Battery Brands Ranked From Worst To Best

There are so many batteries out there that you probably walk past them at the store without even realizing it multiple times a week. In the olden times, such batteries were consistent purchases for consumers since everything was powered by AA batteries, from cameras to TV remotes, kids’ toys, and many other things. Today, many of these have been replaced with rechargeable batteries, but there are still some uses for the good old-fashioned AA battery. They still power most TV remotes and while cameras have their own batteries these days, camera flashes still use AA batteries.

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Thus, every now and then, we have to sit down and decide what batteries to buy. For most use cases — like the aforementioned TV remote — whatever is on sale at the store will work just fine. It’s only when you get to more power-intensive applications like Xbox Series X controllers, or camera flashes that quality starts to become important. That and safety, since you don’t want the battery catching on fire and burning down your home. 

If you want to make sure to avoid troublesome batteries and maximize performance, the list below is for you. Not only are these ranked by capacity and performance, but we also dropped brands to the bottom that were legitimate fire hazards. In all, we recommend shopping for batteries on the bottom half of the list rather than the top. After all, we cover the whole gamut here, and that includes the worst. 

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As wonderful as eBay is as a resource for just about anything, it can also be a frustrating source of counterfeit and fake products. Let’s look at the sad case of UltraFire, a Chinese battery brand that has become so closely associated with poor quality (and dangerous) fakes that it’s impossible to recommend.

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False battery specs usually involve Ah ratings that are impossibly high, wildly exaggerated — or both. Consider the two UltraFire cells tested by Battery Bro. These were marked 4200 and 4900 mAh on their wrappers, but Ultrafire doesn’t sell 18560 batteries claiming to have more capacity than 3400 mAh. (The maximum capacity for a 18650 Lithium-ion cell is generally considered to be 3500 mAh, and certainly no more than 3600). Occasionally, you might also find rechargeable cells that are actually worn-out older batteries re-wrapped and sold.

This is annoying, and maybe even fraudulent, but it’s nothing compared to the other problem created by UltraFire and other counterfeits: the advertisement of cells as protected (with a circuit that prevents problems like over-discharge), when in fact they are not.

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Strictly speaking, 14500 batteries and AAs aren’t the same. They are the same size and shape, or close to it, but 14500 Li-ions (roughly 14 millimeters in diameter by 50.0 millimeters in length) batteries have a nominal voltage of about 3.7-volt AA Li-ion batteries, on the other hand, are normally 1.2-volt, and standard AA batteries are nominally 1.5-volt.

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The 14500 is a whole class of batteries, and dozens of brands, that are either terrible or are counterfeited so frequently that attempting to buy one leaves you with a terrible battery. Those two things are functionally equivalent. Rather than listing a bunch of low-profile brands (like UltraFire) with the same set of problems, we’re grouping these together.

They don’t come close to the ratings, and they show incredibly steep capacity drop-offs even at the smallest loads. The names on this list might be familiar to anyone who’s shopped for high-drain 18650 cells in the past, but all of these also produce batteries in the AA form factor. This list includes names like GTF, GTL, TrustFire, and Efest. Some of these companies make perfectly serviceable cells as well, and others appear to be prone to outright intentional misrepresentation.

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The missing protection circuits are a big deal because missing protection is one major cause of Lithium-ion batteries catching fire. This is why Amazon eventually banned the sale of 14500 and other cylindrical Li-ions outright.

Most of the criticism we saw concerning batteries labeled with Walmart’s house brand, Great Value, seemed to center around the fact that Costco’s Kirkland batteries are better. There’s not a lot of test data on Great Value batteries, but what we’ve seen shows Great Value AAs having sub-par performance at lower current draws. This holds until you get into the range of the average LED flashlight, around 1 to 1.5 amps, at which point the Walmart brand performs about average, and stays middle-of-the-pack for higher levels of drain. The highest-drain tests we referenced for Great Value were 3 amps, via Henrik K. Jensen. At about 1 amp, these batteries would provide about an hour of life.

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Great Value alkaline AAs have discharge curves that indicate a pretty standard alkaline performance — if a little low on capacity. The typical alkaline battery shows a gentle but steady decline in capacity as amperage increases, which then sharply falls off toward zero capacity at high levels of drain. Fortunately, these are some of the cheaper batteries on the list and they should still work fine for low-intensity applications like TV remotes. 

Batteries branded Fujitsu and Fujifilm, often shortened to “Fuji” even on the company’s branded products, are made by a company called FDK Group. This is the same company that makes some IKEA batteries, and FDK now owns the factories that used to make Sanyo batteries (usually labeled Panasonic, except for some reputable Li-ion cells in the 18650, 26500, and other offbeat sizes). So we’re grouping Fuji and Fujitsu together not because of the name, but because they fell right next to each other in our rankings and turned out to be manufactured by the same company.

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Fuji batteries were rated a little low on power by Gigazine. Of course, power and capacity aren’t everything. CinemaSound rated the cost per hour for Fuji’s EnviroMax AA at the highest of all alkaline batteries they tested, edging out the Duracell Procell.

Fujitsu is slightly more consistent in the sense that the battery brands we considered were almost all around the bottom of the pack, with the strange exception of the Fujitsu Universal Power AA. This battery has very low capacity at lower drains but actually performs pretty well overall and tops the tests we reviewed for a 3-amp drain. Unfortunately, none of the other Fujitsu batteries tested had such an upside.

XTAR is another lesser-known brand that you likely won’t find on the big battery authority websites. Its bit thing is li-ion rechargeable batteries, which tend to come in higher-than-typical mAh ranges. On Amazon, we were able to find 3,300 mAh variants and up to 4,150 mAh. They tend to be more expensive than larger competitors like Panasonic’s Eneloop and Energizer. That’s easily explained by the increased capacity, so the prices make sense even if they aren’t bargains. 

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The brand is difficult to judge because most testing is only available for some models, and they are few and far between. In general, it seems the batteries do pretty well. One reviewer noted that it manages to put up a 1.5-volt output for its entire capacity, swapping to 1.1V at low charge so that devices can notify the user that the batteries are low. Thanks to the larger capacity, it takes longer to discharge the batteries compared to something like a 2,500 mAh Ni-Mh battery. On the downside, the testers also note that the battery produces a lot of noise, which may affect things like battery-powered radios. This is best used for things like console controller remotes and similar applications. 

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There are two things that knock this brand down. The first is a total lack of long-term testing, and the other is its absence on larger battery authority websites. We’re not saying it’s bad; it’s simply that outside of initial testing, we don’t know how long it’ll last.

EBL is a relatively new battery manufacturer, having opened their doors in 1998. Their whole schtick is making eco-friendly AA batteries. As such, their lineup includes li-ion, Ni-Mh, Ni-Cd, and Ni-Zn rechargeable batteries. There is also a selection of alkaline and lithium single-use batteries from the brand. With such a wide range of produts, it made EBL a little difficult to research since most authorities didn’t test every single variant in EBL’s lineup. 

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From what we could find, EBL does okay. It seems to test about as well as Amazon Basics rechargeable batteries while coming in at a similar price point. Testers noted that the batteries recharged without issues and lasted about as long as their rated capacity would suggest. However, reviewers did also note that they got some bad batteries on occasion that had to be replaced by EBL first. These may very well be isolated incidents as batteries can be a little temperamental, but it’s still something to note. 

Since we can’t find tests for every variant of EBL’s batteries, we’ll stick it in the middle of the list. They should be okay to buy without issue and should work as advertised but you may have to have the odd battery replaced under warranty. These are often on sale on Amazon, usually going for around $17 for a pack of eight 2,800 mAh rechargeable batteries. The brand also has the neat-looking Year of the Dragon AA batteries for the same amount. We’re not sure why you’d want stylized batteries but there they are. 

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A lot of batteries with mediocre performance are hard to find, and it’s even harder to find hard data detailed enough to rank their quality. So, in this category we’re grouping a number of products from (or branded by) Eveready, CVS, Home Depot, Amazon Basics, Impecca, PNP Depot, Polaroid, RadioShack, and Sunbeam. We will discuss a few factors that distinguished each. Keep in mind that these are not, on the whole, particularly bad batteries. The middle of the pack, especially with regard to alkaline batteries, is often perfectly acceptable.

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Eveready’s alkaline Gold received mid-range scores from PowerStream, but CinemaSound found its cost per hour to be pretty good, and New Zealand’s Consumer site actually recommended the battery based on acceptable performance and energy scores. The Carbon Zinc Super Heavy Duty didn’t fare as well. Inconsistencies plagued the mid-range batteries overall. Amazon Basics batteries, for example, scored quite high when they were of the NiMH rechargeable variety, but their alkaline units didn’t do as well.

In the fashion of nonsense battery naming practices everywhere, Polaroid’s Super alkaline outperformed its Extreme. On the other hand, other authorities gave CVS Health AA Alkaline batteries a poor score, but somewhat predictably found CVS Health MAX AA Alkaline batteries recommendable. PNP Depot’s Lithium rechargeable got poor reviews at Lowe’s, but near-perfect ratings at Home Depot. The only consistency in the soft middle is inconsistency.

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In spite of all we’ve said about counterfeit and recycled cells destroying the Lithium-ion 14500 landscape, there are quite a few good ones out there as well. The trouble comes when you realize that, in many ways, the older NiMH chemistry still outperforms Lithium-ion rechargeables. Still, we must acknowledge the good ones, and some of the more highly regarded brands in the Lithium-ion rechargeable battery space include Samsung, Sanyo/Panasonic (who also make good 1.2v Li-ion rechargeables), LG, Sony, Shockli, Keeppower, LiitoKala, AWT, Tensai, Windyfire and Efan.

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That said, there are still a lot better batteries on the list — we’re only just past the middle of the pack, as it were. If you see any brands you’ve never heard of before today any lower on the list than this, don’t be too shocked — there are more than a few battery companies doing good work in small batches.

Tenergy might be better known for its chargers than for its batteries, but it turns out the company makes some high-quality NiMH rechargeable AAs. Wirecutter found the 800 mAh cell’s capacity measured close to its advertised rate, and that the capacity remained high even after 50 charge cycles. Trailcam Pro tested some batteries’ performance in cold temperatures, and found that the Tenergy Premium AA rechargeable maintained 86 percent of its room temperature capacity even down at 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Next is German manufacturer Ansmann’s batteries, which performed very well in independent testing. However, you might have some difficulty finding them in a brick-and-mortar store. And they can be a little pricey. We charted data on two of their NiMH rechargeables (2500 and 2850 mAh). Both came close to their nominal capacity at .1 amps, and the 2850 mAh battery was one of the highest-capacity batteries we reviewed. Along with that high capacity, Jensen says, comes a high self-discharge rate, as detailed in the battery’s datasheet. Jenson notes — with apparent surprise — that Ansmann publishes “real datasheets” for his batteries, an uncommon practice. Ansmann’s alkaline also get good reviews on Amazon, managing 70% five-star reviews on its 20-pack.

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Rayovac always feels like a sort of legacy battery brand along the lines of Eveready, and probably would not have fared so well in our rankings but for the company’s Fusion line, which enjoys a strong reputation among consumers and testers. Reviews are overwhelmingly positive at Home Depot (4.8 stars), Lowe’s (4.7 stars), and Amazon (4.6 stars). The Fusion models were rated as having a solid duration and moderate per-hour cost by CinemaSound. But based on tests of other Rayovac AAs, the company would be firmly in the middle of the pack without the Fusion line.

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SlashGear readers likely recognize ACDelco as a manufacturer of auto-related products such as belts and, in particular, batteries. In fact, ACDelco is owned by General Motors. But the company also produces well-regarded AA batteries for general consumer use. There’s not a lot of test data out there. In CinemaSound’s study, ACDelco had the cheapest AA alkaline and the second cheapest battery overall, and was tops in the study’s best value marks in spite of the fact that the batteries have mediocre duration in the two types of tests CinemaSound ran.

PKCell’s alkaline and zinc batteries are fairly ordinary, although their Carbon Zinc topped CinemaSound’s tests with fan duration. PKCell Ultra Alkaline batteries fell just behind the zinc PKCell batteries in those tests, but both did far worse in the second round of testing against Saramonic UWmic9 wireless transmitters.

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But it’s the company’s NiMH rechargeable batteries we’re looking at here that really perform well in testing. Their 1300, 2200, and 2600 mAh batteries all easily matched those ratings and handled high loads well. While the 1300 mAh battery performed well, Jensen notes that 1300 mAh is a considerably low capacity for your average AA battery. On the other hand, the 2600 mAh battery (which tested at 2801 mAh) was at the top of the capacity rankings for all AA cells. Like many of the battery brands on this list, they might not look like much, but they got it where it counts.

Varta batteries are about as average as it gets. The brand is available through most online retailers like Amazon in packs that come in various sizes. We were able to find them in packs as small as four and as many as 48. Virtually anything you can find about these screams average. They’re competitively priced among the various battery brands and even customer reviews refer to them as a standard, relatively dependable battery. 

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In testing, the batteries are also average. Most of the brand’s batteries use an alkaline manganese chemical mixture, which is fairly standard among alkaline AA batteries in places outside of the US. Per battery testing website Lygte, Varta batteries scored right in the middle on just about every test from capacity to performance. User reviews are a lot more generous, as most customers found no issues with the batteries and that they last as long as expected. In short, there isn’t much to write home about here. These batteries are A-OK for their price and should work fine.

Varta also sells rechargeable batterers. Those have more tame reviews from consumers with some issues reported here and there. However, they are considered within the same neighborhood as batteries from similar brands like Eneloop. Professional testing shows that they are also good but nothing too different from the rest of the pack. You can buy these with confidence. They’re a known brand outside of the U.S. and their batteries are dependable.

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This is another case of two batteries falling next to each other in our rankings and conveniently appearing to be more than just ships passing in the night: these batteries turn out to be made by the same company. (This is no secret. Lots of batteries are labeled “Panasonic Eneloop.) The other was Fujifilm and Fujitsu, and wouldn’t you know it? FDK also used to make Eneloops. All of this inbreed… err, cross-pollination aside, Panasonic tends to make highly regarded batteries that are readily available on Amazon… although there are some exceptions.

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In all, we looked at ratings, tests and reviews for 24 Panasonic and Eneloop batteries. There were some misses; Wirecutter rated Eneloop NiMH rechargeables poorly, and Jensen didn’t have much love for a 2050 mAh Panasonic Evolta NiMH. Consumer.org.nz gave Panasonic’s Extra Heavy Duty a “Don’t Buy” rating, but gave it to all the other Carbon Zinc batteries as well. Otherwise, Panasonic cells did well across the boards, generally matching their capacity ratings and performing well.

It’s not going to surprise anyone that Duracell and Energizer are our top-ranked brands, but it was a little offputting to see how large the gap was. The only dings the company took in our research was the less-than-stellar reputation of its NiMH rechargeables of all sorts — but these tend to suffer for every manufacturer, and as often as not this is either a misunderstanding by or the fault of the consumer.

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It might still surprise a few people that Costco’s own brand Kirkland makes a set of AA batteries that’ve appeared near the top of test results among Henrik Jensen’s tests. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Kirkland batteries are made by Duracell.

Taking the two brands as one, there’s a lot of variation in test results, but overall many more wins than losses. Duracell had three batteries (Duracell Coppertop Duralock AA Alkaline, Duracell Quantum AA Alkaline, and Kirkland Signature (Costco) AA Alkaline) at the top of Gigazine’s rankings and scored well on other lists as well. With the exception of the 1300 mAh Duralock rechargeables, the batteries performed well and met their rated capacities.

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Energizer (who also makes Eveready) just edged out Duracell in our rankings, but they could easily have been reversed. A couple of alkaline batteries with low rankings made most of the difference, and the scores weren’t that bad. Mostly, though, Energizer’s products across the entire spectrum of AAs — from alkaline to Lithium-ion — tend to perform well.

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For example, two Energizer batteries frequently top Lithium-ion battery rankings from various authorities. Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries and NiMH Energizer Recharge batteries stood above and beyond the rest, while Energizer as a brand, as a whole, found their way to the top of the battery bunch.

Again, the top spot could as easily have gone to Duracell, as Duracell general alkaline AAs outperformed Energizer slightly. But overall, Energizer ended up being the most consistent and most impressive of the battery brands we examined that are available on the market today.

Ranking batteries is a complicated process and ranking brands is even more so. After all, just because a battery brand is considered good doesn’t mean that they don’t have the occasional dud in their product lineup. For this list, we analyzed a ton of data to try and give the fairest rankings that we could. Since there is a metric ton of data out there, there was plenty to compare to, and we believe that gives our rankings a high chance of being accurate. The biggest challenge was comparing alkaline batteries to rechargeable batteries since they don’t act the same. 

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To start, we sourced broad battery authorities like Consumer NZ for power, capacity, and weight. We then cross-reference it with more niche sources like TrailCam Pro for cold weather applications, PowerStream for discharge testing, and Cinema Sound for cost versus performance analysis. We also went one step deeper with sources like Wirecutter, which tests most of the above brands with rechargeable batteries for capacity after 50 charge cycles to see how much the battery lost. 

Finally, we cross-referenced all of that with customer reviews on Amazon, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and other online retailers and we checked those against Fakespot to make sure most of them were real. After all, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that something tests well but doesn’t hold up in real world conditions. Once all of these metrics were thrown into the melting pot, we were able to pull out the above list. 

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