Best gaming light - ring, key, LED strip, and desk RGB lights for any game room

Elgato Ring Light

Best ring light for most

Elgato Ring Light specifications:

The Elgato Ring Light is the best light for streaming overall. We put it at the top because it balances features and connectivity with price. It's designed especially for live-game streaming and gives a flattering and even light while brightening your eyes for a more engaging video.

The onboard controls are there for changing the brightness and color temperature settings, but you can also tweak these via an app (and WiFi) on Mac, PC, iOS and Android.

The light output of 2500 lumens is one of the highest on the market, and the Ring Light's customizable color temperature range is on par with the more expensive Razer Key Light Chroma below. Whether you want to live stream on Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, the Elgato Ring Light is a perfect fit for the best streaming cameras.

Lume Cube Cordless Ring Light Pro

Best ring light overall

Lume Cube Cordless Ring Light Pro specifications:

This 17-inch ring light has everything a pro streamer could ask for. Out of the box, it comes with a fully adjustable 18-70-inch stand, enabling you to set it up at any height, from a gaming chair to standing upright. A travel case is also included for easy storage or transportation, there's a rear LCD to check settings, and the integrated battery is easy to get on with.

The color temperature of the Ring Light Pro is adjustable from 3200-5600K. Unlike any other streaming lights in this guide, it features Lume Cube's Edge-Lit Technology - the 256 LEDs face inwards with built-in diffusion to deliver the most flattering light quality. With a physical remote control, you can change the light power and temperature on the fly while you're live streaming.

Although the Lume Cube Cordless Ring Light Pro is the most expensive in the guide, it's also the best overall. We couldn't put it in the number one spot because of its price, but if you can afford to add it to your streaming setup and want the very best light, we'd say it was the right choice.

Read our Lume Cube Cordless Ring Light Pro review.

Neewer Basic 5″ Ring Light

Best budget ring light

Neewer Basic 5″ Ring Light specifications:

Neewer is one of the most reliable names in low cost LED lighting, with it offering a wide range of studio and home lighting. The Neewer Basic 5″ Ring Light is exactly what it says, with it offering a simple 5-inch ring light without too many bells and whistles and for an incredibly low price.

What's more, even though it's called basic, it actually comes with quite a few features. You get both a monitor/laptop clip and a mini tripod, it comes with an inline remote that can control power, brightness (10 levels), and color temperature. The latter can be cycled through a range of warm to cool white lighting modes to suit your setup.

With a maximum output of 450Lx illumination at 0.5m, the Neewer Basic 5″ Ring Light isn't setting brightness records but it's enough for most indoor home use and its use of a USB connection means it's convenient for connecting to all sorts of devices away from a mains socket.

Razer Kiyo

Best webcam with ring light

Razer Kiyo specifications:

The Razer Kiyo has been around for over five years, but it's the only streaming light in this guide that doubles up as one of the best webcams. As you don't need to buy separate products for your setup, it's a good way to save desk space and money. The Kiyo mounts onto your monitor, and Auto or Manual focus works to get the picture sharp. It's also possible to adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, and white balance levels.

As a streaming light, the Razer Kiyo is surprisingly powerful. But it can't do colors or effects. If you want to lighten up a dark room so that you can go live with friends, it's a sensible choice. It's suitable for streaming games on YouTube and Twitch, but also for everyday use on video calls. The Razer Kiyo is the best generalist option in this guide.

Elgato Key Light Mini

Best key light for most

Elgato Key Light Mini specifications:

The Elgato Key Light mini is a well-specced yet compact streaming light. It's a portable LED panel, but despite its small size it still has a high-lumen output of 800. The color temperature range is also one of the most versatile on this list. The Key Light Mini is well-designed, with a power button and brightness toggle on its side.

If you want to mount the light onto a monitor, you can do so with Elgato's Multimount system. It also has a ¼-inch thread for mounting it onto a generic stand (sold separately). Unlike wired lights in this list, the Key Light Mini is battery-powered and charged via USB-C. You'll get around 4 hours of light at half brightness, and charging is quick and easy once you run out of juice.

The Elgato Key Light Mini will be a good streaming light for those who want portability, and different positioning options. It's not the cheapest (or most expensive) stream light on this list but is reasonably priced for what you do get.

Joby Beamo Studio Key Light

Best budget key light

Joby Beamo Studio Key Light specifications:

The Joby Beamo Studio Key Light is a great buy for streamers who want to boost the light in their game streaming setup without spending a fortune. Designed to make you look good when streaming on YouTube and Twitch, the light has three color temperatures and 10 brightness levels, although at 650 lux it isn't the most powerful light in this guide.

The Beamo Studio key Light is USB-powered, and the 1.8-meter cable allows you to position it in different spots. It's designed to be used as a tabletop video light, and its relatively small footprint means it won't take up too much room on your gaming desk. It features attachments for streaming microphones to save even more space.

We'd recommend the Joby Beamo Studio Key Light if you want an affordable and versatile light, but you'll get the most impressive result if you buy a pair and create a 2-point lighting setup for your streams.

Read our Joby Studio Key Light review.

Logitech G Litra Beam LX

Most versatile key light

Logitech G Litra Beam LX specifications:

The Logitech G Litra Beam LX is an upgrade on the original, cheaper Litra Beam because it offers dual-sided illumination. The powerful 400-lumen light bar at the front brightens your face and makes you glow. And at the back, customizable RGB lighting livens up your surroundings. This light is a real vibe for gamers and can be linked to other Logitech G products like microphones and keyboards for a gorgeous ecosystem.

When we tested the Litra Beam LX, we were impressed by how easy it was to set up, how flexible it was to position, and the brightness of the key light itself. Using the Logitech G HUB on a desktop allows granular settings changes - from the power output to the color temperature - but there are also buttons on top if you don't want to use any software.

The Litra Beam LX isn't the cheapest product in this guide. But it's slim, elegant and well-built. And for the combination of bright front lighting and gorgeous colored backlighting, it's the most versatile choice here.

Read our Logitech G Litra Beam LX review.

Razer Key Light Chroma

Best RGB key light

Razer Key Light Chroma specifications:

Pros

• Versatile RGB lighting effects
• Very bright max light output
• Comes with a stand

The Razer Key Light Chroma is definitely a premium streaming light, and it isn't the cheapest around. It's a much larger panel than the portable Elgato Key Light below, and because of this can output more than three times the brightness at a maximum of 2800 lumens (which is dimmable in increments).

It also offers RGB lighting, with more than 16.8 million colors on offer to really set the vibe for your live streams. The light can be controlled wirelessly from a smartphone (using Razer's streaming app) or PC (using Razer Synapse), so you can customize it while streaming without having to move. When it comes to placement, the Razer Key Light Chroma comes with a slim clamp mount for securing it to your desk, plus an extendable pole if you want it further away or to the side of you.

If you're a serious streamer and want the very best stream light with RGB lighting, the Razer Key Light Chroma is the best choice.

Govee Smart LED Strip Lights

Best RGB strip lights

Govee Smart LED Strip Lights specifications:

The Govee Smart LED strip lights are a plug-and-play solution that will give you great results from the onset. I've put them in the top spot because they're easy to install, easy to control (with smart home devices or Wi-Fi), and most importantly, look great. They come with an excellent adhesive backing that will stay put wherever you put them.

The Govee App gives you a huge amount of control so that you can get the look you want dialed in perfectly and as they support the whole RGB spectrum, you can find a hue to match your home decor or mood. The power usage is low at 18W. I particularly like that with the Govee App, you can group other Govee lights to turn your home into a light show.

If you don't want the hassle of cutting LED strips to size, connecting them, and controlling them with a fiddly remote, the Govee Alexa LED strip light is a perfect choice for those wanting to elevate the ambiance with ease.

Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons

Best decorative wall lights

Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons specifications:

The Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons are a fantastic modular set of LED strip lights. Their unique shape makes them easier to configure in fun and creative ways - especially if you have a black wall that the cable can blend into. They're not quite powerful enough to fully light a room on their own, but they can do a fantastic job of providing ambient lighting to your room or a bit of flourish to your gaming space.

Unfortunately, they don't look quite as good on lightly colored walls, so think carefully about how black hexagons connected with a black cable will look when contrasted against your wall. It might be a bit too stark against white, but taste is subjective and there's quite a wide spectrum of colors it will look fantastic on.

It's super easy to set up and you don't even need any tools. It's a simple matter of using sticky strips, which they come bundled with. Hexagons might not feel as intuitive to place as regular LED strips, and if you're a bit daunted by the prospect of setting them up, you may be pleased to learn that it comes with a layout assistant and also offers several preset designs that you may wish to follow.

Other than the occasional dodgy connection (which to be honest, is a common problem), we're pretty darn pleased with the Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons. We get that some people are just going to prefer a more traditional LED strip, and that's completely understandable, but there's still a lot to admire here.

Read our Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons review.

Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror Lightstrip Kit

Best screen mirror LED lights

Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror Lightstrip Kit specifications:

One issue with many RGB lights is that it can be tricky to get the lights to quickly match up closely with what's being shown on screen. The Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror and Lightstrip kit (which can be bought separately or together) answers the call by synchronizing what's on-screen with the same color.

It works with gaming monitors and TVs up to 65 inches, working off a camera that looks at the screen to match the colors displayed. The responsive times are speedy the colors accurate.

Optional brackets help line it up and keep the strips taught, and the lights themselves have an adhesive backing to keep them in place. Once in place, the real star of the show is the Screen Mirror which makes the light output the colors shown on your display for an extremely immersive experience. The 4D Lightstrip Kit works with basically every lighting app out there - including Razer Chroma for those who have bought into the ecosystem.

If you want to enhance your gaming (or TV viewing) experience, the Nanoleaf 4D is a terrific solution that works effectively with any voice assistants or apps you use and it brings cinema-like immersion to your home.

Read our full Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirro + Light Strip Kit review.

Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light

Best for gaming desks and shapes

Govee RGBIC Neon Rope Light specifications:

Pros

• Syncs to Razer devices
• Easy to apply to desks

If you want your lighting strip to be visible, strips with individual LEDs can look a bit unsightly. Enter the Govee Neon Rope Light, which looks as cool as the light it emits owing to the silicone shroud that covers the lights beneath.

As the name suggests, it's a neon tube. This doesn't come at the cost of pliability or ease of use as the light strips are as easy as any other to bend and apply. And can be cut to size at 12 different spots so that it snugly fits your desk. Once fitted, you can easily control the lights by either the Govee app or by voice with Alexa or Google Assistant.

For those who want to have their desk lighting out and proud and without the hassle of meticulous planning, the Govee Neon Rope Light is a great choice.

Govee Outdoor LED Strip Lights

Best RGB strip lights for outside

Govee Outdoor LED Strip Lights specifications:

Why keep the RGB goodness relegated to the inside? With an IP65 rating, the Govee Outdoor LED lightstrip can withstand the elements, and the adapter is IP44 waterproof.

While requiring more power than indoor lights, they still only draw 60W from the wall and are far more efficient than traditional outdoor lights. Better still, if you have Govee lights inside, you can sync these up too which is great if you're throwing a party (or gigantic LAN tournament) and want the vibes to extend everywhere.

The provided cable ties, clamps, and adhesive backing means that they really can be put anywhere too. Adjustments are easy with the Govee Hone App, and this allows you to set lighting effects or timers with a tap.

For those who want an affordable outdoor lighting solution that matches what's going on inside, the Govee Outdoor LED lightstrip is ideal.