The 4 Best Extension Cords for Your Home and Garage of 2025

A good extension cord should have a 15-amp power rating and 12-gauge wires, and be tested and approved by a third party—either UL or Intertek. It should have an elastomer sheath that makes it flexible enough to consistently lay flat on the ground and easy to coil up. We also prefer models with lighted ends, which make it easy to see whether power is running through the cord. Extension cords come in various lengths, but we think 50 feet is the most practical for all-around use because it’s long enough to reach the lawn, but not so long that it’s heavy and difficult to coil up.

Here’s more information about the features we looked for in an extension cord—and why they’re important.

Third-party approved, SJEOW rated: Any cord marked by UL (“UL Listed”) or Intertek (“ETL Listed”) has been tested to certain safety and function standards by a reputable third party. This ensures that the cord is of reliable quality and can be used safely within its given power rating. The specifics of this testing are held in a seemingly random string of letters printed on the side of the cord. Through our research, we found that the best cords for home use are designated as SJEOW and SJEOOW.

Every letter in these codes has a meaning (PDF), and by understanding them, it’s easier to know the differences between our preferred SJEOW and SJEOOW cords and the more commonly found, less-expensive SJTW cords, which populate the shelves of big-box stores. The most important of these letters, for our purposes, is the “E.” This indicates that the sheath of the extension cord is made of an elastomer and not a thermoplastic, which is what the “T” in SJTW stands for. (Not to confuse matters further, but we should note that some elastomers are a form of thermoplastic.) The only difference between SJEOW cords and SJEOW cords is that the latter’s outer sheath and inner-wire covers are both oil resistant; with the former, only the outer sheath is oil resistant.

Elastomer sheaths are preferable because they are very rubbery and flaccid. In our tests, they barely held any shape memory and consistently sat flat against the ground when unrolled, which greatly reduces any tripping hazard. Coiling them in at the end of the day is also much easier, as they fall naturally into even loops. Elastomer cords perform much better in extreme temperatures, too. For example, our top pick, an SJEOOW cord, has been approved for use in temperatures ranging from 221 degrees Fahrenheit to -94 degrees Fahrenheit, while the SJTW cords we looked at are typically approved to temperatures from 140 °F to -40 °F.

These temperature numbers on the SJTW cords may sound impressive, but Jeff Lutke, principal engineer of UL’s Wire & Cable division, explained that these numbers only indicate that the cord can be wrapped around a test spool without cracking or breaking. It does not indicate the temperature at which the cord starts to become stiff. What these numbers do show, and what we saw in our testing, is that the elastomer coating on SJEOW and SJEOOW cords has a much higher resilience to temperatures than the thermoplastic-insulated SJTW cords. This difference is manifested in their general handling at any temperature.

A 50-foot, 12-gauge wire: How much power a cord can carry is related to the wire’s thickness and the length of the cord. The longer the cord, the thicker the inside wires need to be to handle the same amount of power. For home use, a 50-foot extension cord with a 12-gauge wire thickness offers the best in portability and power.

A 12-gauge, 50-foot wire can handle 15 amps, which matches most residential breakers and many older fuses. These breakers prevent overloaded circuits by cutting the power if you try to draw more than 15 A. If you’re using a cord rated for only 10 A or 12 A, as many cheaper ones are, your breakers won’t help you avoid an overload if you plug in something with a higher amp rating, with consequences from the unfortunate (a tripped breaker) to the catastrophic (fire). A cord capable of 15 A is more expensive than its light-duty cousins but will satisfy the demands of heavy-duty electric tools like circular saws long after you’ve forgotten its rating. But as a cord gets longer, its amp rating starts to drop. So a cord like our pick, which can handle 15 A at 50 feet, can still power 15 A at 100 feet, but only for short periods of time.

If you use cords that are too thin for the length and power you need, you can run into two problems. The most common is voltage dropping from the outlet to the far end of the cord. This can mess up different types of equipment in a few ways: Lights may dim, saws may not spin as fast, and some motors just won’t work at all. That can cause safety issues of its own (slow saws won’t cut cleanly, which can make them harder to control). The biggest problem with an undersized cord is that it can actually start a fire. Pulling too much power through a too-small cord will cause it to heat up, eventually melting the jacket and exposing the bare wiring underneath.

For indoor cords that won’t be subjected to much more than phone chargers, lamps, or small speakers, a 15 A power rating isn’t as important. Even if all three of those items were plugged in, it’s unlikely they’d use more than 7 A. That’s why other features, like flush-mounted plugs and grounding pins that reduce the risk of shocks or fire, are more important for indoor cords.

A lighted end: We like extension cords that include a small LED light at the plug end to let you know when the cord is powered. If your cord is plugged in around a corner or otherwise out of sight, it’s nice to know at a glance when the power is on and when it isn’t.

Some cords also include locking brackets or switches to keep a plugged-in tool’s power cord firmly attached to the extension cord’s outlet. It’s a nice-to-have feature, but it often adds bulk to the plug end, making it incompatible with recessed outlets such as those found on electric snow blowers or lawn mowers. Also, extension cords can lead rough lives—they’re frequently stepped on or dropped—so we see these brackets and switches as just another thing that can break. (You’ll still be able to use the cord itself, though.) There are ways of tying two cords together at the connection point to create the same kind of stability, if not more, without these drawbacks. If you feel strongly about having a separate holding bracket, there are many third-party cord locks available.

For indoor cords, we recommend flatter plugs that sit flush to the outlet. That helps prevent the plug from getting pulled out—or worse, partially pulled out—when you move a chair or a pet bumps into it.