2025 test37 productsBatteries & Power Banks
Which AA Batteries Brand Wins?
We compared 37 aa batteries options head to head. Energizer Ultimate Lithium came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping 9 volt alkaline battery, 9v alkaline battery, aa rechargeable batteries and panasonic eneloop aaa land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
Energizer Ultimate Lithium
Price shown in test: $20 for 8 ($2.50 each, most expensive battery in the video)
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Runner-up
Power Owl
Price shown in test: $19 for 12 ($1.58 each)
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Budget pick
Power Owl or PKCELL (narrator's explicit personal recommendation for value: 'I'd personally buy either the Power Owl or the PKCELL, whichever is the least expensive')
Price shown in test: $19 for 12 ($1.58 each)
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Specs | Capacity (300mA discharge) | 1.25A load, room temp | 1.25A load, after freezer cold-soak | Flashlight test | 1.25A load, cold-soak | Condition after ~2,500 charge cycles over 7 years | 1.25A load | Condition after ~2,500 cycles | Condition | Watts (V x A) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Varta (alkaline)$16 for 100 (16 cents each) | alkaline, claimed 10 year shelf life, made in Indonesia, weight 23.32 g, 1.61 V, 78 milliohms internal resistance | 2,053 mAh | 1.2 V (mid tier group with Thunderbolt Magnum/Edge, Amazon Basics, Energizer, Panasonic, Maxell) | 0.9 V (grouped with ACDelco, Amazon Basics) | tied with Duracell for brightest start at 48 lumens | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Amazon Basics Industrial (alkaline) Industrial$12 for 40 (30 cents each) | alkaline, claimed 5 year shelf life, made in China, weight 22.7 g, 1.6 V, 102 milliohms internal resistance ('quite a bit') | 2,309 mAh | 1.05 V (grouped with Voniko, EBL, ACDelco, Rayovac) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Voniko$8 for 24 (33 cents each) | alkaline, claims ultra long-lasting, leak-proof, 10 year shelf life, made in Vietnam, weight 23.13 g, 1.6 V, 98 milliohms internal resistance | not found in the transcript; the capacity recap after this brand's introduction only names Varta, Amazon Basics Industrial, and Thunderbolt Magnum, an apparent caption/narration gap | 1.05 V (grouped with Amazon Basics Industrial, EBL, ACDelco, Rayovac) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4Thunderbolt Magnum (Harbor Freight, alkaline) Magnum$8 for 24 (33 cents each) | alkaline, sold at Harbor Freight, made in Vietnam, weight 23.08 g, 1.6 V, 83 milliohms internal resistance | 2,368 mAh, took 1st place in this capacity batch | 1.2 V (mid tier group) | not tested | not tested | 0.82 V (grouped with Amazon Basics Industrial, Voniko, Energizer Max) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5EBL (alkaline)$7 for 20 (35 cents each) | alkaline, claimed 10 year shelf life, made in China, weight 22.32 g (very light), 1.63 V, 99 milliohms internal resistance | 2,333 mAh | 1.05 V (mid/lower tier group) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6ACDelco UltraMax$9 for 20 (45 cents each) | alkaline, claimed 10 year extra-long shelf life, made in China, weight 24 g (heaviest yet at that point), 1.59 V, 71 milliohms internal resistance | 2,049 mAh | 1.05 V (mid/lower tier group) | not tested | not tested | 0.9 V (grouped with Varta, Amazon Basics) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Amazon Basics (regular/high-performance, alkaline) high-performance50 cents each (pack size/total price not stated) | alkaline, claimed 10 year shelf life, made in Vietnam, weight 23.41 g, 1.6 V, 84 milliohms internal resistance | 2,436 mAh, took 1st place in this capacity batch | 1.2 V (mid tier group) | not tested | not tested | 0.9 V (grouped with Varta, ACDelco) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Thunderbolt Edge (Harbor Freight, alkaline) Edge$9 for 18 (50 cents each) | alkaline, claimed to last longer than the Thunderbolt Magnum, made in China, weight 24.38 g (heaviest yet at that point), 1.6 V, 66 milliohms internal resistance (best yet at that point, tied later with Duracell) | 2,367 mAh, 3rd place in this capacity batch | 1.2 V (mid tier group) | not tested | performed worse than Energizer and Duracell but lasted a little bit longer, per closing recap | 0.97 V, part of the best alkaline cold-performance tier (with Energizer, Panasonic, Duracell, Maxell) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Rayovac Fusion (alkaline) Fusion$16 for 30 (53 cents each) | alkaline, claims 15 year power guarantee and leak damage prevention, made in Indonesia, weight 23.67 g, 1.59 V, 83 milliohms internal resistance | 2,406 mAh | 1.05 V (mid/lower tier group) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Energizer (alkaline)$11 for 20 (55 cents each) | alkaline, claimed 10 year shelf life, made in Indonesia, weight 23.25 g, 1.61 V, 92 milliohms internal resistance | 1,866 mAh, 'Energizer struggled', worst in this capacity batch | 1.2 V (mid tier group) | not tested | not tested | 0.97 V, part of the best alkaline cold-performance tier | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Power Max Ultra$7 for 12 (58 cents each) | alkaline, claimed 10 year shelf life, made in Vietnam, weight 23.08 g, 1.6 V, 92 milliohms internal resistance | 2,132 mAh | 0.97 V, the single worst room-temperature load result of any alkaline tested (dropped from a rated 1.6 V) | not tested | not tested | 0.67 V, worst cold-weather performance of all alkalines, 'not designed for cold weather' | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Panasonic$34 for 48 (71 cents each) | alkaline, claims 33 percent longer life than Panasonic's own 'Power Plus' alkaline line, claimed 10 year shelf life, made in Thailand, weight 23.51 g, 1.6 V, 90 milliohms internal resistance | 2,070 mAh | 1.2 V (mid tier group) | not tested | not tested | 0.97 V, part of the best alkaline cold-performance tier | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Energizer Max Max$17 for 24 (71 cents each) | alkaline, claims 15 year shelf life and up to 50 percent longer life than 'everyday gold' AA batteries, made in Indonesia, weight 23.78 g, 1.6 V, 82 milliohms internal resistance | 2,584 mAh, best alkaline capacity result of the whole video | not tested | not tested | 'performed almost identical to the Duracell', implying an early death around the 3.5 hour mark alongside it | 0.82 V (grouped with Amazon Basics Industrial, Voniko, Thunderbolt Magnum; notably NOT in the best-cold-tier group despite having the best capacity) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Duracell (alkaline)$17 for 20 (85 cents each) | alkaline, claims leak-proof up to 12 years, assembled in the USA (the only brand in this video explicitly called 'assembled in the USA' rather than 'made in'), weight 23.05 g (pretty light), 1.67 V (highest alkaline voltage), 66 milliohms internal resistance (tied best with Thunderbolt Edge) | 2,465 mAh, 2nd place in its capacity batch | 1.27 V, BEST of all alkaline cells tested | not tested | tied with Varta for brightest start at 48 lumens, but per closing recap 'the flashlight brightness really began dropping off quickly and the battery was dead in just over 3 and a half hours' | 0.97 V, part of the best alkaline cold-performance tier | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15Maxell$9 for 10 (90 cents each, most expensive alkaline per-unit) | alkaline, made in China, weight 22.04 g (lightest alkaline), 1.61 V, 98 milliohms internal resistance | 2,147 mAh, 3rd place in its capacity batch | 1.2 V (mid tier group) | not tested | not tested | 0.97 V, part of the best alkaline cold-performance tier | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16PKCELL$16 for 12 ($1.33 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 3,400 mAh and high-drain application design, claimed 20 year storage (not tested), made in China, weight 15.7 g, 1.78 V, 130 milliohms internal resistance ('more than the alkaline cells') | 3,513 mAh | 1.12 V (2nd tier among lithiums) | not tested | tied with Enegitech for the lead at 43 lumens (1.5 hour mark); one of the batteries still competitive near the 4.5 hour mark (36 lumens, tied with Allmax and Rayovac Lithium) | 0.97 V (mid tier among lithiums) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 17BEVIGOR Ultra$17 for 12 ($1.42 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 3,500 mAh, 100 percent leak-proof, and a steady 1.5V until fully discharged, made in China, weight 15.73 g, 1.8 V, 114 milliohms internal resistance | 3,552 mAh, 2nd best lithium capacity per closing recap | 1.27 V, BEST of all batteries (alkaline and lithium) at room temperature | not tested | in the lead at 34 lumens around the 5 hour mark, then took the overall lead at 5.5 hours with 28 lumens as one of the last four batteries still running | 0.82 V, WORST lithium cold-load performance of the video | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 18Enegitech$37 for 24 ($1.54 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 8 to 10 times longer life than alkaline and maintains full voltage near end of charge, made in China, weight 15.53 g, 1.77 V, 192 milliohms internal resistance (one of the worst/highest of the lithiums) | 3,317 mAh, lowest lithium capacity in its batch, described as the worst-performing lithium overall | 1.05 V (bottom tier among lithiums) | not tested | tied for the early lead at 44 lumens (30 min and 1 hour marks) with the Energizer Ultimate Lithium; tied with PKCELL at 43 lumens (1.5 hour mark); tied for 1st place at 38 lumens (4 hour mark) with Philips | 0.97 V (mid tier) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 19Allmax$25 for 16 ($1.56 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 20 year shelf life, longest-lasting, leak-proof, and a wide operating range of -40F to 140F, made in China, weight 15.91 g, 1.77 V, 196 milliohms internal resistance (highest of all lithiums) | 3,451 mAh | 1.05 V (bottom tier) | not tested | tied for the lead at 36 lumens (4.5 hour mark) with PKCELL and Rayovac Lithium; tied for 2nd at 32 lumens (5 hour mark) with POWXS; one of the last batteries still running | 0.97 V (mid tier) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 20Rayovac Lithium$38 for 24 ($1.58 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims up to 50 percent longer life, 20 year power guarantee in storage, no-leak design, made in Singapore, weight 'right at 15 g', 1.78 V, 135 milliohms internal resistance | 3,492 mAh | 1.2 V (upper-mid tier, grouped with Granicell, Power Owl, Energizer Ultimate Lithium) | not tested | tied for the lead at 36 lumens (4.5 hour mark) with PKCELL and Allmax | 1.12 V, 'did a great job', 2nd best lithium cold performance | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 21Granicell$19 (pack size not stated, $1.58 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 3,500 mAh, 10 year shelf life, leak-proof, made in China, weight 15.96 g (heaviest lithium tested), 1.8 V, 146 milliohms internal resistance | 3,449 mAh | 1.2 V (upper-mid tier) | not tested | not tested | 0.97 V (mid tier, grouped with PKCELL, Enegitech, Allmax, POWXS, Blinks Power) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 22Power Owl$19 for 12 ($1.58 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 3,000 mAh, three-layer safety and leak-proof design, made in China, weight 15.8 g, 1.79 V, 154 milliohms internal resistance | 3,514 mAh, 'one of the best yet' | not tested | not tested | not tested | 1.05 V, tied best-yet tier with Philips, 'better than any of the alkalines' | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 23Philips$30 for 16 ($1.88 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims up to 291 percent more power and up to 7 times longer life than regular alkaline, leak-proof claimed, made in China, weight 15.76 g, 1.77 V, 125 milliohms internal resistance | 3,529 mAh, 3rd place in its capacity batch per closing recap | not tested | not tested | tied for 1st place at 38 lumens (4 hour mark) with Enegitech | 1.05 V, tied best-yet tier with Power Owl | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 24POWXS$15 for 8 ($1.88 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims low self-discharge for 10 years, up to 5 times longer life than alkaline, operating range -68F to 140F, claims up to 3,200 mAh, made in China, weight 15.88 g, 1.77 V, 207 milliohms internal resistance (one of the highest/worst of all batteries tested) | 3,403 mAh, lowest in its final capacity batch | not tested | not tested | tied for 2nd at 32 lumens (5 hour mark) with Allmax | 0.97 V (mid tier) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 25Blinks Power$19 for 8 ($2.38 each) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims up to 3,500 mAh and markets itself as the 'number one long-lasting battery', made in China, weight 15.62 g, 1.61 V (notably lower than the other lithiums, closer to alkaline range), 100 milliohms internal resistance, 'the best so far for the lithium batteries' at that point in the narration | 3,429 mAh, 2nd place in its final capacity batch | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.97 V (mid tier) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 26Energizer Ultimate Lithium Ultimate Lithium$20 for 8 ($2.50 each, most expensive battery in the video) | non-rechargeable lithium, claims 25 year storage life and is 'supposed to be good until December of 2050', made in Singapore, weight 14.83 g (lightest battery in the video), 1.79 V, 155 milliohms internal resistance | 3,635 mAh, HIGHEST capacity of any battery (alkaline or lithium) tested in the video | 1.2 V tier (grouped with Rayovac Lithium, Granicell, Power Owl) | not tested | tied for the early lead at 44 lumens (30 min and 1 hour marks) with Enegitech | 1.2 V, BEST cold-load performance of every battery tested, 'very impressive' | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 27Amazon Basics Silver (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) Silver | not tested | 0 mAh, 'completely cooked at zero' | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 1.35 V, internal resistance over 1,000 milliohms, 'in really bad shape' | 0.22 V | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 28IKEA (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 2,094 mAh, 2nd place in the rechargeable capacity ranking | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.45 V, 'really struggling', cannot handle the full 1.25A load | 1.5 V, 547 milliohms internal resistance | not tested | not tested |
| 29Active Energy (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 1,098 mAh | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.75 V, best load result at that point in the narration | not tested | joined the experiment over a year late (fewer charge cycles than the other rechargeables, a fairness caveat), 1.43 V, 116 milliohms internal resistance | 0.94 W |
| 30Energizer (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 1,523 mAh | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.45 V, 'really struggling' | 1.43 V, around 446 milliohms internal resistance | not tested | not tested |
| 31Varta (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 2,277 mAh, HIGHEST capacity of all rechargeable cells tested, per closing recap | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.52 V | not tested | joined the experiment late, 1.44 V, 407 milliohms internal resistance | not tested |
| 32Duracell (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 0 mAh, 'Duracell zero' | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.22 V at only 0.04 amps (could not sustain the intended test current at all) | not tested | 'will no longer hold a full charge... in very bad condition' | not tested |
| 33EBL (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 1,813 mAh, 3rd place in the rechargeable capacity ranking | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | only reached 0.37 V and less than 1 amp, could not sustain the full 1.25A load | not tested | 782 milliohms internal resistance, 'a lot of internal resistance' | not tested |
| 34Rayovac (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 1,016 mAh | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.37 V at less than 1 amp, 'totally cooked' | not tested | 1.41 V, 1,031 milliohms internal resistance, 'in pretty bad shape' | not tested |
| 35Amazon Basics Black (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) Black | not tested | 1,675 mAh | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.6 V, 'pretty good for 2,500 cycles' | not tested | 1.46 V, 293 milliohms internal resistance, 'much better shape' than the Silver version | 0.75 W |
| 36Harbor Freight Thunderbolt (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 1,614 mAh | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.45 V and only 1.07 amps, could not sustain the full 1.25A load | not tested | 1.45 V, 542 milliohms internal resistance, 'pretty poor condition' | not tested |
| 37Eneloop (rechargeable NiMH, 7-year test) | not tested | 1,688 mAh | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0.9 V, 'by far the best yet' | not tested | 1.45 V, 48 milliohms internal resistance, 'by far the best yet' (best of all rechargeable cells) | 1.13 W, 'the most powerful' of the rechargeable group |
How it was tested
- capacity test: discharge each battery at 300 mA and measure total milliamp-hours delivered
- internal resistance and initial open-circuit voltage measurement
- high-drain load test: voltage delivered under a 1.25 amp draw at room temperature
- cold-weather load test: voltage delivered under a 1.25 amp draw after a multi-hour freezer cold-soak (alkaline/lithium test) or at 3 below zero (rechargeable legacy test uses a separate cold reference)
- flashlight runtime and brightness test using an integrating sphere, tracked over 5.5 hours for the alkaline/lithium shootout
- legacy 7-year rechargeable NiMH durability check-in: voltage, internal resistance, load voltage, wattage, and capacity after roughly 2,500 real-world charge/discharge cycles
“the Energizer lithium came out on top with an average finish of 2.3. The Energizer performed extremely well in every test. However, at a price of $2.50 each, it's a very expensive battery.”
Data notes and caveats
This video contains three effectively separate sub-competitions: (1) 15 alkaline AA brands, (2) 11 non-rechargeable lithium AA brands (26 brands total, matching the description's '26 brands' claim), and (3) a separate legacy check-in on rechargeable NiMH AA cells the narrator has cycled roughly 2,500 times over 7 years in solar outdoor lights. The winner/runnerUp/budgetPick fields above apply to the MAIN alkaline+lithium shootout's closing scorecard only. The rechargeable legacy sub-test has no combined scorecard: Varta (rechargeable) had the highest capacity (2,277 mAh, explicit 'most capacity' statement) while Eneloop had by far the best internal resistance, load voltage, and wattage but ranked only 4th on raw capacity; the narrator does not name an overall 'winner' for this sub-test, so no single winner is asserted for it here. Several brand names are shared between multiple DISTINCT products in this single video and must not be merged: Energizer appears as four separate products (alkaline Energizer, Energizer Max, Energizer Ultimate Lithium, and a rechargeable NiMH Energizer); Amazon Basics appears as four separate products (Amazon Basics Industrial, plain/high-performance Amazon Basics, Amazon Basics Silver, and Amazon Basics Black); Varta, Duracell, EBL, and Rayovac each appear as two or three separate products split between the alkaline/lithium shootout and the rechargeable legacy segment. 'Enegitech' is spoken throughout as 'ENERGIZER Tech' but is NOT an Energizer product; it is resolved to the description's distinct 'Enegitech' listing per the famous-brand-mangle rule, since no 'Energizer Tech' sub-brand appears in the Products Tested list. 'BEVIGOR' is spoken variously as 'BAVARIA', 'Beva Gore', 'Bava good', and 'Beva Gear'; resolved via the description and tags. 'Voniko' is spoken as 'Vinico'; 'Granicell' is spoken as 'Granny Cell'/'granite cell'. Voniko's capacity result and Granicell's exact pack quantity both appear to be missing from the transcript (caption gaps), and are left null/flagged rather than guessed. No chapters are present in the source metadata (chapters: null), so chapterMap is false.