The Best Grow Lights for Lush Indoor Greenery, According to Months of Testing
If you dream of lush indoor plants but are limited by natural sunlight, opt for a grow light to achieve healthy, flourishing greenery. From germinating seeds to propagating cuttings, a grow light can nurture plants year round—even from a dark or dimly lit space.
To find the best grow lights, we tested 16 models in real-world conditions over six months while assessing their setup, effectiveness, design, brightness, and value. We also spoke to Nancy Trautz-Awot, horticultural specialist at Burpee Gardening, for expert insight on finding the best grow light for your plant collection.
Gardener’s Supply Company Stack-n-Grow Lights System at Amazon
$215
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This full-spectrum light benefits small herbs and larger plants, and the tripod extends up to 48 inches.
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The brightness is not adjustable.
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
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Wade Review / Michelle Ehrich
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It has nine dimmable modes.
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It gives off a purplish glow, which may not appeal to everyone.
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