Best Sunscreens of 2025

An advantage of using a lotion is that you can easily see how much you’re applying. Use about a teaspoon per body part or area that’s not covered up with clothing: 1 teaspoon for your face, head, and neck; 1 for each arm; 1 for each leg; 1 for your chest and abdomen; and 1 for your back and the back of your neck. If you’re in a bathing suit, you’ll need about an ounce of lotion to cover your body. That’s about the amount that fills a shotglass.

Spray sunscreens are popular for their convenience. But they can be problematic when it comes to applying them because you can’t measure how much you’re using as accurately as you can when applying a lotion sunscreen. Spraying the sunscreen into your hands and then applying it to your body helps ensure better coverage. Or hold the nozzle close to your skin and spray until your skin glistens, then rub in the sunscreen. Never spray your face because you could get sunscreen in your eyes or inhale it. Instead, spray it into your hands and rub it onto your face. Sprays can be flammable, so be sure to stay away from any heat source—such as a grill—when using one.

Consumer Reports recommends using a lotion on kids rather than a spray, but if you choose to use a spray, be very careful when applying it. Children are more likely to inhale the mist, so the best thing to do is spray it into your hands and rub it onto your child’s skin. At the very least, have children close their eyes and mouths and turn their heads while you spray.

While top-notch protection is the first thing to think about when choosing sunscreen, there are other important factors to consider.

Our ratings include the price per container and the price per ounce so that you can weigh the costs when you’re choosing sunscreen.

All the sunscreens at the top of CR’s ratings contain chemical active ingredients, such as avobenzone. Some people may prefer to use a mineral (or natural) sunscreen, those with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or both. But our tests over the years have found that mineral sunscreens don’t offer as much protection against the sun’s harmful rays.

For many people, the way sunscreen smells and feels on their skin is as important as the UV protection it provides. So in addition to our performance tests, our trained sensory panelists also evaluate sunscreens for scent and feel. Sensory testing isn’t factored into our Overall Score because what people prefer is subjective. For instance, we can’t say whether a sunscreen that has a tropical aroma is better than one with a classic beachy aroma. But our panelists objectively describe the scent and feel of every sunscreen we test so that you can pick the best product for you.

A majority of the sunscreens in our ratings don’t contain oxybenzone or octinoxate. These two chemical active ingredients are highly effective UV filters, but they’re the ones that are most often flagged as being potentially harmful to coral reefs.

Facial sunscreens and moisturizers with sunscreen use the same UV-filtering ingredients as body sunscreens. And you can use a body product on your face. Many are lightweight and absorb quickly. Still, a facial sunscreen may work better for you cosmetically. Know, though, that many of them are not water-resistant. That may matter when you are swimming or when exercising outdoors and you sweat, so check labels to be sure that you’re buying a product that meets your needs.

We test only broad-spectrum sunscreens labeled SPF 30—the minimum that dermatologists recommend you use—or above. Most of the sunscreens are water-resistant. However, because some facial sunscreens are meant for everyday use—not just when you’ll be swimming or sweating—a few of the ones we tested aren’t water-resistant. We’ve clearly marked which ones are (and for how long) and which ones aren’t in our ratings. 

CR uses a testing protocol that’s modeled on the one the Food and Drug Administration requires sunscreen manufacturers to use. But as is the case with other products we test that have government or industry standards, we use those standards as benchmarks and develop our own methodology to identify differences in performance and give consumers a comparative evaluation.

“We buy the sunscreens for our tests off the shelf, the way consumers would,” says Susan Booth, who oversees our sunscreen testing. “We use three samples, preferably with different lot numbers, of each product.” 

For SPF, we test the sunscreens on three people, which is fewer than the FDA’s protocol calls for, but we use a statistical analysis to verify our results.

To check SPF in water-resistant sunscreens, a technician applies a standard amount of each sunscreen to a 2x3-inch rectangle on each panelist’s back. Then the panelists soak in a tub of water for 40 or 80 minutes, depending on the product’s water-resistance claim. (We perform the test after water immersion only for water-resistant sunscreens because if a sunscreen holds up on wet skin, it should hold up on dry skin.) Afterward, smaller sections of the rectangle are exposed to five or six intensities of UV light from a sun simulator for a set time based on how quickly the panelist’s skin burns without protection. (We also use a reference sunscreen with known performance to ensure the accuracy of the testing.) About a day later, a trained technician examines the areas for redness and determines the SPF.

The testing for non-water-resistant sunscreens involves the same steps—applying the sunscreen, exposing the skin to UV light, and examining the skin the next day—except for water immersion.