Best LED Desk Lamp

The right desk lamp can make a huge difference in your workday, your mood, health, and even the quality of your work.

Many of us found ourselves working in less-than-ideal conditions during the recent surge in working from home arrangements, including poor lighting. It’s not just your eyes that are affected by the type of light in your space, but also your brain and your body’s chemistry. Certain colors of light can even affect your sleep cycle, productivity and attentiveness. Long-term, poor lighting can result in eye fatigue and worse.

If you are ready to upgrade your desk lighting, here are some considerations:

MULTITASKER?

Sometimes a multitasking lamp, such as one with an organizer for pens, clock, or charging station might seem like a good idea at first but it can limit where and how you use your lamp.

I too have stood in the lamp aisle at Target and IKEA and asked myself how can this cute little lamp that does all the things change my life?

If you use your desk for multiple purposes and not just work, you will want to be sure the lamp or lamps you choose won't cramp your style.

Size Matters!

If you are using a smaller desk, you may want a lamp with a smaller base, or a lamp that attaches to the desk with a clip or clamp, keeping your desk space free and uncluttered. Lamps that clamp to the side of the desk are also more steady and won't get knocked down as easily.

Don't Go Blind!

Consider the brightness and quality of your light. We recommend at least 450-600 lumens for reading and at least twice that for tasks like hobbies and crafts. Can you adjust the intensity of the light?

We like lamps that allow you to change the temperature. Here’s why: The visual temperature of light, also known as Kelvin temperature, describes whether it appears cooler (more blueish) or warmer (more yellowish). Good LED lamps allow the user to cycle between cold white, natural or “daylight” white, or warm white. This allows you to choose the right type of light depending on the time of day or project you are working on. Wanting to wind down reading or finishing something up? Warm light is soft and soothing and helps you relax. Using a bluer light during the day can enhance productivity and mood during the day.

Evaluated-Kelvin-Temperature-Guide

THE KELVIN TEMPERATURE RANGE MOST SOURCES OF LIGHT GENERATE, FROM YELLOW TO THE BLUE RANGE.

How Do You Use Your Space?

Is your desk a multipurpose zone where you also read, study, or do crafts and other projects? Hobbyists and artists may enjoy an LED light that also has a magnifier. Gone are the days when this meant a giant awkward metal crane of a lamp with a circular fluorescent bulb. Yep, you can get a magnifying lamp with the functionality of LED at a pretty affordable price!

A good desk lamp can be adjusted so it does not cause glare, or have a bulb visible, even in your peripheral vision. Your lamp should be easy to adjust allowing you to direct where the light goes. A movable head and/or arm is ideal. Some computer users may prefer a very directed and focused stream of light, such as a monitor light that directs a narrow beam of light directly onto the desk in front of the monitor. This isn’t necessarily good for your eyesight long-term.

Here are our favorites:

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Our Good, Better Best reviews include our three top picks from the same category at three price points.

GOOD

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I know, it’s not a sexy-looking lamp but this thing is just amazing. It does a swell job over a large 38” monitor and it throws a nice big pool of directed light on the desk. Not in my eyes. Not on the monitor. Just on the desk where I need it. I got frustrated with my cats forever knocking down the monitor light I had perched up there and when they successfully killed the most recent one, I went on the hunt for a sturdier lamp that shone more light on the desk than just the keyboard. With 1100lm brightness, it’s plenty bright for most tasks. Has 5 brightness and 5 color modes, with CRI 95 rating. It’s well built too, with metal and silicone construction (take that, cats!!) and is easy to adjust. This nice bolt-on lamp has been a mainstay for work-from-home days and for those video calls I like the flattering “fill light” it creates reflecting off the light-colored surface of my desk up onto my face.

BETTER

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This is a great multitasker. It does attach to the side of your desk with a clamp, keeping the work surface free and clear. It’s very adjustable with an articulating arm and a head that pivots and can be pointed wherever you need the light. I like that there is no glare with this one, and even just pointing it at a wall when I don't need the desk lit up it throws a nice pool of light.  Doesn’t wobble. And this one is nice and bright. Coming in at 2200 lumens, it is adequate for just about any task you need or to help keep a dark work area bright and cheery. Brightness can be adjusted to 4 settings, and. I know the temp is not adjustable but this is a nice quality of light with a daylight temperature rated around 5600k-6000k and CRI 80 rating. It also comes in 8 great colors- silver, black, bluish-grey, purple, green, pink, gold, and white. It’ll go great with just about any color/décor scheme you have.

BEST

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It's true- Cricut is known for its high-quality cutting machines and other crafting devices, but quite a few items with the Cricut logo are subpar- freeloading off the brand name. But this lamp? I love it. It is beautifully packaged and easy to assemble in less than 1 minute. It is incredibly adjustable, the little toggles on the light stem are nifty, but the light quality is amazing. I used to like Ott Lites for my art, but they have been a little behind the curve lately in quality, so I was on the hunt for a multitasking lamp for my desk that I might not also mind using if I was distracting myself from work occasionally with another project. While this only goes to 1500 lumens, the CRI 95 rating (color rendering index) puts this one way ahead of the pack. Pleasantly surprised and I feel this is a lamp I would run out and buy same-day if it died. I love it that much. It is amazing. I don’t like the table lamp version as the pole part is a little wonky- but they knocked it out of the park with the desk version.

OTHER CONTENDERS FOR BEST DESK LAMP:

Sometimes we just can't resist not sharing all the other team favorites even when we're supposed to narrow it down to three. These are other lamps that are also really neat. We think you'll like them.

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Ed- TLDR
  • Bad lighting can ruin your eyes and your mood. Good lighting can do so much to boost productivity, help your sleep cycle, and protect your eyes.
  • Look for a lamp that is suitable in size and shape for your desk, adjustable, and will not throw glare or have an exposed lightbulb within your line of sight.
  • We recommend min 1100lm, and the ability to adjust the brightness and temperature of the light.