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Sarah Witman is a writer focused on batteries and charging accessories. She has spent countless hours charging, discharging, and recharging batteries. ionic battery
We’ve added some new information on our favorite battery/charger bundles.
Regardless of whether you pop them into a wireless mouse, a toy, or a flashlight, rechargeable AA and AAA batteries almost always last longer, cost less, and result in less waste than their disposable counterparts.
After spending thousands of hours researching and testing rechargeable batteries, we found that many perform about the same.
Most are made in China, Japan, or South Korea and contain roughly the same components. So it was unsurprising that several models—including AAs and AAAs from EBL, AAs and AAAs from HiQuick, and AAs and AAAs from Tenergy—had nearly identical results in our tests.
When you need to stock up, we recommend getting whichever of our top picks is the least expensive.
We popped the batteries into a variety of household items to compare their performance in both high-power and low-power devices.
A battery’s true capacity is often lower than the estimate printed on the label, so we took our own measurements.
We excluded any models from our testing pool that weren’t designed to withstand at least 1,000 full charges and discharges.
Battery prices vary greatly, even among the most widely known brands. We gave preference to those costing $3 apiece or less.
For our latest round of testing, we considered rechargeable batteries with nickel metal hydride (NiMH) or lithium-ion (Li-ion) chemical compositions, and in AAAA, AAA, AA, C, or D sizes.
In our testing, these AA batteries kept an electric toothbrush powered for 6½ hours and a strobe light running for 10½ hours.
These AA batteries kept an electric toothbrush buzzing for 6 hours and a strobe light going for 11½ hours.
These AA batteries kept an electric toothbrush brushing for 10½ hours and a strobe light pulsing for 12½ hours.
In our testing, three models of rechargeable AA batteries—the EBL NiMH AA 2,800 mAh, the HiQuick NiMH AA 2,800 mAh, and the Tenergy Premium Pro NiMH AA 2,800 mAh—performed about the same, besting the other models in our testing pool. They’re made of NiMH, the cream-of-the-crop chemical composition for household rechargeables, and their high capacities can keep your lights lit and your clickers clicking longer than the competition. They can be recharged hundreds of times over, and they are widely available and inexpensive. We think you should get whichever of the three is cheapest at the time of checkout.
All of our picks in this category have a low self-discharge rate, meaning they’ll leak minimal amounts of power once they’ve been fully charged and removed from the battery charger. They’re also rated to withstand at least 1,000 full charge and discharge cycles before wearing out for good, but realistically you’ll probably lose them long before you ever reach that number. Like all NiMH batteries, they run at a voltage of at least 1.2 V, which we confirmed in our testing. And all three models have a rated capacity of 2,800 mAh.
We tested the batteries’ capacity out of the box by charging and discharging them three times consecutively on a charger with the ability to measure battery capacity, and then we averaged the results. In our testing, the EBL batteries displayed an average capacity of 2,386 mAh, the HiQuick batteries an average of 2,868 mAh, and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries an average of 2,784 mAh. The numbers are too close to make much of a noticeable difference, but this still allowed us to see how well each model lived up to its capacity rating (which is simply an estimate from the manufacturer and therefore can be inflated).
The biggest differences among the batteries became clearer when we tested them in real-world situations. For instance, the HiQuick batteries lasted 6 hours in a kid’s electric toothbrush, the EBL batteries lasted 6½ hours, and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries lasted 10½ hours (good news for fastidious brushers). Next, our colorful party lights kept spinning and strobing for 10½ hours with the EBL batteries, 11½ hours with the HiQuick batteries, and 12½ hours with the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries.
These variations can most likely be attributed to the fact that the power consumption of most household devices isn’t completely uniform (especially the inexpensive devices we chose for our testing), whereas we used professional-grade tools in a more-controlled setting for our other tests. Also, broadly speaking, all batteries can be affected by temperature, age, and a slew of other environmental factors.
Though we couldn’t feasibly determine how the batteries would perform years down the line, we did test how they held up to regular recharging. After draining and recharging them 50 times and then measuring the capacity, we found that all three of our picks had retained a vast majority of their juice: The EBL still had 2,215 mAh to its name (a 7% dip), the Tenergy Premium Pro had an impressive 2,724 mAh left (down 2%), and the HiQuick had a whopping 2,810 mAh remaining (also down 2%).
These AAA batteries powered a toy tugboat for 3 hours, an electric toothbrush for 9 hours, a pocket-size lantern for 25 hours, and a string of twinkle lights for 41 hours.
These AAA batteries powered a toy tugboat for two hours, an electric toothbrush for 9½ hours, a pocket-size lantern for 31 hours, and a string of twinkle lights for 42 hours.
These AAA batteries powered a toy tugboat for 2½ hours, an electric toothbrush for 12 hours, a pocket-size lantern for 23 hours, and a string of twinkle lights for 37 hours.
As with their AA counterparts, there was a three-way tie with our AAA picks. So if you need AAA batteries, we think your best bet is to get whichever of these three options is cheapest: the EBL NiMH AAA 1,100 mAh, the HiQuick NiMH AAA 1,100 mAh, or the Tenergy Premium Pro NiMH AAA 1,100 mAh.
Like our favorite AA batteries, all three of these AAA models are low self-discharge batteries rated to last at least 1,000 charges and discharges before passing on to the great charger in the sky. As is true of every NiMH battery, they’re rated to run at 1.2 V, which we confirmed in our testing. And like most of the AAAs we tested, they have a capacity rating of 1,100 mAh.
After charging and discharging each set of AAAs three times in a row, measuring their capacity each time, we averaged the results. In our testing, the EBL batteries displayed an average capacity of 1,114 mAh, slightly exceeding the manufacturer’s estimated capacity. Just shy of their capacity ratings, the HiQuick batteries averaged 928 mAh, and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries averaged 945 mAh. Most people won’t notice these differences in capacity, as with the AAs. But it helped us rule out models (like those from Bonai, Deleepow, and Panasonic) that significantly underperformed.
We didn’t notice much variation among these models in our real-world tests using everyday household items, either—all three performed as expected. The EBL batteries kept our toy tugboat cruising around a water-filled cooler for 3 hours, the HiQuick batteries did so for 2 hours, and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries did so for 2½ hours. When it came to keeping a travel-size electric toothbrush vibrating in place, the EBL batteries lasted 9 hours, the HiQuick batteries lasted 9½ hours, and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries lasted 12 hours. The EBL batteries kept a pocket-size lantern lighting up a room for 25 hours and a string of twinkle lights casting a cozy glow for 41 hours. The HiQuick batteries kept these lights lit for 31 hours and 42 hours, respectively, and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries lasted 23 hours in the lantern and 37 hours in the twinkle lights.
After our long-term capacity tests, wherein we recharged each battery 50 times and measured their remaining capacity, all three picks had less than their rated capacity left—though not by much. The EBL batteries averaged 974 mAh (a 13% decrease), the HiQuick batteries averaged 896 mAh (3% down), and the Tenergy Premium Pro batteries averaged 931 mAh (just 2% less than their initial reading).
These AA batteries can power any device that requires 1.5 volts. An included four-prong cable can charge up to four of them at once via the built-in Micro-USB ports on their sides.
These AA batteries can power any device that requires 1.5 volts. They don’t come with a compatible charger, so you’ll have to buy one separately, but they performed as well as other Li-ion batteries we tested.
Some electric toothbrushes, digital cameras, and more require a slightly higher voltage than the 1.2 volts that NiMH batteries can provide. If you own such a device (and if you’re unsure, it’s most likely listed on the bottom of the device or in the manual), you can use a rechargeable Li-ion battery instead of a disposable lithium or alkaline, since all three operate at a constant 1.5 volts. Similar to their NiMH brethren, multiple Li-ion AA and AAA batteries tied for first in our testing: EBL’s black- and red-labeled AA batteries, as well as its black and red AAAs. Although they have nominally different capacity ratings and charge differently—the black EBL batteries charge via a Micro-USB port on the sides of their barrels, and the red ones can be charged normally in any charger that’s compatible with Li-ion batteries—they fared about the same in our testing. As required by our testing criteria, all four of our Li-ion picks are low self-discharge batteries, and they’re rated to last at least 1,000 charge/discharge cycles.
None of the Li-ion batteries we tested passed muster in our long-term capacity tests—their performance had plummeted by the 50th charge cycle—but their measured voltage averaged well above 1.5 V, making them suitable for any device that needs the extra power. In general, NiMH batteries start out at 1.5 V but quickly drop down to 1.2 V while in use; this can cause problems in some devices (like a digital camera that can’t hold a charge or an analog clock that can’t keep time), whereas Li-ion batteries maintain a high voltage until right before they die. That said, we noticed in our testing that while the NiMH batteries powering our household devices gradually faded out before dying, some of the Li-ion batteries started strong but suffered spotty results near the end. For example, an electric toothbrush would stop and start at random, or a lantern would flash on and off.
Our lithium AA picks’ short-term capacity measurements were promising, and they even slightly exceeded their listed capacity ratings at first. However, like all the Li-ion batteries we tested, their long-term capacity measurements were dismal. The black EBL batteries averaged 2,411 mAh after three charge/discharge cycles and 752 mAh after 50 cycles (a 69% drop), whereas the red EBL batteries averaged 2,360 mAh early on and 596 mAh long term (falling 75%).
The benefits and drawbacks of Li-ion batteries were made plain when we put them to the test in real-world situations. They struggled to keep a low power-draw device running for long (in this case, an electric toothbrush powered by a single AA battery), yet they far exceeded our expectations when it came to a high power-draw device (a strobe light requiring three AA batteries). The black EBL batteries kept the toothbrush going for 4½ hours and the strobe for 19 hours. Likewise, the red EBL batteries ran the toothbrush for 5 hours and the strobe for an impressive 38½ hours. In comparison, our best NiMH performers powered the toothbrush for 10½ hours and the strobe for 12½ hours.
These AAA batteries can charge any device requiring 1.5 volts. An included four-prong cable can charge up to four of them at once via the built-in Micro-USB ports on their sides.
Though none of the Li-ion batteries we tested fared well in our long-term capacity tests, these (and their fellow pick in this category) performed the best of the bunch.
Our Li-ion AAA picks—the black-labeled EBL Li-ion AAA 900 mWh and the red-labeled EBL Li-ion AAA 1,200 mWh—are the miniature versions of our Li-ion AA picks. Like their larger siblings, they exceeded expectations in our short-term capacity tests, with the black ones retaining 934 mAh on average after three charge/discharge cycles and the red ones averaging 1,192 mAh. Both performed abysmally in our long-term tests (which, again, was disappointing but in line with the performance of other Li-ion batteries we tested), averaging just 244 mAh (a 74% decline) and 241 mAh (an 80% drop), respectively, after 50 charge/discharge cycles.
In our tests simulating real-world use, we found that the black EBL AAAs were able to keep an electric toothbrush running for 17 hours, and the red EBL AAAs kept the same toothbrush running for 25 hours. On the flip side, they were only able to keep a portable lantern lit for 3 and 2 hours, respectively. In contrast, our NiMH AAA picks kept the same electric toothbrush running for just 9 to 12 hours but powered the portable lantern for 23 to 31 hours.
If you use any devices requiring C, D, or AAAA batteries, your ability to pick and choose based on brand, chemistry, capacity, and price is slightly more limited than with AA or AAA batteries. But don’t let that stop you from going all-in on rechargeables—we’ve got recommendations for all three of these less-common battery types.
This set’s four C adapters and four D adapters can turn any AA battery into a C or D battery, respectively. And they’re easier to assemble and pop into place than the others we tested.
After reviewing the available options, we think the best rechargeable C and D batteries are not batteries at all—they’re adapters. True C and D batteries have higher capacities than AAs, so they don’t need to be recharged as frequently. But since most household battery chargers charge only AA and AAA batteries, these adapters could save you from having to buy a separate charger for your larger batteries.
2s lipo battery These adapters are easy to use—simply charge a AA battery as you normally would and push it through the center of the adapter—and they fit perfectly into the battery slots of the flameless candles we used for testing. We especially like that the Panasonic Eneloop C & D Size Spacers make a satisfying “snap” when the batteries slide into place, which wasn’t true of the other adapters we tested. This set includes four of each adapter type, and it also comes with a handy plastic case to store four AA batteries. You can also buy a set of four C adapters or four D adapters individually, depending on your needs.