Best Outdoor String Lights for 2024

Nanoleaf is known for making some of the best smart lights you can find. In addition to traditional light bulbs, the company offers some really unique wall-mounted lights. Even the "normal" bulbs have a non-traditional shape, and that style carries over to the bulbs of the Nanoleaf Outdoor String Lights.

With a heavy-duty acrylic "bulb" cover, these lights are not only more durable than most, but the shape of the acrylic refracts the light in multiple directions for a beautiful look. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Matter all in the mix, you'll have a variety of ways to control your outdoor string lights. While there, I have experienced a disconnect or two in my time with the lights; there is an in-line control box to manage the lights without a phone.

I've been using these lights in my outdoor space for about a while now, and the vivid colors and warm whites are fantastic. The lights get very bright and can also be dimmed to the perfect level for any occasion. Aside from the ability to choose any of the 16 million colors supported by these lights, you can also choose from preset themes to get the perfect ambiance for your patio.

Doubling down on my earlier sentiments, I didn't love any of the solar light options. As far as the options I had to work with, this Hampton Bay set seriously outperformed the competitors. Solar performance still comes at a price, however. These lights were the most expensive per-bulb option on my list -- nearly doubling the runner-up at $6 a bulb.

A single strand of these lights won't do much for you if you're looking for a light night hideaway for catching up on your most recent book adventure, but if you don't have any options for hard-wired power, these are still likely your best bet.

Generally, the solar options are outfitted with a dusk-to-dawn sensor that controls their operation, and additionally, Hampton Bay offers a manual override to turn on or off at your discretion. The lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in this set are also replaceable. 

If you're truly looking for "value" and not just the cheapest option, I would recommend checking out Magitec. These lights tested as the second brightest bulbs overall, and this particular offering is for a two-pack of these light strands. So double the linear coverage at 96 feet versus the next longest single strand at 48 feet.

Magitec sports all the standard options -- hanging hooks, IP65-rated water-resistant seals and shatterproof, dimmable, LED bulbs. We measured these bulbs with a lumen output of about 165 per bulb. Buying 30 total sockets means you're getting close to 5,000 lumens total. That is some serious light output.

These bulbs come out to $2.33 a bulb, which puts them in the lower (cheaper) half of the list overall as far as price goes. Now, based solely on the cost per bulb, Feit Electric comes through as the cheapest in this category at $1.86 a bulb for this 15-bulb strand. Other than its value, this set isn't particularly impressive. The light output on this unit is about 40 lumens per bulb for a total output of approximately 600 lumens -- the second lowest for our AC-powered options. These are also some of the only incandescent options we tested. That means more energy is used to run these than the comparable LED options. If you're looking for light coverage on the cheap, this is a good option. 

Govee is another fantastic smart light maker with lights for nearly any style. The brand offers a range of outdoor lighting options, including multiple smart outdoor string lights, but here, I'm highlighting an impressive budget solution.

The plastic bulb cover, which is a frosted white when the lights are off, has a more traditional look. These lights may not make a statement during the daytime hours, but at night, you'll have 16 million colors to choose from, including tunable whites. One of my favorite things about Govee lights is the excellent pre-set scenes. These offer everything from fun and active lighting scenes to calm and relaxing options. You can also pick a single color or create your own custom lighting scene.

You can control these lights with the Govee app on your phone, but you won't have Wi-Fi or other smart home connectivity options. Instead, you'll connect to the lights via Bluetooth. This means you won't be able to manage the lights when you aren't home. When you are, you'll be able to set schedules and timers for your lights to automate your evenings a bit easier.

These lights are one of the more expensive per-bulb sets, and their performance overall is just above average. If you're a fan of mood lighting by way of color options, these may be the lights for you. You can control the light colors and modes via the included remote control, or there is also a control button near the plug on the power cord. 

The colors look good, and these lights are pretty bright too. I measured these bulbs at about 80 lumens each, and with 18 total lights, that makes for nearly 1,500 lumens per strand, and you can link up to four sets for a total of nearly 6,000 lumens.

I am not a fan of colored lights peeking out from every corner, but for those who are, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better option.

These lights by Anpro, which are aimed at campers, are ones that you'll want to make sure to pack for your outdoor excursion.

To start, they aren't solar-powered, but they do run off a solar-rechargeable 5,000mAh lithium-ion battery. On a full charge, Anpro says you can get over 18 hours of minimum brightness and up to 6 hours of maximum brightness. One nifty perk is that the solar-chargeable battery has two USB ports to charge the battery or charge your phone.

Instead of hanging downward like the traditional Edison-bulb style options, the light capsules are in line with the nylon braided power cord, which is more durable and less prone to tangles than traditional cords.

The lights aren't super bright, at only 120 lumens, but there's enough light, especially in an enclosed tent space, to keep you from tripping over every single thing or person inside the tent with you. They'd offer some nice ambiance in an outdoor space, but again, not enough light to be super helpful for seeing much out in the open.