Also worth noting: While the stand height is supposed to be adjustable up to 72 inches, mine only goes up to about 64 inches, so it may not be the best option for extremely tall plants.

Best Grow Light for Serious Indoor Growers

Vivosun is a long-respected brand among indoor growers, and its LumaLight panels are sturdy and all business. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to find a higher-quality grow light for the price. This is not necessarily a light for casual houseplant parents—the 100-watt, 12 x 12-inch model weighs 4.4 pounds and needs to be attached to the ceiling or inside one of Vivosun's grow tents using the included adjustable ropes and carabiners.

If you're growing fruiting or flowering plants, though, this is the grow light you want—none of the other lights I tested even came close to its level of brightness. That said, you probably won't want it in a main living area, though it is dimmable via a dial on top. The LumaLight is IP65-rated for water resistance, and up to seven units can be daisy-chained if you need.

Best Budget Grow Light

Former WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar loved and recommended this grow light for his houseplants, which features three bendable heads on a clip you can attach to a table or shelf. It has a timer for three, nine, or twelve hours, plus a 10-foot cord if you need to place it away from an outlet. It also has warm and cool lighting options in addition to full spectrum, if you want to use it for ambiance (despite it looking, in my opinion, sort of like a creepy Freddy Krueger glove), plus 10 dimming modes. Right now, the base price on Amazon is for a two-pack.

Alternatives to Traditional Grow Lights

If you don’t have the space or desire for a classic grow light, I’ve used all three options below for at least a year, and all resulted in happy plants.

Other Grow Lights Tested

Sansi Pot Clip-On Plant Lights for $30: These Sansi grow lights came in handy when I was living in a dark basement with minimal light for plants and hardly any space to store them. They clip directly onto the pot, so you don't need a dedicated stand or extra space, and they run on a three-, six-, or twelve-hour timer. The long cord (just over 6 feet) also helps in awkward or tight spaces. These lights helped my Monstera stay alive over winter with almost no natural light. Just be aware that the clips work best on thin pots, though you can also stick them on a chopstick or stake if needed, thanks to the adjustable gooseneck, depending on how tall your plant is. —Louryn Strampe

Ferry-Morse Indoor Grow Light Fixture for $40: This T5 fluorescent bulb is meant to sit in a fixture on little metal pole legs over a 10 x 20-inch seedling tray, but it seemed a bit rickety when I assembled it and set it up, and the light bulb wouldn’t turn on for me despite extensive troubleshooting.