BenQ Screenbar Monitor Lights Review: Standard vs Plus vs a generic brand

How does the standard BenQ Screenbar compare to its Plus version? And are they worth it over a generic brand?

As more and more people spend an increasing amount of time in front of the screen, reducing eyestrain can have a huge impact on comfort and productivity levels. Having suitable lighting is one way to achieve this ⁠-your room might be bright but brightening the inevitable “shadowy areas” on your desk can make a big difference.

Cue, the screenbar. I’ve been using one for a while since my job went remote in 2020. What’s a screenbar? Essentially, it’s a desk lamp that clamps to your monitor, providing uniform lighting on your desk and reducing the glare you can get with traditional lamps.

Look at the difference a bit of extra light makes:

When BenQ approached me to test out two of their popular screenbar models — the standard Screenbar and the Screenbar Plus, I jumped at the chance. The reason I even have a screenbar was because of these premium models.

Up till then, I was using the Quntis Laptop Monitor Lamp, which I bought in October 2020 for CAD$42.99. In comparison, the BenQ Standard Screenbar retails for about CAD$179.47, and the Plus model at CAD$200.

I tested the BenQ models for about two weeks each, and here are my thoughts.

Attachment to Monitor

Let’s start with how the screenbars clamp onto the monitor.

Hands down BenQ’s attachment is way more usable than Quntis’. It’s very solid and has a really nice weight. You literally just put it on top of your screen and it balances perfectly.

In contrast, the Quntis clamp is less weighted and has tape to stick it to the back of the monitor. The whole attachment is just much less smooth and requires more manual finesse. The parts are definitely more “plasticky”, making it feel easier to snap or accidentally break something.