The best blackout curtains for a bedroom are coated or lined, not just "room darkening", and hung wide and long enough to overlap the wall. Our top pick is the coated Amazon Basics set, which blocked the most light in the only published lab test we know of. The Sun Zero Oslo is the budget choice.
Daylight does most of the work for free. Start with sunlight first.
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No trial has tested blackout curtains directly, so the grade rests on what light during sleep does. Room light during usual sleep hours suppressed melatonin by more than 50% in 85% of trials (n=116), and just 5 to 10 lux all night increased wake time and light sleep in 23 young men. One night at 100 lux raised next-morning insulin resistance by about 15% in a 20-person lab study. A 2022 expert consensus recommends keeping the bedroom under 1 lux melanopic EDI and names blackout blinds as one way to get there.
Darkness works best paired with daylight. The 2022 expert consensus that sets a limit of 1 lux melanopic EDI for the bedroom also recommends at least 250 lux during the day. Open the curtains when you wake so they do not hide the morning light that sets your clock. Why morning sunlight matters.
| Product | Blackout claim | Light-blocking layer | Sizes | Mounting | Independent light test | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout Curtains | 100% (vendor claim) | Triple weave + back coating | 52 in W x 63, 84 or 96 in L | Grommets (listing also mentions a rod pocket) | Top result (Reviewed.com, 2024) | – |
| NICETOWN Thermal 100% Blackout Curtains (Black Liner) | 100% (vendor claim) | Sewn-in black liner | 52 in W x 63-108 in L; white also 37, 42 and 70 in W | Back tabs or 2.7 in rod pocket (rods up to 1.7 in) | Average (Reviewed.com, 2024; model not stated) | $86 |
| Sun Zero Oslo Theater Grade Extreme 100% Blackout | 100% (vendor: lab tested) | Lined polyester | 52 in W x 54-120 in L (varies by retailer) | Grommet pair (rods up to 1.5 in) or rod-pocket panel | Good (Reviewed.com, 2024) | $32 |
| IKEA MAJGULL Black-out Curtains | Blocks all light (IKEA claim) | Woven polyester, no coating listed | 57 in W x 84 or 98 in L | Rod pocket, tabs, or hooks on a track | None found | $45 |
| IKEA FRIDANS Black-out Roller Blind | Blocks all light (IKEA claim) | Polyester with block-out coating | 23-48 in W x 76¾ in L | Inside, outside or ceiling; cut to width | None found | $40 |
| Sleepout Portable Blackout Curtain 3.0 | 100% (vendor; Intertek listed) | Blackout fabric, white backing | 62 x 40 in; XL 86 x 54 in | 2 locking suction cups + hook-and-loop edges | None found | $129 |
| Amazon Basics Portable Blackout Curtain Shade | Blackout (no % stated) | 100% polyester, unlined | 50 x 78 in | Suction cups + hook-and-loop tabs | None found | – |
| Redi Shade Original Paper Blackout Shade | 99% (vendor claim) | Black paper | 36 or 48 in W x 72 in L; trim to fit | Peel and stick, inside or outside frame | None found | $40 |
| Coavas Blackout Window Film (Static Cling) | 100% (vendor claim) | Black vinyl film | 11.8-45.2 in W x 78.7-394 in L (not all combinations) | Static cling on glass, applied wet; trim to fit | None found | – |
Prices are approximate list prices in USD at the time we checked and change often.
Best overall
Coated triple-weave blackout pair that blocked the most light in Reviewed.com's floodlight test. Plain look, one width, three lengths.
Blackout claim100% (vendor claim)
Best for: Most bedrooms, and anyone who puts measured light blocking ahead of looks and colour choice
Most sizes
by NICETOWN · $86
Blackout curtain pair with a sewn-in black liner, back tabs or rod pocket, and the widest size range on this list. About $77 to $90 in most colours.
Blackout claim100% (vendor claim)
Best for: Wide or tall windows, street-facing rooms and day sleepers who need full-length coverage in a specific size
Best budget
by Sun Zero · $32
Cheap lined blackout panel in lengths up to 120 in and 15 colours. Reviewed.com said it does a good job blocking light.
Blackout claim100% (vendor: lab tested)
Best for: Tight budgets, tall windows and anyone who wants a full-length blackout panel in a specific colour
by IKEA · $45
Soft, uncoated IKEA blackout pair with wide 57 in curtains and a multi-way header for rods or tracks. About $45 for 84 in long.
Blackout claimBlocks all light (IKEA claim)
Best for: Shoppers near an IKEA who want soft fabric without a plastic-feel backing, or a track-mounted setup
Best blackout blind
by IKEA · $40
Cordless, cut-to-width blackout roller blind from $30. Mount it inside the frame and layer curtains over it for the darkest room.
Blackout claimBlocks all light (IKEA claim)
Best for: Inside-mount windows, nurseries that need a cordless blind, and layering under blackout curtains
Best for travel
by Sleepout · $129
Packable 100% blackout panel that fixes inside the window frame with locking suction cups and hook-and-loop edges. No drilling or rods.
Blackout claim100% (vendor; Intertek listed)
Best for: Travel, hotel rooms, renters and nurseries where you cannot drill or hang a rod
Basic 50 x 78 in unlined polyester panel with suction cups, adjustable hook-and-loop tabs and a travel bag. No stated blackout percentage.
Blackout claimBlackout (no % stated)
Best for: Occasional travel or a spare room where a simple suction-cup panel is enough
by Redi Shade · $40
Peel-and-stick black paper shades you trim to fit, about $10 each in a 4-pack. Redi Shade claims they block 99% of light.
Blackout claim99% (vendor claim)
Best for: Renters, new homes and quick fixes where you need dark windows today for very little money
by Coavas
Black static-cling vinyl you trim and apply to glass with water. Coavas claims 100% light blocking, but it is not for double-pane or Low-E glass.
Blackout claim100% (vendor claim)
Best for: Small, awkward or rarely opened single-pane windows where curtains or blinds will not fit
Blackout curtains help if outside light reaches your bed: streetlights, security lights, or a sunrise that comes before your alarm. No trial has tested curtains themselves, but lab studies show that even dim light during sleep makes sleep lighter and more broken. If your room is already dark at night and you wake after sunrise, they matter less.
In an analysis of 116 adults, room light during usual sleep hours suppressed melatonin by more than 50% in 85% of trials.1 In a sleep-lab study of 23 young men, sleeping with just 5 or 10 lux increased wake time after sleep onset and stage N1 (light) sleep compared with a dark night.2
One night at 100 lux, about the level of overhead room lighting, raised next-morning insulin resistance by about 15% in a 20-person trial, while the dim-light group fell by about 4%. Melatonin did not differ between the groups in that study.3
Observational studies agree. Older adults whose bedrooms averaged 5 lux or more at night had 1.89 times the risk of developing depressive symptoms over a median of two years (n=863).4 In 84,790 UK Biobank participants who wore light sensors for a week, the 10% with the brightest nights had a 53% higher risk of type 2 diabetes than the half with the darkest nights.5
Studies like these cannot prove the light caused the problem. For the full picture, read do blackout curtains help you sleep.
A 2022 expert consensus recommends that the sleep environment be “as dark as possible”, with a maximum of 1 lux melanopic EDI at the eye, and names blackout blinds as a practical way to get there.6 That is darker than most people expect. A gap at the curtain edge on a sunny morning can easily beat it.
You can measure your room with a lux meter and compare the reading with our lux levels chart. Without a meter, close everything at midday, turn the lights off and look for bright lines at the sides, top and middle of the window. Those lines are where your fix goes.
The labels are loose. Blackout fabric usually has one of three things: a coating on the back (polyurethane or similar), a sewn-in liner, or a very dense triple weave. Coated and lined fabrics are the safest bet. “Room darkening” can mean much less, and IKEA sells some MAJGULL and ROSENMANDEL colours as blackout and others as room darkening, so read the product name, not just the range.
Independent testing is thin. Reviewed.com hung curtains in a doorway, lit them from one side with floodlights and measured what came through with a light meter. The coated Amazon Basics set blocked the most, and a linen Pottery Barn panel let in “significantly more light” than the winner.7 Reviewed did not publish lux numbers, and we know of no other published lab test of blackout curtains.
| Type | Best for | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Blackout curtains | Most bedrooms with a rod | Light leaks at the sides, top and middle |
| Blackout roller blind | Inside-mount windows, layering under curtains | Strips of light down each side |
| Portable blind | Travel, nurseries, renters | Suction cups can loosen; covers the glass only |
| Paper shade | A cheap stopgap for a new home | Paper; the vendor claims 99%, not 100% |
| Window film | Small or awkward windows | Not for double-pane or Low-E glass; no view |
The darkest setup most people can manage is a blackout blind mounted inside the frame, with blackout curtains on a wide rod in front of it. Each layer covers the other’s gaps.
Once the fabric is opaque, the remaining light comes in around it. These fixes are cheap and do more than buying thicker fabric.
Darkness at night is half the job. The same consensus recommends at least 250 lux melanopic EDI during the day, and a blacked-out room can hide the sunrise that helps set your clock.6 Open the curtains as soon as you get up, or pair them with a sunrise alarm clock, and get outside early (morning sunlight).
Day sleepers gain the most. If you work nights, see shift work sleep for timing. If you travel or cannot hang anything, a sleep mask blocks light at the eye for less money.
Two safety notes. Choose cordless blinds in homes with small children; the IKEA FRIDANS and Redi Shade picks below have no cords. And check your glass before applying blackout film, because makers warn against using it on double-pane, Low-E or insulated windows.
We compared listings on brand spec sheets, retailer pages and the one independent light test we could find. We did not test these products ourselves. Commission never affects rank, and prices are US prices from the brand or a major retailer, checked on October 20, 2026.
Gooley JJ, et al. Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96(3):E463-72. doi:10.1210/jc.2010-2098 ↩
Cho CH, et al. Exposure to dim artificial light at night increases REM sleep and awakenings in humans. Chronobiol Int. 2016;33(1):117-23. doi:10.3109/07420528.2015.1108980 ↩
Mason IC, et al. Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022;119(12):e2113290119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2113290119 ↩
Obayashi K, et al. Bedroom light exposure at night and the incidence of depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study of the HEIJO-KYO cohort. Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(3):427-434. doi:10.1093/aje/kwx290 ↩
Windred DP, et al. Personal light exposure patterns and incidence of type 2 diabetes: analysis of 13 million hours of light sensor data and 670,000 person-years of prospective observation. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2024;42:100943. doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.100943 ↩
Brown TM, et al. Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults. PLoS Biol. 2022;20(3):e3001571. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001571 ↩ ↩2
Tabin S, Kane A. The best blackout curtains. Reviewed. Updated June 20, 2024. reviewed.com ↩
Coated or lined fabric can stop almost all light passing through the material, but light still gets in around the sides, top and middle. Total darkness needs wide panels, a rod that extends past the frame and ideally a blind or edge seal.
Blackout curtains use a coating, liner or very dense weave to stop light passing through the fabric. Room darkening curtains reduce light but let some through, so they are a poor choice if you sleep after sunrise or near a streetlight.
No trial has tested curtains directly. Lab studies show that even 5 to 10 lux during sleep increases awakenings and room light suppresses melatonin, so blocking outside light is a reasonable step if light reaches your bed.
Use a rod that extends past the frame on both sides, choose panels wide enough to overlap in the middle, and consider a wraparound rod or hook-and-loop tape so the fabric meets the wall.
IKEA's MAJGULL and ROSENMANDEL blackout curtains are described by IKEA as blocking all light and cost about $25 to $50 a pair. Check the product name, because some colours in the same ranges are sold as room darkening only.
Usually not. Coavas says its film is not recommended for double-pane, Low-E, insulated or textured glass, and rabbitgoo warns that its film may cause cracking on double-panel windows.
