2019 test12 productsBatteries & Power Banks
Which AA Rechargeable Battery Brand Wins?
We compared 12 aa rechargeable battery options head to head. Duracell came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Duracell
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Runner-up
IKEA LADDA
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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 | 1 year used-in-solar-lights capacity test | 1 year shelf storage capacity test | Internal resistance, shelf-stored battery | Internal resistance, 1 year used battery | Composite 3-category average finish (shelf capacity percent, used capacity percent, internal resistance) | Composite 3-category average finish | 42 day shelf self-discharge checkpoint | Internal resistance, after about 8 months of testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Duracell | rated 2,450 mAh, produced 2,488 mAh, 102 percent of rating, highest absolute output of all 10 brands after a year of daily use | rated 2,450 mAh, produced 2,007 mAh, about 82 percent of rating, tied with IKEA LADDA for the best percentage retained after a year on the shelf; no individual initial-voltage reading was given for this brand in the transcript | 54 milliohms | 71 milliohms, just 1 milliohm behind the IKEA LADDA | finished in first place overall, narrowly ahead of the IKEA LADDA | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2IKEA LADDA | produced 2,388 mAh, 97 percent of rating (exact rated mAh not restated at this point in the transcript) | initial voltage 1.2 V, the highest of its test group, rated 2,450 mAh, produced 2,017 mAh, about 82 percent of rating, the highest absolute milliamp hour figure of all 10 brands after a year on the shelf | 63 milliohms | 70 milliohms, in the lead at that point in testing | not tested | finished in second place overall, narrowly behind Duracell | tied with Duracell for the most remaining charge, with Power Rex very closely behind | not tested |
| 3Power Rex | rated 2,600 mAh, produced 2,426 mAh, 93 percent of rating; presenter notes it was not too far behind Duracell's absolute output | rated 2,600 mAh, produced 1,871 mAh, about 72 percent of rating; no individual initial-voltage reading was given for this brand | 77 milliohms | 88 milliohms | not tested | not explicitly placed into a numbered final tier in the narration; based on its individual results it sits between the top 2 (Duracell, IKEA) and the tied 4th place pair | very closely behind the IKEA LADDA and Duracell tie for most remaining charge | not tested |
| 4Amazon Basics Black | rated 1,900 mAh, produced 1,879 mAh, 99 percent of rating, tied for the lead at that point in testing with the Eneloop | initial voltage 1.19 V, led its first test group, rated 1,900 mAh, produced 1,526 mAh, about 80 percent of rating | 72 milliohms | 124 milliohms | not tested | tied for fourth place overall with the Eneloop | one of the three lowest self-discharge brands, averaging about 0.16 to 0.17 percent loss per day, only about 7 percent charge lost after 42 days | not tested |
| 5Amazon Basics Silver | rated 2,400 mAh, produced 2,337 mAh, 97 percent of rating | initial voltage 1.18 V, rated 2,400 mAh, produced 1,864 mAh, about 78 percent of rating | 58 milliohms | 112 milliohms | not tested | tied for fifth place overall with the Energizer | not tested | not tested |
| 6Panasonic Eneloop | produced 1,878 mAh, 99 percent of rating, tied for the lead at that point with the Amazon Basics Black | initial voltage 1.16 V, rated 1,900 mAh, produced 1,400 mAh, about 74 percent of rating | 77 milliohms | 78 milliohms, the best reading seen at that point in testing | not tested | tied for fourth place overall with the Amazon Basics Black | not tested | not tested |
| 7Energizer | rated 2,000 mAh, produced 1,919 mAh, 96 percent of rating | initial voltage 1.18 V, rated 2,000 mAh, produced 1,600 mAh, 80 percent of rating | 64 milliohms | 93 milliohms, the best of all batteries measured at that point in testing | not tested | tied for fifth place overall with the Amazon Basics Silver | one of the three lowest self-discharge brands, averaging about 0.16 to 0.17 percent loss per day, only about 7 percent charge lost after 42 days | not tested |
| 8EBL | rated 2,800 mAh, produced only 2,392 mAh, 85 percent of rating | initial voltage 1.11 V, the worst of its test group, rated 2,800 mAh, produced only 1,325 mAh, less than 50 percent of rated capacity, about 47 percent | 108 milliohms | 232 milliohms, explicitly called the worst of all batteries measured at that point in testing | not tested | finished in the bottom 3 overall (all three bottom finishers are the brands made in China); exact ordering within the bottom 3 is not stated, but this brand's 47 percent shelf-capacity figure is the single worst percentage result recorded in the video | worst self-discharge rate of the brands checked at this interval, about 0.32 percent loss per day, nearly twice the rate of the better performing brands | not tested |
| 9Harbor Freight Thunderbolt | rated 2,200 mAh, produced 2,085 mAh, 95 percent of rating | initial voltage 1.15 V, rated 2,200 mAh, produced only 1,291 mAh, about 59 percent of rating; presenter reacts 'wow, that's a lot of self-discharge' | 57 milliohms | 192 milliohms | not tested | finished in the bottom 3 overall (all three bottom finishers are the brands made in China); exact ordering within the bottom 3 is not stated | not tested | not tested |
| 10Rayovac | rated 1,350 mAh, produced 1,267 mAh, 94 percent of rating | initial voltage 1.15 V, rated 1,350 mAh, produced 1,023 mAh, about 76 percent of rating | 82 milliohms | 215 milliohms, the second worst reading recorded (behind only the EBL's 232 milliohms) | not tested | finished in the bottom 3 overall (all three bottom finishers are the brands made in China); exact ordering within the bottom 3 is not stated | not tested | not tested |
| 11Varta | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 144 milliohms |
| 12Active Energy | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 114 milliohms |
How it was tested
- 1 year used-capacity test: one set of each brand cycled daily in outdoor solar lights for nearly a year (300+ charge and discharge cycles), then run through a full charge, rest, discharge, rest, recharge cycle on a PowerEx MH-C9000 Wizard One charger/analyzer to measure actual milliamp hour output versus rated capacity
- 42 day shelf self-discharge checkpoint (partial data, not all 10 brands reported)
- 1 year shelf storage test: a separate, unused set of each brand stored for nearly a year, initial voltage measured, then charged for 4 hours and discharge capacity measured versus rated capacity
- internal resistance test using an Opus BT-3400 charger/analyzer, measured on both the shelf-stored set and the 1 year used set for each brand
- composite 3-category average finish combining shelf capacity percent, used capacity percent, and internal resistance
“the Duracell average finishing in first place, narrowly ahead of the IKEA”