The flameless LED candle market is maturing, and consumers are presented with an enormous number of options when they are looking to buy flameless candles. There are a lot of lesser-known brands selling candles online, often at a much lower price than the larger brands. Are the cheaper candles a good value, or are they cheaply made and likely to stop working? What different features and styles are available? This article hopes to help you answer some of those questions. In the interest of full disclosure, please note that some of the links in this article are affiliate links.
What are the Top Flameless Candle Brands?
The most well-known brand of LED candles is probably Luminara, and their candles usually sell for a significant premium compared to the other brands. For example, on Walmart.com a single Luminara candle sells for as low as $30 and as high as $90. Lesser-known brands often sell sets of 3 for $20-$30, so the Luminara candles can easily be 3x-10x more expensive.
Other brands you may see in retail stores include AquaFlame, Lumabase, Lavish Home, Moonrays, SternoHome, Northlight, and Serene House, among others. Many home décor brands have their own line of LED candles, so there are a lot of options.
There are also a wide variety of digital brands that you won’t find in retail stores, but sell a lot of products online. Some of these brands have niche products with more innovative features and combinations of features. And they shouldn’t be written off as low-quality either. Some of these companies sell good products at low prices and are a great value, but some of the brands are based in foreign countries, have very poor or non-existent customer service, and are selling low-quality products. So some discernment is required by the consumer.
What are the Features and Options on Flameless LED Candles?
There are an enormous number of combinations of sizes, colors, styles, and features on LED candles in 2020. Here are the main options you need to consider:
- Wick Style – moving wick, stable wick, 2D wick, 3D wick, and hidden bulb are the most common wick styles.
- Flickering Effect – Most flameless candles have some type of flickering effect. Often this is achieved by the LED light quickly changing brightness levels, but it can also be created by shining a light on a moving wick or an oscillating light shining on a flat 2D wick. With some candles the flickering effect can be turned on/off with a remote.
- Wax or Plastic – Most LED candles are made of wax, but some are made of plastic. The wax candles have a more realistic look and feel but the wax is much easier to scratch and damage.
- Pillar, Candlestick, or Tealight – Pillar candles have a larger diameter and are taller; candlesticks are tall and thin; tealights are small and often come in large quantities.
- Size – Pillar candles usually range from 4″ (10cm) to about 8″ (20cm). Candlesticks can be taller while tealights are often only a couple inches tall.
- Color – White and Ivory are the most popular colors, but many other colors are available. Red and green candles are fairly popular, especially around Christmas.
- Unique Styles – There are a number of unique styles. For example, some candles have a birch bark effect, writing or designs on the sides of the candle, firework effects, spirals, dripping wax, distressed, and many others.
- Energy Efficiency – Many candles won’t list how much use you can expect out of the candles before the batteries need to be replaced, but some will. We have tested several types of candles with fresh batteries and have found the hours of use to have a wide range from 50 to 800 hours with one set of batteries. Candles that use magnets to create a dancing flame effect seem to use more power.
- Scented or Unscented – Most candles are unscented, but there are quite a few vanilla candles and a few other scents. The scented candles are usually not very strong and won’t produce the same effect as burning a real scented candle.
- Timer – Many candles come with timers that can be set to turn on the candle for a set number of hours each day at a certain time. 4 and 8 hour timers seem to be the most common.
- Remote – Many candles come with remotes that allow you to change the LED color, adjust the brightness, turn on/off, turn various timers on, or turn flickering effects on or off.
- Rechargeable – Some candles come with built in rechargeable batteries that are often not replaceable. Sometimes they can be recharged with a charger base or plugging them in with a USB cable. Other times you have to connect them to an adaptor. Rechargeable candles are often a bit more expensive.
Where to Buy Flameless LED Candles?
A lot of retail stores sell flameless candles but the options are often fairly limited due to shelf space. For example, we recently checked our local Wal-Mart Supercenter and found they were only selling one variety of LED candle even though 50+ styles of traditional candles were available.
Online stores have a lot more options to choose from. Amazon has a great selection of products with lots of reviews, Walmart.com, target.com, homedepot.com, qvc.com, wayfair.com, and overstock.com
Best Candles of 2020
Here in a list of some of the best flameless LED candles we could find in 2020. Use it as a starting point in your shopping.
Luminara Dancing Flame
Luminara candles are expensive, but they are good quality. Luminara owns a patent on the dancing flame technology which other brands have tried to copy. NOTE: Beware of buying fake Luminara candles. It seems Luminara only sells their products in certain well-known stores (see list here), so if you’re not buying from one of these stores be suspicious of fakes.
This Luminara 5″ ivory dancing flame candle sells for ~$20. It uses 2 D batteries and has a 5 hour timer. A set of 3 (4″, 5″, and 7″) will cost ~$100.
Here is a video with some explanation and examples of dancing flame candles:
Sterno Home Pillar Candles
Sterno Home is another quality brand of home décor products, and they have an extensive line of flameless candles. This is a nice set of 3 pillar candles with 5 hour timer for ~$40.
Homemory Tealights Set
This Homemory set of 12 tealights is one of the top selling flameless candles on Amazon with over 3000 reviews. Only $10 for 12.
Laura Ashley Pillar Candles with Embedded String Lights
This set of 3 candles is another Amazon bestseller. It’s a 3 piece set of 4″/5″/6″ pillar candles with embedded string lights and a 4 hour timer from Laura Ashley for ~$25.