The 10 Best Outdoor Christmas Lights, Tested and Approved

Best Overall

Yuletime Multicolor LED Christmas Lights

$33 at Amazon

You can create a cheery and colorful outdoor display with the Yuletime Multicolor LED Christmas Lights, which come in just about every color imaginable, from traditional white and red to multicolored options. These colored lights feature 200 LED mini bulbs on a 66-foot wire, and we found the hues were vibrant and beautiful, especially at night. 

The fire-resistant lights feature a classic green wire, so they're also great for stringing around your Christmas tree. Their miniature size makes them suitable for decorating thin railings and branches, but they're still bright enough to cover trees and houses and still make an impact.

These colored Christmas lights are UL-certified and waterproof, and during our testing, they held up perfectly through several days of heavy rain and winds. They have a 'Stay Lit' design that prevents the whole strand from going dark if one bulb burns out, but we did note that the construction isn’t quite as durable as other options.

Still, we love that you can connect up to 30 strands on one outlet—ideal for decorating your house or yard—and the lights come with six spare bulbs and two fuses, allowing you to repair any issues quickly and easily.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: T5 mini | Length: 66 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: 30}

Best Large Bulb

Christmas Lights Etc. C9 Warm White LED Christmas Lights

View on Christmaslightsetc.com

If you’re decorating a large outdoor object—such as your roofline or an oversized tree—you’ll want large bulbs to match the scale, and these ones from Christmas Lights Etc. are unmatched in terms of aesthetics and quality. While testing, we loved the vintage look the textured glass on these bulbs emanates.

We used these on a tree in our backyard, but the large size of these bulbs would also work well on bigger shrubs or rooflines. Since they have a green wire, they would also work well indoors on a Christmas tree. To install them, we simply wrapped the lights around the branches of our tree, but you could use small hooks if you want to hang them from your roof line.

The most difficult part of installing these lights was that they'd easily become tangled, so we recommend storing them properly to make your life easier next year. We tested and loved the warm white colors, but you can also choose from traditional red and green or cooler white depending on your style. The bulbs have a lifespan of 100,000 hours, so you can ensure they'll last for years to come.

While we didn't experience any inclement weather while testing these lights, we thought the bulbs felt sturdy and durable. We'll continue to monitor how these perform during wind or rainstorms, but we're pleased with the light's look and feel thus far. Plus, they have a one-piece construction to avoid water seeping through and damaging the lights.

Each set of lights reaches 17 feet across, but you can safely attach up to 90 strings, so you'll have plenty of space to decorate your entire house if desired. Luckily, these lights are designed to remain lit, even if one bulb goes out. That being said, you can't remove individual bulbs, but the durability and long life span on these lights give us confidence they'll last for years.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: C9 | Length: 17 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: 90}

Best Extra-Long

Home Accents Holiday 300 Count Multi Colored Steady Lit Mini LED Lights

$50 $13 at Home Depot

If you’re decorating your whole yard, these Christmas lights are nearly 90 feet long (the longest on our list), letting you cover more ground with just one strand. We could see our home from a block away after hanging these multicolor lights along our front porch and around our front door, earning us compliments from neighbors.

The lights come in multicolor or white lights, and there are 300 small LED bulbs per strand. Even though we don't recommend mini lights for roof lines or large trees, we found these incredibly bright and impactful on the front of our house. Plus, because the strand is so long, you could double them up to pack a bigger punch with your holiday decor.

As with most string lights we tested, they will arrive tangled, so be sure to dedicate some time to untangle them. We spent about 40 minutes hanging these lights, which was very reasonable since we were covering a large area. Luckily, these lights come with four spare bulbs, which we utilized immediately. A few of the bulbs were out when we put these up initially, but they were easy to replace. Plus, the entire strand stays lit even when one bulb goes out.

After weeks of exposure to high winds and rain, these lights still look beautiful. We're delighted to see them every time we arrive home. We love that you can connect up to 10 of the long strands to cover a huge area. We just wish there were a few more color options or brightness settings to improve these basic lights.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: Mini | Length: 89.5 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: 10}

Best Smart

Govee Christmas String Lights

$80 at Amazon

Don't settle for just one color or design when decorating this year. Smart lights make it easy to constantly switch between different colors and light shows depending on your mood. We found these lights easily synced to an app and made controlling and changing the display seamless and exciting.

Unlike traditional string lights, these feature small LED lights housed in a rope or strip light that makes them ultra durable and prevents them from getting tangled during the off-season. We wrapped these on our outdoor pillars and loved how easy it was to maneuver the rope lights.

While the lights themselves are waterproof and durable, the cord does include an adaptor that needs to be covered, so you might need an extra extension cord or two depending on where you place these. Since the lights are small, we recommend using these on trees, shrubs, and railings. They might be too tiny for rooflines, but we loved the brightness they provided. We used small hooks to keep these up but think they could improve with an included adhesive.

We used them at full brightness outdoors but would adjust this depending on where we place them in the future. We plan to use these on our indoor Christmas tree eventually, so we love the versatility of options. Through the Govee app, you can control the color, create light shows, sync the lights to music, group different strings of light for a cohesive look, and so much more.

No more forgetting to plug in your lights each night: Easily create timers and presets on your phone and light up your home from anywhere. You can even connect the lights to your Alexa or Google Home device for voice-controlled decorating.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: Not Listed | Length: 33, 66 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: Not Listed}

Best Icicle Lights

Home Accents Holiday 70 Count Cool White Dome LED Icicle Lights with Snowflakes

$20 at Home Depot

Whether you live in a snowy area or not, you can give the illusion of icicles hanging from your home with icicle string lights. Perfect for roof lines, these string lights' appearance impressed us with the various lengths of hanging strings with dispersed bright lights that mimic bright icicles.

It took just five minutes to hang the 9-foot string of lights on our rain gutters using hooks. We used an extension cord to plug these in and also added some electrical tape on the ends of the lights to prevent rain from seeping through. Luckily, the wind and rain during our testing period didn't impact the lights at all.

We loved the look and brightness of these lights. You could see them easily from the street and they provided an attractive cool glow near the house. There are five snowflake lights included in the string, so you may need a few strands to line your entire house. But, you can connect up to 45 strands safely—and they're budget-friendly—so that's a plus.

Similar to the net lights, these may get tangled year after year, so make sure to take extra time and care to store these properly in a bin so they are easy to unravel and install next year. These lights also don't include any special effects or brightness controls. If that's important to your holiday setup, consider our best year-round lights for your roof line instead.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: Dome | Length: 9.5 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: 45}

Best Net Lights

Twinkly Net Lights

$100 $80 at Amazon

If you need to cover a large area in dazzling lights, net lights might be right for you. Great for bushes and shrubs, these mesh-style lights would also look gorgeous draped over patio furniture, staircases or even staked into the grass to cover your full front lawn. We recommend these smart net lights from Twinkly that we tested for their endless color, brightness, and effect settings.

The netting and the bulbs are IP44-rated, so they'll withstand rain and snow. During testing, we experienced an intense rainstorm and the lights worked like new. We hung these on a fence and tree trunk in our front yard and recommend using zip ties to secure them, especially during high winds.

Similar to our best smart lights, you can use the Twinkly app to set timers, adjust the brightness, schedule light shows, customize the lights' colors, and more. With endless personalization, we argue you can leave these lights up year-round and adjust the settings for different seasons and holidays. With flat net lights, choosing different colors for different sections of the lights and putting on light shows really packs a punch.

One thing about net lights is that they are difficult to store and can easily get tangled. We recommend ruling them around a cylinder-shaped object or folding them in individual bags. This will make it easier to unfold your lights for next year. We also wish they came in rounder shapes to fit shrubs and bushes easily, but we loved the look on fences and around trees.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: Not Listed | Length: 9.8 x 6.6, 13.1 x 6.6 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: 5}

Best Solar

Touch of Eco Solar-Powered LED Mini String Light

$25 at Amazon $16 at Walmart

If you want to display Christmas lights in a location where there isn’t an electrical outlet handy, the Touch of Eco Solar String Lights are a pretty and convenient option. This strand of lights is 68 feet long with 125 small LED bulbs, and it’s connected to a small solar panel that you can clip onto a nearby surface or stake into the ground.

These lights aren’t the brightest option out there because they rely on solar energy and will vary based on how charged the lights get through the day. We found that they’re particularly dim when the weather is cloudy or rainy.

The solar lights automatically turn on at dusk and stay on for up to eight hours, and they offer both solid or flashing light modes, which can be controlled from the back of the panel. However, the strand has a 12-foot lead wire, which we thought was unnecessarily long, as it cuts the lighted length down to 56 feet.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: 5 mm wide angle | Length: 68 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: Not applicable}

Best Budget

Home Accents Holiday LED Mini Warm White String Light

$20 $13 at Amazon $5 at Home Depot

To get the most bang for your buck, the Home Accents Holiday LED Mini String Lights are a classic option for decorating your Christmas tree or around your home. These indoor-outdoor lights might not be the most durable, but they’re extremely affordable and let you connect up to 30 strands of lights for large-scale decorating. Each strand is 29.5 feet long, and they feature 100 bulbs on classic green wire. 

We thought these lights were of average brightness, and liked the traditional appearance of the warm mini lights. They have a slight strobing effect, which is caused by a lack of rectifiers on the LEDs, but it’s not as noticeable when they’re actually hung up.

These lights don't have a one-piece socket, which means there’s always the possibility that moisture will get into the bulbs, but they’re a great value if you're decorating on a budget. If you live in a particularly rainy or snowy area, consider our best large-bulb lights instead. They have a one-piece bulb and socket to prevent water from getting inside.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: T5 mini | Length: 29.5 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: 30}

Best Year-Round

Twinkly Permanent Outdoor Lights

View on Twinkly.com

Don't worry about putting up and taking down your Christmas lights every year with these durable permanent lights from Twinkly. While the idea of installing permanent lights may seem scary and time-confusing, we're happy to report it was seamless.

The lights are situated on strips complete with a strong adhesive, so you just have to stick them securely on your home. We used them on our roof line and around window frames. Once they're up, they stay up. The durable lights are designed to be outdoors year-round despite the weather. While testing, we had zero issues with the lights even in windy and rainy weather.

We've loved adjusting the colors and brightness for the different seasons, making the time and monetary investment in these lights worth it. Like other Twinkly lights, you can control these through the Twinkly app. You can set schedules and change the color and brightness of the lights and even add fun lighting effects.

This was the only Twinkly product we tested that had connectivity issues with the app. We weren't able to control the lights when out of Bluetooth range. But, when nearby or inside the house, we loved playing with the different customizations available. So keep in mind that you should set timers and pick your colors while you are relatively close to the lights.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: Not Listed | Length: 98 feet | Maximum Connected Strands: Not Listed}

Best for Pathways

Home Accents Holiday Multi Colored Giant C7 LED Pathway Lights

$25 $7 at Home Depot

A fun way to add festive flair to your front yard is to switch out your pathway lights for a Christmas-y alternative, like these from Home Accent Holiday. The adorable lights resemble huge versions of classic multicolor Christmas light bulbs. We loved using these as a jolly addition to our front walkway to feel a bit of Christmas cheer every time we entered or exited our home.

The pack of five lights is easy to assemble and install. You must connect each light to its stake and then stake it into the ground. We recommend getting a set of two for each side of your pathway. Luckily, the lights are budget-friendly, so you can grab a few sets to line your entire walkway. While these are weather-resistant, they are the only set of lights that aren't UL-listed, so they might not be as durable as our other options.

The giant LED C7 bulbs turn on and off with a plug, so you'll have to place these near an outlet or grab an extension cord. We found them bright enough to feel safe walking in our yard during the night. Unfortunately, some friendly animals felt the same and knocked over the lights during the night while we tested these. Since the lights are connected by a hanging wire, it's easy for deer or squirrels to run them over.

Still, we could still use the lights and re-stake them into the ground after the incident and they continued to perform well. But, if you live somewhere with a lot of animal visitors, you might want to place these inside a fenced-in yard or stick to traditional lights, like our best extra-long lights, strung high on a roof away from interference.

_{Bulb Type: LED | Bulb Shape: C7 | Length: 12.3 feet| Maximum Connected Strands: Not applicable}