2 weeks Ago By Steve Conaway
Whether you’re lighting up your patio or yard, string lights add charm and create a cozy ambiance. With the right weather-resistant lights and power source, you can turn your patio into the perfect entertainment area and pair it with some of the best outdoor tech . What are the best outdoor string lights overall? Out of all the options we tested, our favorite outdoor string light is the Enbrighten classic LED cafe light .
The bulbs themselves feel robust and when bought at a discount, these bulbs offer great value. If you aren't aware, outdoor electric lights come in all kinds of fun shapes and sizes, from smart lights to those trendy Edison-style bulbs. Our list includes both smart and traditional string light options -- including solar powered lights .
If you like the look of nonsmart outdoor string lights, you can always plug these into a smart outlet or plug . But these lights will also let you schedule times for the lights to turn on and allow you to shut them down from your phone or voice with a smart speaker . Of course, if you're not 100% on the string lights train, there are other ways to spruce up your outdoor area with additional light sources.
Consider getting a fire pit or a patio heater , particularly if you're more concerned about staying warm on those cooler nights. In this handy little guide, we'll check out more of the best outdoor string lights you can find -- all tested by CNET experts. Best outdoor string lights of 2025 Feit electric incandescent outdoor string lights : Mentioned above as an alternative to the best value pick, Feit Electric offers the cheapest per-bulb offering in our AC-powered outdoor string lights.
The only incandescent product we tested, this one scored in the lower half of units for brightness. If you're just looking to cover areas with lights for the bottom dollar, here's your pick. Real Living Globe LED solar light set : Since they are solar-powered, they're intended to be used outdoors, but they're very small and have the lowest light output of all tested units.
Even taking into consideration all 15 bulbs, the total light output would be about a tenth (3 lumens) of what you'd get from the iPhone in your pocket at 30 lumens. Real Living multicolor solar light set : In comparison to the Real Living set mentioned above, the bulbs are larger but don't seem to be super durable. It is still on solar power, so intended for outdoors, but not bright enough for much use other than decoration.
They're four times as bright as the globe set, but at a total of 8 lumens, that phone in your pocket is still more than three times as bright. Hampton Bay 24-light indoor-outdoor string lights : These lights are fine. They performed at or just below the median in our light output tests.
The price is still on the higher side, currently tied as the most expensive AC-powered set. Patriot Lighting solar cafe outdoor string lights : As I said before, I'm not much of a fan of any of these solar options. The bulbs with this kit do feel a bit more durable than those of the solar category winner, Hampton Bay, but the main power cable is beefier with Hampton Bay.
The light output is still fairly low, and the cost per bulb is still a bit more than the AC-powered options with much less light. Portfolio outdoor LED Edison string lights : Another OK set. The price is average, performance is average to below-average and the durability is so-so.
There are better options. There's a lot of hands-on evaluation that goes into this product category. One of the main reasons for that is the bulbs themselves.
It's difficult, if not impossible, to use a product's specs or photos to get a feel for how durable you can expect the bulbs to be. Sometimes you'll get lucky with a "shatterproof" notation in the description, but not always. Another bulb aspect to consider is the physical connection.
Some of these come preinstalled and you can't replace them yourself. Some are preinstalled and can be removed. Most bulbs, in my experience, come packaged separately for you to install yourself.
Most of the time, that isn't a problem. Occasionally, since these products all attempt to have a waterproof seal, the bulbs can be difficult to install. A couple of times I found myself gripping and twisting the small bulbs hard enough that I was concerned they might shatter in my hands.
None did, but it might be worthwhile to have a pair of gloves on hand if you find yourself in the same situation. Overall, the main concern with most lights is how much light they put out. In the past, for some of our standard light bulb testing, we've used an integrating sphere.
That type of equipment can get you a ton of information for a light source, including brightness in lumens, color rendering index and more. Read more about our light bulb test lab . For this category, I was specifically interested in brightness.
Unfortunately, these string lights can't be tested in our integrating sphere, but with some fancy math wizardry, I changed the calculations we needed from a sphere to a linear path and came up with a workable solution. Using a standard digital light meter , I was able to get an approximation of each bulb's light output in lumens. Looking at the chart above, you can see the brightness of one individual bulb from each strand, as well as the total brightness of the entire strand from the solar and battery-powered options.
The Real Living bulbs were dim. Hampton Bay has the brightest individual bulb, while Coleman says the brightest strand in this series overall because of a higher bulb count. In the AC-powered options shown below, Brightech carries the brightest individual bulb at about 196 lumens.
Multiply that by 15 bulbs and you nearly hit 3,000 lumens. Magitec wins brightest overall with 30 bulbs at 165 lumens, for a total of almost 5,000 lumens. To be fair, Magitec offers two strands for the price of one, so one individual strand would be about 2,500 lumens; about 500 less than a single Brightech strand.
Can the lights withstand the elements? As outdoor lights, the hardware should be well-suited to handle the weather conditions outside. However, the range of which the string lights will play a factor in whether they can work where you live or not. Water- and dust-resistance ratings of IP65, IP67 or IP68 would be best, but IPX4 could work also.
The first three will handle wet and dusty conditions better than the IPX4 as it is only rated for some light moisture. The other weather factor to consider is the temperature ranges. If you live in an area that gets to experience all four seasons, then you need to ensure the lights you buy can withstand the changes from freezing winters to blazing hot summers.
But if you don't plan to keep the lights up during the more extreme times, then your lights will have fewer hurdles to contend with. Bulb and light style Like most other light bulbs, outdoor sting lights coming various bulb types and styles. Many of the modern outdoor string lights offer LED lighting sources as it increases longevity, reduces energy requirements and can be much brighter.
These lights also don't produce near the heat of the more traditional incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs can also provide a seemingly unlimited range of colors. LEDs can also excel in the range of bulb styles available since the light source is so small, it can be fit inside any size or shape of enclosure.
Incandescent bulbs have a wide range of styles, but can be limited in bulb sizes. This is because the smaller the bulb, the smaller the filament inside, and less filament means less light. And LEDs have become warmer and more like their charming incandescent cousins over time.
One last note: Our picks are mostly larger, brighter bulbs made for durable all-year outside work. That's noticeably different from the tiny, twinkly lights some people have in mind for enchanting backyard get-togethers. If you're more interested in those kinds of lights, visit our recommends for smart holiday lights instead .
Length of the light strand Once you've figured out the style and light type you want, you'll need to identify how long of a light strand is needed for your space. Outdoor string lights come on many different lengths, and some are even expandable. Measuring the distance between each hanging point from start to finish will give you a good idea of the length needed.
Just be sure to add in a few more feet since you'll be measuring in a straight line and when the lights are hung, there will be some drooping between hanging points. So, if you measure 25 feet, you may want to buy closer to 30 feet of lights. Smart features If you want to control your outdoor lights with an app, you'll need to look for that additional upgrade.
App controls generally allow for much more customization, color options, scheduling and preset modes. They may also have options for music syncing or match a certain color palette. However, if you want support for specific smart home platform like Apple Home or Google Home, or a voice assistant like Alexa or Siri, then you'll need to look for lights that mention their support for those features.
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