Many of the best LED light bulbs are also some of the best smart light bulbs available today. If, however, you're not necessarily looking for smart lighting then simply switching to LED bulbs comes with plenty of its own advantages. LED bulbs are more energy-efficient, last longer, and can save you money in the long run over incandescent equivalents. When it comes to choosing an LED light bulb, you can't find a more reputable brand than GE. The GE Relax High Definition LED Light Bulb is an excellent option thanks to its soft white glow, a color temperature that makes it ideal for any main room in the home, but there are other alternatives worth considering as well.

Best overall: GE Relax High Definition LED Light Bulb

GE Relax High Definition LED Light Bulb

Trusted brand reputation

Affordable

2,700K for use in many rooms

Bright 800 lumens

Indoor use only

Might not need all bulbs

No colors

The trusted brand reputation of GE makes the GE Relax High Definition LED light bulb an attractive option. The lighting division of the company was acquired by leading home automation company Savant not too long ago, providing more brand power behind it.

This simple, soft white bulb can be swapped in for any old A19 bulb inside the home as an ideal 60-watt replacement that uses only 10.5 watts of energy. It provides ample brightness at 800 lumens and is dimmable so you can adjust the brightness to your liking or based on the setting or situation.

The idea behind the Relax line is to match the light to your space, which means this bulb can be an equally great match for your bedroom as it is for the living room or dining area. It accomplishes this through a warm 2,700K color temperature, which is the right glow for the aforementioned rooms as well as areas like entryways. With LED technology, these are the best LED light bulbs that can last up to 13 years before they need to be replaced, and they're available in a four-pack so you can easily swap out all the bulbs in a room in one shot.

Best for smart home: Philips Hue White A19 Bulb

Philips Hue White A19 Light Bulb

Start to go smart

Dimmable

Smart capabilities

Fits most lamp bulbs

Large smart home ecosystem

Works with Bluetooth or Hue hub

Requires Hub for all smart features

Expensive

If you're looking for a set of bulbs you can use to replace old incandescent ones and connect to a smart home at the same time, Philips Hue is one of the top brands in this space. And this two-pack of A19 bulbs is a great way to get started.

You can use these smart light bulbs as regular bulb replacements. However, if you grab the Philips Hue Hub as well, it will enable remote control through the Philips Hue app as well as voice control using Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Assistant (a compatible smart speaker is required). With the Hub, you can also do things like add lighting to different scenes in other apps and create lighting schedules. You can also pair your bulbs directly to Bluetooth if you want to enable voice control in one room.

Fitting standard-sized table lamps and other lighting fixtures, these bulbs are dimmable and use 9.5 watts to output 800 lumens of soft white light. If you decide to expand your smart home lighting, you can connect these bulbs to other bulbs as well as accessories like dimmer switches and motion sensors.

Best for setting the mood: ILC Color Changing Light Bulbs

ILC Color Changing Light Bulbs

Set the mood

Very bright

Can use outdoors

Different colors

Comes with remote

Only four brightness levels

Not many colors

Might be too bright

Set the right mood, whether it's a costume party or a romantic dinner date evening, with these color-changing bulbs that offer six mood modes: flash, strobe, smooth, passionate, relaxed, and romantic. They use 16 beads, and 1-watt high brightness LED chips to offer the perfect lighting for different situations.

With this bulb's 12 watts replacing the standard 85-watt incandescent light, you'll get an ultra-bright 1,050-lumen bulb that is ideal for use anywhere inside the house as well as outside, like on the porch or balcony or in the garden area.

It also comes with a convenient remote that can be used to turn the lights on and off, set timers, and adjust brightness among four levels. Once you turn these bulbs off, they'll still remember the last color or mode used so you can queue them up instantly the next day.

Best for entire home: Amazon Basics A19 LED Light Bulb

Amazon Basics A19 LED Light Bulb

Swap it all out

Affordable

Simulates daylight

Only uses 6.5 watts of energy

Slightly bigger than usual A19 bulbs

Non-dimmable

Not super bright

No colors

This set comes with six bulbs in the back, enough for you to swap out every A19 bulb in your home with new, more energy-efficient LED ones. With a 15,000-hour life, they can last up to 13 years based on three hours of usage per day.

While these bulbs aren't dimmable, they'll meet your basic needs for simulating daylight in various rooms of the home via 450 lumens of brightness that only use about 6.5 watts of energy. You won't want these for areas or rooms where you need super bright light, like the bathroom, but for most spots in your room, like your bedside night table lamp or reading room lamp, they will suffice.

At 40 watts, keep in mind that these lights appear to be slightly larger than your typical A19 bulb, so you might not be able to fit them into tiny lamps with little wiggle room around the shade and the bulb, or tight spots. But in terms of value for the money and the ability to update all the lights in your home with one package, it's a good option.

Best for bathroom: Cotanic Vanity Light Bulb

Cotanic Vanity Light Bulb

Bright lights

Ultra-bright for vanity, bathroom

Less heat output

Flame-retardant material

Might be too bright

Non-dimmable

For limited rooms

You need extra bright light in your bathroom or on your vanity mirror to provide enough illumination to do things like shave your beard and put on make-up. And these bulbs offer 5,000K daylight glare-free color temperature that is more than bright enough to meet those needs.

With an E26 medium base, they provide the equivalent of 60-watt incandescent lights and are ideal for the vanity mirror or bathroom as well as to use in a chandelier, wall sconce, pendant, kitchen, office, or anywhere else you need bright light. You'll get a total of 500 lumens and a 5-watt globe light from the non-dimmable lights that can run for up to 30,000 hours.

Despite the bright lighting, they provide less heat output thanks to the aluminum material that helps dissipate heat to extend the lifespan. They are also made from flame-retardant material.

Best for vintage look: CRLight C7 LED Night Light Bulb

CRLight C7 LED Night Light Bulbs

Vintage chic

Cool retro look

Overload, short circuit, over-temperature protection

Fits C7 sockets

Not very bright

Non-dimmable

Fitting C7 sized bulbs, these bulbs, which come in a two-pack, have E12 candelabra bases and clear glass C7 mini candle torpedo shapes for a retro-chic look that will fit certain pendant lamps, wall lamps, desk lamps, chandeliers, and other lighting.

Offering 150 lumens of brightness with a full 360-degrees beam angle, they provide a 2,700K warm white glow that is nearly identical to incandescent. While they aren't dimmable, they are eco-friendly, as with any LED light bulb, and offer up to 30,000+ hours life span, which can translate to up to 16 years based on five hours of use per day.

They also feature overload, short circuit, and over-temperature protection to provide added peace of mind.

Bottom line

If you haven't yet switched your home lighting over to LED, what are you waiting for? There are so many advantages to doing so. While the bulbs themselves will typically cost more upfront (though there are some seriously affordable options these days), you'll save money in the long run. Not only will the bulbs last for much longer – in some cases, up to 15 or 16 years! – but they will also draw less energy from the home, which can translate to reduced electricity bills. Not to mention that you're contributing to helping the environment.

While there are tons of LED lights on the market today, you can't go wrong with a trusted brand like GE. Now owned by home automation company Savant, GE lighting products like the GE Relax High Definition LED Light Bulb, are ideal for those looking to swap bulbs but who also want to stick with a tried and trusted brand. These bulbs are very affordable and a great way to swap out the bulbs in the main rooms of your home. The ability to dim along with a long-lasting lifespan of about 13 years and 800 lumens of light that's equivalent to a typical 60-watt incandescent bulb will make the transition seamless. But if you're looking for a smart light bulb from GE, that's an option too with the best C by GE bulbs.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Christine Persaud resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with her husband and 8-year-old son. When she moved from a condo to a house five-and-a-half years ago, she switched every bulb in the home to LED and went a step further to have a Savant home automation system installed to control them.