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The best blackout curtains for better sleep, tried and tested
Block out external light and noise with these tried-and-tested drapes
Tested by Blossom Boothroyd and Reshma Akhter
Getting to sleep – and staying asleep – is something we’ve all struggled with at some point. One of the simplest ways of falling asleep quicker is to ensure your bedroom is actually dark – it’s scientific fact that the darker your bedroom, the better your sleep quality is, leading to improved physical and mental wellbeing. So, if a streetlight is keeping you up at night, or you’re a shift worker who needs to sleep during the day, the best blackout curtains are a wise investment.
We’ve tested a range of blackout curtains from leading homes brands – including John Lewis, Next and Dunelm – to find the best on the market. These are our top picks to buy right now, but keep scrolling for our full reviews.
Best blackout curtains to buy in 2026
Best blackout curtain lining
John Lewis Anyday Pair Blackout Pencil Pleat & Eyelet Curtain Lining
Read review
If you’d prefer blackout blinds, we’ve tested those too!
How we test blackout curtains
We turned to our panel to help us test blackout curtains, providing them with a sample to try for a minimum of two weeks. We then asked them to fill out a detailed feedback survey, which covered the following key areas.
- Delivery: Panellists let us know how smooth the delivery is, including whether the curtains arrived during their scheduled time slot and whether they were delivered safely with no visible damage.
- Instructions: We ask testers to read through any instructions properly before installation, judging the information on clarity and detail, and letting us know whether there are any diagrams to help with set-up.
- Assembly and set-up: We ask for feedback on how easy the curtains are to unpack and hang, and whether there’s any lingering ‘new’ smell once they’ve been taken out of their packaging.
- Ease of use: Simple things like how easy the curtains are to open and close make a big difference when you’re using them day-to-day, so we ask our panellists to tell us how smoothly they run along the rail. We also ask questions about how easy they are to clean.
- Design: Your curtains have got to look good while keeping the light out. So, we ask our panellists to let us know their thoughts on the overall quality, thickness, and length of the curtains as well as whether they had any major creases in the fabric after coming out of the packaging.
- Ability to block out light: Of course, we check that the curtains are effective at their main job. We ask testers whether any daylight or light from street lamps crept through (including round the edges of the curtains).
- Noise reduction: Thick curtains should help block out sound, too. Panellists let us know whether they were able to minimise noise by drawing the curtains.
- Impact on sleep: Importantly, we also ask whether the curtains helped our panellists get a better night sleep.
Testers also let us know whether they’d recommend the curtains to friends and family and if they’d continue using them after the trial period. All the feedback is then scored and compiled into a final mark out of 100. Here are our winners.
John Lewis Anyday Pair Blackout Pencil Pleat & Eyelet Curtain Lining
John Lewis Anyday Pair Blackout Pencil Pleat & Eyelet Curtain Lining
Pros
- They sit behind your regular curtains
- Detailed instructions
- High quality design
Cons
- Only one colour option
Score: 88/100
If you’ve found the perfect pair of curtains but they’re not blocking enough light, then these liners might just be the solution you’re after. They sit discreetly behind your main curtains, acting as a lining and blocking out the light.
Set up was a little fiddly, but the instructions were clear. And once up, our testers praised their quality, declaring them “brilliant” and telling us they “instantly cut out the light”. There’s only one colour, so you can’t co-ordinate them with your main curtains, but that’s a small sacrifice for keeping them in the first place – and no one will see anyway. They’re a clever fix for your light problem!
Key specifications
| Material | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Heading | Pencil pleat and eyelet |
| Sizes | 1 |
| Colours | 11 |
| Price per pair | £12 to £44 |
Habitat Plain Blackout Eyelet Curtains
Habitat Plain Blackout Eyelet Curtains
Pros
- Great price
- Very effective
- Good range of colours
Cons
- Eyelets let in a tiny bit of light
- Dry clean only
Score: 87/100
Whether you need an emergency pair of curtains to tide you over or you just don’t want to splash out, sticking to a budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice a good night’s sleep – or not with these affordable blackout curtains anyway.
Testers found them easy to put up despite vague instructions (although you may need a second pair of hands). They noticed their impact straight away too, keeping most light out (including pesky street lamps) and improving their shut eye. The eyelets let a smidge of light through, but nothing escaped through at the sides – a decent outcome given their price.
Key specifications
| Material | Polyester |
|---|---|
| Heading | Eyelet |
| Sizes | 3 |
| Colours | 3 |
| Price per pair | £15 to £30 |
Next Matte Velvet Eyelet Curtains
Next Matte Velvet Eyelet Curtains
Pros
- Over 20 colour options
- Quality design
- Effective blackout qualities
Cons
- Thermal properties didn’t make a noticeable difference
Score: 86/100
Another popular set of velvet curtains, these come in over 20 colours, so you should be able to find just the right shade to complement your room.
Our testers were happy with the assembly process and the way the curtains hung – our in-house expert noted that it would be relatively easy to adjust the hem length at home if you needed a more custom fit. They moved smoothly along the rail too.
As for the all-important blackout lining, it did a stellar job, keeping our testers’ bedrooms pitch black. Again, these claim to have thermal properties, but no one noticed much difference either way during testing. Come winter though, any extra layers will surely be welcome.
Key specifications
| Material | Polyester |
|---|---|
| Heading | Eyelet |
| Sizes | 7 |
| Colours | 24 |
| Price per pair | £50 to £135 |
TheHues Ambient Jacquard Custom Curtain
Pros
- Lots of customisation options
- Effectively blocked out light
Cons
- Expensive
Score: 86/100
These curtains were described as thick and luxurious by our panellists, and there was minimal creasing when they came out of the packaging.
There are plenty of ways to customise your curtains on the website, with options to choose the size, colour, heading and lining, but some of our panel found it a slightly confusing process and one person said theirs didn’t come with any rings for hanging.
That hiccup aside, it was difficult to fault their performance, with all testers agreeing that the curtains effectively blocked out light and improved their quality of sleep.
Key specifications
| Material | Polyester |
|---|---|
| Heading | Various |
| Sizes | Custom |
| Colours | 4 |
| Price per pair | From £140 |
Why should you trust the Good Housekeeping Institute?
Our senior homes and lifestyle writer, Megan Geall, is an expert in finding the best products for your home. She's also worked on the three years of our sleep awards so she knows how to create the optimum bedroom set-up and what to look for when shopping for the best products for your home.
She worked with our homes testing manager, Blossom Boothroyd, to make sure this was all reflected in our blackout curtain testing protocols to bring you detailed and thorough reviews.
Why is it better to sleep in the dark?
It’s all to do with your circadian rhythm, also known as your body clock, which follows nature’s day/night cycle. Once it starts to get dark, your body starts secreting more of a hormone called melatonin, which makes you feel sleepy.
When the sun comes up, exposing us to daylight, our melatonin levels fall and we wake up. If your bedroom isn’t dark enough for melatonin production to ramp up, you may struggle to fall or stay asleep. If you find blackout curtains are meaning you struggle to wake up, consider investing in the best sunrise alarm clock to give you the gentle light you need come morning.
What should I look for when buying blackout curtains?
Fabric
The best blackout curtains are made from densely woven fabric, such as thick cotton or polyester, that won’t let light through its fibres. Look for a poly/cotton lining that’s been coated in acrylic to make it more effective at light-blocking and noise reduction.
If you want to keep your room well-insulated (cool in summer and warm in winter), look for an additional thermal layer.
Size
Most brands will advise on how to measure up for their blackout curtains, which are hung like regular curtains. If in doubt, measure the width of your curtain pole and add a couple of inches to allow for some overlap when drawn.
Length-wise, measure from a few inches above your curtain pole to the floor, or wherever you want them to finish.
Colour
Many people wrongly assume that blackout curtains need to be black, navy or another dark colour. If they’re made well, the colour shouldn’t matter, as it’s the fabric and lining that does the light-blocking leg work.
You’ll find lighter and brighter colours in most ranges today, from ivory to pink.
Heading
Most blackout curtains have either pencil pleat or eyelet headings, which determine how they are hung. Pencil pleats are the most traditional. They hook onto a curtain pole or track and look like slim pencils in a row. Modern eyelets slip onto a curtain pole, but they can’t be used on a track.
For the best blackout results, fit pencil pleat curtains as close to the wall as you can, and ideally floor to ceiling. Make sure the grommets (or rings) of eyelet curtains aren’t too big for your pole.
Price
Don’t scrimp on quality, as thin blackout curtains won’t darken your bedroom enough to make a difference. Luckily, there are plenty of thick, trusty pairs on our list that do their main job brilliantly, for an affordable price.
The below blackout curtains start from just £15, but you will obviously need to pay more to cover bigger windows.
The verdict: What are the best blackout curtains?
You can’t put a price on good sleep, but luckily with our winner and runner-up, you don’t have to – so the best design for you will actually come down to aesthetics.
Our winning buy from John Lewis is actually a lining that works alongside your existing curtains (great if you don't want to change them), while our runner up, the affordable Habitat Plain Blackout Eyelet Curtains, are an excellent set of polyester curtains.
If you want to flex your interior design muscles, then consider Next and its effective blackout curtains, which come in 24 different shades.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
Reshma is the Junior Commercial Testing Manager at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she leads the commercial testing team, working with partners across a wide range of categories, including household cleaning products, home appliances, sports apparel, skincare, and travel experiences. With a master’s degree in chemistry from UCL, Reshma has a sharp eye for detail and product research, ensuring her market knowledge remains up to date.
Reshma has also appeared on the BBC’s ‘Inside the Factory’ feature representing the Good Housekeeping Institute on their Carpet Stain Removal Segment. While she enjoys dealing with numbers and the more technical aspects of testing, Reshma is also an enthusiastic foodie – and loves to explore London’s newest hot spot cafes and restaurants. She is also a whiz in the kitchen, keeping her team’s collective sweet tooth consistently at bay!
