A downlight goes into the ceiling. A spotlight goes onto it. Everything else about this decision follows from that one difference, and it is usually settled before anybody has looked at a single product.
If you have a ceiling void, are prepared to cut holes and are rewiring anyway, downlights are the neater answer. If you are replacing a pendant on an existing light point this weekend, on a solid, beamed or concrete ceiling, or in a flat where cutting into the ceiling means the flat above, a surface spotlight is the one that goes up without cutting a single hole.
The short version
- Downlights need a ceiling void, a cut-out and usually a fire rating
- Spotlights fix to the existing light point and need none of those
- A three head spotlight turns one light point into three aimed beams
- Most take GU10 lamps, and most do not include the lamps
- Check the projection: some spotlight bars come down further than a semi flush fitting
The difference that decides it
A recessed downlight sits inside the ceiling, so it needs somewhere to sit. That means a void of adequate depth, a cut-out of the right diameter, and, where there is a floor above the ceiling, a fire rated fitting. It also means a circuit run to each position, because one light point does not become six holes on its own.
A surface spotlight fixes to the ceiling and takes its power from the point that is already there. The Astro Ascoli Triple Round 3 Light Spotlight in Bronze (£136.75, checked 9th November 2026) is the common shape of it: one plate on the old light point, three heads that aim separately. Nothing is cut, nothing is rewired, and the ceiling above is not anybody else's floor.
Which job suits which
| The job | What to fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Replacing a pendant, same afternoon | Surface spotlight | It uses the light point already there |
| Kitchen refit, ceiling coming down anyway | Downlights | The void is open and the runs are easy |
| Flat with the neighbours above | Surface spotlight | No cutting into a separating floor |
| Solid, beamed or concrete ceiling | Surface spotlight | There is no void to recess into |
| Lighting a worktop or a picture | Surface spotlight | It aims; a downlight mostly washes straight down |
| An even wash across a whole ceiling | Downlights | Spacing a grid is what they are for |
| Rented, and it has to go back | Surface spotlight | One plate and one set of screw holes |
If downlights are the answer, the number and the spacing are a separate question and we have worked it through in how many downlights you need and which to choose. This article does not repeat that sum.
What a surface spotlight actually gives you
Three things a downlight does not. It aims, so the light goes where the worktop or the picture is rather than onto the floor in front of it. It is reversible, because it leaves one set of screw holes instead of six circles. And it multiplies a single light point: one fitting, three or five or six separate heads.
The Endon Rez 5 Light Spotlight in Matt Black (£94.10, checked 9th November 2026) is the long version of that idea, 1105mm across with five heads, which suits a galley kitchen or a long hallway where one central fitting leaves both ends dark. The Mantra Sal Linear Bar 3 Light Spotlight GU10 Matt Black (£66.46, checked 9th November 2026) is a shorter 480mm bar with three heads, for less.
The measurement to check before you order
Spotlights are not all shallow. The Endon Rez projects between 413mm and 465mm depending on how the heads are set, which on a standard 2.4 metre ceiling leaves about 1.94 metres clear beneath it at full extension. That is under the 2.1 metres we plan for where people walk, so it belongs over a worktop or a run of units rather than in the middle of a hallway.
The Astro Ascoli Triple Round is the opposite case, a flat plate with short heads that is at home above a doorway. Our guide to sizing a ceiling light has the headroom arithmetic in full.
Lamps, caps and the one to check twice
Most surface spotlights take GU10 lamps, the two pin twist and lock cap, and most do not include the lamps. The Ascoli Triple Round is specified for three GU10 lamps to a maximum of 50W each, which is a generous ceiling given that a bright LED GU10 draws single figures. Buy the lamps at the same time and in matching colour temperature, because a bar of three heads shows up a mismatch immediately.
The one to check twice is the lamp cap. Not every spotlight is GU10: some have the LED built in, and a low voltage fitting may need a separate driver. Read the cap and driver lines on the Details table, and the maker's specification sheet, before you order lamps, because caps are not interchangeable. Our guide to what bulbs your new light needs explains the caps, and warm white against cool white covers choosing the colour temperature for the room.
Fitting them
A surface spotlight goes up like any other ceiling fitting, on the plate supplied, using the light point that is already there. Isolate the circuit at the consumer unit before you start, not just at the wall switch. Two things from the Details table decide how straightforward it is: the Class, which says whether an earth is needed, and the weight. The Ascoli Triple Round is Class 2 and 1.271 kg, which is about as easy as a ceiling fitting gets. The Astro Juno Triple Bar Spotlight in Matt Brushed Brass (£155.25, checked 9th November 2026) is Class 1 and needs an earth at the ceiling.
Downlights are a different job: new holes and new cable runs, which we would leave to an electrician.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, a downlight or a spotlight?
Neither, and the ceiling usually decides for you. Downlights need a void to recess into, a cut-out and, with a floor above, usually a fire rating, so they suit a refit where the ceiling is open. Surface spotlights fix to the existing light point and need none of that, so they suit a swap, a solid ceiling or a flat with neighbours above.
Do I need an electrician to fit ceiling spotlights?
A surface spotlight uses the light point that is already there, so it is the same job as changing any ceiling fitting. What decides it is whether you can isolate the circuit with confidence and whether the fitting needs an earth, which its Class line tells you. Recessed downlights involve new cable runs and new holes, and that is an electrician's job.
Can you put spotlights in an existing ceiling?
Surface spotlights, yes, on any ceiling with a light point, including solid, beamed and concrete ones. Recessed downlights need a void deep enough for the fitting and a ceiling you are willing to cut, so on a solid or concrete ceiling they are usually not an option at all without dropping a new ceiling below it.
What bulbs do ceiling spotlights take?
Most take GU10, the two pin cap that twists and locks, and most do not include the lamps. Check the maximum wattage on the Details table and buy all the lamps for one fitting together in the same colour temperature. Some have the LED built in instead, so read the cap line before ordering lamps.
Are ceiling spotlights out of date?
A grid of recessed downlights across a whole ceiling is not something we would fit, because it lights the floor and leaves the walls dark. Aimed surface spotlights are a different proposition and have not dated, because they do a job nothing else does: they put light exactly where the worktop, the picture or the reading chair actually is.
