The batteries that will give your Christmas toys the best mileage

Batteries are often the last thing people think of when they're doing their Christmas shopping, and picking the right one can be confusing.

A Current Affair spoke to Canstar Blue editor Simon Downes about which brands were best.

"What you get with batteries, is you generally get what you pay for," he said.

Rated on battery life, value for money, range and overall satisfaction, Duracell came out on top, with five stars in battery life, effectiveness, and range.

Aldi batteries came second, followed by Energiser, Panasonic, Coles, Kmart, Eveready, Varta and Chevron.

"We all want good value, we want a cheap price," Mr Downes said.

"But if you're looking at a set of AAA batteries for $12, then the cheaper ones for $6, just think, there's a price difference for a reason."

Battery World franchise owner Howdie Farrar agreed Duracell was the number one battery worldwide.

But he said it was important to check the expiry dates on purchase.

"About one per cent per month, they will degrade, so if they're 10 months old, that's 10 per cent of the battery's capacity gone before you buy it," he said.

But he believes rechargeable cells are the way to go, with 76 per cent of batteries sold now re-usable.

Some products - among them clocks and television and Foxtel remotes - won't run on a rechargeable cell.

But for products that do, Mr Farrar recommended Duracell, Fujitsu and Energizer as the top battery brands.