The Best Permanent Outdoor Lights (2026): Govee, Eufy, CyncNEWS | 16 October 2026Permanent outdoor lights are the perfect solution to a holiday season's worth of lights, and will last you for years to come. The name suggests exactly what they are: a type of string light designed to stay up all year instead of coming down after the occasion you hung them for, whether it's the holiday season or a big party that inspired you to deck out your front porch.
Whether these lights are truly “permanent” is up to you, since you can choose to anchor them to your home with either screws or adhesive. Note that they may not be a fit for every home's architecture—you will need eaves, and preferably flat ones, to hide the thick cords. Our favorite options are from Govee ($300, 100 feet) and Eufy ($350, 100 feet); both are great sets you can cut and splice to customize to your home's roofline. My favorite affordable set is from Cync ($117, 100 feet)—it's easy to use and install and has lots of great color options.
No matter which set you choose, these lights are made for year-round enjoyment, though they shine best in the holiday season. WIRED reviewer Kat Merck uses hers in the post-holiday season to display her husband’s favorite sports team colors, while I'm currently using mine to backlight the giant spiderweb spread across my balcony for Halloween. We're both looking forward to switching over to Christmas color schemes soon, and you can too after picking up one of our favorite sets below.
Updated October 2026: I've updated this guide with current pricing as we head into the holiday season, and added a new section about the lights we're testing next.
What Are Permanent Outdoor Lights?
Permanent outdoor lights are exactly what they sound like: outdoor lights meant to be permanently affixed to your home, so you don't have to go up and down a ladder every Halloween and Christmas season. They're similar to smart Christmas lights like those from Twinkly ($125) and Philips Hue ($220), and other smart lighting options like Philips Hue's smart bulbs ($90), in that they connect to an app and have custom color control.
The lights we recommend below are all DIY-friendly, but you can also hire a professional to affix them to your home. Some higher-end brands, like JellyFish and Gemstone, are for professional installation only. Hiring an installer is recommended either way if you have harder-to-reach eaves or a trickier home design, which may add considerably to the overall cost.
What Your Home Will Need
The most important thing to check is if your home is even compatible with permanent outdoor string lights. If your home has any of these features, installation should work for you:Author: Kat Merck. Nena Farrell. Simon Hill. Source
