Which Outdoor Solar Security Lights Brand Wins?
2025 test16 productsFlashlights & Lighting

Which Outdoor Solar Security Lights Brand Wins?

In our test we compared 16 outdoor solar security lights options head to head. APILAB came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.

The verdict
APILAB
Winner

APILAB

Price shown in test: $30 for one light

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Philips
Runner-up

Philips

Price shown in test: $29 for two lights, or $14.50 each

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The quick take

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

WinnerAPILAB$30 for one light

For the graded categories on the right side of the chart, I've converted the raw data into a first through 16th place ranking and the Appy Lab came in on top with an average finish of 2.8.

Best in 2 of 7 measurements, including Dusk to dawn brightness and Candela intensity, dusk to dawn / always on setting.

Runner-upPhilips$29 for two lights, or $14.50 each

Best in 3 of 7 measurements, including Brightness on brightest setting, Motion detector range and Candela intensity, brightest setting.

The measured results

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

Specs

  • 1APILAB
    940 g

    the heaviest light tested; claims 2,000 lm, high brightness for 3 to 4 hours then medium light for 12 to 14 hours after dark, 30 percent solar conversion rate, 6 to 8 hour charge time, 6,000 mA hour battery, made in China

  • 2Philips
    340 g

    claims 1,200 lm, 302 LED lights, motion sensor range up to 49.2 ft, 180 degree induction angle, improved solar conversion rate, 1,800 mA hour battery, made in China

  • 3Intelamp
    655 g

    claims 1,200 lm, 6,000 mA hour battery, 270 degree wide coverage, 180 degree motion detection range, customizable motion duration of 20, 30, or 40 seconds, split design with a flexible 9.8 ft cable, made in China

  • 4Aootek
    110 g

    claims a 270 degree wide angle, 120 LEDs, high efficiency solar panels, IP65 waterproof, made in China

  • 5Peasur
    105 g

    claims waterproof construction, three lighting modes, motion detection, reliable service in harsh weather

  • 6HMCITY
    115 g

    claims three lighting modes, IP65 waterproof, up to 30 percent solar conversion efficiency, absorbs light for 8 hours during the day, made in China

  • 7Brightever
    165 g

    by far the heaviest light at that point in the video; claims IP65 waterproof, heat resistant, frost resistant, 1,200 mA hour battery, 6 to 8 hour charging time, 8 to 10 hour working time, made in China

  • 8INCX
    310 g

    claims extremely bright at 3,000 lm, a 1.8 W / 5.5 V solar panel, 2,200 mA hour battery, motion sensor detection range of 26 to 32 ft, made in China

  • 9Daphino
    335 g

    claims 2,500 lm, a three-head light with a total of 156 LEDs, sensing distance up to 40 ft, 5.5 V / 8 W solar panel, made in China

  • 10MIHANI
    345 g

    the heaviest light at that point in the video; claims 2,500 lm, sensing distance up to 30 ft, 158 LEDs, 180 degree sensor detection angle, 1.2 W solar panel, made in China

  • 11WdtPro
    465 g

    by far the heaviest light at that point in the video; claims 3,500 lm, 360 degree illumination, 15 hours of run time after just 3 hours of sun exposure, a 50 percent solar conversion rate, a 2,500 mA hour battery, motion detection up to 60 ft, made in China

  • 12TEKNET
    280 g

    claims a 27 percent solar conversion rate, 10 to 12 hours of illumination after a full day of charging, 416 LED lights, motion detection from 13 to 20 ft at a 120 degree angle, made in China

  • 13Tuffenough
    400 g

    claims 2,500 lm, 210 LED lights, IP65 waterproof, a 270 degree wide angle floodlight, motion sensing from 26 ft away, a 2,000 mA hour rechargeable battery, made in China

  • 14Adiding
    360 g

    claims 202 LEDs, a solar panel with a 16.4 ft cable and remote control mounting option, 2,800 lm of brightness, a 4 hour charge time in direct sunlight, and only a 20 percent solar conversion rate

  • 15SUPERDANNY
    375 g

    claims 113 bright LEDs, a 16 ft cable for remote solar panel placement, lighting coverage up to 676 sq ft, a 4 hour charge time for 12 hours of lighting, a polycrystalline solar panel with an 18.5 percent conversion rate, made in China

  • 16JACKYLED
    605 g

    claims 299 LED lights, a 16.4 ft extension cord, a monocrystalline panel with a 21 percent energy conversion rate, a 4,000 mA hour battery, output equivalent to a 100 W incandescent bulb, up to 15 hours of light production, made in China

Brightness on brightest setting

  • 1APILAB
    185 lm3rd

    at the test port at around 30 seconds, extrapolated total 873 lm, third place behind the Philips and Daphino

  • 2Philips
    109 lm1st

    at the test port at 30 seconds, extrapolated total 1,301 lm, first place, by far the brightest light in the lineup

  • 3Intelamp
    133 lm

    at the test port, extrapolated total 756 lm, described as performing well

  • 4Aootek
    61 lm

    dropping to 60 lm at 30 seconds, extrapolated total approximately 227 lm (light panel measured as 3.78 times larger than the test port)

  • 5Peasur
    53 lm

    dropping to 52 lm at 30 seconds, extrapolated total approximately 141 lm

  • 6HMCITY
    106 lm

    at the test port, described as by far the brightest so far at that point in the video, extrapolated total 386 lm

  • 7Brightever
    29 lm

    described as definitely not the brightest, extrapolated total 162 lm

  • 8INCX
    125 lm

    dropping to 115 lm at 30 seconds, described as the best yet at that point in the video, extrapolated total 860 lm

  • 9Daphino
    174 lm2nd

    dropping to around 157 lm at 30 seconds, described as the best yet at that point in the video, extrapolated total 993 lm, second place overall behind the Philips

  • 10MIHANI
    97 lm

    at 30 seconds, extrapolated total 420 lm

  • 11WdtPro

    only 24 lm despite being a large and heavy light, extrapolated total 286 lm

  • 12TEKNET
    49 lm

    at around 30 seconds, extrapolated total 492 lm

  • 13Tuffenough
    103 lm

    described as losing quite a bit of brightness as it heated up, extrapolated total 721 lm

  • 14Adiding
    70 lm

    at around 30 seconds, extrapolated total 555 lm

  • 15SUPERDANNY
    36 lm

    described as isn't so super, extrapolated total 332 lm

  • 16JACKYLED
    34 lm

    extrapolated total 422 lm

Motion detector range

  • 1APILAB

    no motion detector, skipped from this test

  • 2Philips
    21 ft1st

    described as very impressive; the best motion detector in the lineup

  • 3Intelamp
    14 ft

    described as a little bit better than average

  • 4Aootek
    10 ft
  • 5Peasur
    10 ft

    performed the same as the Aootek

  • 6HMCITY
    7 ft

    described as really struggling in this test

  • 7Brightever
    15 ft

    described as not very bright but moving into the lead for motion range at that point in the video

  • 8INCX
    9 ft

    despite being one of the brightest lights in the lineup

  • 9Daphino
    15 ft

    described as even brighter than the INCX with a better motion detector

  • 10MIHANI
    12 ft

    described as not quite as good as the Daphino

  • 11WdtPro
    10 ft

    described as not as good as the Daphino or MIHANI

  • 12TEKNET
    15 ft

    described as performing better than average, tied with the Brightever and Daphino

  • 13Tuffenough
    16 ft2nd

    described as even better than the TEKNET

  • 14Adiding
    15 ft

    described as almost as good as the Tuffenough

  • 15SUPERDANNY
    11 ft

    described as not quite as super as some of the other lights

  • 16JACKYLED

    no motion detector, skipped from this test

Candela intensity, brightest setting

  • 1APILAB
    590 candela3rd

    third place behind the Philips and Daphino

  • 2Philips
    671 candela1st

    more intense than Daphino

  • 3Intelamp
    495 candela
  • 4Aootek
    141 candela
  • 5Peasur
    45 candela
  • 6HMCITY
    165 candela

    moved into the lead at that point in the video

  • 7Brightever
    47 candela

    about the same as the Peasur

  • 8INCX
    390 candela

    described as the most intense light yet at that point in the video

  • 9Daphino
    605 candela2nd

    described as by far the most intense light yet at that point in the video, second place overall behind the Philips

  • 10MIHANI
    475 candela2nd

    second place behind the Daphino at that point in the video

  • 11WdtPro
    309 candela
  • 12TEKNET
    266 candela

    described as trailing most of the competition

  • 13Tuffenough
    527 candela

    described as also intense enough

  • 14Adiding
    275 candela
  • 15SUPERDANNY
    171 candela
  • 16JACKYLED
    361 candela

    described as performing a little bit better than average; no always-on setting, consistent with the later dusk-to-dawn contradiction noted above

Dusk to dawn brightness (initial)

  • 1APILAB
    137 lm1st

    at the test area, extrapolated total 646 lm, first place, described as very impressive

  • 2Philips
    11 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 131 lm; described as the brightest light in the lineup and performing well in this test

  • 3Intelamp
    40 lm2nd

    at the test area, extrapolated total 227 lm, second place behind the APILAB

  • 4Aootek
    6 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 23 lm

  • 5Peasur
    5 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 14 lm

  • 6HMCITY
    10 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 36 lm, described as once again brighter than the Aootek and Peasur

  • 7Brightever
    2 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 11 lm, described as still not the brightest

  • 9Daphino
    19 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 120 lm, described as continuing to outperform most of the competition

  • 10MIHANI
    11 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 48 lm, described as continuing to trail the Daphino

  • 11WdtPro
    7 lm2nd

    at the test area, extrapolated total 84 lm, second place behind the Daphino

  • 12TEKNET
    3 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 30 lm, described as really struggling in this test

  • 13Tuffenough
    15 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 105 lm, described as performing well

  • 14Adiding
    4 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 32 lm, described as continuing to trail the Tuffenough

  • 15SUPERDANNY
    3 lm

    at the test area, extrapolated total 28 lm, described as not so super on dusk-to-dawn mode

  • 16JACKYLED

    the transcript contains a direct contradiction here: it first states 'The Jackie LED does not have a dusk to dawn mode,' then in the very next sentence gives a dusk-to-dawn reading of 30 lm at the test area for an extrapolated total of 372 lm, second place behind the APILAB. Both the 372 lm figure and the second-place finish are reconfirmed in the closing ranking recap, so the numeric data appears real despite the contradictory 'does not have' statement; both are recorded here and the contradiction is flagged rather than silently resolved

  • 8INCX
    not tested

Dusk to dawn brightness after 5 hours

  • 1APILAB

    dropped from 137 to 131 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 618 lm, still first place

  • 2Philips

    held steady at 11 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 131 lm

  • 3Intelamp

    dropped from 40 to 24 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 136 lm, third place

  • 4Aootek

    unchanged at 6 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 23 lm

  • 5Peasur

    dropped from 5 to 3 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 8 lm

  • 6HMCITY

    dropped from 10 to 9 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 33 lm

  • 7Brightever

    dropped from 2 to 1 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 6 lm

  • 9Daphino

    dropped from 19 to 16 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 101 lm

  • 10MIHANI

    dropped from 11 to 9 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 39 lm

  • 11WdtPro

    dropped from 7 to 4 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 48 lm

  • 12TEKNET

    dropped from 3 to 2 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 20 lm

  • 13Tuffenough

    dropped from 15 to 14 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 98 lm

  • 14Adiding

    dropped from 4 to 3 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 24 lm

  • 15SUPERDANNY

    dropped from 3 to 1 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 9 lm

  • 16JACKYLED

    now at 14 lm at the test area, extrapolated total 174 lm, second place behind the APILAB

  • 8INCX
    not tested

Total run time

  • 1APILAB
    just over14 hours
  • 2Philips
    just over14 hours

    powered down at the same time as the Aootek and HMCITY

  • 3Intelamp
    just over14 hours

    lasting a few minutes longer than the Philips, Aootek, and HMCITY group

  • 4Aootek
    just over14 hours

    powered down at the same time as the Philips and HMCITY

  • 5Peasur

    very close to 23 hours, second longest of all lights tested

  • 6HMCITY
    just over14 hours

    powered down at the same time as the Philips and Aootek

  • 7Brightever
    18 hours 22 minutes
  • 9Daphino

    out of battery at close to 8 hours, tied with MIHANI for shortest run time of the lights tested

  • 10MIHANI

    out of battery at close to 8 hours, tied with Daphino for shortest run time of the lights tested

  • 11WdtPro
    18 hours 25 minutes
  • 12TEKNET
    23 hours 7 minutes

    the longest run time of all lights tested

  • 13Tuffenough

    out of battery at 11.5 hours

  • 14Adiding
    20 hours 18 minutes
  • 15SUPERDANNY
    just over15 hours

    described by the host as pretty good despite not being the brightest

  • 16JACKYLED
    19 hours 13 minutes
  • 8INCX
    not tested

Candela intensity, dusk to dawn / always on setting

  • 1APILAB
    410 candela1st
  • 2Philips
    73 candela
  • 3Intelamp
    373 candela2nd

    second place behind the APILAB

  • 4Aootek
    13 candela
  • 5Peasur
    5 candela
  • 6HMCITY
    16 candela
  • 7Brightever
    4 candela
  • 9Daphino
    68 candela
  • 10MIHANI
    50 candela
  • 11WdtPro
    78 candela3rd

    third place in the always-on candela ranking

  • 12TEKNET
    12 candela
  • 13Tuffenough
    61 candela
  • 14Adiding
    14 candela
  • 15SUPERDANNY
    53 candela
  • 8INCX
    not tested
  • 16JACKYLED
    not tested
All measurements (2 more)+

Lateral motion sensor field of view

  • 2Philips

    tied for first place at a 170 degree field of view, along with MIHANI and Intelamp

  • 3Intelamp

    tied for first place at a 170 degree field of view, along with Philips and MIHANI

  • 10MIHANI

    tied for first place at a 170 degree field of view, along with Philips and Intelamp

  • 1APILAB
    not tested
  • 4Aootek
    not tested
  • 5Peasur
    not tested
  • 6HMCITY
    not tested
  • 7Brightever
    not tested
  • 8INCX
    not tested
  • 9Daphino
    not tested
  • 11WdtPro
    not tested
  • 12TEKNET
    not tested
  • 13Tuffenough
    not tested
  • 14Adiding
    not tested
  • 15SUPERDANNY
    not tested
  • 16JACKYLED
    not tested

Dusk to dawn brightness

  • 8INCX

    not applicable; explicitly skipped from the dusk-to-dawn brightness, 5 hour retest, candela always-on, and total run time tests because this light does not have a dusk to dawn mode

  • 1APILAB
    not tested
  • 2Philips
    not tested
  • 3Intelamp
    not tested
  • 4Aootek
    not tested
  • 5Peasur
    not tested
  • 6HMCITY
    not tested
  • 7Brightever
    not tested
  • 9Daphino
    not tested
  • 10MIHANI
    not tested
  • 11WdtPro
    not tested
  • 12TEKNET
    not tested
  • 13Tuffenough
    not tested
  • 14Adiding
    not tested
  • 15SUPERDANNY
    not tested
  • 16JACKYLED
    not tested

How it was tested

  • initial brightness on the brightest motion-activated light setting, measured with a compact light integrating sphere and extrapolated to total lumens based on the ratio of light panel size to test port size
  • motion detector trigger range in feet, walking toward each light with a white piece of paper
  • lateral motion sensor field of view in degrees
  • dusk to dawn mode brightness immediately after a full charge
  • peak light intensity in candela on both the brightest setting and the dusk to dawn / always on setting
  • dusk to dawn mode brightness again after just over 5 hours of continuous run time
  • total battery run time on the dusk to dawn setting until each light powered down

For the graded categories on the right side of the chart, I've converted the raw data into a first through 16th place ranking and the Appy Lab came in on top with an average finish of 2.8.

From the test video verdict.

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