10 Best LED Headlight Bulbs of 2020
The best LED Headlight bulbs are consistently a major focus for car owners, but there's just so much information to digest about the different headlight types out there, including their underlying technologies.
LED headlights are the best automobile headlights in the market right now. So, if you've decided to get the best LED-headlights for your vehicle, then this review is for you.
From providing you with a list of the top offers in the market to additionally including a buying guide and other helpful information, this LED headlight bulbs review aims to make it easier for you to choose right.
You can also read our other product reviews on similar topics, such as headlight bulbs, halogen headlight bulbs, HID headlights, and H11 bulbs.
10 Best LED Headlight Bulbs – Review
IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURES | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. BeamTech H11 (Extremely Bright 8,000-Lumens Bulb with Kit) | ||
 | 2. Auxbeam F-16 (Set of 6,000-Lumens Bulb with Conversion Kit) | ||
 | 3. OPT7 Fluxbeam H11 (Cool White CREE Set) | ||
 | 4. VoRock8 R2 COB (Set with Hi/Lo Beams) | ||
 | 5. Akarui 2589CM (Single Beam CREE LEDs with 9,600 Lumens Output) | ||
 | 6. Sealight AHDX1H4-E (With Dual Hi/Lo Beam) | ||
 | 7. MicTuning HD170 (Super-bright with 8,000 Lumens at 6,000 K) | ||
 | 8. Kensun SB-LED-H4 (Fast Thermal Dissipation Cree Bulbs) | ||
 | 9. XtremeVision 8G (Extreme Intensity) | ||
 | 10. Cougar Motor H3 (Affordable Set with 7,200 Lumens) |
PRODUCT |
|---|
1. BeamTech H11 (Extremely Bright 8,000-Lumens Bulb with Kit) |
2. Auxbeam F-16 (Set of 6,000-Lumens Bulb with Conversion Kit) |
3. OPT7 Fluxbeam H11 (Cool White CREE Set) |
4. VoRock8 R2 COB (Set with Hi/Lo Beams) |
5. Akarui 2589CM (Single Beam CREE LEDs with 9,600 Lumens Output) |
6. Sealight AHDX1H4-E (With Dual Hi/Lo Beam) |
7. MicTuning HD170 (Super-bright with 8,000 Lumens at 6,000 K) |
8. Kensun SB-LED-H4 (Fast Thermal Dissipation Cree Bulbs) |
9. XtremeVision 8G (Extreme Intensity) |
10. Cougar Motor H3 (Affordable Headlight with 7,200 Lumens) |
1. BeamTech H11 – Extremely Bright 8,000-Lumens Bulb with Kit
Photo: BeamTech
- Lumens: 8,000
- Color Temperature: 6,500 K daylight
- Lifespan: 30,000 hours
With over 30,000 hours of working lifespan and an 8,000 Lumens brightness, here comes the first LED headlamp in this review. It's an H11 lamp and so, perfect for those on the search for the best H11 LED headlight bulbs.
It comes with CSP LED chips and uses lots of other technologies to offer you the best results. Its cooling system, for instance, uses no fan, but rather a special metal called duralumin, which comes from aerospace engineering.
This lack of fan makes the headlight use both less power and function more quietly. It produces a 6,500 K pure white light beam, with each bulb using just 25 Watts to produce 4,000 Lumens.
You can get it in lots of other socket types, including H1, H4, and the rest, making it one of the best LED headlights conversion kit. Operating lifespan is over 30,000 hours, with operating voltages between 9 and 32 Volts.
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2. Auxbeam F-16 – Set of 6,000-Lumens LED Bulb with Conversion Kit
Photo: Auxbeam
- Lumens: 6,000 Lumens
- Color Temperature: 6,000 K
If you care for golden headlamps, then Auxbeam's offer might prove interesting to take a closer look at. These gold-colored headlamps deliver up to 6,000 Lumens of brightness using just 60 Watts of power.
Each bulb delivers 3,000 Lumens and can work with any voltage from 8 Volts up to 48 Volts. There are 2 pieces of high-intensity Cree LED chips on each bulb, but they're designed to only fit H8, H9, and H11 sockets.
You can get it in other plug types though, but the choice is not wide and this is one disadvantage of this LED headlamp offer. On the other hand, the package includes control drivers for better compatibility with your car's computer.
Auxbeam backs them with a 1-year warranty and they will also work well in very low temperatures down to -40 degrees Celsius. The bulbs are IP-68 rated, which makes them waterproof down to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.
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3. OPT7 Fluxbeam H11 – Cool White CREE LED Headlights Set
Photo: OPT7
- Lumens: 7,000
- Color Temperature: 6,000 Kelvins
- Lifespan: Over 50,000 hours
The reason these OPT7 bulbs are outstanding is that the company placed lots of attention and effort in keeping the bulbs as cool as possible.
Each of these bulbs comes with a cooling fan embedded in its heat sink and rotating at 7,000 RPM (Rotations Per Minute). This keeps the LEDs up to 30% cooler and extends their lifespan considerably.
The LED chips have a 50,000 working hours rating. They produce 3,500 Lumens each from 30 Watts, which then adds up to 7,000 Lumens at a 6,000-Kelvin white light temperature.
Another reason to consider this offer is that it's a Plug-N-Play package, which means it comes with everything necessary for an upgrade kit to replace your existing lights. It's also backed by a 2-year warranty.
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4. VoRock8 R2 COB – LED Headlights Set with Hi/Lo Beams
Photo: VoRock8
- Lumens: 8,000
- Color Temperature: 6,500 Kelvin
- Lifespan: 30,000 hours
Here's another one of the brightest LED headlight bulbs in the market. This package comes from VoRock8 and it's available for a range of different plug types and vehicles.
In addition to its 8,000-Lumen high-intensity output, they also come with other interesting features. These include a fan-cooling system, a cold-pressed aluminum housing for heat dissipation, and an easy installation design with an upgrade kit.
They produce a 6,500 Kelvin bright white light with a 360-degree angle and this places these bulbs above other standard LED lights in both brightness and whiteness.
On the flip side, they only have an IP-65 rating, which refers to protection from dust and water sprays only and means they may not survive a rain storm.
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5. Akarui 2589CM – Single Beam CREE LEDs with 9,600 Lumens Output
Photo: Akarui
- Lumens: 9,600
- Color Temperature: 6,000 Kelvins
- Lifespan: 50,000 hours
Akarui may not be the best LED-headlight bulb brand but the company makes quite a statement with this LED headlamps offer. Made using Cree XHP70 LED chips, these 2 bulbs produce an impressive brightness of 9,600 Lumens.
You get the ideal headlamps for a stunningly bright headlight with this offer, so buying it only makes sense if you really need stunning headlights. The package also includes an installation kit to make it backward-compatible to your halogen or HID headlights.
This offer is for the H8 (H9/H11) single beam kit, but you can get the bulbs for nearly every plug type and vehicle.
Akarui backs up the package with a 2-year warranty, plus a lifetime support to make them one of th best LED headlight bulbs. This is great and balances out the comparatively higher price of these headlamps.
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6. Sealight AHDX1H4-E – Dual Hi/Lo Beam LED Headlight Bulbs
Photo: Sealight
- Lumens: 6,000
- Color Temperature: 6,000 Kelvins
- Lifespan: 30,000 hours
Sealight offers a beautiful and nicely designed LED headlight bulbs here, with each bulb featuring two sides with 3 CSP LED chips each. The bulbs are DOT approved and feature a smart driver with an anti-radio-interference feature.
These bulbs are as small as halogen bulbs, making installation easier. This combines with the included conversion kit to make these bulbs easily installed as Plug-N-Play in 98% of vehicles, making them one of the cheapest and the best LED headlight bulbs for cars.
Although the heat-sink has no fan, it does feature innovative cooling fins which cool the bulbs from their 6,000 Lumens at a 6,000-Kelvin white light temperature.
They have an IP-67 rating, meaning the bulbs can temporarily get submerged in water without a problem. On the other hand, their lifespan has a 30,000-hour rating, which is a little disappointing, considering that the bulbs only produce about 3,000 Lumens each.
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7. MicTuning HD170 – Super-bright Bulbs with 8,000 Lumens at 6,000 K
Photo: MicTuning
- Lumens: 8,000
- Color Temperature: 6,000 Kelvins
- Lifespan: 30,000 hours
MicTuning is one of the best aftermarket LED-headlight bulb makers. This offer comes with an 8,000-Lumen brightness, delivered at a 6,000-Kelvin color temperature.
To keep things cool and prolong the lifespan of the LED chips, MicTuning adds high-power turbofans rotating at 7,000 RPM. Each bulb also has a premium aluminum heat sink for cooling.
Installation is easy and takes less than 20 minutes. The package includes everything you need and the bulbs are CanBUS ready, which means they'll work with most vehicle's board computers without any issue.
On the flip side, this set of bulbs produce their 8,000 Lumens from 80 Watts, which is not the most efficient conversion of electric power to LED light.
MicTuning backs it with a 2-year warranty and the bulbs themselves have an IP-67 rating, meaning they can get temporarily submerged in water without breaking down.
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8. Kensun SB-LED-H4 – Fast Thermal Dissipation Cree LED Bulbs
Photo: Kensun
- Lumens: 6,000
- Color Temperature: 6,000 Kelvins
Kensun changes the game here and delivers its LED headlamps in an aluminum carrying case, which puts a whole new twist on LED bulbs and where the innovation boundaries lie.
Each bulb offers a dual beam and gets crafted using Extreme Cree LED chips. In addition, installation is Plug and Play, as the package comes with a conversion kit, making it easier to upgrade your stock halogen or HID bulbs by yourself.
For cooling, Kensun uses a high-quality aluminum housing with fins to promote faster heat removal, as well as a cooling fan with dual speed to speed things up.
Each bulb enjoys a 2-year warranty and is IP-65 rated. This ingress protection rating is a little disappointing since it means the bulbs can only withstand light rain, but not a storm or possible submergence in water.
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9. XtremeVision 8G – Extreme Intensity LED Headlights
Photo: XtremeVision
- Lumens: 12,000
- Color Temperature: 6,500 Kelvins
- Lifespan: 30,000 hours
XtremeVision's 12,000-Lumen offer is one of those hard-to-resist deals, especially if you love super-bright headlamps. These top-rated LED headlight bulbs will surely freak out oncoming traffic, so make sure it's exactly what you need first before buying because they are the brightest LED headlight bulbs here.
Two nice features speak for these LED lamps. The first feature is its consumption of only 72 Watts to produce a 12,000-Lumen brightness at 6,500 Kelvins pure white light.
For cooling, XtremeVision chooses to combine its fan cooling and its air-flux technology to keep things cool and prolong the LEDs lifespan as much as possible.
The other nice feature about this offer is its price. It's very competitively priced, considering its high-Lumen output. XtremeVision makes it with XHP50 Cree LED chips and guarantees a lifespan of 30,000 hours for the bulbs.
These bulbs also come with an ISO9001 certification, plus an IP-65 ingress protection rating, which only guarantees it from rain and other light water drizzles. XtremeVision backs the entire offer with a 2-year warranty.
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10. Cougar Motor H3 – Affordable Headlight Set with 7,200 Lumens
Photo: Cougar Motor
- Lumens: 7,200
- Color Temperature: 6,000 Kelvin
- Lifespan: 50,000 hours
Cougar Motor is another serious contender in the LED headlamp market and comes with this serious offer of a 7,200-Lumen LED bulb at 6,000 Kelvins.
The pair uses just 60 Watts to produce this 7,200 Lumens of brightness, making them quite energy-efficient. To cool everything down, Cougar Motor includes a 7,000 RPM fan to help maximize the headlights' lifespan.
These features bring the bulb's lifespan to over 50,000 hours. They will also work underwater because they're rated IP-67, which means they'll withstand up to a 1-meter immersion for up to 30 minutes.
To top it all off, Cougar Motor offers a 3-year warranty and a lifetime support on these LED headlamps, making them one of the best LED headlight bulbs in the market.
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LED vs. Halogen Headlights
While the LED headlight was first introduced around 2006, the popular halogen headlights have been in use since 1962. Although HID headlights came around in the 1990s to replace halogen headlights, they too got superseded by LED headlights.
Most cars still run on halogen lights. So if your vehicle does and you're considering an upgrade, the following is a comparison of the different features of these headlights to help see their advantages and disadvantages.
1. Energy Efficiency
When it comes down to how much energy each technology uses to produce its highest light output, LED is the clear winner here. Halogen lights turn up to 80% of their input energy into heat and only about 20% into visible light.
LED bulbs, however, reverse the situation and turn only about 20% of their energy into heat and up to 80% into light. This makes the average LED bulb about four times more energy-efficient than a halogen bulb.
2. Temperature
Since halogen bulbs convert up to four times more of their energy as heat than LED bulbs, they also heat up very much more than LED bulbs. In fact, a hot halogen bulb will burn your hand when touched.
LED bulbs do get hot but not as hot as halogen bulbs. Because of their fragile components though, they need their very own cooling system as part of the bulb.
3. Color Temperature
This refers to the light output of the bulbs and either how warm or how cool they seem. The color temperature gets measured in Kelvins or K, with higher values meaning a cooler light than warmer, lower values.
Using this scale, a candle flame has a rating of around 1,900 Kelvins, while the sun at sunrise or sunset gets a rating between 2,000 and 3,000. A direct sun at noon comes in around 6,000 K, while a partly cloudy sky is between 8,000 and 10,000 Kelvins.
Halogen headlights have an average color temperature of 3,200-5,000 K, while LED headlights have an average temperature of 4,000-6,000 K. This means LEDs produce a whiter light than their halogen counterparts.
4. Brightness
LED headlight bulbs again trump halogen bulbs when it comes to brightness. While halogen bulbs will produce between 700 and 2,100 Lumens depending on power, LED headlight bulbs easily produce from 6,000 up to 10,000 Lumens.
5. Lifespan
A typical halogen headlight bulb will last you anywhere from 200 to 500 hours, while a LED headlight bulb will last you over way over 5,000 hours. Most modern LED bulbs, however, last over 30,000 hours, beating halogen bulbs hands down in durability.
6. Costs
There are two types of costs to consider here. The first is the upfront cost and the other is the longterm cost of owning both types of headlight bulbs.
Halogen bulbs are cheaper than LED bulbs but a single Led bulb will outlast many halogen bulbs. So although LED bulbs have higher upfront costs, they are actually cheaper to keep up in the long run.
Read More: LED vs. Halogen vs. Xenon
How to Buy the Best LED Headlight Bulb
If you're like so many car owners who get confused over all the technical terms they have to understand to choose the right headlight bulb, don't worry because this buying guide will explain everything you need to know to make the right choice.
1. Compatibility
If you're upgrading your car headlights to LED, then keep in mind that you just can't replace the bulbs like that, but you'll either have to upgrade the entire headlight or use an upgrade kit to change only the bulbs.
In addition to that, you should also take note of the different LED bulb plug types and model numbers. Check to see which model will best fit your car headlights and whether it's a single or a double beam bulb.
You can either look this up in your vehicle's user manual, look it up on a previous bulb from your car, or use Philips online bulb finder to find the right bulb.
2. Brightness
Brightness is a measure of how much light a bulb produces and it's measured in Lumens. This intensity of LED bulbs ranges from 6,000 Lumens for entry-level LEDs, all the way to 10,000 Lumens for the high-intensity models.
You should note that a 6,000-Lumen headlight produces enough light for most forms of driving, with a clear sight up to 500 meters in a straight line. You should only opt for the higher-intensity models if you have a serious reason for that.
3. Color Temperature
Different bulbs produce lights with different tints, which either make the light appear cooler or warmer. The warmer lights are friendlier to the eyes. You can use them for extended periods without getting eye fatigue, but they're not very bright.
This has led to different manufacturers offering a range of lights in different color temperatures, enabling you to choose the one that best fits you. These three color ranges are as follows:
- Warm (2,700 K - 3,500 K): Bulbs with this color temperature range are normally not used in car headlights but they are often used for fog lights.
- Bright (3,500 K - 5,000 K): This color range is brighter than the warm range and allows you to see further as well. However, they have little blue tint and so do not cause eye strain after prolonged use.
- Super Bright (Above 5,000 K): Light bulbs in this range are very bright and provide the longest and widest views but their blue tints often cause eye strain after prolonged use.
4. Lifespan
LED bulb lifespans have improved over the years, with modern LED bulbs lasting up to 30,000 hours and others even up to 50,000 hours.
Both the 30,000 and 50,000-hour models are more than enough for most car drivers because it means you won't need to change the headlights of your car for years to come.
5. Warranty
Most LED headlight bulb manufacturers offer a 1 or 2-year warranty on their bulbs while others offer up to 3-year warranties.
When you need to decide between two bulbs and every other thing is equal, then the one with the longer warranty should get the vote.
6. Price
LED bulbs have a higher up-front cost than other bulbs at the moment, but their long life usually offsets this cost. They'll also get cheaper in the future but now, the more brightness or Lumens you want in a LED bulb, is the higher the price that you'll need to pay.
Conclusion
Coming to the end of this best LED-headlight bulbs review, you should clearly understand the advantages of LED headlamps by now and additionally know how to find the right LED offer for your vehicle.
As you must have also noticed, there's no single best LED-headlight bulb because of the different needs of different drivers and the different LED bulbs that try to satisfy these needs with their different features.
The final choice is therefore left for you alone to make because it's only you that knows the kind of LED lighting that you need in your vehicle.
- 10 Best LED Headlight Bulbs – Review
- 1. BeamTech H11 – Extremely Bright 8,000-Lumens Bulb with Kit
- 2. Auxbeam F-16 – Set of 6,000-Lumens LED Bulb with Conversion Kit
- 3. OPT7 Fluxbeam H11 – Cool White CREE LED Headlights Set
- 4. VoRock8 R2 COB – LED Headlights Set with Hi/Lo Beams
- 5. Akarui 2589CM – Single Beam CREE LEDs with 9,600 Lumens Output
- 6. Sealight AHDX1H4-E – Dual Hi/Lo Beam LED Headlight Bulbs
- 7. MicTuning HD170 – Super-bright Bulbs with 8,000 Lumens at 6,000 K
- 8. Kensun SB-LED-H4 – Fast Thermal Dissipation Cree LED Bulbs
- 9. XtremeVision 8G – Extreme Intensity LED Headlights
- 10. Cougar Motor H3 – Affordable Headlight Set with 7,200 Lumens
- LED vs. Halogen Headlights
- How to Buy the Best LED Headlight Bulb
- Conclusion
