The 8 Best CR2025 Batteries
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Our top CR2025 pick is the Panasonic CR2025, which did best in independent coin cell tests. Eight CR2025 batteries compared, plus key fob and child-safety tips. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
A CR2025 is a 3-volt lithium coin cell, 20 millimeters across and 2.5 millimeters thick, used in car key fobs, watches, calculators, scales and remotes. Every brand looks about the same, but makers' datasheets and independent tests show real differences in how long they last, and only a few add features meant to protect small children.
1. Panasonic CR2025
2. Energizer 2025
3. Duracell 2025
4. Maxell CR2025
5. Murata CR2025
6. Renata CR2025
7. Toshiba CR2025
8. Tenergy CR2025
Editor's Notes
October 14, 2026, by Ezvid Wiki Admin:
This list hadn't been updated since 2021, and the Celewell, Skoanbe and Philips packs it recommended are no longer sold. We also dropped the LiCB 10-pack. In May 2026 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled the same seller's CR2032 cells because their packaging wasn't child-resistant, and many owners of the CR2025 pack report cells that were dead on arrival. Sony's coin cells are now sold under the Murata name.
Coin cells from different brands look alike, so we relied on makers' datasheets and independent tests. No one has published a multi-brand test of CR2025s, so we used tests of the thicker CR2032, which the same brands make with the same chemistry. Panasonic did best across those tests, which is why it's first. Energizer and Duracell are the picks for homes with small children, because they're the only ones here with a bitter coating.
Whatever you buy, check the date on the pack. Buyers of several brands report receiving old stock.
April 06, 2021:
Most of our picks of CR2025 batteries from the previous update are still in this list, apart from the Duracell, which I’ve removed because I think it’s a tad expensive now compared to other options. Apart from that, you can probably observe for yourself that our list promotes brand variety, as well as affordability, with all options falling between 30¢ to a little over a buck per unit.
The Duracell on the other hand was selling for more than twice as much as the second most expensive unit in our list, and did very little to justify that cost, since CR2025 batteries are, by definition, 170 milliamp-hour batteries, so you’re not going to find massive fundamental differences like battery and shelf life between brands. I believe that this was just the case of a name brand taking liberties by massively inflating prices, and I’d love to reintroduce the brand to this list, since I’m fond of their batteries, but not until they bring their cost per unit down a little.
February 16, 2020:
The first thing I always like to do with any list involving batteries is to see whether the current options still offer fresh cells, as many sellers like to buy in bulk, and as a result, can often end up supplying you with older packets of cells that might contain duds. After all, no one wants cells that are DOA (Dead On Arrival). With regard to this, the GloFX Lithium Buttons and Energizer 10-Pack seemed to be struggling with quality issues, so they’ve been removed or replaced.
Unfortunately, I also had to remove the Chao Chuang 20-Pack and AmVolt 8-Pack because they were struggling with availability issues. The Chao Chuang is some generic Chinese option that isn’t going to be a huge miss from this list, but it’s a real shame that I couldn’t find any replacement AmVolt CR2025 packets, because the company makes some great button cells, but I’ve recently found many of them struggling with availability issues, not just CR2025 cells - I don’t know if they’re rolling back on manufacturing of button cells to focus on producing larger batteries, or perhaps I’m just overreacting.
For replacements, I’ve looked at a couple of things, namely, my understanding of the cells’ reliability and their cost per unit. Fortunately, I found packages like the LiCB 10-Pack and Celewell 5-Pack, which are both great options from brands that I’m quite familiar with. The Celewell quotes a capacity of 170 mAh, which is higher than the average 150-160 mAh for CR2025 cells, though I couldn’t tell you how accurate their claim is, since I don’t have a discharge curve from the lab – but I’m trusting them on this.
Among many of the generic options that were disappointing to say the least, I did manage to pick up the Skoanbe 5-Pack. The cells have Japanese writing on them, so the manufacturer is probably Japanese, and they are definitely fresh as the advertised batch was supposedly manufactured in October 2019, so they’ll be good till 2023, according to them, which seems about right, as lithium cells have a self-discharge rate of around 10% in 5 years. Just a note with regards to primary cells, a lithium-based battery is denoted by CR to differentiate it from alkaline (LR) and silver-oxide (SR) cells. Also, the first 2 digits of a button cell denote its diameter, and the second 2 denote the thickness multiplied by 10; so, a CR2025 cell has a diameter of 20 mm and a thickness of 2.5 mm.
Also, there’s been some speculation regarding whether the Philips Lithium Minicell pack is a counterfeit from some Chinese company, and I can’t tell you whether this is true, but it’s still a good option with fresh cells that seem quite reliable, and so I’ve left it in.
Does The Brand Really Matter?
Buy from listings sold by the brand or by Amazon itself, keep spares in their original packaging, and check the expiration date printed on the pack.
More than the identical-looking cells suggest. Every CR2025 has the same size and voltage, but tests find big differences in how long they last. In a 2023 test that ran CR2032 cells in data loggers until they gave out, the Cave Pearl Project found that Panasonic lasted about 1,500 hours, Energizer and Duracell about 1,300, and a no-name cell about 640. A Texas Instruments study of short bursts of current, the kind a key fob draws, found that some cells delivered only about half their rated capacity. Results differ from test to test: a 2025 Belgian test by Test Achats put Duracell near the top.
Counterfeits are a real problem online. Maxell's lab measured fake CR2032s from major online marketplaces at little more than half their rated capacity. Buy from listings sold by the brand or by Amazon itself, keep spares in their original packaging, and check the expiration date printed on the pack.
To check a cell, a fresh one reads a little over 3 volts on a meter. Energizer warns that a meter with no load can make a weak cell look fine, so a battery tester that puts a load on the cell gives a truer answer.
CR2025, CR2016 Or CR2032?
All three are 20 millimeters across and 3 volts. The last two digits give the thickness in tenths of a millimeter: a CR2016 is 1.6 millimeters thick, a CR2025 is 2.5 and a CR2032 is 3.2. Capacity rises with thickness, and Energizer's datasheets rate them at 100, 170 and 235 milliamp-hours. Energizer says they aren't interchangeable, so use the size your device names. A CR2025 in a CR2032 slot may work if the contacts are springy, but it can lose contact when bumped and runs down sooner. A CR2032 forced into a CR2025 slot can bend the contacts or crack the case. Two stacked CR2016s make 6 volts, not a CR2032. DL2025 (Duracell), ECR2025 (Energizer) and 5003LC are other names for the same cell.
Key fobs vary even within one model: Mazda's 2020 CX-5 used a CR2025 in one key and a CR2032 in another, and Nissan's Leaf changed sizes between the 2023 and 2025 models. Check the old cell or the owner's manual. Apple's AirTag takes a CR2032, even though some listings sell CR2025s "for AirTag."
There's no rechargeable drop-in. A "rechargeable CR2025" is a lithium-ion LIR2025, which runs at up to 4.2 volts and holds a fraction of the energy, so it may not be safe in a device built for 3 volts.
Coin Cells And Children
A swallowed coin cell can cause serious internal burns in as little as two hours, and 20-millimeter cells like this one are the most likely to get stuck in a child's throat. Since 2023, under Reese's Law, coin cells sold in the U.S. must come in child-resistant packaging with warning labels, and devices must keep their battery compartments closed with a screw or a two-step latch (CPSC). Recalls since then have caught sellers shipping coin cells in easy-open packs, including CR2025s, so skip plain bags of loose cells.
Duracell and Energizer coat their cells with a bitter-tasting compound, and Energizer adds a dye that stains the mouth blue. Energizer's newer Ultimate Child Shield cells also claim to prevent burns if swallowed, which hasn't been independently verified. A UK government review found little evidence that bitter coatings alone prevent swallowing (OPSS), so packaging and storage still matter most.
If you think a child has swallowed a battery, go to the emergency room right away and call the National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 800-498-8666. For a child 1 year or older who swallowed it within the past 12 hours, the National Capital Poison Center advises giving 2 teaspoons of honey every 10 minutes on the way, up to six doses. Don't make the child vomit.
When a cell is used up, cover both sides with clear tape and take it to a battery drop-off rather than the trash (EPA).
