The best budget bike lights will help keep you safe and seen while commuting or riding at night.
Of course, you could spend a small fortune on high-end lights, but they're not essential if you just want to keep pedalling safely at night.
Over the last 17 years, we've tested more than 500 lights, covering a range of budgets, from four-figure mountain bike lights to various cheaper commuting lights.
Keeping an eye on value for money is key in our tests, with the most expensive lights not always bettering budget options when it comes to beam pattern, battery life and brightness.
It's also worthwhile to consider that bike light laws in the UK stipulate your bike must have working front and back lights on public roads between sunset and sunrise.
Therefore, a set of lights is a wise investment if you cycle to work, and a spare set of budget bike lights could save the day on winter training rides.
This list of budget bike lights contains the best front bike lights we've tested under £50 / $60 and the best rear lights cheaper than £30 / $35.
We have also included our buyer's guide below the best list to detail what to look for when buying your next budget bike light.
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Navigation
- Best budget front lights
- Best budget rear lights
- How we picked and tested the lights
- Why you can trust BikeRadar
- Budget bike lights buyer's guide
Editor's note: We updated our best budget bike lights list on 25 October, 2024, with our latest budget light reviews. We added an 'also consider' section for lights that didn't score 4 stars or above and our buyer's guide to budget lights at the bottom of the page.
Best budget bike lights in 2024
Best budget front lights
Lezyne Hecto Drive 500XL
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- £40 / $44.99 as tested
- Pros: Good brightness; easy to mount; small form
- Cons: Short runtime
The Lezyne Hecto Drive 500XL illuminates unlit roads better than its 500-lumen output would suggest.
However, with a relatively short run-time in max power mode, the Hecto Drive is best suited to urban streets.
Specs
Max lumens: 500 | Runtime (max power): 1 hour | Modes: 8 | Weight: 84g
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NiteRider Swift 500 front light
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- £25 as tested
- Pros: Plenty of brightness; quick to charge; intuitive design
- Cons: Harsh edges to beam
The NiteRider Swift 500 front light is an ideal light for commuting. It is simple to use, robust, waterproof and cheap at £25.
The runtime when using its full 500-lumen beam is relatively short, lasting only 1 hour 30 minutes. But this will be sufficient for most commutes and our tester found it quick to charge.
Specs
Max lumens: 500 | Runtime (max power): 1 hour 30 minutes | Modes: 5 | Weight: 83g
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More budget front lights
Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+
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- £32 / $29.99 / €29.95 as tested
- Pros: Great battery life; good interface; USB-C charging
- Cons: Charging cable not provided; underperformed in runtime test
The Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+ provides good visibility at the front of your bike and is easy to use.
Our tester, Oscar, appreciated the USB-C charging port but was left underwhelmed when no cable was provided in the box.
Despite underperforming against its claimed runtime, the light lasted for an impressive duration.
Specs
Max lumens: 300 | Runtime (max power): 2 hours 25 mins | Modes: 3 | Weight: 72g
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Ravemen FR160 Pro
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- £45 / $40 as tested
- Pros: Impressive integration; good visibility; keeps bar looking clean
- Cons: Not the brightest; Wahoo parts not supplied
Instead of mounting directly to your bar, the Raveman FR160 uses your Garmin mount to attach to the bike.
A female mount on top of the light enables you to still use your device, overall giving a very clean aesthetic.
Our tester, Ashley, liked the integration but found the brightness to be too little in the daytime.
Specs
Max lumens: 160 | Runtime (max power): 5 hours | Modes: 6 | Weight: 299g
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Best budget rear bike lights
Lezyne Stick Drive
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- £35 as tested
- Pros: Impressive visibility; great brightness; lightweight
- Cons: Not the longest runtime
The Lezyne Stick Drive is a good light at a great price.
Besides being impressively bright and visible, the rubber band attachment makes the Stick Drive simple to mount.
The light plugs directly into a USB port for charging.
Specs
Max lumens: 30 | Runtime (max power): 1 hour 30 mins | Modes: 7 | Weight: 23g
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NiteRider Bullet 200
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- £35 / $45 as tested
- Pros: Easy to use; near 360-degree vision; highly effective
- Cons: Not the firmest mount; micro-USB charging
The Bullet 300 offers great visibility, with its 200-lumen beam spreading far and wide thanks to its distinctive shape.
The design enables the light to almost be seen from the front of the bike, helping to keep you visible from all angles.
Our tester, Ashley, found the bracket for the light struggled to keep it in place on bumpy roads, although this didn't impact performance massively.
Specs
Max lumens: 200 | Runtime (max power): 14 hours 30 mins | Modes: 6 | Weight: 68g
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Oxford Ultratorch R75
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- £30 as tested
- Pros: Lightweight; intuitive design; good battery life
- Cons: Becomes quite hot; no daytime mode
The Ultratorch R75 offers great performance in a small package.
Despite its low price, the Oxford light provides effective visibility in low-lit cityscapes and dark country lanes.
Our tester, Robyn, found the light became quite warm in the brightest setting, although this didn't affect the functionality.
Specs
Max lumens: 75 | Runtime (max power): 2 hours 15 mins | Modes: 4 | Weight: 50g
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Sigma Buster RL 150
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- £30 as tested
- Pros: Simple to use; compact size; useful features.
- Cons: Not the brightest
The Sigma Buster RL 150 is a compact rear light, which lived up to its claimed four-hour battery life in testing.
With a maximum output of 150 lumens, it’s not the most powerful rear bike light. But its speed brake light mode is a welcome extra, which should alert other road users to your decrease in speed.
Specs
Max lumens: 150 | Runtime (max power): Up to 4 hours | Modes: 6 | Weight: 38g
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How we picked and reviewed the best budget bike lights
When picking the best budget bike lights, price was the main factor – alongside brightness, runtime, beam pattern and general usability.
We tested the lights by heading out on night rides to gain real-world experience of their performance.
This enabled our impartial testers to find any benefits or shortfalls that might be hiding in the design.
For every light we test, we compare overall performance, functionality, usability and value for money.
The pros and cons section added to each entry enables you to see specific areas where one light may excel or to cherry-pick certain functionality when looking for a budget bike light.
This list gets updated every time we review a budget bike light that scores highly enough, with every light included worth considering for your purchase.
Why you can trust BikeRadar
BikeRadar has been an authority on bikes and cycling tech since its inception in 2007, delivering the world’s best riding advice.
We have experts testing all types of bikes, parts, clothing and accessories, from road, mountain and gravel bikes to commuting, bikepacking and electric bikes.
Our reviews are always editorially independent – with no exceptions. Our reviewers comprehensively test all products in the real world, always reflecting on performance, value and the wider market when delivering their verdicts and review ratings.
We have more than 15,000 product reviews available at your fingertips, as well as expert buying, maintenance, training, skills, health and fitness advice.
Our annual Bike of the Year test is an industry benchmark and the BikeRadar team consists of some of the most experienced riders and testers in the business.
Budget bike light buyer's guide
When looking for budget bike lights, it's important to remember that the cheapest option isn't always the best value for money.
While it's possible to find bike lights for around the £5 mark, these are usually very dim and will do very little to make you visible.
With this in mind, it's worth considering these four factors when buying your next budget bike light:
Lumens
At this price point, it's unlikely you'll find a light with enough power to light a forest floor, but the higher the lumens the more visible you'll be on the roads.
Lights with around 500 lumens may be bright enough to navigate in some particularly dak conditions.
Lights with fewer than 500 lumens should be treated as 'be seen' lights only.
Runtime
Make sure the runtime of the light is ample enough to cover the time you intend to spend on your bike because this will keep you from being left in the dark should it run out mid-ride. We've listed the runtimes of all lights on this list, based on our own real-world testing.
Beam pattern
Beam pattern will dictate how the light is focused; a wide pattern at this price range will increase the angle at which you are visible, while a spot-focused light will give you a brighter light patch on the road to help with navigation.
Battery type
The cheapest bike lights will use a disposable battery, so you'll have to replace this when it runs out.
Many budget bike lights feature a rechargeable battery to keep the battery topped up, so you have a good idea of how much runtime you have before setting off on your ride.
What about other bike lights?
If you haven't found the right bike lights for you, our guide to the best bike lights for road cycling includes a wide range of more expensive options.
Or, if you go trail riding at night, head to our guide to the best mountain bike lights.
