Best outdoor lights

Frequent hosts of cookouts, birthday parties, or casual get-togethers know that picking up the best outdoor lights can enhance any backyard or patio gathering. As you browse through countless options, some valuable traits to consider would be weatherproofing, app control, motion sensors, or hardwiring. Our best overall outdoor lights by LETIANPAI are chock full of just about every feature you'd want—and they're inexpensive to boot. Their 5,050 high-bright LEDs remain functional even if you need to cut the diode strip to a certain length. Also, outdoor lighting isn't limited to narrow strips or garlanded light bulbs. It's useful for lighting walkways, front doors, enhancing security, and bordering gardens or driveways. All lights in our collection below can be used year-round and don't need to be relegated to holiday duty—check them out and pick the best outdoor lighting for your abode.

Sold in two-piece packages, these LED smart lights from LETIANPAI earned their spot as our staff pick based upon the plethora of features and lighting patterns. Unlike individual-bulb string lights, these are flat strips of cuttable diodes backed with 3M adhesive. This allows you to illuminate your patio, stairs, garden, and backyard with solid bands of 5,050 high-bright diodes. The ability to trim these LED strips opens a world of precise, geometrical lighting schemes, and your imagination is the limit. 

LETIANPAI claims these lights can produce 16 million colors, and that's likely due to its app integration. Simply download the Ehome Light app, and combined with the IR remote, you'll get full functionality. If you're a karaoke fan, then you'll be thrilled to see there's a microphone built into these lights. It's a fun, unexpected perk that allows you to detect and sync music with your lighting and change the colors to the beat. 

Floodlights with sensors are an excellent addition to the outside of your home, especially if you're in an area where trespassing is a concern. Amazon's Ring floodlight with motion sensors is a fantastic value for the features it offers. I chose the hardwired model rather than the battery-operated one because who wants to climb a ladder to replace batteries? No one, that's who. It seamlessly connects to standard electrical boxes. With the added Bridge installed indoors, you'll be able to view notifications, change settings, and link to other Ring products. A single Ring Bridge can control up to 50 additional Ring devices, so I'd recommend picking it up if you decide to expand your network.

Surveillance of any kind has a bit of a dark side, so if you plan to add Ring cameras to the network via the Bridge, be sure to password-protect your Wi-Fi as a starting point. The added security protects malicious hackers from taking over your Ring system (yes, this happens regularly). Next, you'll need to set up WPA2 protection for better peace of mind. Skip WPA3, though—despite it being newer technology in a chronological sense, it has more vulnerabilities than WPA2. In addition, Ring products may struggle to connect to routers with WPA3 and detect your link correctly.

With seven different colors, a scalloped light shade, and a high-efficiency solar panel, TIJNN's double-mode outdoor step lighting is an attractive addition anywhere outside your home. The 90-degree angle housing for the solar panel can fit on flat surfaces, stairs, railings, and fences—anywhere with a right angle. It's also IP65 waterproof, so it'll hold up during rough weather. Two holes are pre-drilled in the mounts, and you can use screws or nails to anchor each lighting piece. Its light shade is what I like best; it's molded to produce star-like rays of light emanating from the bulb. 

Suppose you're renting property and need a less permanent attachment method than screws or nails. In that case, you can use double-sided adhesive strips. Of course, you might need to swap those strips out every few months, but it's better than putting holes all over the place that can cost you a security deposit.

Solar-powered outdoor lighting is arguably the best way to lower your electric bill and a surprisingly affordable way to illuminate your garden, yard, or pathway. Available in 4, 8, and 12-pack bundles, Rayolon's press-in outdoor lighting reminds me of oversized thumbtacks. That's because these lights are that easy to install; after snapping in the pointed base and pre-charging the solar panels, you're done in mere minutes. 

So where should you put these lights? First, focus on parts of your property that could use a bit of brightness in terms of safety: here's my recommendation. Try flanking your walkway or driveway or lining them up along the alley or shed where your trashcans and recycling bins are kept. You could even install them around a basement bulkhead for better visibility. The hardest part of it all is deciding where to place the lights; come nightfall, it'll all be worth it.

What if changing weather is a constant worry when hosting outdoor activities? In that case, your outdoor lighting should be able to rise to that challenge. Luckily, XMCOSY+ had weatherproofing on the mind when designing their outdoor LED string lights. Available in both 49 and 98-foot lengths, you'll have enough lights to cover a pretty wide area. 

The 12-volt Edison-style bulbs are attached to a standard cord with one major improvement—a steel guidewire. Be sure to twine it around the power cord as you hang them from trees, trellises, and eaves; the extra stability is a gamechanger. In addition, its power cord, bulbs, and fixtures are all IP65 waterproof, capable of handling gale-force winds and downpours. Finally, be sure to download the XMCOSY app for full smart home features; pairing it with Alexa via Wi-Fi offers voice control, color-cycling, and more.

Even if you don't plan on a complete renovation, upgrading the lighting surrounding your front door is an inexpensive way to refresh your home's exterior. MOTINI's outdoor light fixture is an industrial-inspired sconce available in gold or silver. The remainder of the light is matte black metal, and its weather-resistant glass shade is ribbed to cast a more diffused pool of light, softening its crisp lines. 

These sconces are hardwired only, which is preferable in terms of longevity. All hardware is included, along with clear instructions for a fuss-free installation. Regarding the lightbulb itself, you'll need one with an E26 base—but that bulb can be incandescent or LED, which widens your options. MOTINI also designed this light to be fully dimmable but doesn't include any dimming hardware. Don't forget to pick up a compatible dimmer switch if you don't have one already.

Fiat lux, for less

As you can see, the best outdoor lights available today come in many styles and sizes, and nearly all of them will have multi-functional features. Gone are the days of smoky tiki torches or camp lanterns casting a murky glow no further than a few feet. Instead, they work equally well to elevate a party atmosphere or make your property safer at night. When it comes to hosting, creating a welcoming ambiance is vital for your guests. Our best overall outdoor lights by LETIANPAI offer countless vivid colors, variegated patterns, and app control. They're dead simple to use and have many features, including the ability to sync lights to music that's playing. 

If you're looking for outdoor lighting that serves a different purpose than entertainment, then consider Rayolon's little discs of illumination. They're solar-powered for zero drain on your electric meter as well as virtually no maintenance on your part. So, snap them together, pre-charge in full sun, and pop these little pucks into the ground wherever you need a spot of light.

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At GardeningEtc we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.