The best desk lighting: light bars, key lights, ambient bars and lamps

For most people, the best desk light is a monitor light bar, and the one we recommend is the BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2: it lights your desk without reflecting on the screen and adds a soft backlight behind the monitor. On a tight budget, the IKEA TERTIAL with a good bulb does the basic job for very little. For video calls and streaming, the Elgato Key Light lights your face, and for color behind the screen or on the wall, the Philips Hue Play and the Nanoleaf Lines are the two to look at.

Three jobs, three kinds of light

Most desk lighting mistakes come from asking one light to do everything. Think of three separate jobs:

1. Task light on the desk surface, so you can read paper, find keys and avoid working in a dark room with a bright screen. A light bar or a lamp.
2. Camera light on your face, so you look like yourself on calls and streams. A key light.
3. Ambient light behind the screen or on the wall, which lowers the contrast between a bright monitor and a dark room and makes the setup look finished. A light bar or wall panels.

A work desk only needs the first. A streaming desk needs all three.

How we picked

• Light where you need it. A task light must light the desk without glare on the screen; a camera light must be soft enough to flatter.
• Controls you will actually use. Presence sensors, apps and dials all appear here, and we say what each light needs to work (a bridge, an outlet, an app).
• Honest about brightness. Some lights are decoration, not illumination. We say which.

Best overall: BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2

The ScreenBar Halo 2 sits on top of your monitor and aims its light down at the desk with an asymmetric beam, so nothing bounces back off the screen. BenQ quotes more than 1,000 lux at the center and 500 lux over an 85 x 50 cm area, with a CRI of 95 or more, which is plenty for paper and keyboard. The three-zone backlight behind the monitor is what makes it special for evening use: it softens the contrast between the screen and a dark wall, and it tunes from 2700 K to 6500 K like the front light.

A rechargeable wireless dial handles brightness and color temperature, and an ultrasonic sensor turns the light on when you sit down and off when you leave. The clip fits screens from 0.43 to 6 cm thick, curved models from 1000R to 1800R included.

BenQ / Light

BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2

Setuplify score: 8.8/10

A 50 cm monitor light bar with a front light, a wide backlight and a wireless dial, for flat and curved screens.

Monitor light bar

$179.10Check priceat Amazon(Affiliate link)

Skip it if you want app or smart home control: there is none, only the dial and its touch panel. It also needs a USB-C power source (an adapter is in the box), and it is expensive for a desk light.

If you do not need the backlight, the ScreenBar Pro gives the same wide front light for less, with a presence sensor and touch controls on the bar. Our best monitor light bars guide compares the three ScreenBar models.

Best budget pick: IKEA TERTIAL

The TERTIAL has been in IKEA's range since 1998, and it is still one of the cheapest ways to get focused light on a desk. The spring-balanced steel arm and the head both adjust, and the lamp clamps to the desk edge or mounts on the wall. The bulb is sold separately, which means you choose the light: a warm LED for evenings, or a smart bulb if you want app control.

IKEA / Light

IKEA TERTIAL Work Lamp

Setuplify score: 6.8/10

IKEA's classic steel architect lamp: it clamps to the desk edge, the arm and head adjust, and it costs very little.

Desk lamp

$19.99Check priceat IKEA(Affiliate link)

Skip it if you work mostly on screen in a dark room: a plain lamp can reflect on the monitor if badly aimed. Place it to the side of the screen, not in front, and point it at the desk.

Best for video calls and streaming: Elgato Key Light

The Key Light is a full-size LED panel on a telescopic pole that clamps to the desk. Its 160 LEDs shine through a diffuser and opal glass, so the light on your face is soft rather than harsh, and it puts out up to 2,800 lumens from 2900 to 7000 K with a CRI above 94. You control it over Wi-Fi from the Control Center app on a computer or phone, from a Stream Deck, or with the buttons on the light.

Put it slightly to one side of your webcam and a little above eye level, and your camera image improves more than with most webcam upgrades. Our best webcams and streaming setup guides go further.

Elgato / Light

Elgato Key Light

Setuplify score: 8.5/10

A 2,800-lumen Wi-Fi LED panel on a desk clamp pole, adjustable from 2900 to 7000 K from your computer or phone.

Key light

$179.99Check priceat Elgato(Affiliate link)

Skip it if your desk is thicker than 6 cm (the clamp will not fit) or you want color: it is white light only, and it needs a mains outlet.

Smaller, on the monitor: Elgato Key Light Neo

No room for a pole on the desk? The Key Light Neo is a 15 cm square, edge-lit panel that sits on the monitor with the included mount and runs from USB. It covers the same 2900 to 7000 K range with a CRI above 94, but its brightness depends on the power source: about 400 lumens from USB-A, 700 from USB-C and 1,000 with a 3 A power supply that is sold separately. It lights the face in our Pastel Stream setup.

Elgato / Light

Elgato Key Light Neo (Black, with monitor mount)

Setuplify score: 8.4/10

A compact square key light that clips on your monitor, runs from USB and reaches 1000 lumens with a 3A power supply.

Key light

$89.99Check priceat Elgato(Affiliate link)

Best ambient light behind the screen: Philips Hue Play

The Hue Play light bar washes the wall behind your monitor in any color, or in white from 2000 K to 6500 K. Stand it upright behind the screen, lay it flat or fix it to the back of the monitor with the included mounts. It puts out 500 lumens at 4000 K, and the power supply can feed up to three bars, so you can add a second one later on the same plug. It works with Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home and SmartThings.

Philips Hue / Light

Philips Hue Play Light Bar (single pack)

Setuplify score: 8.0/10

A small smart light bar that washes the wall behind your monitor or TV in color, controlled from the Hue app.

Monitor light bar

$109.99Check priceat Philips Hue(Affiliate link)

Skip it if you do not have a Hue Bridge and do not plan to buy one: the bar needs it. Syncing the light with what is on screen also needs a Hue sync box or the Sync TV app.

Want gradients along the desk instead, with no bridge? The Elgato Light Strip Pro is a 2 m Wi-Fi strip whose LEDs each show their own color, controlled from Control Center or a Stream Deck. It cannot be extended past 2 m, and it was out of stock on Elgato's French store when we checked.

Best wall light for streams: Nanoleaf Lines

The Nanoleaf Lines are 28 cm bars that light the wall behind them rather than shining into the room. The result is a soft glow, and the shape you build becomes part of the setup, which is why they show up behind so many streamers. Each bar has two color zones, the built-in mic drives a music visualizer, the desktop app mirrors your screen colors, and Razer Chroma, Corsair iCUE and Overwolf integrations react to your games. The starter kit has nine Lines and a power supply that can run up to 18.

Nanoleaf / Light

Nanoleaf Lines 60° Starter Kit (9 Lines)

Setuplify score: 8.2/10

Nine backlit RGB light bars you arrange into a geometric shape on the wall behind your desk, with music and screen sync.

Wall light panels

$119.99Check priceat Nanoleaf(Affiliate link)

Skip it if you expect them to light your desk: each Line gives about 20 lumens, which is decoration. They connect over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, with no Matter support on this model.

How to combine them

• Work desk: the ScreenBar Halo 2 alone covers desk light and backlight, or the ScreenBar Pro in a bright room.
• Student desk on a budget: a TERTIAL with a warm LED bulb, aimed at the desk from the side.
• Gaming at night: a light bar on the monitor for the desk, plus a Hue Play behind it for color.
• Streaming: the Key Light (or a Key Light Neo on the monitor) for your face, Nanoleaf Lines on the wall the camera sees, and a light bar for the desk when the camera is off.

Lighting is one part of a comfortable desk: our ergonomic desk setup guide covers the rest. Compare more options in all lighting, or test combinations in the Setup Builder.