2024’s Best Outdoor String Lights to Brighten up the Night, Tested
Hello, my friend, hello again; today we come together to talk about 2024’s Best Outdoor String Lights to Brighten up the Night, Tested and hope the blog can help you.
Outdoor lighting creates ambience and sets the stage for after-dusk entertaining. See which popular lights fared best in our hands-on testing.
Outdoor string lights can brighten a backyard patio space and make warm nights relaxing and festive. We researched more than 35 sets of lights and tested 14 sets in our own yards, and while many are excellent, a few stood out from the pack. Brightown’s G40 LED Outdoor String Light Set took the top spot based on its crystal-clear shatterproof bulbs, clip-on hangers, and attractive price point. This is a good beginner set for anyone with basic outdoor lighting needs.
However, our tested lineup offers so much more than the basics. There are plenty of great backyard lighting ideas in this roundup. find permanent string lights (you read that right), color-changing hues, Wi-Fi connectivity, and even cafe lights with hand-rubbed bronze cages. We also consulted Rafi Friedman, president of Coastal Luxury Outdoors in Jacksonville, Florida, who shared some expert tips on how to get the most out of your outdoor lighting. Read on to learn what to look for when shopping for outdoor lighting, and find out how the following models earned a spot in our lineup of the best outdoor string lights.
- BEST OVERALL: Brightown G40 LED Outdoor String Light Set
↓ Jump to Review - BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: Lemontec Commercial-Grade Outdoor String Lights
↓ Jump to Review - BEST COLOR-CHANGING: Enbrighten Color-Changing Vintage LED Cafe Lights
↓ Jump to Review - BEST PERMANENT: Enbrighten Eternity Eave Permanent Outdoor Lights
↓ Jump to Review - BEST SOLAR: Brightech Ambience Pro Solar Outdoor String Lights
↓ Jump to Review - BEST FOR LARGE SPACES: Govee Outdoor String Lights 2
↓ Jump to Review - BEST DIMMABLE: Feit Electric Heavy-Duty Indoor/Outdoor String Lights
↓ Jump to Review - BEST FLICKERING FLAME: Brightech Ambience Pro Flaming, Flickering LED Bulbs
↓ Jump to Review - BEST CAFE-STYLE: Enbrighten Vintage LED Cafe Lights
↓ Jump to Review
| Testing Stats | |
| Products tested | 14 |
| Time spent testing | 12+ hours |
| Tests performed | 5 |
| Price range | $15 to $180 |
Our Top Picks
Our list includes a range of options to illuminate most outdoor spaces, from highly weather-resistant lights and vintage-style Edison bulbs to programmable sets of string lights. One is sure to suit your outdoor lighting needs.
Best Overall
Brightown G40 LED Outdoor String Light Set
Photo: Amazon
Our Ratings: Light Quality 5/5; Durability 3/5; Appearance 5/5; Value 5/5
Product Specs
- Bulb type: LED
- Number of sockets: 50
- String length: 100 feet
- Connectable: No
What We Like
- Bulbs provide bright, clear lighting
- Gutter-clip installation makes hanging a cinch
- 2 replacement bulbs included
- Additional replacement bulbs are available (separately) for purchase
What We Don’t Like
- 100-foot cord can tangle easily
- Set is not expandable
Using these outdoor string lights from Brightown, we created a warm and inviting ambience in our backyard. The 100-foot-long strand with rounded Edison glass bulbs creates an elegant throwback aesthetic.
This light-string strand is waterproof, energy saving, and dimmer compatible. These lights made even the darkest hour of the night seem lively. The string light includes 50 LED bulbs and two replacement bulbs. With a 2700 kelvins (K) warm white color, these romantic string lights set the backyard aglow.
We liked that the attached gutter clips made them easy to hang on an overhead clothesline. With the grid pattern we created, we were able to lounge beneath the outdoor lights long after dark and read our magazines. We did not drop these glass bulbs as we did the shatterproof bulbs in our tests.
We plugged the lights into a dimmer cord and adjusted the intensity to a soft glow. These Brightown string lights are well suited to parties, creating outdoor ambience, or even adding a measure of security.
Get the Brightown outdoor string lights at Amazon or Brightown.
Best Bang for the Buck
Lemontec Commercial-Grade Outdoor String Lights
Photo: Amazon
Our Ratings: Light Quality 5/5; Durability 5/5; Appearance 4/5; Value 4/5
Product Specs
- Bulb type: Incandescent
- Number of sockets: 15
- String length: 48 feet
- Connectable: Yes
What We Like
- Bright 11-watt bulbs provide ample lighting
- Durable, heavy-duty cord
- Expandable design; additional sets can be connected
What We Don’t Like
- Sockets are spaced widely; may not suit everyone’s tastes
- Hanging the lights requires installing hooks or nails on structure
- Glass bulbs are not shatterproof
You don’t have to spend a lot to get a great set of string lights. This weather-resistant set of commercial-grade outdoor string lights from Lemontec lit up our driveway, even after a rainstorm. With its glass Edison-style bulbs on a black rubber cable, the string has a classic look suited to various decor styles. Best of all, it comes at an affordable price point.
Safe to hang in various climates and temperatures, these backyard lights stood up to weather remarkably well. The bulbs are low wattage, incandescent, and come with crystal-clear glass globes.
The heavy-duty rubber cord is substantial yet flexible enough to wind around narrow railings or tree branches. Lemontec’s 11-watt incandescent bulbs provided bright light that illuminated the garage front and concrete driveway long after it was completely dark.
The only potential downsides—which some find a feature rather than a bug—are the widely spaced sockets (3 feet apart) and the fact that hooks are needed for hanging the string lights on a structure. However, they could wind around columns or posts without hooks. While we tested just one strand, it’s possible to connect a second strand for more illumination.
Get the Lemontec outdoor string lights at Amazon.
Best Color-Changing
Enbrighten Color-Changing Vintage LED Cafe Lights
Photo: Amazon
Our Ratings: Light Quality 4/5; Durability 5/5; Appearance 4/5; Value 5/5
Product Specs
- Bulb type: LED
- Number of sockets: 24
- String length: 48 feet
- Connectable: Yes
What We Like
- Solid acrylic LED bulbs provide ample light
- Impact-resistant construction
- Customizable lighting allows users to create different ambiences
- Durable, heavy-duty cord
What We Don’t Like
- Hooks required for hanging are not included
Enbrighten’s string lights allow the user to customize the bulbs’ light color—enabling up to 120 potential combinations—to add a pop of color to any outdoor space. For those who want to select specific colors to set a mood, the Enbrighten lights do not disappoint.
These are impressive solid acrylic LED bulbs. Because they’re billed as “shatterproof,” we tested that claim by dropping them from head height to the concrete patio below. Not only did none of the acrylic bulbs crack or chip, but we couldn’t even find a scuff mark.
Since we hung them on a covered patio ceiling, they were somewhat protected by a rainstorm that affected most of the other sets we tested. These bulbs still got dripping wet, but it didn’t seem to affect their performance at all.
Each impact-resistant acrylic bulb that makes up these outside patio lights uses just 1 watt of power and produces a warm glow. The included remote allowed us to switch between single solid colors, two-color combinations, and various preset color modes for Christmas and Saint Patrick’s Day.
We were able to set a 2- or 4-hour timer, choose from 10 dimmable light levels, and select fade and strobe features.
Get the Enbrighten color-changing outdoor string lights at Amazon or The Home Depot.
Best Permanent
Enbrighten Eternity Eave Permanent Outdoor Lights
Photo: Amazon
Our Ratings: Light Quality 4.8/5; Durability 5/5; Appearance 5/5; Value 4.8/5
Product Specs
- Bulb type: Button/LED
- Number of sockets: 36
- String length: 50
- Connectable: Up to 200 feet
What We Like
- Designed for year-round use
- Allows users to create millions of color combinations
- Smart lights sync with Wi-Fi
- Programmable and customizable
- Sleek, attractive appearance
What We Don’t Like
- Users will want to budget about 1 hour for installation
If you haven’t heard of permanent string lights, you’re in for a treat. These lights are designed to be installed on a house’s eaves (the underside of a roof’s overhang). Hanging these lights took longer than other sets we tested, but it was worth it. We installed a 50-foot strand of Eternity lights on the eaves of our covered front porch in about 1 hour. Each button-shaped LED light snaps into a base that must be screwed into the eave. It wasn’t difficult—just time-consuming.
After installing the Enbrighten lights, we downloaded the app and synced the lights to our wireless network. That’s when the fun began. We found that we could choose from nearly infinite color combinations. We were able to change each LED light to a specific color, select presets like July 4th (red, white, and blue lights), and choose color themes like Mardi Gras or Fall. We were able to program the lights to come on at a predetermined time. We also liked that, during the day, the lights were barely noticeable thanks to their low-profile design.
If you’re looking for a classy way to add porch lights or outdoor patio lights without dangling cords that distract from the look, check out Enbrighten’s Eternity lights. You won’t be disappointed.
Get the Enbrighten Eternity outdoor string lights at Amazon, Costco (100 feet), or Enbrighten.
Best Solar
Brightech Ambience Pro Solar Outdoor String Lights
Photo: Amazon
Our Ratings: Light Quality 5/5; Durability 5/5; Appearance 4/5; Value 5/5
Product Specs
- Bulb type: LED
- Number of sockets: 12
- String length: 27 feet
- Connectable: No
What We Like
- No batteries or outlet needed
- Very bright compared to similar options
- Shatterproof and weatherproof
- Attractive Edison-shape bulbs
What We Don’t Like
- Only 12 bulbs; not ideal for large areas
- No clips for attaching
These waterproof, solar-powered string lights from Brightech became one of our favorites. Not only can they be hung anywhere because they don’t require an electrical outlet, but we also found them glowing brightly the next morning. The 27-foot strand on these solar string lights features 12 shatterproof plastic LED bulbs. Each G40 bulb emits a warm 3000K light.
These solar LED string lights weathered a rainstorm without any problems and then lit up the following evening. They also survived our drop test without any cracks. While some solar-powered lights emit only soft illumination, the Brightech lights were just as bright as any other string of lights we tested—quite an achievement for solar-powered lights. After a sunny day, they emitted sufficient light for us to sit beneath and read our magazines long after the sun went down.
These solar-powered string lights are advertised as requiring 6 hours of direct sunlight to power the bulbs for 6 hours of illumination, but during our tests, they emitted light for at least 10 hours on a single solar charge.
Get the Brightech solar outdoor string lights at Amazon or Lowe’s.
Best for Large Spaces
Govee Outdoor String Lights 2
Photo: Amazon
Our Ratings: Light Quality 4.8/5; Durability 4.8/5; Appearance 5/5; Value 4.8/5
Product Specs
- Bulb type: LED
- Number of sockets: 48 per strand
- String length: 144 feet
- Connectable: Up to 3 strands
What We Like
- Connectable strands to accommodate large areas
- Customizable colors and preset modes
- Lights can sync with music for dance parties
What We Don’t Like
- Controller module isn’t waterproof
- The router’s Wi-Fi range could affect location
We tested three 48-foot connectable strands of Govee String Lights 2, and we loved them. We strung 144 feet of lights from tree to tree in a wooded spot behind our house. The effect was nothing short of magical.
Like other smart string lights, these Govee lights are customizable via an app that we found very intuitive. Not only were we able to choose from a host of preset modes, but we could also choose our own colors to create a special mood. Then, we discovered these little decorative lights could be synced to music, and we had our own little discotheque. If you’re looking for special lighting effects for an outdoor dance, the Govee string lights won’t disappoint.
It didn’t rain while we were testing this set of lights, but we sprayed them down with the garden hose and they came through just fine. We did not spray the controller box because it isn’t as waterproof. The only hitch we encountered—and it was probably the fault of our router—was that we needed to place the controller box within 15 feet of the exterior of our home to use the app. Any farther than that and we were out of luck. Keep that in mind when choosing where to locate this light string.