Our Picks Best AAA alkaline battery Amazon AAA alkaline batteries View details $14 at Amazon View details Best AA alkaline battery Energizer Max AA alkaline batteries View details $14 at Amazon View details Best C alkaline battery Duracell C alkaline batteries View details $22 at Amazon View details Best D alkaline battery Amazon D alkaline battery View details $9 at Amazon View details Best 9V battery Amazon Basics 9V battery View details $12 at Amazon View details There are many things you can get that will need alkaline batteries. From the most popular kid toys to the latest tech gadgets, you'll want to be able to use them right out of the box. If you want a battery that lasts, we've done the research for you.In our quest to find the best alkaline batteries on the market, we tested several models and brands. Our evaluation included extensive discharge tests to find long-lasting alkaline batteries -- including AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt options. We also considered the cost per battery for each option to ensure you're getting the best bang for your buck.Note that none of these options are rechargeable batteries, which might be the better option for those looking to reduce e-waste over time -- but with alkaline battery sales having reached $9.28 billion across the US in 2024, there's still huge demand for the technology that shows no signs of letting up.Here are our picks of the best batteries and how each model performed in our tests, starting with Amazon's own brand of AAA batteries. $14 at Amazon The competition for the best AAA battery was closely contested, as all competing brands demonstrated similar performance in our discharge test. Affordability and reliability played a significant role in our evaluation.Amazon AAA batteries emerged as the most reliable during our discharge test, exhibiting consistently repeatable results across three different runs and boasting the longest average discharge time at 28 minutes, 32 seconds.Moreover, if you're considering buying in bulk, this option is, by far, the better choice. The 36-pack is currently priced at less than $18 at the time of this publication, translating to approximately 50 cents per unit. Now that's true value. $14 at Amazon AA batteries are likely the most popular battery size, given their widespread use in a variety of electronic devices. They don't hold as much charge as a C or D battery, which means you're probably going to be replacing them a lot. Again, it comes down to bulk price and performance.The two leading AA battery brands, Energizer and Duracell, stood out in the competition, displaying similar performance, with Energizer having a slight edge. The decisive factor turned out to be price. A single Energizer AA Max battery powered three fan motors arranged in parallel for an impressive average of 30 minutes, 15 seconds, marking the best score among the group.Furthermore, Energizer AA Max batteries are the second most affordable option. The 20-pack is currently priced at approximately $14 at the time of this publication, equating to around 73 cents per unit. With outstanding performance and an affordable price, if you're in the market for AA batteries to power your holiday gifts or any other device, this is the optimal choice. $22 at Amazon This one was straightforward. Duracell outperformed its competition convincingly. The only caveat is that this may not be your most budget-friendly option. Since C batteries are primarily used for medium-drain devices like cameras, radios, and even some intruder alarms, longevity and reliability are paramount.In our discharge test, Duracell C-type batteries powered four fan motors in parallel for an outstanding average of 25 minutes, 42 seconds, nearly doubling the average duration achieved by other competing brands. Quality sometimes comes at a price, and Duracell C batteries are no exception. The 10-pack is priced at roughly $15 at the time of this publication, totaling roughly $1.56 per unit, the highest price per unit in this category. $9 at Amazon D batteries are predominantly used in high-current drain devices that require prolonged running times and emergency gadgets such as flashlights, radio transmitters, and even some water heaters. It should come as no surprise that, in this case, we particularly value performance over price.Amazon D batteries excel in performance. They were able to sustain our five-motor parallel circuit for nearly 18 minutes on average, the highest score in this category. Impressively enough, they maintained a voltage output higher than 1.2 volts throughout each of the three runs. That's a lot of juice.That said, they are the second priciest option on our list. The 4-pack is priced at approximately $9 at the time of this publication, translating to roughly $2.25 per unit. $12 at Amazon