If you are all about setting vibes and creating aesthetic spaces, strip lights add the ultimate detail to any room. Perfect to place inside or outside your home, you can add powerful and colorful lighting wherever you’d like. I’m talking behind computer screens and TV screens, above or below shelves and cabinets, along your mirror frame, stairwell, or even your outdoor garden — the possibilities are truly endless.
With the holiday season fast approaching, strip lights are an easy way to add holiday spirit to any gathering. You can set different colors or synchronize the lights with your speakers to change colors based on the beats of your favorite holiday songs, all with a remote control or app on your phone.
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Their convenient functionality and ease of set-up make them the best addition to any home. But how do you decide which strip lights are the best for your soon-to-be-upgraded setup? ZDNET has gathered a list of the best strip lights on the market that fit users’ different needs and budgets.
Our pick for the best strip light is the Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip due to its bright light output, smart home compatibility, and its value for price. However, based on different use cases, many other top-quality strip lights should be considered when making a pick. Keep reading to learn more about our favorite LED strip lights.
The best strip lights of 2023
- Easy installation
- Bright light output at 240 lumen per foot
- High-quality construction
- Great fit for a Hue ecosystem
- Adhesive could be better
- Limited smart control without a Hue Bridge
- More expensive than alternatives
Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip tech specs: Length: 6.5 feet | Control: Mobile app via Bluetooth | Installation: Self-adhesive | Wattage: 24 watts | Power source: Corded electric | Bonus features: Extend up to 33 feet, music sync
Versatility is the name of the game here. Getting the most bang for your buck in quality and usability is what makes this Philips Hue model the best strip light. The synthetic polymer construction makes for a durable, thick coating on the LED strip. And the Bluetooth connectivity gives you easy control over them from your phone.
Though these only include 6.5 feet of lighting, they can be extended with other kits to up to 33 feet or, alternatively, trimmed every 12 inches or so to shorten. You can control these strip lights from your phone via Bluetooth, and when in close proximity to the lights, an extra Hue bridge will unlock smart capabilities like scheduling, scenes, and app control from anywhere you go.
- 100ft long coverage
- Mobile app control
- Music sync capability
- Can’t connect another kit to this one
- Finicky connectivity with app
Tenmiro LED Lights tech specs: Length: 100 feet (2 rolls of 50ft) | Control: 44-key IR remote control, Bluetooth via mobile app | Light sources: 150 | Installation: Self-adhesive | Wattage: 60 watts | Power source: Corded electric | Bonus features: Music sync, color changing
These Tenmiro LED light strips are the perfect addition for anyone looking to add some color ambiance to their space. And at constantly discounted prices, this is especially true for those on a budget. This set comes with two rolls of 50 ft each, adding up to 100 ft of Bluetooth-enabled, self-adhesive strip lights that change colors and brightness to set the mood you want in your home.
Though the Tenmiro LED light strips include a 44-key remote control, you can also connect them to your mobile device via Bluetooth. Getting these strips set up can be a little particular, as you may encounter some initial issues with the remote or pairing it via Bluetooth to your device. But once they’re set up, they’ve proven to be reliably responsive.
- Wifi-controlled
- 100 Color zones
- No hub required
- Adhesive isn’t very strong
- No Bluetooth
- No HomeKit support
TP-Link Tapo Smart LED light strip tech specs: Length: 32.8 feet (2 rolls at 16.4 feet) | Control: Mobile app via wifi, Google & Alexa | Light sources: N/A | Installation: Self-adhesive | Wattage: 42 watts | Power source: Corded electric | Bonus features: Music sync, IP44 moisture resistance
TP-Link’s wifi-enabled Tapo strip lights are an eye-catching addition to any home or business. They feature a whopping 100 color zones and a 16 million color range, and the wifi-capability means you’ll be able to control them through the app from wherever you go. The Tapo app makes it easy to synchronize these to music or play with effects, set schedules, and set scenes.
The output on these lights is rated at 1100 lumens, so it’s a pretty bright set on its own, yet a good addition for supplemental lighting with its fully dimmable feature. While these strip lights don’t include a remote control, they have a connected manual controller to turn on and off and change colors and presets.
- Bright colors
- A lot of light sources in short length
Sengled Smart LED Strip Lights tech specs: Length: 16.4 feet | Control: Mobile app via wifi | Light sources: 150 | Installation: Included clips & mounting pads | Wattage: 20.4 watts | Power source: Corded electric | Bonus features: Music sync, color changing
The shorter length and bright colors make the Sengled Smart LED strip lights the perfect option for any gaming or media room. Whether you want to line the back of a monitor, TV, or even a desk, these strip lights feature 16 million color possibilities to fit your mood. These light strips have wifi capability making it even easier to match your lights to what is playing on your screen through the Sengled Home app.
The colors on this strip are also pretty outstanding, and you can adjust the brightness to suit the room. LED strips tend to have a bluish hue no matter their color setting, but these strips do a great job at displaying true colors without blue tint.
- Weatherproof, flexible construction
- Option for different white temperatures
- Versatile, year-round use
- No remote control
- No color options
Sylvania LED 32.9ft Outdoor strip tech specs: Length: 32.8 feet | Color temp: 3000K (with alternatives at 4000K and 6500K) | Control: No remote, plug-in | Light sources: 90 | Installation: Included clips & screws | Wattage: 60 watts | Power source: Corded electric
This flexible 32.8-foot-long light strip by Sylvania is the perfect addition to any outdoor space, such as decks, fences, or walkways. Though it’s built tough for outdoor use, you can also use it indoors to light bedrooms, living rooms, or even kitchens. Keep in mind, this model doesn’t include a remote control or any color options, but it is a great option if you’re looking for a durable white light strip for your outdoor area.
Personally, I bypass the lack of remote control by using an outdoor smart plug to simply control the strip lights via my phone and Alexa. This model is for a warm white, 3000K color temperature, but Sylvania also offers alternative daylight color at 4000K and cool white at 6500K, purchased separately.
- 900 lumens per kit
- Motion-activated
- Customizable installation
- Only 6 strips in a single run
- No built-in on/off switch
Torchstar LED Safe Lighting Kit tech specs: Length: 6 feet (6 linkable light strips) | Color temp: 5000K (with an alternative at 3000K) | Control: Motion sensor, no remote | Light sources: 108 | Installation: Included screws and self-adhesive | Wattage: 11 watts | Power source: Corded electric
Torchstar’s LED light strips are marketed for safes and under-cabinet lighting, but the motion sensor activation makes them the perfect addition for anywhere you may need some extra light, like closets, hallways, or even inside cabinets and pantries. These lights come in six individual 12″ long light strips and a motion sensor to activate them. The motion sensor has two ports connecting two separate extensions, making combining more of these light kits into one installation easy.
The best strip lights are the Philips Hue Bluetooth lightstrip because they combine easy control via Bluetooth, color-changing capabilities for ambiance, as well as bright output at 1600 lumens. Though the price is higher than others, the mentioned features make the investment well worth it; this strip’s sturdy construction results in increased durability, especially compared with other alternatives.
|
Strip lights |
Price |
Lumens |
Length |
Watts |
Color changing |
BT/Wifi |
|
Philips Hue |
$100 |
1600 |
6 ft |
24 |
✔ |
BT |
|
Tenmiro |
$26 |
NS |
100 ft |
60 |
✔ |
BT |
|
TP-Link Tapo |
$84 |
1100 |
32.8 |
42 |
✔ |
Wifi |
|
Sengled |
$26 |
800 |
16.4 |
20.4 |
✔ |
Wifi |
|
Sylvania |
$85 |
1990 |
32ft 8in |
60 |
– |
– |
|
Torchstar |
$63 |
900 |
6 ft |
11 |
– |
– |
*Lowest price at the time of writing. Please note that prices may vary based on retailer and available promotions, sales, or discounts.
Choosing the best strip lights for you will largely depend on what you’ll be using them for and where you’ll be installing them. If you’re looking for bright, reliable, color-changing and true white under-cabinet lighting, the Philips Hue strip lights are your best option.
If you need a motion-activated option with a dimmer light for a smaller space, then Torchstar’s lighting kit is your best pick.
| Choose these strip lights… | If you want… |
| Philips Hue | The brightest color-changing light strip with bluetooth capability |
| Tenmiro | To stay on a budget and need a lot of coverage for less |
| TP-Link Tapo | Smart light strips to control from anywhere without buying a separate hub |
| Sengled | An upgrade to your media room’s ambiance through lighting |
| Sylvania | Outdoors strip lights to illuminate walkways or gathering areas |
| Torchstar | Motion-activated lights for smaller spaces |
Strip lights are the kind of thing I love to add more to the outside of my home than the inside, if I’m being honest. But I admit it is fun playing around with different lighting colors and scenes around my house, especially when the strip lights you’re using are the best ones.
- Installation: When installing light strips, you need to take into account the reliability of them. Whether the adhesive is tacky and strong enough to hold these lights is important because these are often installed under cabinets or along the ceiling. Many lights on the market have issues with adhesion. Some may even need clips and mounting pads for installation.
- Dependability: Along with installation, we tested how dependable the strips are, whether the LEDs won’t randomly quit or get stuck in a random color regardless of your choosing.
- Price: Strip lights aren’t the cheapest lighting products, but they shouldn’t also break the bank. The lights we included on this list range from $25 to $100 to accommodate all types of budgets.
- Features: Strip lights come with all types of features, including extension features, music sync, or color-changing capabilities.
Though LED strip lights are more expensive than your standard light bulbs, the benefit of a reduced energy bill and more relaxed home ambiance may be what makes them worth the cost.
LED lights are much more energy efficient than the average incandescent bulbs, so adding them to replace the use of these bulbs will undoubtedly save energy consumption.
The truth is that any electrical component can catch on fire, given the right circumstances. However, LED lights don’t heat up as much as an incandescent light bulb does, so the chances of them producing a fire from heat are extremely small.
As with any electrical products, make sure your outlets are in good condition before plugging in anything, as problems with an outlet would have a higher chance of causing a fire than the very low heat from LED strip lights.
Most of what causes the cost of strip lights to increase compared to others is the quality of construction and the control capabilities. Some light strips don’t have a coating over the LED lights, while others have a moisture and dust-proof flexible coating.
Smart LED strip lights will also run the cost up, especially considering whether they have wifi or Bluetooth capabilities, or another connection format like Zigbee or Z-Wave.
There are a lot of great strip lights on the market that may be better suited to your needs. Here are the best ones:
