you can adjust the timer inside the app). Each arm comes with a 5-watt light and has four modes: full spectrum, white, warm, and cool. 

After six months of use, this light is still performing as it should—the timer still works, and the light is still strong. Our plants grown under the light seemed to be taller, greener, and happier than those grown using just natural light. If you're eager to grow a small garden year round indoors, this pick is a no brainer.

Type: LED bulb | Wattage: 15 watts | Size: 14.88 by 6.46 by 6.46 inches

Best Large

Mars Hydro LED Grow Light

$130 at Amazon

With an LED light like the Mars Hydro, you can grow enough leafy greens to last you all year. Despite its large size, we found it easy to set up, though it involves more tools than most other models we tested. We like that you can connect multiple grow lights (up to 50 LED lights) and control the power and dimmer from one unit. While it was on, we noticed that the light did not radiate much heat and was cool to the touch. Though this grow light has a powerful 150 watts, it also has a dimmer switch that can adjust to different growing stages.

Our plants benefited greatly from using this grow light. We noticed that most of our plants were healthier than those with only natural sunlight. Even after six months of use, it's still going strong—sometimes even a bit too strong. While it provided ample light for our herbs and tomatoes, once we added more seed starters to the mix, it was overkill. We don't recommend this pick for those growing a variety of plants at different stages. Instead, we think this choice is better for those seeking a strong light cast on a small footprint.

This grow light is not the most aesthetically pleasing option, but it does provide plenty of light for a large, luscious indoor garden. Be mindful that it doesn’t come with a timer, so you’ll have to keep track of the lights when it’s on.

Type: LED bulb | Wattage: 150 watts | Size: 14.17 by 13.25 by 1.36 inches

Best Hanging

Dymond LED Grow Light

$20 at Amazon $35 at Walmart $35 at Home Depot

This was our first time using a hanging grow light, and the Dymond BoostGro did not disappoint. Even with the impressively inexpensive price tag, it offers lots of value and is ideal for growing herbs or plants on a cabinet or on a kitchen island. It’s available in 2-, 3-, and 4-foot options, plus each light has a 30,000-hour lifespan and a one-year limited warranty. 

This full-spectrum light bathes your plants in a yellow and green light, which is the closest equivalent to natural sunlight. It also has red lamp beads for seed germination and fruit and flower growth. You can mount it in two ways: using the built-in hooks and hanging cables or installing it directly on your ceiling. Unfortunately, the instructions weren’t clear, leaving us to guess how much distance to put between the screws. 

During testing, our plants thrived under the grow lights, even when compared to our non-grow light test plants. We were impressed that our tomatoes (a typical summer crop) grew about 16 inches. You can also adjust the height to accommodate growing plants using the attached wires if you have enough vertical space. While effective, this grow light isn't as high quality or aesthetic as other options on our list, nor does it come with a timer. Nonetheless, it withstood six months of use with no changes in quality, so given its reasonable price, we think it's worth the purchase.

Type: Hanging LED | Wattage: 16 watts | Size: 22.05 by 3.54 by 1.42 inches

Best Clip-On

GooingTop LED Grow Light

$26 at Amazon $22 at Walmart

If you want a grow light that doubles as a desk lamp, there is no better option than a clip-on light. With the GooingTop LED Grow Light, your desktop plants can get the light they need to flourish, plus offer a pop of greenery in any space. The extra-long gooseneck can turn 360 degrees so your plants get light from all angles, and the two arms can adjust in all directions to accommodate pots and plants in various sizes. 

This model has a full-spectrum, 6000K white light, which is equivalent to blasting your plant with intense midday sun, and a red spectrum light for optimal growth. It has a remote that controls the lights from a distance and a timer that turns them off at four-, eight-, or 12-hour intervals. The main drawback of this light was its lack of versatility on multiple plants—we didn’t have much luck growing anything besides tomatoes. That said, our tomatoes under the light did grow far more than those by the window sill.

Since it is an LED light, it hardly generated heat and had enough brightness without overpowering the room. Overall, this pick has all the basic features you need and can easily attach to a desk, cabinet, or shelf. After six months of use, it's still working as well as it did on day one.

Type: Clip-on LED | Wattage: 50 watts, 100 watts | Size: 22 by 14 by 7.9 inches

Best Mounted

Soltech Solutions LED Grow Light

$130 at Amazon View on Soltech.com

If you’ve been hesitant to have an herb garden due to lack of light or space, opt for a mounted grow light like the Soltech Grove LED Grow Light. It fits perfectly under your kitchen cabinets to grow delicious herbs year round.

Equipped with an adhesive sticker and a magnetized grow light fixture, this model is designed for easy setup. However, we found that the adhesive strip didn’t work well, and the light fixture kept dropping off the wall. Once we purchased new adhesive strips, we were able to hold the grow light in place.

Despite this downside, the grow light impressed us throughout testing, significantly impacting our basil and tomato plants relative to the basil plants using natural light. We also observed that the fruit was bigger on our tomato plants than on the plants with no grow light. After six months of use, the light is still working as good as new. While our basil and tomato plants thrived long term, it's worth noting that our spinach did not grow. 

We appreciate that the light is touch sensitive—you can simply tap it to switch it on and off or adjust the brightness levels. It also has 360-degree rotation to swivel and rotate as needed. We found the light to be very bright on the highest setting, which could disturb some. For those who don’t have a lot of countertop space or light, this model is a solid option, as you can install it directly on the underside of a kitchen cabinet or shelf. 

Type: Mounted LED | Wattage: 11 watts | Size: 18 by 1 by 1.5 inches

Best for Seedlings

Gardener’s Supply Company Stack-n-Grow Lights System

$215 at Amazon View on Gardeners.com

While you might have to spend extra time putting this grow light together, it's a simple solution for growing many seedlings simultaneously. The 31-inch grow light from Gardener’s Supply has two shelves, each with 3 feet of LED lights that connect to a timer for optimal control over how much light the seedlings get. We like that the unit is modular, so you can stack up to two units if you need space for more seed starters or potted plants.

Despite it's large size, it was surprisingly not hard to assemble—we found the instructions to be clear, concise, and easy to follow. Just keep in mind that it does take some time and space, so you may need a helping hand if DIY is not your forte.

Throughout the testing period, we noticed a remarkable difference in the health and growth of our plants, which is especially impressive considering we planted them during the cooler months. There was a huge difference between the plants we placed under the grow lights vs. the ones exposed to just natural sunlight—our grow light plants developed thick stalks and lush leaves, while the ones we left in the sunlight sprouted and then died. Even after six months of use, the light is still performing perfectly. While we detected some warmth from the light, it was pretty subtle, which is typical of LED grow lights.

If you want to create a huge garden while still having space in your basement or garage, this grow light is an ideal option. Our sole complaint was that adjusting the light for growing plants wasn’t easy and we needed two people to unscrew it and re-attach it to a new height. Also, this may not be the best grow light for taller plants, so we recommend having a plan to re-home them before you start using the grow light.

Type: LED shelf | Wattage: Not listed | Size: 31 by 15.5 by 21 inches

Most Stylish

Soltech Solutions Aspect Grow Light

$200 at Amazon View on Soltech.com $150 at Thesill.com

With its chic and functional look, this grow light is the most well-designed grow light we've tested, hands down. It resembles a regular overhead light and is visually appealing enough to display, even becoming a permanent fixture in your home. It has to be mounted on the ceiling, so some DIY know-how is necessary for installation. Once you pass that hurdle, it only needs to be plugged in for it to work.

The grow light is available in 20- and 40-watt options and has a color temperature of 3000K for a warm white light that encourages growth, flowers, and fruit. Due to its size, we think large and small plant collections will thrive if placed directly under its light. With a 90,000-hour lifespan (about 15 years), it has the most impressive longevity of any grow light on this list. We also like that the light is programmable and has an analog timer you can schedule for 12 hours. However, the timer is not digital, so it might be hard to get the exact time. 

After six months of use, there is no question that our plants beneath the grow light were better off than the ones by the window. Our grow light tomatoes grew into healthy seedlings, while our basil similarly thrived. We felt a subtle heat beneath the light, though it was ultimately insignificant.

We found the light to be very bright, making it ideal for low-traffic areas or room corners. The main downside to this option is that the lights are not dimmable. That said, the light quality was superb and kept our plants in optimum shape during our testing. 

Type: Overhead LED | Wattage: 20 watts, 40 watts | Size: 6.5 by 4 inches

Best Bulb

Sansi Grow Light Bulb

$23 at Amazon $30 at Walmart $30 at Home Depot

A grow light bulb like the Sansi is an excellent option to add to an existing light fixture, but you might give up a few advanced functions in exchange for a low price and integrated design. This light has a 4000K color temperature, which is ideal for plants to flower and bear fruit. Just keep in mind that unlike traditional grow lights, it doesn’t have a connected app or dimmer. 

Still, it works effectively, and we were excited to see buds and shoots popping out within a week or two. Our plants beneath the grow light grew at least two times as much as the ones receiving natural light, and they were far more abundant. After six months of use, it's still performing as expected.

Its look is basic, with a cord and caged bulb at the end that you can hang alone or add to a lampshade. Plus, you can practically install it anywhere on your ceiling, as long as it’s high enough. We do wish the light had settings to dial down the brightness and a timer (you can add a smart timer to turn it on and off automatically). The basic design is ideal for beginners who can live without the bells and whistles. We think this is a powerful and inexpensive option, making it a good central or backup grow light. 

Type: LED bulb | Wattage: 10, 15, 24, 36 watts | Size: ‎5.16 by 6.65 inches