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Oct 16, 2024

The 3 Best Smart Strip Lights of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Rachel Cericola Rachel Cericola is a writer covering smart home. In addition to testing hundreds of smart devices, she has also tested dozens of ice cream sandwiches. We’ve made the Govee LED Strip

By Rachel Cericola

Rachel Cericola is a writer covering smart home. In addition to testing hundreds of smart devices, she has also tested dozens of ice cream sandwiches.

We’ve made the Govee LED Strip Light M1 our new top pick, moved the TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip L930-5 to runner-up, and added the WiZ Smart RGBIC LED Light Strip as our budget pick.

Smart strip lights can add cool lighting to your kitchen counter, accent your fireplace mantel, or be part of a glow-up for your Zoom or social videos. And they’re a popular way to add pizzazz to an otherwise dungeon-like dorm room.

Designed to be more permanent than seasonal string lights, smart strip lights are made of a flexible rubbery material with LEDs embedded, and many can be extended or even trimmed down with scissors to meet the needs of your space. Most have special modes, like being able to sync to music, and they can be put on Schedules or triggered on or off by other smart devices.

We have tested dozens and like the Govee LED Strip Light M1 because it delivers bright, accurate colors, includes more special effects and features than any other model we tested, and supports all the major smart-home platforms via Matter.

This light strip has more LEDs per foot than any of our picks, making it bright enough for task lighting, but it can be dimmed and includes a large number of special effects.

With clipped on-page coupon (6.56 feet)

This Tapo strip light set doesn’t have as many special features as our pick, but it is affordable, produces accurate colors, and is dead simple to set up and use.

This inexpensive model has basic controls and special effects available in three lengths, but it’s not as bright or as advanced as other smart light strips.

(32.8 feet)

Smart light strips come in specific lengths. Some are extendable and some trimmable; follow manufacturer’s guidelines for cutting them to prevent damage.

Most light strips are coated in protective polyurethane, which can yellow over time. This won’t affect colors, but they won’t look great when they are turned off.

Adhesive backing makes installing light strips simple, but once you pull them off they lose stickiness (and sometimes you'll remove paint in the process).

A light strip’s app typically has features that aren't usable when you control them using a third-party app like Alexa, Apple Home, or Google Home.

This light strip has more LEDs per foot than any of our picks, making it bright enough for task lighting, but it can be dimmed and includes a large number of special effects.

With clipped on-page coupon (6.56 feet)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Matter

If you want a strip light that can light up a countertop or add ambiance to a room, get the Govee LED Strip Light M1. This model has more LEDs per meter than any of our picks, so it is brighter with bolder colors. The Govee M1 also includes more special effects and customization than any other strip light we tested. The companion app presents a learning curve, which may be off-putting to some people—there’s too much going on—but you can opt to control it with other less fussy apps like Alexa. It’s controllable via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

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This Tapo strip light set doesn’t have as many special features as our pick, but it is affordable, produces accurate colors, and is dead simple to set up and use.

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings

While the TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip L930-5 isn’t as bright as our Top pick and has fewer features, it has an especially easy-to-use app. There’s no learning curve here: Setup and control are both simple, and all of the features are straightforward and easy to use. It produces accurate colors and brightness on par with or better than those of other strip lights that cost the same. The Tapo L930-5 also includes preset scenes and animations (for making different colors cycle through the strip), as well as an Away Mode (for triggering the lights to a specific setting when you leave the house).

This inexpensive model has basic controls and special effects available in three lengths, but it’s not as bright or as advanced as other smart light strips.

(32.8 feet)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Matter, Siri Shortcuts

The WiZ Smart RGBIC LED Light Strip comes in three sizes: 16.4, 32.8, and 65.6 feet—and all of them are inexpensive. It also has the best connector between the cord and the light strip as it snaps into place, making it nearly impossible to come unattached. The WiZ isn’t as bright as our other picks and the features are comparatively basic, making this a perfect option for dorms, kids’ rooms, and people who simply don’t want to spend a lot of money on strip lights.

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I’m a senior staff writer covering the smart home for Wirecutter. I have been writing about technology for more than 20 years, and I’ve written guides on outdoor security cameras, smart speakers, and smart bird feeders.

For this guide:

For an unexpected burst of color or for more-practical task lighting, smart strip lights can make areas throughout your home more inviting, whether you live in a house, an apartment, or a dorm room. We keep finding new uses for them. They’re great for a homeowner who wants to create a more memorable space for entertaining or the remote worker who’s looking for a cost-effective way to spruce up a dull home office. And they’re a fun option for high schoolers who want to create a cool bedroom, as well as for the college student looking to call attention to a dorm room several floors up.

Smart light strips are relatively easy to install. Most have a peel-and-stick adhesive backing that lets you quickly install them on any clean, fixed surface, such as baseboards, around a doorframe, or underneath kitchen cabinets. Before you do that though, a word of caution: During testing, I found that the adhesive was strong enough to damage paint. If you live in an apartment or dorm, we recommend opting instead to use a non-permanent solution like painter’s tape, or Command Hooks (and also have a peek at your housing contract first).

Some of the models we tested can also be cut with a pair of scissors to fit almost any space. Typically, once a strip has been cut, the trimmed piece is no longer usable. Some models can be extended by daisy-chaining them together. If you have more than one unconnected strip you can have them all light up simultaneously and in the same way by linking them in the companion app or a third-party platform (such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, or Google Home).

After you have installed a smart light strip, connect it to your smartphone to call up colors on command, schedule lights to go on and off throughout the day, or create special light shows for a holiday or a party.

Strip lights shouldn’t be confused with rope lights, which encase LED bulbs in a flexible, moldable plastic tube. Strip lights are generally brighter and easier to install, and there are currently more options available for purchase. Like strip lights, rope lights can yellow over time. However, unlike strip lights, rope lighting may be dimmed as a result.

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We have been researching smart strip lights for years, looking at reviews from trusted publications, Reddit posts, and YouTube videos, as well as talking to people who own and use them. In selecting and testing, we considered the following criteria:

After setting up each strip, we tested scheduling, color changes, and special effects (when available) using an iPhone 12 and a Google Pixel 7 Pro. We also measured the output of each strip with a light meter and used an Amazon Echo Show 5, Google Home Mini, and Apple HomePod Mini to assess smart-home integration. We will continue to evaluate all of our picks for performance, as well as to see whether the adhesive on each model stands up to long-term use.

This light strip has more LEDs per foot than any of our picks, making it bright enough for task lighting, but it can be dimmed and includes a large number of special effects.

With clipped on-page coupon (6.56 feet)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Matter

The Govee LED Strip Light M1 was the brightest of our picks, which makes it an excellent choice for task lighting in the kitchen or over a work bench or desk. You still have the option to dim those bright lights, so this set is also great for creating accent areas around the house. The latest version of the Govee M1 includes Matter support (Govee added it in fall 2023), so it works with all of the major smart-home platforms—those may be preferable for some users since I found the Govee app to be especially busy and sometimes confusing. Curiously, the M1 relies on a Bluetooth connection when you are close by and switches to Wi-Fi when you connect remotely, though we didn’t notice any hiccups.

It’s got more LEDs than the competition. This model was one of the brightest smart light strips we tested. (The Eve Light Strip is equally bright, and the LIFX may be a little brighter, but this is a better product overall.) The brighter light is due to its having more LEDs per meter: The M1 has 60, whereas the average strip light contains about 30 LEDs per meter. This produces brighter light and better color saturation overall, though naturally you can opt to dim it as you like, too.

It has extra-special effects. The Govee has more special effects than any other model I tested. I found myself flipping between Winter, Fireworks, Easter, Sports, and Twinkle scenes—it’s actually a kick (though probably more interesting to teens and kids). The Govee has preset Scenes that let you go directly to a specific color and lighting level, and you can create and save your own but also borrow and share others, which live in the DIY tab in the app, with fellow Govee users.

There’s an intriguing Lighting Bot feature in the app that you can use to make general requests rather than trying to tweak the settings yourself. I told the Lighting Bot I wanted to relax, and it switched the M1 to calming light-blue tones. (Although, it was less relaxing when I asked for “something mellow” and was given bright whites.) Figuring out all the varieties of features and settings definitely entails a learning curve (see Flaws but not dealbreakers).

It plays well with pretty much everyone. The M1 integrates with Alexa and Google Home, and it also supports Matter which means it’ll also work with Apple Home, too. That makes it possible to integrate with other Matter devices for Automations and Routines. It’s the only one of our picks that lets you do anything beyond basic color changes when using a third-party app, and even then it’s only when using Alexa (you can choose Scenes and turn on the Music Mode).

It can be shortened or lengthened. Govee is the only one of our picks that is both cuttable and can be spliced with other strips. The strip is available in two lengths: 6.56 feet and 16.4 feet. I cut one of them to fit the test space in my office. There’s also a 3.28-foot extension kit; the 16.4-foot strip light can be spliced up to 32.8 feet, and the 6.56-foot strip light can be spliced up to 16.4 feet. Beyond that, you need to have more than one power adapter controller.

It has complete manual controls. The remote control box that’s connected to the light strip is the most advanced of any of our picks. It includes an on/off button, a button that can cycle through nine colors, and a button to enter Music Mode. It also has a microphone on the side of the remote, which may freak some people out, but allows the strip to “hear” the music and sync lights, without your having to use the app.

For more details, read Govee’s privacy statement.

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This Tapo strip light set doesn’t have as many special features as our pick, but it is affordable, produces accurate colors, and is dead simple to set up and use.

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, IFTTT, Samsung SmartThings

The TP-Link Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip L930-5 installs easily and is equally breezy to control. Although it’s not as bright as our top pick, this Tapo light strip emits accurate colors and hosts a nice array of special effects and a few useful features, like Away Mode.

It’s easy to install and use. The Tapo app for both iOS and Android is far more straightforward to use than Govee’s. On and off commands are accessible from the homepage of the app. Tapping on the light strip icon brings up a variety of options, including color favorites that you can customize, the Sync-to-Sound music feature (more on this below), Schedule options, an Away Mode, and a Timer (to have lights turn on and off after a set amount of time). It also has a remote attached to the light strip for manual control; pressing the button once can turn the strip on/off, pressing multiple times can cycle through preset lighting effects.

It has fun to use features. Although it doesn’t have as many lighting features and effects as our top pick, there are more than enough preset Scenes to mimic holiday lighting schemes, the weather, party options, and even moods. (While I didn’t find the roller-coaster effects of the Relaxed setting very relaxing, I did like having the slow-moving blue tones from Thinking and blue and white twinkles from Ocean in the background while I was working.) There’s also the ability to create your own. This is the only strip we tested to include an Away Mode, which will randomly turn the light strip on/off during a set period, so it looks like someone is always home.

It also keeps track of usage. This Tapo light strip is the only one of our picks to include energy-consumption stats, for anyone who cares to know how much energy is burned when the strip lights are on or cycle through colors all night. It turns out, it’s not very much; I averaged about two hours a day, which translated to 0.022 kWh (or just pennies per day).

For more details, read the TP-Link Tapo privacy statement.

This inexpensive model has basic controls and special effects available in three lengths, but it’s not as bright or as advanced as other smart light strips.

(32.8 feet)

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Matter, Siri Shortcuts

If you’re unsure about investing in a smart light strip and want a low-cost experiment, go for the WiZ Smart RGBIC LED Light Strip. It’s the only one of our picks available in three sizes: 16.4 feet, 32.8 feet, and 65.6 feet. It has very basic controls and special effects, and it’s not as bright as either of our other picks, but it’s also dramatically less expensive, starting at just $18.

It offers few frills (in a good way). The WiZ strip doesn’t have the volume of features that our other picks have, but it produces accurate colors and has some basic special effects. There are a few Scenes, like Forest, Snowy Sky, and Fireplace, as well as themed ones for holidays like Christmas and Halloween. You aren’t able to customize and create your own Scenes within the app, but you can favorite colors for one-touch access in the app.

The cable connector is the best of the bunch. Despite a low price, the WiZ actually has a better connector to join the strip to the power cable/adapter than either of our other picks. Unlike most models that have a barrel connector or just a few pins for a plug that can be tugged out, this one locks with a satisfying click and requires a pinch to disconnect. We like that a lot since it prevents the cable from coming loose when using the strip’s remote to manually turn the lights on/off.

For more details, read WiZ’s privacy statement.

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If you want extra brightness (and don’t mind paying extra: We previously had issues with the LIFX Lightstrip Color Zones, but after a new round of testing, things seem to be working fine. It’s slightly brighter than our top pick and includes a great selection of Scenes (including a whole mess specifically designed for sports fans). However, the app isn’t as user-friendly, the connector between the power cable and the strip isn’t sturdy (and poked my finger several times when I tried to reconnect it), and it has fewer features. Also, it’s one of the few models we tested that doesn’t have manual controls attached to the strip or power cord.

If you have spotty Wi-Fi: The Aqara LED Strip T1 isn’t as bright as our top picks, but it works with Zigbee, which means you can enjoy it in areas that don’t get a great Wi-Fi signal. That also means you’ll need an Aqara hub—which also provides Matter support, depending on your hub model. One thing I didn’t love is that the T1 comes in only a 6.5-foot length, which is a little expensive; but it can be expanded up to 32.8 feet via individual 3.28-foot extension kits.

If you want a permanent kitchen fixture: The Philips Hue Lightstrip Plus and the Philips Hue Solo Light Strip are both good options if you don’t want to have to rely on an app or voice control to turn your strip lights on and off; it can be controlled with a Hue-enabled light switch instead. Both also work with Bluetooth, but if you have a Hue Hub (or want to buy one), it delivers more features. If you need help deciding between the two, go with the Solo, since the Plus can’t produce multiple colors on one strip.

We dismissed the Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Smart Lightstrip and the Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Smart Multicolor HD Lightstrip. Both produced beautiful, bright lights, but both are also too expensive for what they can do. Plus, the former model can only display one color at a time, while the latter is not expandable.

The Eve Light Strip has respectable brightness. However, it’s less than half the size of the Govee M1, so filling a room or even lining cabinets can be pretty pricey. Also, the Eve Light Strip works with Apple Home only, and we found that when we asked Apple’s Siri to change its colors, Siri often turned the strip off instead. And we were surprised to find that, unlike with many of its other products, Eve has no plans to upgrade its light strip to support Matter or Thread.

We prefer the WiZ as a budget option over the Meross MSL320 Smart Wi-Fi LED Light Strip, which is slightly more expensive and can’t produce more than one color on a single strip at the same time.

We dismissed the GE Cync Dynamic Effects Smart Light Strip because the adhesive on the back was horrible and peeled off of two different surfaces within minutes of being applied. Also, when we tuned to specific colors, the strip emitted a high-pitch noise. For the price (which is at the higher end of the category), we expect better.

We dismissed the Govee RGBIC Strip Lights H61BA because it isn’t trimmable; if Govee updates this model we would consider retesting it.

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We’re planning to test the Govee Strip Light 2 Pro, a Matter-enabled light strip that promises more accurate colors than ever, as well as the ability to segment into up to 10 sections per meter. It’s being sold in 6.5-, 16.4-, and 32.8-foot kits.

This article was edited by Jon Chase and Grant Clauser.

Rachel Cericola

Rachel Cericola is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter who has been covering smart-home technology since the days of X10. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Men’s Health, USA Today, and others. She hopes her neighbors read this bio because it would explain why she always has four video doorbells running simultaneously outside her home.

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