The Best Grow Lights for Lush Indoor Greenery (2024)

For plants that require plenty of light, the LBW Grow Light is a great way to keep your house plants alive and thriving. The grow light is full-spectrum and contains all wavelengths needed for photosynthesis. In addition, you can use it at all growth stages—from seedling to germination to flowering. It includes a 15-inch tripod stand that you can extend to 48 inches, making it a great grow light for bigger plants. You can also hang it from the ceiling if you want more coverage and don’t want to use the tripod. During testing, the light was easy to assemble and only required tightening a few screws and parts together.

You won’t have to worry about dimness, as the light offers 30 watts of bright light. However, you cannot adjust brightness levels, so it might not be ideal for growing different plants in one room. Overall, we felt that the grow light positively impacted our plants, and we experienced significant growth with all our seedlings. We also like that it was compact and would work well in a small apartment.

Type: LED Bulb | Wattage: 30 watts | Size: 15.75 x 7.87 x 7.87 inches

From dimmable modes to full spectrum lighting and USB connection, the Leoter Grow Light is a helpful companion for sprouting plants indoors. It has four light heads on a long gooseneck, so you can grow flowering plants, vegetables, and herbs. During testing, we found it effective at growing plants at all different stages. This grow light also comes with a remote and timer for intervals of three, nine, and 12 hours. 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 was bright but not the brightest out of all the options we tested. Unlike our best overall choice, this grow light has nine dimmable modes you can adjust if your plants need more or less light. The grow light was also great for our tomato and spinach plants—in both cases, we noticed that these plants were growing much faster and healthier than the ones without a grow light.

Type: LED Bulb | Wattage: 40 watts | Size: 13.46 x 5.71 x 3.27 inches

The AeroGarden Trio Grow Light is a beginner-friendly option that helped our plants to 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.

This grow light has three adjustable arms you can move depending on your plant's needs. However, the arms are short and only accommodate plants up to 12 inches tall, so this pick is only suitable for small desk plants or an indoor herb garden.

Set up was a breeze and only required us to plug it in and position the lights for our plants. The light also comes with a connected app, which was confusing to set up. 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, this grow light has 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.

Type: LED Bulb | Wattage: 15 watts | Size: 14.88 x 6.46 x 6.46 inches

With an LED light like the Mars Hydro, you can grow enough leafy greens to last you all year round. 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 every growing stage.

Our plants benefited greatly from using this grow light. We noticed that most of our plants were healthier than those with only natural sunlight. While this grow light is not the most aesthetically pleasing option and might not be the right fit for creating a pretty display, it provides 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 x 13.25 x 1.36 inches

This was our first time using a hanging grow light, and the Dymond BoostGro did not disappoint. Even with the impressively affordable price tag, it offers lots of value and is ideal for growing herbs or plants on a cabinet or 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 the grow light in two ways: using the built-in hooks and hanging cables or installing 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. Though this grow light does not have a timer, you can always buy a smart timer if you want to use one.

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

If you want a grow light that doubles as a desk lamp, there is no better option than a clip-on light. With the GoongTop 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 4-, 8-, or 12-hour intervals. The main drawback of this light was its versatility on multiple plants—we didn’t have much luck growing anything besides tomatoes.

Since it is an LED light, it hardly generated heat and had enough brightness without overpowering the room. Overall, it has all the basic features you need and can easily attach to a desk, cabinet, or shelf.

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

If you’ve ever shied away from having 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 all year round.

This model has an adhesive sticker and a magnetized grow light fixture for easy setup.

During testing, we found that the adhesive strip didn’t work well, and the light fixture kept dropping off the wall, so we purchased new adhesive strips to hold the grow light in place.

Despite this downside, the grow light impressed us throughout testing. It significantly impacted our basil and tomato plants compared to the basil plants with no grow lights. We also observed that the fruit was bigger on our tomato plants than on the plant with no grow light. Unlike the basil and tomato plants, our spinach did not grow.

We appreciated that the light is touch-sensitive—just tap it to switch on and off or adjust brightness levels. It also has 360-degree rotation to swivel and rotate as needed. At the highest setting, the light was really bright, which could be disturbing for 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 x 1 x 1.5 inches

While you might have to spend extra time putting this grow light together, it is a simple solution for growing many seedlings simultaneously. This 31-inch grow light from Gardener’s Supply has two shelves with 3 feet of LED lights each. The lights connect to a timer that controls how much light it gets. We also 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.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to assemble despite its large size. The instructions were clear, concise, and easy to follow. Just keep in mind that setting it up takes time and space, so you may need a helping hand if DIY is not your forte.

During testing, this grow light benefited our plants, especially because we planted them during the cooler months. We saw a big difference in plants that we placed under the grow light versus ones with just sunlight. The grow light plants flourished while the ones we left in the sunlight sprouted then died. We detected some warmth from the light, although it was not intense, which is typical of LED grow lights.

If you want to create a huge garden and have space in your basem*nt 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 x 15.5 x 21 inches

This grow light’s chic and functional look made it the best design for a grow light that we found during testing. It looks like a regular overhead light and can be a permanent fixture in your home. This pick is ceiling-mounted, so some DIY know-how is necessary. But, once you pass that hurdle, it only needs to be plugged in for it to work.

The grow light is available in 20W and 40W 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.

Since the light is bright, it’s 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 x 4 inches

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. 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. 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 would love it if 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). That said, it is powerful and cheap, making it a good pick as a central or backup grow light.

Type: LED Bulb | Wattage: 10, 15, 24, 36 watts | Size: ‎5.16 x 6.65 inches