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Because the best ring lights are hard to get your hands on, we’ve updated this guide with general shopping advice.

If you’re a streamer, a vlogger, or someone who’s on video calls a lot for work, good lighting is essential. Without it, you can look grainy, out of focus, or even shadowy—like an anonymous witness in a true-crime show. A ring light is a simple tool whose diffuse glow can bring you out of the dark and make you look more professional.

A 12- to 16-inch model is bright enough for use while sitting at a desk or standing.

The closer to 100 the Color Rendering Index (CRI) is, the better. Colors will be more precise.

Models with multiple brightness levels allow you to adjust the lighting to your environment, day or night.

More steps between the coolest and warmest color temperature levels mean more flexibility in suiting your skin and environment.

After researching and testing more than a dozen ring lights, we’ve learned that the best ones are hard to get your hands on—even more so than webcams were at the start of the pandemic. Maybe that’s a result of the current supply-chain issues, or perhaps this is just a fickle category. Either way, the best ring lights we’ve tested this year are either discontinued or have recurring stock issues. This includes the Neewer 14-inch LED Ring Light (RL-14), Neewer 16-inch LED Ring Light (RL-16), Yesker 14-inch Ring Light, and Godox LR120 12-inch LED Ring Light.

We still recommend these models if you can find them in stock. But if you can’t track them down, here are some tips that will help you choose a suitable replacement among a sea of similar-looking lights.

As a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, I’ve tested and reviewed various gear, including home-office essentials such as webcams, USB microphones, and office chairs. For more than a dozen years prior to that, I wrote about technology and home-office topics for sites including Lifehacker, PCWorld, Popular Mechanics, and Laptop Magazine. And as a longtime remote worker—like, since the early ’00s—I’ve been on enough video-conference calls to see the difference good lighting can make in looking and feeling better in front of a camera.

During research and testing for this guide, I consulted two members of Wirecutter’s photo team: head of photography and video Michael Hession and photo editor Rozette Rago. I also interviewed Gia Goodrich, an award-winning photographer, content creator, and educator, who shared insights on the best use of ring lights and video lighting in general.

Lighting plays an important role in the image quality of your videos and photos, second only to the quality of your camera. But you don’t have to invest in a complicated lighting rig to get better close-ups. A ring light is an easy-to-use tool for anyone who takes part in many Zoom calls, snaps selfies for sharing on social media, or makes TikTok, Twitch, or YouTube videos for fun or profit. Ring lights are also helpful for teachers and other video presenters who work remotely, since high-quality video is important if you want to be well understood—particularly for audience members who have hearing loss and read lips. Ring lights aren’t just good for video, either: Some people use them for macro photography or makeup application.

A ring light is exactly what its name suggests: a doughnut-shaped light, typically made of rows of LEDs. The halo shape diffuses light over a wide area, reducing shadows and washing away blemishes for a more-flattering appearance. The space in the middle of the light is a great place to mount a camera or phone because you get an even distribution of light around the lens.

Improving the lighting when you are in front of the camera isn’t just about vanity: Having great lighting that helps you look your best breeds confidence. “It’s really empowering,” said content creator Gia Goodrich, “because you know that even if you’re showing up without makeup, you feel insecure, or you’re in your PJs, you can at least light yourself in a way that makes you feel good.”

You don’t have to invest in a complicated lighting rig to get better close-ups.

You can certainly find other lighting setups that produce better portrait or video lighting—such as this two-light kit Goodrich recommends, which includes lighting umbrellas, several light stands, and a number of photo bulbs. But they’re more expensive and more complicated to set up and break down. A ring light is a simple, cost-effective option that anyone can set up and use. It makes the most sense when you need just a bit more emphasis on yourself in a space without a lot of natural light and you don’t have the time or energy to invest in a pricier professional lighting setup.

Because having a bright light pointed directly at you can be uncomfortable and create suboptimal spots on your face (called specular highlights), a ring light’s easy adjustability is important. You can position it to the side, instead of face-on, for a more natural look. Or you can point the light away from your face and toward a light-colored wall (video) to bounce the light softly back onto you; this setup also gets rid of the telltale ring-light reflection in your eyes (video). If you don’t have a wall or other flat surface in front of you, it’s best to position the ring light so the bottom part is at eye level, Goodrich said, and then tilt it down to approximately a 45-degree angle for a more-pleasing look.

Michael Hession, head of photography and video, and Rozette Rago, photo editor, helped me determine the most important features to look for in a ring light.

The bigger the ring light, the better the light output and quality. We looked at 10-, 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-inch models suited for sitting at a desk or standing.

During testing, I quickly realized that the 10- and 18-inch models were the wrong size for my needs. The 10-inch ring lights had stands that raised the light only an inch off the desk, which created spooky, unflattering under-chin lighting. You could prop one of these lights up on a stack of large books or a box. But we think it’s worth paying a little more for a larger, brighter light that has a taller stand. On the flip side, the 18-inch models were overkill: They were so bright that they created washed-out images at all but the lowest brightness levels.

If you plan on using a ring light propped up on your desk only—not on a tall stand on the floor—look for a 12-inch model, like the Godox LR120 12-inch LED Ring Light. These have appropriately sized stands and cost less than larger models.

Either a 14- or 16-inch ring light should suffice if you want to keep the stand off of your desk or you plan on using the ring light while standing. The 14-inch ring lights we tested, including the Neewer 14-inch and Yesker 14-inch, were plenty bright in our testing. A 16-inch ring light, such as the Neewer 16-inch, would be brighter. But that extra luminance is really only useful if you’re going to position the light several feet away from you. (How far or close you put a ring light depends mostly on your comfort level and the size of the light. But I found that for video-call purposes, somewhere between 2 and 3 feet was most flattering.)

Another consideration that’s tied to a ring light’s size is how it’s powered. Ring lights that are 12 inches or smaller can be powered via USB, whereas the larger ring lights use an AC/DC adapter because they need to draw more power. So if you want a ring light that you can use outdoors—tethered to a laptop or USB power bank, without an outlet nearby—a ring light that’s 12 inches or smaller is ideal.

Some ring lights that are 14 inches or larger have a USB port for charging your phone while it’s attached to the ring light. That’s convenient for long shoots.

CRI is one measure of light quality; the higher the CRI (the closer to 100, the better), the more colors the light can render and the more precise the image is color-wise. Ring lights with a CRI of 90 or above are considered excellent, whereas those with a CRI between 80 and 90 are thought of as good, according to Westinghouse Lighting.

You might not find the CRI rating in the product description, but that doesn’t mean the ring light has a low CRI. Contact the manufacturer and ask for the number. If they don’t get back to you—or, worse, they don’t have a website—move on to the next ring light you’re considering.

Having multiple brightness levels means you can adjust the lighting to any environment—whether it’s cloudy or sunny, morning or night, or you have few or many other light sources.

With some ring lights, you can adjust the brightness from 0 to 100% in 10% increments (10% brightness, 20% brightness, and so on). We prefer ring lights that let you adjust the brightness in 1% increments. Some ring light descriptions will specify this; it might be called “stepless adjustment.”

Color temperature, measured in kelvins (K), greatly affects the aesthetics of your photo or video. The room you’re in, the clothes you’re wearing, and your skin tone can all look different depending on the light’s color temperature.

Rozette said that warm light generally works best for most skin tones, but if it’s too warm, a person could look orange. Bluish light can make a pale person look lifeless. Most of the ring lights we considered had at least three color-temperature settings: cool, neutral, and warm. We preferred those that offered more color-temperature steps between the coolest and the warmest levels; this allows you to dial in the setting that looks best with your skin and environment.

You should be able to bend the light for the best angle. People who wear glasses, for example, might need to raise the light and adjust it at a steeper angle to avoid glare and reflections. Bonus points go to ring lights—such as the Yesker 14-inch—that include a flexible gooseneck mount for your phone; this is great for getting the angle of your phone just right too.

It’s also worth considering the height range of the ring light’s stand. The greater the range, the more versatile it will be to accommodate all kinds of situations.

In addition to a stand, most ring lights come with extras such as a carrying case for the light, a mount for your phone, and a Bluetooth remote to take a photo on your phone from a distance. Many of the latest ring light models also have a Wi-Fi remote to power the light and adjust the color temperature or brightness.

These accessories make using a ring light easier, but they’re just extras. Prioritize the features above when choosing a ring light.

More expensive doesn’t mean better quality. While researching this guide, we saw a Wescott 18-inch Ring Light that cost nearly $200 despite having only two color temperatures (cool and warm). Some ring lights cost twice as much as similar-size lights without adding more features or benefits.

At time of writing, you can expect to pay between $50 and $100 for a good ring light that has all of the features we mention above. Paying any more than that is likely throwing money away.

Melanie Pinola previously covered all things home office as a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. She has contributed to print and online publications such as The New York Times, Lifehacker, and PCWorld, specializing in tech, productivity, and lifestyle/family topics. She’s thrilled when those topics intersect—and when she gets to write about them in her PJs.

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