2024 test29 productsBatteries & Power Banks
Which AA Batteries (alkaline And Lithium) Brand Wins?
We compared 29 aa batteries (alkaline and lithium) options head to head. Blinkspower came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Some figures on this page were transcribed from the test video and have not been independently re-verified. Treat the numbers as a close guide and watch the full video for the exact readings.
Winner
Blinkspower
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Budget pick
Power Owl
Price shown in test: $1.56 per cell
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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 | Spec claims | Device drain capacity test | High-drain device test (1.25A load) | Subfreezing test (~0F) | 2-cell fan runtime test | Capacity | Test description | Eneloop | Energizer (rechargeable) | Amazon Basics (black) | Amazon Basics (silver) | EBL (rechargeable) | Ikea Ladda | Power Ex | Duracell (rechargeable) | Active Energy | Varta (rechargeable, about 5 years old) | High-drain re-test after recharging (1.25A load) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Varta$20 for 100 batteries (20 cents each) | made in Indonesia, weighs 23.12 g, 1.61V, 87 milliohm internal resistance | 6 hours 9 minutes runtime, 1,829 mAh capacity | 1.21 V | 0.83 V | 3 hours 14 minutes, the shortest of all 16 alkaline brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Thunderbolt (Magnum) Harbor Freight house brand23 cents per battery | claims reliable, long lasting and dependable; made in China, 23.7 g, 1.62V, 88 milliohm internal resistance | 7 hours 10 minutes runtime, 2,130 mAh capacity | 1.21 V | 0.75 V | 5 hours 36 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3EBL$8 for 28 batteries (29 cents each) | claims high performance and leak proof; made in China, 1.61V, 97 milliohm internal resistance (high); weight in the transcript reads "2.93 G" which is roughly 10x lighter than every neighboring AA battery weight (all in the low-to-mid 20s of grams); almost certainly a dropped digit, likely intended near 22.93 g, kept verbatim | 7 hours 34 minutes runtime, 2,248 mAh capacity, the best of the first 4 brands tested | 1.21 V | 0.75 V | transcript renders this as 'DBL' at 4 hours 36 minutes, resolved to EBL by testing-order position | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4ACDelco30 cents per battery | made in Vietnam, transcript states it is "designed and distributed by Paramax USA"; weighs 23.24 g | 7 hours 27 minutes runtime, 2,213 mAh capacity, 2nd best of the first 4 brands | 1.21 V | 0.75 V | 4 hours 14 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Paramax33 cents per battery | claims long lasting, consistent and reliable power; made in Vietnam (same country as ACDelco), 1.6V, 97 milliohm internal resistance, 23.11 g | 6 hours 54 minutes runtime; capacity transcript reads "253" mAh which is far below every neighboring alkaline's 1,800 to 2,500 mAh range, almost certainly a dropped leading digit, likely intended as 2,253 mAh, kept verbatim | 1.21 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Thunderbolt Edge Harbor Freight house brand42 cents per battery, about twice the price of the regular Thunderbolt (Magnum) | claims to last as long as "the competition"; made in China, 1.6V, 68 milliohm internal resistance (best of the lineup up to that point), 24.2 g (heaviest of the lineup up to that point) | 7 hours 39 minutes runtime (stated as 29 minutes longer than the regular Thunderbolt's 7h10m), 2,273 mAh capacity, took the lead at that point in the showdown | not tested | 0.75 V | 8 hours 15 minutes, the longest of all 16 alkaline brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Amazon Basics alkaline AA43 cents per battery | made in China, 1.61V, 87 milliohm internal resistance (average), 23.12 g | 6 hours 49 minutes runtime, 2,026 mAh capacity | 1.21 V | 0.75 V | 4 hours 37 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Energizer regular alkaline56 cents per battery | claims up to 50 percent longer lasting, 7 year shelf life; made in Singapore, 1.61V, 94 milliohm internal resistance, 22.86 g | 6 hours 51 minutes runtime; capacity transcript reads "235" mAh, far below the surrounding 2,000+ mAh range, almost certainly a dropped digit, likely intended as 2,350 mAh, kept verbatim | 1.21 V | 0.75 V | 4 hours 43 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Duracell alkaline (Copper Top implied)57 cents per battery | assembled in USA, 23.36 g, 59 milliohm internal resistance (best of the lineup up to that point) | 8 hours 16 minutes runtime (longest of the lineup up to that point), 2,456 mAh capacity (highest of the lineup up to that point), finished 3rd overall on final capacity ranking | 1.36 V, the highest of all 16 alkaline brands | 0.98 V, tied for the best of all 16 alkaline brands with Kirkland and Energizer Max | 6 hours 37 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Kirkland65 cents per battery | typically sold at Costco, claims 7 year shelf life and no mercury added; assembled in USA, 1.68V, 61 milliohm internal resistance, 23.41 g | 8 hours 12 minutes runtime, 2,439 mAh capacity | 1.28 V, tied for 2nd place with Energizer Max | 0.98 V, tied for the best of all 16 alkaline brands | 7 hours 29 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Panasonic alkaline67 cents per battery | claims extremely powerful alkaline batteries; cells made in Thailand, 1.6V, 80 milliohm internal resistance, 23.61 g | 7 hours 42 minutes runtime, 2,287 mAh capacity | 1.21 V | 0.75 V | 6 hours 24 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Energizer Max75 cents per battery | claims up to 50 percent longer lasting plus better performance in extreme temperatures, 12 year shelf life; made in China, 23.9 g, 1.63V, 76 milliohm internal resistance | 8 hours 16 minutes runtime (tied with Duracell for longest of the lineup up to that point), 2,459 mAh capacity, finished 2nd overall on final capacity ranking, barely edging out Duracell | 1.28 V, tied for 2nd place with Kirkland | 0.98 V, tied for the best of all 16 alkaline brands | 8 hours 3 minutes, 3rd best of all 16 alkaline brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 13Rayovac Fusion83 cents per battery | claims holds power up to 12 years in storage, described in its own marketing as the most powerful alkaline AA battery from Rayovac; made in USA, 1.6V, 78 milliohm internal resistance, 23.11 g | 8 hours 24 minutes runtime (longest of all 16 alkaline brands), 2,498 mAh capacity, the single best capacity result of all 16 alkaline brands | 1.21 V | 0.9 V | 8 hours 7 minutes, 2nd best of all 16 alkaline brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14Power One88 cents per battery | claims three layer safety and leak proof design; made in Germany, 1.58V, 71 milliohm internal resistance, 23.38 g | 6 hours 10 minutes runtime, 1,831 mAh capacity, the worst capacity result of all 16 alkaline brands | 1.13 V, described as struggling | 0.9 V | 5 hours 14 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 15Eveready Gold$1.25 per battery | claims 10 year shelf life; made in Singapore, 1.58V, 101 milliohm internal resistance, the highest (worst) internal resistance of all 16 alkaline brands, 23.35 g | 7 hours 53 minutes runtime, 2,342 mAh capacity | not tested | 0.75 V | 6 hours 18 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 16Procell | owned by Duracell; made in Belgium, 1.6V, 75 milliohm internal resistance, 24.6 g, the heaviest of all 16 alkaline brands | 7 hours 25 minutes runtime; capacity transcript reads "2,23" mAh which is truncated, likely intended as approximately 2,230 mAh, kept verbatim | 1.21 V | 0.9 V | 6 hours 25 minutes | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 17Galvita lithium AA$1.25 per cell | claims no-liquid technology and a 20 year shelf life (shelf life explicitly not tested); made in China, 15.88 g, 1.81V, 274 milliohm internal resistance, by far the worst (highest) internal resistance recorded up to that point in the video | not tested | 1.06 V, described as really struggling, the weakest of all lithium brands | 0.68 V, the weakest of all lithium brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 18Bevigor lithium AA$1.46 per cell | claims no leakage, up to 3,000 mAh; made in China, 1.79V, 144 milliohm internal resistance; weight garbled in the transcript ("15.58176") | 11 hours 47 minutes runtime | 1.28 V | 1.06 V, tied for best-so-far with Allmax at that point | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 19Allmax lithium AA | internal resistance of 138 milliohms (price introduction was not clearly captured in the transcript before this spec, likely a caption gap); weighs 15.7 g | 11 hours 51 minutes runtime | 1.36 V, the best of the lithium brands up to that point in the test | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 20Power Owl$1.56 per cell | claims 3,000 mAh, no leakage, more safety; made in China, 1.8V, 118 milliohm internal resistance; weight garbled in the transcript | 12 hours 20 minutes runtime, took the lead in the lithium showdown at that point | 1.36 V | 1.21 V, the best cold-temperature result of all lithium brands, won this category outright | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 21NRT lithium AA$1.63 per cell | claims 20 year shelf life with a very low self-discharge rate; made in China, 1.79V, 225 milliohm internal resistance, 15.7 g | not tested | 1.28 V | 0.98 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 22Tipsun lithium AA$1.75 per cell | claims locks in power for up to 15 years; made in China, 1.92V (narrator remarks it 'seems overcharged'), 129 milliohm internal resistance; weight garbled in the transcript | not tested | 1.43 V, tied for the highest of all lithium brands with Enegitech | 0.98 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 23Voniko lithium AA$1.75 per cell | claims lasts up to 10 years and stays as good as the day it was made; made in China, 1.78V, 151 milliohm internal resistance; weight garbled in the transcript | not tested | 1.28 V | 0.98 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 24Enegitech lithium AA | claims not to leak for up to 2 years after being fully used up; made in China, 1.87V, 179 milliohm internal resistance; weight garbled in the transcript; price introduction not clearly captured, likely a caption gap | not tested | 1.43 V, tied for the highest of all lithium brands with Tipsun | 1.06 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 25Ninmax lithium AA | claims 20 year shelf life; made in China, 1.8V, 155 milliohm internal resistance, 15.62 g; price introduction not clearly captured, likely a caption gap | 12 hours 6 minutes runtime, 3,588 mAh capacity | 1.36 V | 1.06 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 26Bonai lithium AA$2.00 per cell | claims 3,500 mAh capacity; made in China, 1.8V, 107 milliohm internal resistance, the best (lowest) resistance among lithium brands recorded up to that point; weight garbled in the transcript | 12 hours 20 minutes runtime, 3,670 mAh capacity, 3rd best of all lithium brands | 1.36 V | 1.13 V, 2nd best cold-temperature result behind Power Owl | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 27Energizer Lithium | marketed by the manufacturer as 'the number one longest lasting battery'; made in Singapore, 1.8V, 131 milliohm internal resistance; weight garbled in the transcript; price introduction not clearly captured, likely a caption gap | 12 hours 29 minutes runtime; capacity transcript reads "377" mAh which is far below the surrounding 3,500 to 3,700+ mAh lithium range, almost certainly a dropped digit, likely intended as approximately 3,770 mAh, kept verbatim; finished 2nd overall on final lithium capacity ranking per the closing recap | 1.36 V | 1.06 V | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 28Blinkspower lithium AA | no distinct spec/price introduction segment was captured for this brand in the transcript; it first appears directly in the runtime recap | 12 hours 33 minutes runtime, the longest of all lithium brands | 1.36 V | not tested | not tested | 3,728 mAh, the highest capacity of all lithium brands, won this category outright per the closing recap | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 296-year rechargeable AA battery durability retest (separate segment) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | Narrator retested a set of rechargeable AA batteries first put into service about 6 years earlier in solar-powered outdoor lights (roughly 2,200 charge/discharge cycles), discharging each at a 700 milliamp rate after a fresh full charge | 1,874 mAh, described as almost as good as new; transcript renders the name as 'in Loop' | 1,931 mAh, described as doing great; a distinct product line from the alkaline Energizer, Energizer Max and Energizer Lithium entries above | 1,754 mAh, working properly | failed the discharge test entirely, described as no longer any good | 1,733 mAh, about 1,000 mAh below its rating; a distinct product line from the alkaline EBL entry above | 2,385 mAh, described as still about as good as new; transcript renders the name as 'Ikea L' | rated for 2,600 mAh but only reached 588 mAh, described as running out of steam; transcript renders the name as 'powerx' | only 259 mAh, described as in bad shape; a distinct product line from the alkaline Duracell entry above | the only battery in its final test group functioning properly at the full 700 mA target, but only in service about 5 years versus 6 for the others | lost about 250 mAh of capacity since last tested; transcript renders this group's results as 'Thunderbolt... 1,634 mahs Rayovac and V... 997 and 1,960', which reuses brand names (Thunderbolt, Rayovac) already assigned to unrelated single-use alkaline products earlier in the same video; this pairing could not be confidently resolved and is flagged rather than guessed | Eneloop 1.21 V (best of the group), Energizer (rechargeable) 0.83 V (running low), Amazon Basics black 0.98 V, Amazon Basics silver could not support the load at all, EBL 0.68 V (bad shape), Ikea Ladda 0.98 V, PowerEx and Duracell (rechargeable) no longer working properly, Varta/Active Energy (about 5 years old) both at 1.06 V |
How it was tested
- device capacity drain test measuring runtime and mAh capacity in a constant-current tester
- voltage under a 1.25 amp high-drain load
- voltage performance in a sub-freezing (~0 degrees F) freezer
- 2-cell fan runtime test
- dead vs fully charged battery bounce height myth test (Duracell only, aside from the main brand comparison)
- separate 6-year daily-use durability retest of previously reviewed rechargeable AA batteries (distinct segment, see summary product entry)
“Looking at just performance and not the price, the blinks power which is a lithium cell came out on top with an average finish of 2.3... If one factors price into the equation, power out [Power Owl] moves from second place to first, in my opinion it's a great battery for a fair price and would definitely be my choice.”