The best flame effect light bulbs

For a porch lantern or a downward sconce, the Hompavo 2-pack - four modes including the upside-down effect, in a standard E26 base, for fifteen dollars. For four fittings at once, the Bitrue 4-pack has a gravity sensor that sets the flame direction for you and is the cheapest here per bulb.

Be clear about what these are. Three of the four publish no lumen figure, no kelvin and no CRI, because they are not light sources - they are an orange animation in a bulb-shaped package. That is a perfectly good thing to buy for a porch in December. It is not a thing to light a room with.

Everything else in the bulbs hub is judged on lumens, kelvin and CRI. This page cannot be, because the category does not publish them - and unlike salt lamps, where there is a physical reason, here it is simply that nobody measures a decoration.

That changes how you should shop. The useful questions are mechanical: does it work the right way up in the fitting you own, how many bulbs do you need, and will it still be in the socket in February. The comparison table above is built from those rather than from output, because output is not on offer.

The exception is worth noting. The Linkind Smart Light Stick publishes 850 lumens because it is a genuine smart bulb that happens to have a flame mode. It costs four to six times as much as a plain flame bulb and it is the only one here that is still useful when the decorations come down.

1. Upside-down operation. Most decorative fittings point down. A flame that points down with them is the one thing that spoils the effect instantly.
2. Pack size against real fittings. Two lanterns or four, and the cost per bulb that follows.
3. A steady mode. Every bulb here has one, and it is the setting people fall back to when the flicker gets tiring.
4. Whether anything is published at all. One bulb states 850 lumens; the rest state nothing, and this page says so rather than filling the gap.

We did not test these; every figure is the listing's own.

Hompavo flame bulbs, 2 pack - the pick. Four modes including upside-down, standard E26/E27 base, listed for indoor and outdoor decoration.
Who it is for: a pair of porch lanterns or wall sconces that point down. Who should skip it: anyone with four or more fittings - the 4-pack costs the same per bulb and sets itself.
Cons: no lumen figure, so it is decoration rather than a porch light; the flicker loop is obvious from close up; two per pack; no kelvin or CRI.

Bitrue flame bulbs, 4 pack - for a run of fittings. A gravity sensor orients the flame automatically, four bulbs to a box, four modes.
Who it is for: four lanterns, a porch run, or a party where bulbs go in several different fittings. Who should skip it: anyone with two sockets - you are buying two spares.
Cons: the most expensive box here; no published lumen figure; a gravity sensor can hunt in a fitting that is not quite vertical; Halloween pricing moves sharply in the autumn.

Linkind Smart Light Stick - the one that is also a bulb. 850 lumens, tunable white, color, 50 addressable zones and a flame effect, working with Alexa, Apple Home and Google Home.
Who it is for: anyone who wants the effect in October and a usable bulb in January. Who should skip it: anyone buying for a single seasonal evening - this is thirty dollars a bulb.
Cons: four to six times the price of a plain flame bulb; 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only, and a device per bulb; the stick shape needs a fitting with room for it; no CRI published, so not a bulb to read under.

hyrion flame bulbs, 2 pack - the cheap try. Ten dollars for a pair with the same four modes and upside-down setting.
Who it is for: finding out whether you like the effect at all, for one season. Who should skip it: anyone expecting it to still be working next October.
Cons: cheapest construction here, so the shortest life; no gravity sensor; no published figures of any kind; availability drops after Halloween.