The best BR30 LED bulbs

A BR30 is a bulged reflector bulb measuring 30 eighths of an inch across the face - 3.75 inches. The number is a size, not a brightness, and the letters describe the shape: a curved reflector that pushes light outward in a wide, soft-edged flood instead of a beam. That is why it became the default in residential recessed cans.

Two neighbors confuse the aisle. An R20 is only 2.5 inches across, so in a 6 inch can it sits back in the hole and lights a much smaller pool. A PAR30 is exactly the same 3.75 inches as a BR30, but the beam is tighter and the edges are harder - useful for aiming at art, wrong for lighting a room evenly.

Whether a BR30 suits a 5 inch can is the one question makers answer differently. Feit says the BR30 is designed for standard 6 inch housings. Sunco says its BR30 fits 5 inch or 6 inch cans. There is no standard that settles it, so read the page for the bulb you are buying.

1. Published lumens. A 65W-equivalent BR30 should land between about 650 and 850 lumens. We use the maker's figure, and where the listing and the maker disagree we say so rather than quoting the flattering one.
2. Beam angle. This is what separates a flood from a spotlight in a ceiling. Only two of these bulbs publish it, which is itself a reason to prefer them. Background is in beam angle and spread.
3. Rated life, because of the ladder. A can bulb that dies early costs more in effort than in money. The spread here is wide: 10,000 hours to 25,000.
4. Ratings that decide where it can go. Enclosed-fixture and damp ratings are published by some makers and not others, and an unrated bulb in a sealed can runs hot.
5. Color quality and dimming behavior. CRI 80 is the category norm here; one pick trades color for the ability to warm as it dims.

We did not test these bulbs. Every figure is the manufacturer's published specification, or the retailer listing where no manufacturer page exists, and the source for each is at the foot of this page.

Sunco BR30, 2700K - the pick. 850 lumens, a published 110 degree beam, 25,000 hours and a five-year warranty. It is the brightest here, it is damp rated so a covered porch or a bathroom can is fair game, and the beam figure means you can predict what it does to a ceiling rather than guess.
Cons: no enclosed-fixture rating is published; the Amazon spec table contradicts Sunco's own page on CRI and ENERGY STAR; and it is sold in twelve-packs.

Philips BR30 Warm Glow - for cans on a dimmer. This is the only pick that changes color as it dims, from 2700K down to about 2200K, which is what an incandescent did and what most people are unconsciously expecting when they turn a living room down. It is ENERGY STAR certified and the distributor spec sheet lists it as suitable for enclosed fixtures.
Cons: 650 lumens is the dimmest of the four, so a sparse ceiling will feel it; sources disagree on rated life, 25,000 hours on the spec sheet against 15,000 on Philips' page for the sibling pack; and there is no damp rating.

Amazon Basics BR30 - the cheapest way to fill a ceiling. 810 lumens at 2700K, dimmable, in six and sixteen packs. For a rental, a basement or a hallway where nobody is studying the light, this is the sensible amount to spend.
Cons: 10,000 hours is less than half the others, which matters most in exactly the high ceilings where cans are hardest to reach; no beam angle, enclosed or damp rating is published anywhere.

Feit BR30 with Switch Mode - when you cannot decide on color. CRI 90, the best color rendering here, and five color temperatures you can step through from the wall switch once Switch Mode is set on the bulb. In a ceiling of cans you cannot reach, that is the only practical way to audition 3000K against 4000K.
Cons: 650 lumens each; you step through every setting in order to reach the one you want; and the warranty is five years on Feit's page but one year in the Amazon spec table.

Match the can, then the color. Confirm the bulb maker's own page covers your can size, and buy every bulb in the room at one color temperature. For living spaces that is 2700K; kitchens can justify 3000K. The full mapping is in the color temperature chart.

Check the fixture before the bulb. A sealed or insulation-contact can traps heat, and only the Philips here publishes an enclosed rating. If your cans are sealed, start at best LED bulbs for enclosed fixtures.

Expect the dimmer to be the problem. Flicker at the bottom of the range is almost always a dimmer mismatch rather than a faulty bulb, and swapping brands rarely fixes it. The diagnosis is in why dimmable LED bulbs flicker.

If color accuracy matters, look higher than CRI 80. Three of these four are CRI 80, which is the category norm and is visibly flat on wood and food. The high-CRI BR30 options, including the YUJILEDS CRI-MAX BR30, are in best high-CRI LED bulbs.