Our Guide to the Best Grow Lights Under $30

Each flat panel packs 192 LEDs and states a true 12W of power, which is rare at this price. It mixes 3000K and 5000K white with 660nm red, and the timer offers 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 hour modes, so a 16 hour seedling day runs without an outlet timer.

Next to the RWNTAO strips, you get one broad panel instead of two narrow bars, which spreads light more evenly over a tray. Against the Kullsinss, it costs about twice as much but is the only one that links in series or parallel, so a second and third panel plug into the first. The Briignite bulb and ZJchao strip cannot do that.

Buy it for a single shelf of seedlings, herbs or lettuce. Skip it for a lone pothos on a desk, where the GYTF halo costs far less and does the job.

Two aluminum bars carry 78 LEDs each, 3500K white, and the kit includes screws so they mount to the underside of a shelf. The memory timer repeats a cycle daily, and three switch modes plus ten dimming levels let you turn seedlings down or up as they grow.

Where the FECiDA panel covers a wider patch, these bars suit a shelf only about 9 inches deep, like a windowsill or bookcase ledge. They beat the Kullsinss on controls (ten levels versus five) and cost a few dollars more. The longest timer is 12 hours, so many growers add an outlet timer to reach 14 to 16.

Pick it for herbs or microgreens under a slim shelf. For a wider tray, step up to the FECiDA panel instead.

Two 16 inch bars carry 120 LEDs split into 72 white, 36 warm white and 12 red, spanning roughly 380 to 800 nm. The controller gives five dimming levels and three modes (white, warm white and red, or all on), with a timer built in.

Compared with the RWNTAO strips, each bar is nearly twice as long, so coverage along a shelf is better, though it has half the dimming steps. Against the FECiDA panel it costs half as much but publishes no wattage, so output is the unknown. The ZJchao strip is cheaper again, but it is a single small USB bar.

Choose it for a windowsill herb tray or a shelf where you want long bars cheap. Choose the FECiDA panel when you need to chain more lights later.

A ring of 48 beads (36 white, 6 red, 6 blue) sits on an aluminum pole that extends from 7 to 18 inches and pushes into the soil in about ten seconds. The timer offers 4, 8, 12 and 18 hour cycles, and 18 is longer than any other timer in this group.

It lights one pot, nothing more. The RWNTAO strips and Kullsinss bars cover a shelf, and the FECiDA covers a tray, so the halo is for plants that live apart from each other. Against the ZJchao strip it is more stable and clear of the cabinet, but the pole needs soil to grip.

Buy it for a single herb or a succulent on a desk. A shelf of seedlings needs a bar or the FECiDA panel.

A small aluminum strip on USB 5V power, with a 3000K warm white and 620nm red mix, ten dimmable levels and a memory timer that offers 8, 12 or 16 hour days. USB power means any phone adapter or power bank runs it.

It is the smallest light on this list, so coverage is a single small pot or a few seedlings in a window. Next to the GYTF halo it mounts to a surface instead of the soil, and it is cheaper, but the halo's higher pole reaches taller plants. The 16 hour mode matches the FECiDA's, which is notable at this price.

Pick it for a cheap test run or a small herb corner. If you want to fill a shelf, go for the Kullsinss bars.

A standard A19 LED bulb that looks 4000K white but includes red and blue chips, with a 1000 lumen output and 180 degree beam. It fits any ordinary socket, so a desk lamp, clip lamp or pendant becomes a grow light.

This is the least capable option for dedicated growing. It has no timer, no dimming, and the beam spreads wide, so intensity at the leaf drops fast. Against the GYTF halo, it needs a fixture you already own; against the FECiDA panel, it has no timer at all and covers a smaller area at the same distance.

Buy it for a houseplant that sits beside a lamp already. For seed starting, choose the Kullsinss or the FECiDA.