Best blackout blinds 2024: Blackout roller, Roman and skylight blinds for total darkness from £8

Sunshine blasting through your windows long before your alarm goes off can really mess with your sleep. The best blackout blinds block the light completely without costing the earth or needing fiddly installation.

Indeed, the sanctuary offered by blackout blinds and curtains isn’t just essential for good sleep in summer. Babies and children need far more sleep than night time allows, and shift workers – or anyone needing a daytime nap – will know the difference a properly dark bedroom can make.

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Skip ahead to find out which blackout blinds we recommend, or read on for more tips on choosing the right blind to keep out those unwanted rays.

Best blackout blinds: At a glance

How to choose the best blackout blinds for you

What should I look for when choosing blackout blinds?

The most important factor in a blackout blind is, of course, its ability to block light. All the blackout blinds we recommend below are praised by buyers for their blackout powers. However you will need to make sure that the blind fits your window, because even the smallest gap will let light flood through. So, among the factors to consider when choosing a blackout blind, look for…

Adjustable width and drop. Measure your window carefully before buying, then cover your back by erring on the large side and buying a blind you can trim to size without interfering with the mechanism. Most roller blinds can be cut length-ways (adjusting the drop), and a few can be cut width-ways. More elaborate designs like Roman blinds usually can’t.

Versatile fixing options. These allow you to hang your blind inside or outside the window’s frame (a bigger overlap of the frame means less light gets through, since light can’t go round corners), or to the ceiling to stop light leaking from the top of the window. John Lewis’ excellent roller blinds can even be flipped round so that the blind sits almost flush to the window.

Moisture-resistant roller blinds are ideal for bathroom and kitchen use, and for any room whose windows suffer condensation in the chillier months.

Insulating backing is well worth spending an extra few pounds on, since it helps to stop the heat that can accompany harsh summer sun. Insulation also helps to keep your room warm in winter.

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Instant temporary blackout blinds are a brilliant invention. These can be stuck to windows in seconds using adhesive strips (perfect for when you’ve moved house and haven’t hung curtains yet) or with suckers, which are easy to remove and reposition, making them ideal for children’s rooms, or when travelling.

Skylight blackout blinds are built into a frame that blocks out the tiniest speck of light when they’re closed. That’s extra important with skylights, given that these windows look straight up to the sun. You can buy Velux blinds that are made to fit specific Velux windows, but we also recommend Bloc skylight blinds, which fit a wider range of roof and loft windows. They’re all relatively easy to fit by yourself, but you may need to include a telescopic pole in your purchase to help you reach the blind.

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The best blackout blinds to buy now

1. John Lewis Longstock Blackout Roller Blind: Best blackout roller blind

Price when reviewed: From £35 | Check price at John Lewis

This beautifully designed John Lewis blackout blind comes in a good range of sizes (widths from 61cm/£35 to 183cm/£65), but you can trim it length-ways or width-ways for a perfect fit. It can also be reverse-rolled to give a closer fit to the window.

The blind’s blackout powers are superb, but it manages to brighten the room at the same time thanks to its fresh, classy print design that would work well in a bathroom or kitchen as well as a bedroom or nursery. The chain mechanism has a child safety lock and can be attached on the left- or right-hand side, and the supplied universal brackets can go inside or outside the window frame, or even on the ceiling. A really versatile, high-quality, great-looking product.

Key specs – Material: Polyester; Drop: 160cm; Widths available: 6; Colours available: Other colours available without pattern

2. Argos Home Blackout Insulating Roller Blind: Best value total blackout roller blind

Price when reviewed: From £8 |Check price at Argos

For under a tenner, these durable wipe-clean blinds from Argos will totally block all external light, and even help regulate temperature with their insulating backing. Like John Lewis’ roller blinds, these are also moisture-resistant and come with a special “p” clip that makes the chain child-safe.

Widths vary from 60cm (£8) up to 180cm (£20), although you can trim the blinds for a better fit, and installation is fairly easy using just three screws. The blinds also come in a really good range of colours, including bright pink and a lovely teal, as well as black, white, grey and taupe.

Key specs – Material: Wipe-clean fabric; Drop: 160cm; Widths available: 5; Colours available: 10

Check price at Argos

3. Velux original blackout blind: Best total blackout blind for Velux skylights and roof windows

Price when reviewed: From £63 | Check price at Amazon

Velux’s blind is about as blackout as they come, leaving no gap whatsoever when it’s pulled down. You can buy a telescopic rod in case it’s a bit too high to reach (available separately for £29). The blind’s three-layered Oeko-Tex fabric is backed with aluminium to help regulate the room’s temperature, which is especially important if your loft doesn’t have central heating.

The big catch is that the blind only fits Velux windows, and you’ll need to buy the right sized blind and frame for your window (open the window and look for the code on a silver plate at the top). But its Amazon reviews are among the best we’ve ever seen. More than 1,400 five-star reviews hail the blind’s total blackout powers and say it’s surprisingly easy to install, thanks to the pre-fitted mounting system.

Key specs – Material: Oeko-Tex fabric; Sizes available: 19 (match Velux window code to blind); Colours available: 6

4. Temposhade Original Instant Temporary Blinds: Best instant blackout blinds you can cut to fit any window

Price when reviewed: £23 (black) | Check price at Amazon

Temposhade blinds are a marvel of modern window dressing. They’re made from pleated paper so you can cut them easily with scissors, and their strong adhesive strips stick firmly on or above your window. You also use drawing pins in case you don’t want to use the adhesive strip, and neat little clips to hold the blind up during the day. And they really work! They fully block the light, and if your window is on the large side you can overlap two or more blinds to prevent any light leaks.

There are six blinds in each box, enough to black out your whole flat or fill a generous bay window, and they’re so easy to cut and hang that you can get the whole job done in half an hour. We also like using them behind our favourite curtains for extra light-blocking power, and many Amazon buyers love their crisp, modern look enough to hang them permanently.

Key specs – Material: Paper; Drop: 180cm, or 200cm if ironed flat; Widths available: 1 (89cm, cut to fit); Colours available: 2

5. Pueblo Cordless 100% Blackout Woven Fabric Roman Shades: Best blackout Roman blind

Price when reviewed: From £58 | Check price at AmazonRoman blinds are a cosy happy medium between roller blinds, which are inexpensive but can feel too stark, and curtains, which can be pricey, bulky and hard to clean. This lovely linen blind folds neatly at the top of your window when you want to let light in, and opens quickly to block all light when it’s time for sleep, TV or whatever you’d rather do without the light pouring in.

We like that this blind can be fitted inside or outside the window recess, and to the wall or ceiling, but unlike most roller blinds it can’t be cut to size, so you’ll need to check measurements carefully before buying. The blackout backing adds insulation as well as blocking light, and the cordless design stops kids and pets getting entangled. It comes in a variety of colours, all quite subdued on the spectrum from dark brown to white, with available widths varying according to the shade you choose.

Key specs – Material: Linen; Drop: 163cm; Widths available: 9 (from 58cm to 91cm, depending on colour); Colours available: 10

6. The Gro Company Portable Blackout Blind: The best blackout blind to take on the road

Price when reviewed: From £30 | Check price at Amazon

Whether you frequently travel or you’re looking to make things easier when you move house, The Gro Company’s portable blackout blind is a solid option. The thick material effectively blocks sunlight, while also providing thermal insulation, keeping the room warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Mounted straight onto the window with suction cups and resized with velcro patches, this blind is versatile enough to fit a variety of windows, and simple enough to make relocating completely painless. After several moves, the suction cups may begin to lose their efficacy, so it’s very important to clean a window thoroughly before mounting, to best ensure the longevity of your portable darkness.

Key specs – Material: Fabric; Sizes available: 1 (Adapts to fit any window up to 130 x 198cm); Colours available: 1

7. Bloc Blackout Skylight Blind with Silver Frame: Best skylight blackout blinds that fits all types of roof window

Price when reviewed: From £19 | Check price at Amazon

Bloc skylight blinds are compatible with all the main roof window brands including Velux, Roto, Fakro and Rooflite. Like the official Velux blinds, they come with a built-in frame that means they provide 100% light blocking, and they’re relatively easy to install using a handful of screws.

Bloc blinds come in a bigger range of colours than Velux blinds, and you can choose from either a silver or white frame made from sleek aluminium. If the multitude of sizes gets confusing, just check inside your window’s frame: there should be a manufacturer’s code that lets you know the blind size you’ll need.

Key specs – Material: Polyester; Sizes available: 17 (up to 116 x 78cm); Colours available: 6

8. Pure Earth Collection Blackout Blind: Best luxury portable blackout blind

Price when reviewed: £88 | Check price at Pure Earth Collection

If you need a quick blackout solution but want something more durable and plush than the temporary and portable blinds we’ve featured so far, then this luxurious cotton blind from Pure Earth Collection is worth a look. It’s expensive for a single blind measuring 200cm by 130cm, but it’s versatile and portable, and the nine suction cups stick to any window quickly and effectively.

The thick cotton fabric does collect dust quite easily, and the suction cups don’t adhere quite close enough to the glass to block every speck of light. But I will be taking this sturdy, beautifully-made blind on my travels, because it will be a quick and easy blackout solution in those Booking.com and Airbnb rooms whose curtains don’t quite cut it. It’s a great temporary option for when people come to stay, too – and, unlike Temposhade, it peels off as easily and cleanly as it sticks on.

Key specs – Material: Organic cotton with 9 sticky suction cups; Drop: 200cm; Width: 130cm; Colours available: 1 (black)