Why You Can Trust CNET Walmart Great Value 60W Equivalent Daylight LED review: Hard to go wrong with Walmart's four-dollar daylight LED
It isn't a good pick if you want to dim the lights, but for basic, neutral-toned lighting needs, it'll get the job done for cheap.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
If you're looking for a great value on a daylight LED, then you should consider Walmart's aptly named Great Value Daylight LED, which costs about $4. That's as cheap as dimmable daylight-toned LEDs get -- not bad, considering that it's brighter and more efficient than both the Cree 4Flow and Philips SlimStyle daylight bulbs.
Walmart Great Value 60W Equivalent Daylight LED
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Dimmable 60W replacement daylight LEDs
| Walmart Great Value 60W Equivalent Daylight LED | Sylvania 60W Equivalent Daylight LED | Philips 60W Equivalent Daylight LED | Philips SlimStyle Daylight LED | Cree 4Flow Daylight LED | GE 60W Equivalent Daylight LED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumens (measured/stated) | 709 / 800 | 738 / 800 | 738 / 800 | 670 / 800 | 625 / 815 | 711 / 900 |
| Watts | 10 | 8.5 | 9 | 10.5 | 10 | 11 |
| Efficiency (lumens per watt) | 71 | 87 | 82 | 64 | 63 | 65 |
| Yearly energy cost (3 hours of use per day) | $1.20 | $1.02 | $1.08 | $1.26 | $1.20 | $1.32 |
| Color temperature (measured/stated) | 4,562 K / 5,000 K | 4,781 K / 5,000 K | 4,645 K / 5,000 K | 4,758 K / 5,000 K | 4,561 K / 5,000 K | 4,575 K / 5,000 K |
| Dimmable range | 18.4 - 99.5% | 2.1 - 96.1% | 9.9 - 93.2 % | 13.4 - 94.9% | 5.0 - 100% | 13.4 - 92.5% |
| Dimmer switch flicker/buzz | Moderate | Moderate | Very Light | Light | Very light | Light |
| Lifespan | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 25,000 hours | 30,000 hours | 30,000 hours |
| Weight | 2.9 oz. | 3.0 oz. | 2.3 oz | 2.2 oz. | 1.9 oz. | 3.8 oz. |
| Energy Star Certification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 3-year | 5-year | 5-year | 3-year | 5-year | 10-year |
| Price | $4 | $8 | $8 | $5 | $6 | $5 |
Walmart's four-buck bulb doesn't come without trade-offs, though. For starters, with just over 700 lumens, it isn't quite as bright as advertised (though in fairness, none of these bulbs were). The light quality was also arguably the worst of the six bulbs I tested, yielding colors that are slightly washed out (take a look at the picture of the M&Ms from the gallery at the top of this review to see what I mean.)
It also wasn't very good on dimmer switches. All of these six bulbs are dimmable, so I tested them out on a variety of dimmer switches, including both newer, LED-friendly models and an older rotary dial. The Walmart LED only dimmed down to an average minimum of 18.4 percent brightness, which is flat-out terrible, and it couldn't do so without flickering noticeably.
For comparison, the Cree 4Flow Daylight LED dimmed all the way down to 5 percent, and was practically flicker-free. It's well worth the extra two bucks over the Walmart LED if you want to dim the lights.
This Walmart Great Value LED also flickers a bit at low dimmer switch settings: pic.twitter.com/coKvEFvGrS
— Ry Crist (@rycrist) August 26, 2016
All of that said, this bulb is still a bargain, and the performance for the price is more than suitable for basic usage. Use it to replace a 60W incandescent, and it'll pay for itself in less than a year, and keep saving you money for years to come. Is it perfect? No. Is it worth four bucks? Absolutely.