The signature table
The Ledger
Every light we cover, in one table, ranked by what the manufacturer says it puts out divided by what it costs right now.
By Scooter M. · Published September 2, 2026
Disclosure — we earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which lights we pick or what we say about them. The full version.
| # | Light | Max output | Battery | Lumens / $ | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  NITECORE EDC31 Most output from a flat pocket body | 3,500 | Sealed | 64 | $54.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 64 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 2 |  NEBO OMNI 2K Most COB lumens per dollar | 2,000 | Sealed | 57 | $34.88 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 57 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 3 |  NEBO SLYDE KING 4K Best light with both an LED spot and a COB panel | 4,000 | Sealed | 53 | $75.00 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 53 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 4 |  NEBO BIG LARRY 3 Best cheap magnetic work light | 600 | AA / AAA | 50 | $11.92 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 50 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 5 |  Sofirn SC31 Pro Best lumens per dollar overall | 2,000 | Replaceable | 47 | $42.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 47 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 6 |  NEBO TORCHY 3K Best big-box light if you want the headline number | 3,000 | Sealed | 43 | $69.40 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 43 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 7 |  Wurkkos FC11C Highest published CRI figure here | 1,200 | Replaceable | 42 | $28.79 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 42 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 8 |  Fenix C7 V2.0 The throw comparison, not a value pick | 3,300 | Replaceable | 41 | $79.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 41 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 9 |  NITECORE MH25 Pro Longest published reach in the range | 3,300 | Replaceable | 33 | $99.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 33 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 10 |  Fenix PD36R Pro The most completely documented light on this site | 2,800 | Replaceable | 23 | $120.45 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 23 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 11 |  ThruNite Archer 2A V3 Best light that runs on batteries from any gas station | 500 | AA / AAA | 22 | $22.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 22 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 12 |  NITECORE MT2A Pro Best dual-power pocket light | 1,000 | Replaceable | 22 | $44.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 22 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 13 |  NEBO GALILEO 1000 Best dual-power lantern for an outage | 1,000 | Replaceable | 19 | $51.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 19 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 14 |  Streamlight Stinger 2020 Highest output with a published runtime to match | 2,000 | Replaceable | 16 | $127.92 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 16 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 15 |  NITECORE Tiki LE Smallest light in the range | 300 | Sealed | 15 | $19.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 15 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 16 |  Maglite ML300LX 3-Cell D The longest published runtime on this site | 746 | Replaceable | 15 | $49.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 15 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 17 |  Fenix E06R Most output from a keychain body | 700 | Sealed | 13 | $55.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 13 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 18 |  Maglite Mini Maglite Pro LED Best AA pocket light in either range | 332 | AA / AAA | 13 | $24.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 13 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 19 |  Maglite ML50LX 2-Cell C Best all-round Maglite | 466 | Replaceable | 12 | $39.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 12 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 20 |  Maglite ML150LR Mag Charger The one built to be repaired instead of replaced | 1,082 | Replaceable | 11 | $99.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 11 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 21 |  NITECORE NU25 MCT UL Lightest headlamp with a real published runtime | 400 | Sealed | 11 | $36.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 11 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 22 |  Streamlight Wedge The clearest published turbo duration anywhere | 1,000 | Sealed | 10 | $99.33 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 10 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 23 |  Streamlight Waypoint 400 Longest published throw here | 1,400 | Sealed | 10 | $135.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 10 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 24 |  Streamlight Waypoint (C-cell) Best spotlight for a drawer | 750 | Replaceable | 10 | $75.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 10 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 25 |  Maglite MAG-TAC Rechargeable Best Maglite for a duty belt | 740 | Sealed | 8 | $94.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 8 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 26 |  Petzl ACTIK CORE Best hybrid: rechargeable or AAA cells | 625 | Replaceable | 8 | $79.98 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 8 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 27 |  Petzl TIKKA CORE Best hybrid headlamp at the lower price | 450 | Replaceable | 8 | $54.95 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 8 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 28 |  Streamlight ProTac 2L-X Best documented tactical light | 500 | Replaceable | 7 | $66.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 7 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 29 |  Streamlight MicroStream USB Best pen-clip light with published runtimes | 250 | Sealed | 7 | $37.81 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 7 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 30 |  Streamlight Syclone Best work light with a 90 CRI flood | 400 | Sealed | 7 | $60.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 7 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 31 |  Black Diamond Spot 400-R Most complete published runtime table | 400 | Sealed | 7 | $57.88 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 7 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 32 |  Streamlight Siege AA Best outage lantern that floats | 200 | AA / AAA | 6 | $32.49 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 6 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 33 |  NEBO LUXTREME SL75 Best throw per lumen | 780 | Replaceable | 6 | $120.04 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 6 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 34 | NEBO LUXTREME SL50 Best value in a real spotlight | 450 | Replaceable | 6 | $78.14 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 6 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 35 |  Streamlight FlipMate Best work light that publishes all four modes | 500 | Sealed | 6 | $82.99 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 6 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 36 |  COAST HP7R Longest published runtime in this roundup | 300 | Replaceable | 3 | $115.11 on Amazon Price as of October 18, 2026 — 3 lumens per dollar. #ad How we earn |
| 37 | No listing image Wurkkos FC11 Best color quality per dollar | 1,300 | Replaceable | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 38 | No listing image Wurkkos TS10 V2 Best pocket light under two ounces | 1,400 | Replaceable | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 39 | No listing image NEBO Newton 2000 Best outage light you can feed from a stockpile | 2,000 | AA / AAA | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 40 | No listing image Energizer Vision HD Rechargeable Metal The sealed-battery cautionary tale | 1,200 | Sealed | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 41 | No listing image Sofirn SC21 Pro Best keychain light with a replaceable cell | 1,100 | Replaceable | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 42 | No listing image NEBO SLIM Mini 500 Best pocket task light for a toolbag | 500 | Sealed | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 43 | No listing image NEBO LEO 1800 Flex Best dual-power light for a car | 1,800 | Replaceable | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 44 | No listing image Energizer 3500XT-R Highest published output in a supermarket aisle | 3,500 | Sealed | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 45 | No listing image Olight i1R 2 PRO Smallest light worth putting on a keyring | 180 | Sealed | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 46 | No listing image Olight i5R EOS Best simple twist-free EDC | 350 | Replaceable | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 47 | No listing image Fenix HM65R V2.0 Most output with a removable 21700 | 2,200 | Replaceable | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 48 | No listing image Black Diamond Storm 500-R Best lamp to put on a helmet | 500 | Sealed | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
| 49 | No listing image NEBO FRANKLIN TaskBar Best published runtime on a budget work light | 500 | AA / AAA | Needs a live price | Check price on Amazon We show a price only when we have pulled a live one. #ad How we earn |
Prices pulled October 18, 2026. Lumens per dollar is the manufacturer's published maximum output divided by that price, recomputed every time the price moves.
What this table is
49 lights, 30 of which take a battery you can replace and 19 of which do not. The lumens column is the manufacturer's published maximum output, cited on the page where each light is reviewed. The price column is pulled live from the retailer. The lumens-per-dollar column is the first divided by the second, and it recomputes every time a price moves — a value ranking that does not recompute is a value ranking that stopped being true.
Prices were last pulled October 18, 2026.
Why the battery column is not a footnote
Two lights can produce identical lumens per dollar on the day you buy them and cost wildly different amounts to own. A light built around a standard 18650 or 21700 can be re-celled for a few dollars whenever the battery tires, so its life is limited by its body and your interest in it. A light with a sealed cell cannot be re-celled by an ordinary owner: when the battery reaches the end of its cycle life, the aluminum, the optics and the switch go in the bin with it.
Almost nobody publishes how many cycles that is. Across every specification cited on this site we found two figures: Petzl rates its CORE pack at 2 years or 300 charging cycles, and Maglite quotes up to 2,000 charge and discharge cycles for the LiFePO4 pack in the ML150LRS. Everyone else is silent, which is exactly why a replaceable cell is worth more than any published cycle rating.
What the ranking cannot see
Three things, and they matter. It cannot see beam shape: COAST publishes 352 meters of reach from 300 lumens while Streamlight publishes 165 meters from 500, and the ratio treats those as a straightforward win for the second. It cannot see color rendering, so a 90-CRI light that shows you what color a wire is scores below a cheaper one that does not. And it cannot see whether the headline output has a published duration beside it, which is why we adjust for that by hand and say so on every page.
Use the table as a first filter and the individual pages for the decision. That is what it is for.
Where each light is covered
- NITECORE EDC31Sealed · 3,500 lm
- NEBO OMNI 2KSealed · 2,000 lm
- NEBO SLYDE KING 4KSealed · 4,000 lm
- NEBO BIG LARRY 3AA / AAA · 600 lm
- Sofirn SC31 ProReplaceable · 2,000 lm
- NEBO TORCHY 3KSealed · 3,000 lm
- Wurkkos FC11CReplaceable · 1,200 lm
- Fenix C7 V2.0Replaceable · 3,300 lm
- NITECORE MH25 ProReplaceable · 3,300 lm
- Fenix PD36R ProReplaceable · 2,800 lm
- ThruNite Archer 2A V3AA / AAA · 500 lm
- NITECORE MT2A ProReplaceable · 1,000 lm
- NEBO GALILEO 1000Replaceable · 1,000 lm
- Streamlight Stinger 2020Replaceable · 2,000 lm
- NITECORE Tiki LESealed · 300 lm
- Maglite ML300LX 3-Cell DReplaceable · 746 lm
- Fenix E06RSealed · 700 lm
- Maglite Mini Maglite Pro LEDAA / AAA · 332 lm
- Maglite ML50LX 2-Cell CReplaceable · 466 lm
- Maglite ML150LR Mag ChargerReplaceable · 1,082 lm
- NITECORE NU25 MCT ULSealed · 400 lm
- Streamlight WedgeSealed · 1,000 lm
- Streamlight Waypoint 400Sealed · 1,400 lm
- Streamlight Waypoint (C-cell)Replaceable · 750 lm
- Maglite MAG-TAC RechargeableSealed · 740 lm
- Petzl ACTIK COREReplaceable · 625 lm
- Petzl TIKKA COREReplaceable · 450 lm
- Streamlight ProTac 2L-XReplaceable · 500 lm
- Streamlight MicroStream USBSealed · 250 lm
- Streamlight SycloneSealed · 400 lm
- Black Diamond Spot 400-RSealed · 400 lm
- Streamlight Siege AAAA / AAA · 200 lm
- NEBO LUXTREME SL75Replaceable · 780 lm
- NEBO LUXTREME SL50Replaceable · 450 lm
- Streamlight FlipMateSealed · 500 lm
- COAST HP7RReplaceable · 300 lm
- Wurkkos FC11Replaceable · 1,300 lm
- Wurkkos TS10 V2Replaceable · 1,400 lm
- NEBO Newton 2000AA / AAA · 2,000 lm
- Energizer Vision HD Rechargeable MetalSealed · 1,200 lm
- Sofirn SC21 ProReplaceable · 1,100 lm
- NEBO SLIM Mini 500Sealed · 500 lm
- NEBO LEO 1800 FlexReplaceable · 1,800 lm
- Energizer 3500XT-RSealed · 3,500 lm
- Olight i1R 2 PROSealed · 180 lm
- Olight i5R EOSReplaceable · 350 lm
- Fenix HM65R V2.0Replaceable · 2,200 lm
- Black Diamond Storm 500-RSealed · 500 lm
- NEBO FRANKLIN TaskBarAA / AAA · 500 lm
Units we claim to have tested: 0
Every publisher in this category says they tested twenty flashlights. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we do instead: compile the manufacturer's own published ANSI FL1 figures, pull the price the light is selling for right now, and divide one by the other. Every number on this page is one you can check yourself in about two minutes.
About the Ledger
How is lumens per dollar calculated?
The manufacturer's published maximum output divided by the price the light is selling for at the moment the page was built, with the price timestamped. Both halves are stated on the page where each light is reviewed. Where no live price exists, the column says so rather than showing a computed figure based on a number we invented.
Why does the ranking change?
Because prices move and the ranking recomputes when they do. A light that was the best value last month is not automatically the best value today, and a value table that never changes is a value table that stopped being true. The output figures change only when a manufacturer revises a specification.
Why do some lights show no lumens-per-dollar figure?
Because we do not have a live price for them. The site's rule is that a price renders only from live retailer data with a visible timestamp; where that is missing, the buy button reads Check price and the derived arithmetic is left blank. We do not substitute an MSRP or a remembered figure.
Is the highest lumens-per-dollar light the one I should buy?
Usually it is a good place to start, and not always the right answer. The ratio cannot see beam shape, color rendering, or whether a headline output has a published runtime beside it. Use it as a first filter, then read the page for the light you are considering.
Sources
- Sofirn published product specifications — read 2026-09-01
- Wurkkos published product specifications and user manuals — FC11 and TS10 read 2026-09-01; FC11C read 2026-09-21
- Streamlight published product specifications — per-mode lumens, runtime, beam distance, impact and IP ratings, read 2026-09-01; Waypoint 400 and Waypoint C-cell read 2026-09-22; FlipMate read 2026-10-18
- NEBO published product specifications — mode-by-mode lumen, runtime and beam figures, read 2026-09-01; LUXTREME SL75 and SL50 read 2026-09-22; OMNI 2K and SLYDE KING 4K read 2026-10-18
- Energizer published product specifications — read 2026-09-01
- Maglite published product specifications — ML150LR read 2026-09-01; MAG-TAC Rechargeable (plain bezel) and Mini Maglite Pro LED read 2026-10-10; ML300LX 3-Cell D and ML50LX 2-Cell C read 2026-10-13
- COAST published product specifications — read 2026-09-01
- Olight published product specifications — read 2026-09-01
- NITECORE published product specifications — NU25 MCT UL read 2026-09-01; MT2A Pro read 2026-09-13; EDC31 read 2026-10-03; MH25 Pro and Tiki LE read 2026-10-10
- Black Diamond published product specifications — Spot 400-R read 2026-09-01; Storm 500-R read 2026-09-14
- Petzl published product specifications — ANSI/PLATO FL 1 conformity stated by the manufacturer. ACTIK CORE read 2026-09-01 and re-read per mode 2026-09-21; TIKKA CORE read 2026-09-21
- Fenix published product specifications — read 2026-09-01; PD36R Pro product page read 2026-10-18
- Lumen & Ledger method — how every figure on this page is derived
Who writes this
Scooter M. — I am an enthusiast who is genuinely into this. I read the manuals, compile the published specs, and do the math. No lab coat, no test bench, no drawer of free samples. What I can tell you is exactly what a light claims on paper, exactly what it costs right now, and what those two numbers mean when you divide one by the other.
Read next
How we work this out
The full method: what we compile, what we compute, and what we refuse to claim.
The best rechargeable flashlights for the money
The flagship ranking: every pick scored on output over price, with the arithmetic shown.
The 10,000-lumen problem
Why the biggest number on the box is the one you can use for the shortest time.
How long do rechargeable flashlights last?
Cycle counts, calendar aging, and the question that decides it: can you re-cell it?
18650 vs 21700
Two cell sizes, two philosophies, and which one your next light should take.
About Lumen & Ledger
Who writes this, what we do not do, and how the site pays for itself.