4 Best Flame Light Bulbs for a Gas Lantern Look: Ranked

A product test of the best flame bulbs ranked from best to worst and compared to real flames to help you achieve a gas lantern look in your outdoor lighting.

Ever since we installed our Charleston style copper lantern light fixture on our newly finished front porch, I have been on the hunt for the most convincing flame light bulb to use for creating the look of a gas lantern.

After crowdsourcing and a thorough test, I think I finally found the most realistic one!

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Why Flame Bulbs Are Not All the Same

For the last several years, whenever I would try a flame light bulb in our other outdoor light fixtures, I’d just buy whatever happened to pop up in an Amazon search.

And so many times, I’d install the bulbs in our porch and garage outdoor lights only to discover the flame looked totally bright orange and fake and plain ol’ BAD! Like a bad Halloween decoration bad.

So I asked thousands of you in my Instagram stories for recommendations, and 4 recommended bulbs kept popping up in my DMs as the “best”.

I took one for the team to test out the top 4 different brands of flame light bulbs and compared them to the look of a real flame to determine the ultimate “winner”.

flickering flame light bulb in a lantern on a front porch

I have never been able to find a test like this before; sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands.

It was extremely helpful to see them in person to determine for myself, but I’ll share a video reel on my Instagram feed as well so that you can see them in action.

1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place

How the Flame Light Bulbs Were Ranked

Color – Was the bulb too orange?
Movement Comparison to a Real Flame – When holding a flame beside the lit light bulb, did the way it flickered and moved look convincing?
Overall Impression – Just simply personal preference.

flame light bulbs tested in a chandelier

The Best Flame Bulbs Ranked

1st Place – LED Gold Platinum Lace Simulated Flame Light Bulb – This bulb purely won because it wasn’t too orange, flickered the most realistically, and even had hints of blue at the base to simulate that of a real gas flame. However, it was expensive too. So 2nd and 3rd place are still good, cheaper alternatives.
2nd Place – HoogaLife LED Flame Effect Light Bulb ranks here because it wasn’t too orange, unlike 3rd and 4th place. But its white plastic base took away from the realism.
3rd Place – Hompavo LED Flame Light Bulb ranked 3rd because while the flickering movement looked realistic, it was very orange. (Great for Halloween, not great for year-round.) It was very similar to this torch effect light bulb, but the flame shape of the bulb edged it out.

1st Best Flame Bulb | 2nd Best Flame Bulb

The Best Flame Bulb When Compared to Real Flame

I compared the lit light bulbs to a candle flame.

None of the 4 flickering flame light bulbs were even close when compared to a real flame, so the search still continues for that, if a light bulb like that even exists.

But there’s really no comparison to a real flame. You either go all in by spending a couple thousand dollars on a real gas lantern or you don’t at all by going fake with this electrical flame bulb substitute.

So this LED Gold Platinum Lace Simulated Flame Light Bulb was the next best thing to real.

fake gas lantern on a front porch with flickering flame light bulbs

fake gas lantern on a front porch with flickering flame light bulbs at night

Flame Bulb in Daylight vs Dusk vs Night

I viewed the bulbs in different lighting at daylight, dusk, and nighttime as well, and again, the LED Gold Platinum Lace Simulated Flame Light Bulb was the clear winner in looking the most realistic.

Here is how it looked in the different lighting on our front porch.