Which AA Rechargeable Battery Brand Wins?
2019 test12 productsBatteries & Power Banks

Which AA Rechargeable Battery Brand Wins?

In our test we compared 12 aa rechargeable battery options head to head. Duracell came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.

The verdict
Duracell
Winner

Duracell

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IKEA LADDA
Runner-up

IKEA LADDA

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The quick take

The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.

WinnerDuracell

the Duracell average finishing in first place, narrowly ahead of the IKEA

Runner-upIKEA LADDA

The measured results

Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.

1 year used-in-solar-lights capacity test

  • 1Duracell

    rated 2,450 mAh, produced 2,488 mAh, 102 percent of rating, highest absolute output of all 10 brands after a year of daily use

  • 2IKEA LADDA

    produced 2,388 mAh, 97 percent of rating (exact rated mAh not restated at this point in the transcript)

  • 3Power Rex

    rated 2,600 mAh, produced 2,426 mAh, 93 percent of rating; presenter notes it was not too far behind Duracell's absolute output

  • 4Amazon Basics Black

    rated 1,900 mAh, produced 1,879 mAh, 99 percent of rating, tied for the lead at that point in testing with the Eneloop

  • 5Amazon Basics Silver

    rated 2,400 mAh, produced 2,337 mAh, 97 percent of rating

  • 6Panasonic Eneloop

    produced 1,878 mAh, 99 percent of rating, tied for the lead at that point with the Amazon Basics Black

  • 7Energizer

    rated 2,000 mAh, produced 1,919 mAh, 96 percent of rating

  • 8EBL

    rated 2,800 mAh, produced only 2,392 mAh, 85 percent of rating

  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt

    rated 2,200 mAh, produced 2,085 mAh, 95 percent of rating

  • 10Rayovac

    rated 1,350 mAh, produced 1,267 mAh, 94 percent of rating

  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested

1 year shelf storage capacity test

  • 1Duracell

    rated 2,450 mAh, produced 2,007 mAh, about 82 percent of rating, tied with IKEA LADDA for the best percentage retained after a year on the shelf; no individual initial-voltage reading was given for this brand in the transcript

  • 2IKEA LADDA

    initial voltage 1.2 V, the highest of its test group, rated 2,450 mAh, produced 2,017 mAh, about 82 percent of rating, the highest absolute milliamp hour figure of all 10 brands after a year on the shelf

  • 3Power Rex

    rated 2,600 mAh, produced 1,871 mAh, about 72 percent of rating; no individual initial-voltage reading was given for this brand

  • 4Amazon Basics Black

    initial voltage 1.19 V, led its first test group, rated 1,900 mAh, produced 1,526 mAh, about 80 percent of rating

  • 5Amazon Basics Silver

    initial voltage 1.18 V, rated 2,400 mAh, produced 1,864 mAh, about 78 percent of rating

  • 6Panasonic Eneloop

    initial voltage 1.16 V, rated 1,900 mAh, produced 1,400 mAh, about 74 percent of rating

  • 7Energizer

    initial voltage 1.18 V, rated 2,000 mAh, produced 1,600 mAh, 80 percent of rating

  • 8EBL

    initial voltage 1.11 V, the worst of its test group, rated 2,800 mAh, produced only 1,325 mAh, less than 50 percent of rated capacity, about 47 percent

  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt

    initial voltage 1.15 V, rated 2,200 mAh, produced only 1,291 mAh, about 59 percent of rating; presenter reacts 'wow, that's a lot of self-discharge'

  • 10Rayovac

    initial voltage 1.15 V, rated 1,350 mAh, produced 1,023 mAh, about 76 percent of rating

  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested

Internal resistance, shelf-stored battery

  • 1Duracell
    54 milliohms
  • 2IKEA LADDA
    63 milliohms
  • 3Power Rex
    77 milliohms
  • 4Amazon Basics Black
    72 milliohms
  • 5Amazon Basics Silver
    58 milliohms
  • 6Panasonic Eneloop
    77 milliohms
  • 7Energizer
    64 milliohms
  • 8EBL
    108 milliohms
  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt
    57 milliohms
  • 10Rayovac
    82 milliohms
  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested

Internal resistance, 1 year used battery

  • 1Duracell
    71 milliohms

    just 1 milliohm behind the IKEA LADDA

  • 2IKEA LADDA
    70 milliohms

    in the lead at that point in testing

  • 3Power Rex
    88 milliohms
  • 4Amazon Basics Black
    124 milliohms
  • 5Amazon Basics Silver
    112 milliohms
  • 6Panasonic Eneloop
    78 milliohms

    the best reading seen at that point in testing

  • 7Energizer
    93 milliohms

    the best of all batteries measured at that point in testing

  • 8EBL
    232 milliohms

    explicitly called the worst of all batteries measured at that point in testing

  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt
    192 milliohms
  • 10Rayovac
    215 milliohms2nd

    the second worst reading recorded (behind only the EBL's 232 milliohms)

  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested

Composite 3-category average finish

  • 2IKEA LADDA

    finished in second place overall, narrowly behind Duracell

  • 3Power Rex

    not explicitly placed into a numbered final tier in the narration; based on its individual results it sits between the top 2 (Duracell, IKEA) and the tied 4th place pair

  • 4Amazon Basics Black

    tied for fourth place overall with the Eneloop

  • 5Amazon Basics Silver

    tied for fifth place overall with the Energizer

  • 6Panasonic Eneloop

    tied for fourth place overall with the Amazon Basics Black

  • 7Energizer

    tied for fifth place overall with the Amazon Basics Silver

  • 8EBL

    finished in the bottom 3 overall (all three bottom finishers are the brands made in China); exact ordering within the bottom 3 is not stated, but this brand's 47 percent shelf-capacity figure is the single worst percentage result recorded in the video

  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt

    finished in the bottom 3 overall (all three bottom finishers are the brands made in China); exact ordering within the bottom 3 is not stated

  • 10Rayovac

    finished in the bottom 3 overall (all three bottom finishers are the brands made in China); exact ordering within the bottom 3 is not stated

  • 1Duracell
    not tested
  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested

42 day shelf self-discharge checkpoint

  • 2IKEA LADDA

    tied with Duracell for the most remaining charge, with Power Rex very closely behind

  • 3Power Rex

    very closely behind the IKEA LADDA and Duracell tie for most remaining charge

  • 4Amazon Basics Black

    one of the three lowest self-discharge brands, averaging about 0.16 to 0.17 percent loss per day, only about 7 percent charge lost after 42 days

  • 7Energizer

    one of the three lowest self-discharge brands, averaging about 0.16 to 0.17 percent loss per day, only about 7 percent charge lost after 42 days

  • 8EBL

    worst self-discharge rate of the brands checked at this interval, about 0.32 percent loss per day, nearly twice the rate of the better performing brands

  • 1Duracell
    not tested
  • 5Amazon Basics Silver
    not tested
  • 6Panasonic Eneloop
    not tested
  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt
    not tested
  • 10Rayovac
    not tested
  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested
All measurements (2 more)+

Internal resistance, after about 8 months of testing

  • 11Varta
    144 milliohms
  • 12Active Energy
    114 milliohms
  • 1Duracell
    not tested
  • 2IKEA LADDA
    not tested
  • 3Power Rex
    not tested
  • 4Amazon Basics Black
    not tested
  • 5Amazon Basics Silver
    not tested
  • 6Panasonic Eneloop
    not tested
  • 7Energizer
    not tested
  • 8EBL
    not tested
  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt
    not tested
  • 10Rayovac
    not tested

Composite 3-category average finish (shelf capacity percent, used capacity percent, internal resistance)

  • 1Duracell

    finished in first place overall, narrowly ahead of the IKEA LADDA

  • 2IKEA LADDA
    not tested
  • 3Power Rex
    not tested
  • 4Amazon Basics Black
    not tested
  • 5Amazon Basics Silver
    not tested
  • 6Panasonic Eneloop
    not tested
  • 7Energizer
    not tested
  • 8EBL
    not tested
  • 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt
    not tested
  • 10Rayovac
    not tested
  • 11Varta
    not tested
  • 12Active Energy
    not tested

How it was tested

  • 1 year used-capacity test: one set of each brand cycled daily in outdoor solar lights for nearly a year (300+ charge and discharge cycles), then run through a full charge, rest, discharge, rest, recharge cycle on a PowerEx MH-C9000 Wizard One charger/analyzer to measure actual milliamp hour output versus rated capacity
  • 42 day shelf self-discharge checkpoint (partial data, not all 10 brands reported)
  • 1 year shelf storage test: a separate, unused set of each brand stored for nearly a year, initial voltage measured, then charged for 4 hours and discharge capacity measured versus rated capacity
  • internal resistance test using an Opus BT-3400 charger/analyzer, measured on both the shelf-stored set and the 1 year used set for each brand
  • composite 3-category average finish combining shelf capacity percent, used capacity percent, and internal resistance

the Duracell average finishing in first place, narrowly ahead of the IKEA

From the test video verdict.

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