The 10 Best Ring Lights for Instagram and Tik Tok in 2023

Our top picks

Here are our top 5 and the ones that most people will choose. However, you’ll find more options for different needs later on in this post.

What Ring Light Size is the Best for You?

You’ll notice that some ring lights are small and compact, while others are huge. So, is there any performance difference between sizes, or is it all the same?

We like to recommend 14″ to 18″ ring light sizes for Instagrammers and Tik Tokers because many times they’ll want to record far away from the camera. If that’s the case, you need a large light that can light up an entire room. Also, a larger ring is better at getting rid of shadows on your face since the larger diameter will be able to reach the edges of your face.

A larger ring light will also allow you to set your smartphone or camera inside the ring. If the ring is too small, the largest cameras and smartphones won’t fit in.

However, smaller ring lights also have their own advantage: they’re smaller, lighter, cheaper, but they still can light up an entire room. They’re just not quite as bright, but they get close.

In the end, you need to choose one according to your needs and budget.

The 5 Best Ring Lights for Content Creators

Whether you make content for Instagram, Tik Tok, or even YouTube, these are the best options for you this year:

1. Neewer Advanced 16-inch LED Ring Light

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Easy to carry, simple, and big enough to mount a DSLR on it. Just what you need to get started.

This is the best option for most Instagrammers and Tik Tokers because it comes with all the basics you need to achieve professional results without any effort.

Out of all the ring lights in this list, this has the best remote control. You can adjust everything with it: color temperature, brightness (10%-100%). And it can even control more than one ring light through the channel settings.

We prefer this size over smaller ones because it lights up everything much better, and the spread of the light is larger. This makes shadows look softer and resemble more a beautiful natural light that highlights your entire face.

It includes:

• Light Stand
• Remote Control
• Bluetooth Remote
• Hot Shoe Adapter
• Universal Power Adapter with US/EU Plug
• Smart Phone Clamp
• Carry Bag

2. IVISII 19″ Wireless Ring Light

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This one is a little bit pricey, but it also has a larger diameter. The difference between both sizes isn’t too big, but if you have a large room that you want to light up only with one ring light, you might prefer this size.

It’s also a good option if you want to experiment with different colors in your photos and videos. It allows you to get more creative, and it’s easier to handle thanks to the Bluetooth remote.

It includes:

• 1 x 19”Ring Light
• 1 x Light Stand
• 1 x White filter
• 1 x Phone Holder
• 1 x Camera Hot Shoe adapter
• 1 x Screwdriver
• 1 x UL listed Multi-Voltage AC Adapter
• 1 x Bluetooth Remote
• 1 x Wireless Remote Controller

Details:

• Size (19”)
• Color temperature adjustable from 3000K to 5800K.
• CRI: ≥97

3. UBeesize 8-inch Ring Light

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This is a smaller option than the previous two, but it’s a great choice to record videos with your smartphone. We think this is the best affordable ring light for YouTube.

Since the size of the ring is so small, you’ll need to mount your phone in front of the tripod. But don’t worry about this; the ring light already comes with the system to mount your phone — and even a remote control to start and stop recording.

It includes:

• Light stand, extendable up to 51” (129cm)
• Rotatable phone holder
• Bluetooth remote control compatible with iOS and Android phones. Operation distance up to 10m.

4. Neewer 18” Ring Light 55W 5500K

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This one has been at the top of the best sellers on Amazon for a while because it gives just enough for a fair price.

It might not have as many color options as others and lacks the same no-touch control, but the led lights are strong and dimmable from 1% to 100%. It also comes with multiple colors of diffusers to achieve a more natural light.

It includes:

• Smartphone holder (Horizontal/Vertical)
• Hot shoe adapter with 1/4inches screw for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and most DSLR cameras.
• Light stand, extendable up 78.7 inches (200 centimeters).
• Remote control
• Power Adapter Supply with Plug
• Carry bag

5. UBeesize 10” Tabletop Ring Light

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If you want to save the most space that is possible, we recommend the tabletop Ubeesize 10″ ring light is our favorite option. It’s very affordable, simple to use, and easy to carry.

Even though it’s so cheap, it’s still dimmable, so you’ll be able to adjust the brightness according to your needs.

It includes:

• Sturdy tripod.
• 360° rotatable and universal phone holder

Details:

• 3 color lighting modes: White, Warm White, Yellow.
• Dimmable with 11 levels of brightness for every lighting mode.
• USB Powered: works with most devices that support USB port, like laptops, power banks, USB charger, AC adapter, etc.

6. Weeylite 18″ RGB Ring Light Kit

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This is one of the most complete ring light kits you’ll find. This size is perfect for content creators who need to get away from the camera and the ring light.

It’s also one of the most complete sets out there. It comes with everything you need to mount from a smartphone to a DSLR and even iPads.

The big disadvantage is that the phone mount is not a gooseneck type of mount. We like those because they allow you to adjust your phone to the exact angle that you want. For this price, it should have been included.

It includes:

• 67 inches/170cm Light Stand
• Carrying Bag
• Wireless Remoter
• Bluetooth Remoter
• iPad Holder
• Phone Holder
• Camera mounting bracket
• 2x Hot shoe adapters (Long/Short)
• Power adapter
• User Manual

Details:

• 0-360° full color and custom RGB mode
• Dimmable from 0% to 100%.
• Remote control for the brightness and dim levels.

7. Gertong 12″ RGB Ring Light Kit

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If you like the idea of having tons of colors to play with, but want a smaller and cheaper light, this 12″ ring light is a good option.

The main disadvantage, when compared to other options, is the lack of remote control. The cable does come with a control that you can use further from the ring light, but it’s still wired and will limit your usage.

It includes:

• 12” RGB light ring with USB power cable
• Phone clip with small hose
• Desk tripod stand
• Ball head hot shoe
• Cell phone holder
• Tall tripod stand
• User manual

Details:

• More than 150 Settings & 10 Colors
• Dimmable from 1% to 100%.

8. YingnuoST 10″ RGB Ring Light Kit

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If you like the idea of having tons of colors to play with, would like a smaller light, and want a remote control for your phone, this 10″ ring light is a better option than the previous one.

It still lacks a carrying bag, but for this price range, we can’t really ask for much more.

It includes:

• Tripod stand
• Infrared remote control
• Bluetooth shutter
• Tripod head
• Gooseneck phone holder

Details:

• 15 static RGB colors and 9 dynamic colors (color cycle, flashing, color change, breathing and more)
• 10-levels dimmable brightness

9. Evershop 7″ Desktop Ring Light

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Even though most Tik Tokers and Instagrammers would prefer a larger ring light with a tall stand, we included this one because we know some people will love its ergonomic design.

If you lack a lot of space in your room, you’ll love this desktop ring light. It’s small, but it still bright enough to light up medium-to-small rooms. It’s a simple design with 3 different light temperatures that you can even use as a nightstand light.

It includes:

• Phone holder
• Stand
• Base
• USB cable
• Manual

Details:

• 3 color modes: white, natural and warm
• 10-levels dimmable brightness

10. Cyezcor Laptop Ring Light

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In case you’re one of those creators who sometimes prefer to record videos in front of the computer for easy editing, this laptop ring light is a good option.

The cool thing about it is that you can also use it for your online calls for school or work.

Just be aware that the price is barely any cheaper than most other ring lights that come with tall tripods and a complete kit. You can only use this light to record with your computer since it’s too small to fit a smartphone.

It includes:

• Just the light with the USB cable and the control attached to it

Details:

• 3 color modes: white, natural and warm
• 5-levels dimmable brightness

Why Are Ring Lights So Popular?

Ring lights have become really popular these days thanks to content creators on YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram.

The reason is that they’re useful to create professional-looking images and videos for social media at a relatively low price.

So, if you thought that content creators achieve that studio-like aspect on their videos by using luxurious equipment, you, my friend, were fortunately wrong. Their secret (which is now yours to exploit) is this amazing tool.

That being said, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars buying the most expensive camera or lens in the market to create top-notch quality videos at home.

You can invest in a good ring light and I assure you that the quality of your content will go up instantly — yes, even if you’re filming with your phone.

How Do Ring Lights Work?

Now, getting back to the topic, as the name implies, these lighting devices are ring-shaped, and they can be made up of one single fluorescent bulb or many small bulbs (usually LED lights) forming a circle.

They come in a variety of sizes and the most common way of using them is to put your camera or phone in the middle of the ring held by a lighting stand.

Why Use a Ring Light?

What makes them so great? Well, they create a uniform diffuse light that makes subjects pop up easily. In fact, if it’s the only lighting source, it will create a very interesting halo of shadow around the protagonist that will add drama to the image. It’s perfect to emphasize details as well.

Fun exercise: Do you want to know if someone is using a ring light?

Whenever you’re watching a makeup tutorial, a product review, or even a super cute selfie, take a closer look at the eyes of the person. If you notice a white circle reflected in the eyes, that’s how you know that person was in front of a ring light.

It’s really effective at dragging the viewer’s attention right to the eyes of the subject in any picture or video.

A ring light is probably the best option for content creators when it comes to lighting equipment, and I’ll give you four reasons:

1. Easy to use:

Ring lights are super easy to set up and they are widely used by people that don’t know much (or anything) about photography or lighting equipment. That’s awesome, right?

I know that some people may be scared when they see a studio light because let’s be honest, they seem pretty difficult to understand. But ring lights are simple, and that’s why they are so popular among content creators.

They also take up little space and are usually very easy to carry around.

2. Professional-looking results

I mentioned this above and I’ll mention it again: a ring light is a perfect tool to achieve professional-looking photos and videos on a budget.

It creates a beautiful and balanced soft light that reduces harsh shadows and makes the subject stand out. 

It also creates those cool catch lights I talked about before. However, you should know that the larger the ring is, the more visible those catchlights will be. So, in this case, size definitely matters.

3. Makes your skin and eyes look amazing

As you probably have noticed, ring lights make the skin look great, but why? What’s the magic behind them?

LED lights in these devices are often used to imitate daylight, which makes the skin look very natural.

Additionally, thanks to their circular shape, they hide wrinkles and enhance facial features as there are no unwanted shadows. That’s the reason why makeup artists use ring lights so much.

Moreover, these tools don’t emit as much heat as many other lightning sources, so you can stand in front of them for a long time and you won’t sweat. Yay!

4. Versatile

As I said before, ring lights are used for many purposes. They are great for portraits, close-up shots, food and product photography, makeup artists, and, of course, for us vloggers and content creators.

No matter if you’re a YouTuber, Instagrammer, Tiktoker, or if you just have to produce videos for any social media, a ring light will fit you well.

You can use one for selfies, videos, ads, and live streams. They are perfect to create high-quality pictures for YouTube thumbnails as well.

Prices will obviously depend on the size and power of each model, so you need to think about what you need and what accessories would come handy to you, but you can find very good deals under $120.

How to use a ring light?

We have talked about the benefits of using a ring light and yes, they’re pretty cool and very useful, but… how do you use one?

If you have never used a studio light and you have no clue about how these things work, don’t panic! I’ll show you, in a very simple way, how to understand and get the best out of a ring light.

1) Setting up the ring light:

Ring lights usually come with light stands, so you just have to unfold the stand, extend it to the desired height, mount the ring, plug it into an energy source and turn it on. It’s as easy as that.

Consider that most of these devices are AC powered so you can’t be too far from a socket in your workspace.

Also, when you’re setting up your ring light, make sure one of the legs of the stand is in the same direction as the ring light. This will make everything more stable.

Some light stands may be too thin and when you extend the columns to its maximum height, you probably won’t feel much stability.

So, if you want extra safety (especially if you have the window open or you’re outdoors and it’s windy), you can put a sandbag on the front leg of the stand.

Friendly reminder: when you have finished using your ring light, switch it off before unplugging it. This way you will prevent damages to the equipment.

2) Mounting your camera or phone:

As I mentioned before, the most common way of using a ring light is to place the camera in the center of the ring so you can shoot through it.

That’s why ring lights normally come with smartphone/tablet holders and universal camera brackets as well. If not, you can always buy these accessories apart.

They are easy to find and very simple to use. You just have to screw the pieces to the stand and you’ll be ready and safe to start recording your videos!

3) Adjusting the light:

The vast majority of ring lights allows you to adjust color temperature and brightness.

Wait… what is color temperature?

Color temperature is the property of a light source that controls how warm or cold an image will look. It measures in kelvins (K) and there’s an important rule you have to remember here:

The lower the temperature is, the warmer everything will look.

Keep in mind that daylight is around 5000K and 6500K. This is a neutral white light that looks very natural. Anything above that range will look more bluish and, of course, anything below that range will look more yellowish.

Knowing this is very useful when you want to set a specific mood for a video.

And what about brightness?

If you have a dimmable ring light, you can control how much brightness you want, which is very convenient. Some models have a stepless dimming system which is great if you want to create a smooth transition from dark to bright.

On the other hand, if you don’t have the possibility to adjust brightness, you can always put your ring light a little bit further to reduce the light intensity.

And, that’s it! Ring lights are super easy to assemble and they make your work process very simple because you don’t have to set up heavy and huge equipment.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ring Lights

Understanding color temperature is really important when you work with artificial light (or any kind of light, actually). This way, when you see that a ring light has a 5500K color temperature, you’ll know that’s a neutral white light that won’t make your skin look bluish nor yellowish.

However, there are other technical aspects you should be familiar with when you start looking for ring lights.

I’ll explain two basic concepts that you’ll probably see a lot when you check the specs of a lighting device.

I won’t go too technical, I promise!

Color rendering index (CRI):

I’ll try to keep things simple, so Let’s just say CRI is a way of measuring the ability of a light source to show the true colors of objects.

It’s measured in numbers from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most accurate color rendering. This means that the higher the CRI is, the more truthful the colors will look. 

Remember this when you’re comparing different lightning tools because you will see CRI numbers frequently.

Lumens:

Lumens are a way of measuring the intensity of light. The higher the lumens, the brighter the light. Pretty easy, right?

Sometimes you’ll see other specs such as the power of the light (measured in W). Nevertheless, you should focus more on the lumens to determine how strong a LED light is.

Additionally, keep in mind that you’ll be using these lights close to your face so you don’t really have to worry about having a lot of power. Most ring lights will fit your needs.

And, btw, don’t be scared with all this technical stuff!

You don’t need to go too deep with this. You just have to understand the basics so when you see a weird feature, you know what they’re talking about.

Also… these are some fun facts you can throw at a party for no reason. Why not?