CRI in lighting stands for Color Rendering Index.

What CRI means

  • CRI is a 0–100 scale that measures how accurately a light source shows the true colors of objects compared to a natural or standard light source like daylight.
  • A CRI of 100 means colors look essentially the same as they do under the reference light (sunlight or incandescent), while lower numbers mean more distorted, dull, or “off” colors.

Why CRI matters

  • High CRI lighting (typically 90+) makes skin tones, clothes, food, art, and décor look vivid and natural, which is important in homes, retail, photography, and design.
  • Lower CRI lighting can make spaces feel flat or washed out, even if the light is bright, because brightness (lumens) and color accuracy (CRI) are different things.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.