Best smart LED light strips 2024

The best smart LED light strips let you effortlessly transform any part of your home (or office) and give it a distinct visual ambience. Whether it's your living room, workspace, or even kitchen cabinets, these things can be used everywhere. Most of these light strips can be configured to emit a plethora of color combinations, so you can set them to your liking. They also come with remote controllers, and some can even be controlled via digital voice assistants (e.g., Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant). As such, these light strips are some of the best smart home devices you can get these days.

With Christmas shopping season in full swing, this is the perfect time to get these lighting accessories and jazz up your home (or office). We recommend the Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus as our top pick, since it has up to 1650 lumens of brightness and offers solid integration with popular smart home platforms (e.g., SmarThings) and voice assistants. If you want something that doesn't need a hub or a bridge, consider the LIFX LightStrip Color Zones. Of course, there are many other options available across all price points, and here are some of the finest out there.

At a glance

Best overall

Philips Hue creates some of the most popular smart light bulbs you can get today, so it comes as no surprise that the Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus sits at the top of this list. This 6.6-foot light strip is bright, offering 1650 lumens, and can be easily attached underneath kitchen cabinets, along staircases, and behind desks with adhesive tape. Fortunately, each light strip is very flexible so that you can bend, shape, cut, and even extend it, so it's guaranteed to work with any odd corners or furniture. And if you need to add just a little bit more length to your light strip, you can purchase Lightstrip Plus Extensions (3.3 ft each), creating a maximum length of 32 ft.

If you already own a few Hue bulbs, you can directly connect this light strip up to your Hue Bridge and control up to 50 lights throughout your house while you're at home or away. And if you're new to the Hue ecosystem and don't own a Hue Bridge, then you can simply connect your light strip to Bluetooth to operate it, though you'll be limited to one room. Nevertheless, these light strips can be paired with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant if you want to operate your lights using your voice instead of the newly redesigned Philips Hue, and they can also be integrated with SmartThings and IFTT ecosystems.

Each light strip is dimmable and features different temperatures of white ranging from 2000 to 6500K and 16 million colors, making it an ideal way to create unique lighting that sets the mood in each space of your home. And as long as you have a Hue hub, the Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus can also be synced up to games, music, and movies to create a truly immersive entertainment experience.

Best alternative

The LIFX Lightstrip Color Zones is a great alternative to Philips Hue, especially if you don't feel like investing in a Hue Hub. Because these light strips connect directly to Wi-Fi, you'll immediately get access to voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri without needing a hub or bridge. Similar to the Hue light strips, these light strips are 6.6 ft and can be cut or extended. Thanks to their flexibility, you can easily attach them to the back of a TV or monitor, mirrors, artwork, or cabinets. At 1400 lumens, they are bright and have an impressive white temperature range running from 1500K to 9000K in addition to millions of color options.

Thanks to Polychrome Technology, each light strip features eight addressable color zones. This means that you can paint or animate several colors along a single strip and use app effects on them. And when it comes to gaming, these light strips can be easily attached to the back of your computer and connected to Razer gear to create an immersive gaming experience. LIFX also works with partners such as IFTT so your light strips can be integrated easily into your smart home, creating automation such as blinking lights when your cab arrives, or it gets dark outside.

Best value

GE Cync is part of one of the most reputable brands for lighting, GE Lighting, and it has its own line of affordable Cync lighting options that connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The Dynamic Effect Smart Light Strip connects directly to your Wi-Fi network or to your phone with Bluetooth, so you don't need any hubs or extra hardware. The LEDs can be colored individually with gradients among them for more lightning flexibility. They can even sync with music or put on a light show.

Because these light strips connect to Wi-Fi, you'll be able to operate them while you're away from home, which can be a useful tool when you've left for vacation but don't want everyone to know. It also means that you never have to walk into a dark home again, and you can set schedules and timers. These light strips clock in at 800 lumens, come with millions of color options, and have a tunable white spectrum to help you adjust to the time of day by dimming and brightening when you're waking up or going to bed.

This 16-foot segment can be cut to fit or extended with an 8-foot segment. Just make sure to set up your extension before cutting your primary strip.

Best outdoor

Govee may be one of the more recent players in the lighting space, having been around since 2017, but it's certainly made its mark. With a mission to reinvent everyday spaces with original lighting, Govee isn't limited to its top light bulbs and light strips but also offers more out-of-the-box smart lighting, including outdoor string lights, light bars like the Govee Flow Pro, unique floor lamps like the Govee Lyra Corner Floor Lamp, and even car lights. But if you're shopping for a colorful light strip that you can use inside or outside your home, then this is one of the best brands to turn to.

Govee RGBIC Outdoor LED Strip Lights are one of its more recent products and come in at about 33 ft. Because this light strip is Bluetooth-enabled, you can operate your lighting through the Govee app as long as you're within an approximate 200 ft range or with the provided remote. These light strips are perfect for creating holiday lighting, hosting outdoor parties, or simply reinventing your outdoor space. As these lights are water-resistant with an IP65 rating, you don't have to worry about water and dust getting in the way. They're also easy to install with a 3M adhesive and can easily be bent around sharp corners, though you won't be able to cut these strips.

What makes these outdoor light strips stand out is that in addition to 64 different scene modes and a DIY mode that lets you create the right vibe with customized light effects and color options, you can further personalize each light segment thanks to RGBIC technology. You're actually able to display multiple colors simultaneously to create a rainbow or ombre effect. And thanks to a built-in mic, there's a music mode so that when you have guests over and are playing music, you can actually sync your lights to the beat of each song.

Best budget

Daybetter might not be as recognized as a brand as Philips Hue or LIFX, but it's certainly cost-effective. You can choose between a 50ft or 100ft light strip for a quarter of the price other smart light strips would cost you and still be able to connect your lights to Wi-Fi to operate them through an app or with a physical remote that's included.

By connecting to Wi-Fi, you're also able to control your lights while you're away from home, as well as use voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. These smart light strips can even be grouped with multiple LED light strips, which is pretty convenient if you're hosting an event, and they're able to be cut. You're also able to take advantage of cool features like syncing your lights with your music so that the colors match the rhythm of the song you're listening to, as well as setting up timers and schedules to turn your lights on and off or change colors at a certain time.

Daybetter light strips are ideal if you don't need all the smart home integrations you will get with a more expensive product or as many lighting effects. With 44 color options, you won't come close to being able to customize your lighting as you would with another light strip, but sometimes that's enough—especially if you're hosting a big party or a wedding.

Best for screens

Govee is a go-to when it comes to non-standard lighting for your home, including light strips as well as entertainment lighting. Govee actually creates some of the best smart lights for gaming, which brings us to the Govee Immersion TV LED Backlights. The lights are comparable to the Philips Hue Play Gradient light strip, but they cost much less for an equally immersive experience.

This kit is for 55 to 65-inch TVs and uses a dual cameras to capture the action on-screen while you're gaming or watching a movie to mimic the screen's vibrant colors. Though the camera may get in the way for some, its high resolution does an excellent job of accurately recognizing colors and extending the universe of your screen by adding depth to each image. These lights are fully customizable using the Govee smartphone companion app, so you can set them up as you want.

Like other Govee products, these lights feature a music mode so you can sync the sounds from your screen with your lights. This is particularly useful when watching a concert or hosting a karaoke night with friends. There are also 12 scene modes, including a gaming mode, or you can personalize every segment on a single strip light thanks to RGBIC technology.

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How to choose

Personalize your space(s) with the perfect lighting

Smart light strips are a great way to personalize your children's bedroom, transform your entertainment area with backlighting, or simply add a soft touch of color throughout your home or your backyard. And even though there are several choices to go with, if you're building your smart home with smart lighting, then it's hard to go against the Philips Hue ecosystem. If you already own a Hue hub, then the Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus is the most logical choice as it'll help you create mood lighting throughout your home. It works with all major voice assistants as well ecosystems like Samsung SmartThings and is quite easy to install and use.

But, if you're hoping to save some money and rather find a product that connects directly to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, then Govee makes some fantastic lighting products at much more enticing prices, including TV LED Backlights and water-resistant options for outdoors. The TV backlights can help you revamp your entertainment space with immersive lighting that can sync up with what's being shown on the screen, while the outdoor light strips are guaranteed to impress your guests when you host your next holiday party.