Best LED Grow Light Bulbs (for Cannabis)

Investing in high-quality LED grow lights is one of the first steps towards successfully growing marijuana indoors. But even if you buy the best lights on the market, if you’re not using the proper light bulbs, then your efforts may end up wasted.

We’ve compiled popular screw-in LED grow bulbs that fit standard E26/E27 sockets.

Set expectations first: a single bulb puts out far less light than a panel or bar fixture. In one study, cannabis yield kept rising with canopy light up to 1,800 µmol/m²/s, per research in Frontiers in Plant Science.

Screw-in bulbs work well for seedlings, clones, mother plants and supplementing a main light. For flowering, plan on a dedicated LED fixture. This guide is for adults 21+ growing where it is legal.

PRODUCT	TYPE	BEST FOR
Yeuloum	Multi-color LED bulb	Seedlings, small plants
CANAGROW	Fan-cooled LED bulb	Supplemental light
Sansi	Full-spectrum ceramic bulb	Clones, houseplants
Easy Bright	Multi-color LED bulb	Budget option
Outcrop Innovations	Aluminum heat-sink bulb	Small spaces

Many bulbs are sold by "equivalent" watts. Check the actual power draw in watts on the listing, since that tells you more about light output.

The Most Popular LED Grow Light Bulbs

Yeuloum LED Grow Light Bulb

The Yeuloum LED bulbs have a ribbed design and polished aluminum body. The ribbed aluminum body helps shed heat, and the beam spreads at a wide angle. Follow the maker's recommended hanging distance.

It mixes red, blue, white, UV and infrared LEDs. Red and blue light drive photosynthesis, and white fills in the rest of the spectrum.

The small UV and infrared share adds little for most home growers. Do not stare at UV LEDs, which can harm your eyes.

It is a handy choice for starting seedlings indoors in winter.

Things We Like:

• The ribbed aluminum body keeps the lights cool
• Mixed red, blue and white LEDs
• Wide beam angle
• Suitable for standard E26/E27 sockets

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Not enough light on its own to flower cannabis

CANAGROW LED Grow Light Bulb

Do you want your plants to flourish in all growth stages? CANAGROW LED Grow Light bulbs are some of the highest-rated plant lights for indoor gardening.

It has vents and a small cooling fan to prevent overheating.

The body is aluminum alloy for heat dissipation.

It uses Bridgelux LED chips, a well-known LED maker.

Be wary of very high PAR figures on bulb listings. A screw-in bulb cannot light a whole canopy the way a full fixture can, and reported numbers usually come from right under the bulb at close range.

Things We Like:

• Vented design with an inbuilt fan for effective cooling
• Aluminum alloy body is highly durable
• Bridgelux LED chips
• It is E26/E27 compatible

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Fan adds a point of failure and some noise

Sansi LED Grow Light Bulb

The Sansi LED Grow Light Bulb is a popular full-spectrum bulb for indoor plants.

It’s an excellent choice for potted plants, houseplants, indoor farming, as well as aquarium and terrarium.

It features a hollowed design that allows for superior heat dissipation. The body is made of highly durable ceramic material. The unit is fitted with a high performing lens, to ensure all the generated light reaches the plants.

It gives off white, full-spectrum light that looks natural, which is easy on the eyes in a living space.

Its lens spreads light fairly evenly. It comes in several wattages; check the listing for current sizes.

Things We Like:

• The ceramic body is highly durable
• The hollow design allows for superior heat dissipation
• Lens spreads light evenly
• E26 socket compatible, including desktop lamps

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Some users report the lamps burning out more quickly than other bulbs

Easy Bright LED Grow Light Bulb

The Easy Bright LED Grow Light Bulb is a budget multi-color bulb.

It uses a ribbed design to shed heat. Bulbs do not control your room's temperature, so you still need ventilation.

It mixes mostly red LEDs with blue, white and infrared.

It is sold with a "100W" label but draws far less power from the wall. That label is an equivalence claim, not its true power, so compare actual watts drawn.

LED bulbs run much cooler than incandescent bulbs, though they still get warm. It is also one of the easiest bulbs to install. The E27 base means you can use it with the nearest light bulb socket.

Things We Like:

• A ribbed, aluminum design runs cool and prevents overheating
• Low power draw
• E27 socket compatible, making it easy to install
• Suitable for indoor gardens, greenhouses, and hydroponic systems

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Some bulbs start flickering if you don’t have the right light fixture

Outcrop Innovation LED Grow Light Bulb

The Outcrop Innovation LED Grow Light Bulb is a compact option for small spaces where a big fixture won't fit.

It uses an aluminum heat sink to stay cool.

It draws only a low wattage while being marketed as a "100W equivalent", so treat it as a small supplemental light.

Like any light, its intensity drops quickly as you raise it. Lux, a measure of brightness to the human eye, is a poor guide for plants; PPFD in µmol/m²/s is the useful number.

Things We Like:

• A durable aluminum heat sink prevents overheating
• Low power draw
• Compact size
• Compatible with E26 / E27 sockets
• Best choice for hydroponics, grow rooms, and greenhouses

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Some of the bulbs do not last as long as other bulb brands and may need to be replaced more frequently

What to look for the best LED grow bulbs?

If you look past the pros and cons of a bulb, your choice should come down to the specific needs of your grow space. Depending on what your area and plants look like, there are several factors to consider. We’ve broken down the criteria you should look for into five categories.

Self-cooling design

First, you need to consider the materials that your bulbs are made out of. What they’re made of will dictate how hot or cool your grow room gets. You may have noticed that a lot of the bulbs on this list feature a ribbed design. That’s because the grooves in those bulbs work well to cool the rest of the bulb and evenly dissipate the heat.

Hollow bulbs are also great for heat dissipation. Some unique models are fitted with a built-in quiet cooling fan.

Light Intensity

You need to provide your plants with the right amount of light for their particular growth stage. The easiest and quickest way to know if a lamp will suit your grow space is to read the manufacturer’s details. They will almost always detail how much area the bulb will cover.

A single bulb lights only a small area, often a foot or two across.

You should also consult the manufacturer’s PAR or PPFD chart, which maps light intensity over the recommended footprint. The PAR map shows how intense the light is over a given area and height, and how the light is distributed across that area.

Spectrum

Make sure you pick the correct spectrum of light for the growth stage of your plants.

There are two types of light spectrums to look for when choosing bulbs: broad and targeted. A targeted spectrum uses specific wavelengths of LEDs to match the photosynthetic requirements.

Most quality grow lights today use white LEDs, often with extra red. Here is what each part does:

• UV: Present in small amounts on some lights. Its effect on cannabis is still debated, and it can harm your eyes and skin.
• Blue Light: Drives photosynthesis and keeps plants compact.
• White Light: Covers a broad spectrum and makes it easier to spot plant problems.
• Red Light: Drives photosynthesis efficiently and is important in flowering.
• Far red / IR: Can influence plant shape and flowering, but adds little light for photosynthesis.

A full-spectrum white bulb with extra red is a good, simple choice.

Wattage

Check the wattage to establish how powerful an LED grow light bulb is. In general, a 100 watts bulb will offer superior intensity compared to a 15 watts unit.

Use actual power draw, not "equivalent" watts. Higher wattage doesn’t always mean more light, so look for efficiency in µmol/J when the maker lists it.

A given lamp may use more watts to generate sufficient light, while another may use fewer watts to create the required amount of light.

Price

LED bulbs can cost more up front than fluorescent options, but they use less power over time. The wattage, efficiency, type of spectrum, as well as quality of parts, tend to drive this difference. The plus side is that LEDs last a long time, often tens of thousands of hours by maker ratings.

Before you settle for the cheapest model, consider the performance, service life, and the peace of mind you’ll have by investing in a high-quality product.

Final Thoughts

LED grow lights keep getting more efficient and affordable. When choosing a bulb, make sure it fits your sockets and fixtures, and that the fixture is rated for the bulb's weight and heat.

Use bulbs for seedlings, clones and supplemental light, and move flowering plants under a full LED fixture.

Put any grow light on a timer. Growers typically run 16 to 18 hours of light for vegetative growth, and light during the dark period can suppress flowering, per research in Plants.

Take into account the size of your space, the number of plants you have, and how hands-on you want the growing process to be when choosing the right bulbs.

Sources

• Cannabis Yield, Potency, and Leaf Photosynthesis Respond Differently to Increasing Light Levels in an Indoor Environment, Frontiers in Plant Science (via NIH PMC)
• Examining the "Night Break" Method in Cannabis sativa Horticulture, Plants (via NIH PMC)