Which Rechargeable Battery Brand Wins?
This head-to-head test of 12 rechargeable battery options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping rechargeable li ion battery, rechargeable lithium batteries, lipo battery and 18650 battery and charger land here for the head to head that settles it.
IKEA LADDA
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Prior Capacity
- 1IKEA LADDA2,418 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 2Duracell2,449 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 3PowerEx2,408 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 4Energizer1,898 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 5Eneloop1,891 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 6Amazon Basics black1,849 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacity2,381 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderbolt2,257 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 9Rayovac1,362 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 10EBL2,459 mAh
(from a previous video in this series)
- 11VARTAnot tested
- 12Active Energynot tested
Capacity After 42 Days Shelf
- 1IKEA LADDA2,208 mAh
a loss of only 8.68%
- 2Duracell2,208 mAh
a loss of 9.84%
- 3PowerEx2,200 mAh
a loss of 8.64%, nearly tying the IKEA LADDA/Duracell result and very close behind them
- 4Energizer1,770 mAh
a loss of only 6.74%, the best individual self-discharge percentage of the entire lineup, beating both the Eneloop and Amazon Basics black
- 5Eneloop1,754 mAh
a loss of only 7.24%, very close to the Amazon Basics black result
- 6Amazon Basics black1,716 mAh
a loss of only 7.19%, described as very impressive
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacity2,113 mAh
a loss of 11.26%
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderbolt1,983 mAh
a loss of 12.14%
- 9Rayovac1,189 mAh
a loss of 12.7%
- 10EBL2,131 mAh
a loss of 13.34%, the worst percentage loss in the 42-day shelf test
- 11VARTAnot tested
- 12Active Energynot tested
Capacity After 25 Cycles
- 1IKEA LADDA2,374 mAh
rising to 2,406 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles in outdoor solar lights, just barely missing its 2,450 mAh rating
- 2Duracell2,457 mAh
rising to 2,496 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles, exceeding its 2,450 mAh rating
- 3PowerEx2,524 mAh
essentially flat at 2,521 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles
- 4Energizer1,772 mAh
rising to 1,901 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles, still missing its 2,000 mAh rating
- 5Eneloop1,781 mAh
rising to 1,883 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles, just barely missing its 1,900 mAh rating, described as very impressive
- 6Amazon Basics black1,725 mAh
rising to 1,857 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacity
transcript states only 'increased slightly from 2,331' with no ending value given, likely a caption/audio drop-off; the destination capacity after 25 cycles is not recoverable from the transcript
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderbolt2,085 mAh
rising to 2,141 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles, nearly reaching its 2,200 mAh rating
- 9Rayovac1,105 mAh
rising to 1,217 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles, still short of its 1,350 mAh rating; only achieved about 90% of rated capacity, one of the two worst performers in the cycling test
- 10EBL2,406 mAh
essentially flat at 2,407 mAh after 25 daily charge/discharge cycles, nowhere near its 2,800 mAh rating; only achieved about 86% of rated capacity, the worst result of the cycling test
- 11VARTAnot tested
- 12Active Energynot tested
Self Discharge Rate Per Day
- 4Energizer
grouped with Eneloop and Amazon Basics black as averaging around 0.16 to 0.17% self-discharge per day, far better than the EBL
- 5Eneloop
grouped with Energizer and Amazon Basics black as averaging around 0.16 to 0.17% self-discharge per day
- 6Amazon Basics black
grouped with Energizer and Eneloop as averaging around 0.16 to 0.17% self-discharge per day
- 10EBL
worst rate in the lineup at about 0.32% self-discharge per day, nearly twice the rate of the best-performing group (Energizer/Eneloop/Amazon Basics black)
- 1IKEA LADDAnot tested
- 2Duracellnot tested
- 3PowerExnot tested
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacitynot tested
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderboltnot tested
- 9Rayovacnot tested
- 11VARTAnot tested
- 12Active Energynot tested
All measurements (5 more)+
Self Discharge Ranking
- 1IKEA LADDA
tied with Duracell for the most remaining capacity (highest absolute mAh) after 42 days of shelf storage; PowerEx close behind
- 2Duracell
tied with IKEA LADDA for the most remaining capacity (highest absolute mAh) after 42 days of shelf storage
- 3PowerExnot tested
- 4Energizernot tested
- 5Eneloopnot tested
- 6Amazon Basics blacknot tested
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacitynot tested
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderboltnot tested
- 9Rayovacnot tested
- 10EBLnot tested
- 11VARTAnot tested
- 12Active Energynot tested
Rating
- 11VARTA2,600 mAh
- 12Active Energy2,100 mAh
- 1IKEA LADDAnot tested
- 2Duracellnot tested
- 3PowerExnot tested
- 4Energizernot tested
- 5Eneloopnot tested
- 6Amazon Basics blacknot tested
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacitynot tested
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderboltnot tested
- 9Rayovacnot tested
- 10EBLnot tested
Measured Capacity
- 11VARTA2,528 mAh
and 2,536 mAh at a 500 mA charge/discharge rate, 2,505 mAh at a 1,000 mA rate, and 2,601 mAh at a 300 mA rate
- 12Active Energy1,480 mAh
and 1,495 mAh at a 500 mA charge/discharge rate, 1,458 mAh at a 1,000 mA rate, and 1,557 mAh at a 300 mA rate
- 1IKEA LADDAnot tested
- 2Duracellnot tested
- 3PowerExnot tested
- 4Energizernot tested
- 5Eneloopnot tested
- 6Amazon Basics blacknot tested
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacitynot tested
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderboltnot tested
- 9Rayovacnot tested
- 10EBLnot tested
Overall Result
- 11VARTA
highest capacity of all rechargeable batteries tested in this video series to that point, described as very impressive
- 12Active Energy
only about 70% of advertised capacity, described as the worst rechargeable battery tested in this video series to that point
- 1IKEA LADDAnot tested
- 2Duracellnot tested
- 3PowerExnot tested
- 4Energizernot tested
- 5Eneloopnot tested
- 6Amazon Basics blacknot tested
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacitynot tested
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderboltnot tested
- 9Rayovacnot tested
- 10EBLnot tested
Rating Note
- 5Eneloop
packaging front states 2,000 mAh, but fine print rates it at 1,900 mAh; host corrected an earlier video's mistake here
- 1IKEA LADDAnot tested
- 2Duracellnot tested
- 3PowerExnot tested
- 4Energizernot tested
- 6Amazon Basics blacknot tested
- 7Amazon Basics silver / High Capacitynot tested
- 8Harbor Freight Thunderboltnot tested
- 9Rayovacnot tested
- 10EBLnot tested
- 11VARTAnot tested
- 12Active Energynot tested
How it was tested
- self-discharge capacity retention after 42 days of shelf storage
- self-discharge rate per day
- fresh capacity at multiple discharge rates (500 mA, 1,000 mA, 300 mA) for newly added brands
- capacity retention/change after 25 daily charge-discharge cycles in outdoor solar lights
- physical diameter comparison vs AA alkaline batteries
