The 8 Best Landscape Lighting of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall

Lerekam Solar Landscape Spotlights

$24 At Amazon $39 At Walmart View On Sears.com

We recommend the Lerekam Solar lights for their reliability, aesthetics, and brightness. Designed for aesthetics, these lights come in a pack of two and successfully light up the features of your lawn through the night. We love that the push of a button activates three brightness modes. At their brightest (the setting we preferred), they lit up around 25 feet of their surroundings, the largest area of all the in-ground options on this list.

We used four lights in the front yard and two on the sides of our house to illuminate our back gate. The front lights shone on bushes and trees, but we wish we could angle them to fully illuminate a large Birch tree. Therefore, these work best for highlighting bushes, gates, or other lower landscape features. 

It's also important to note that the color of these lights (cool white) is not adjustable, but we loved the glow this color provided. We had no trouble charging the solar lights in the sunlight and found that they immediately turn on when the sun goes down, so it's completely hands-free. We suggest charging them for a full eight hours with the included USB before installing them to ensure the best experience.

While setup took 45 minutes, the majority of the time was spent determining the perfect place to install these lights. We appreciated the easy setup, which is just five steps: attach the mounting bracket to the light, drive the stake into the ground, attach the mounting bracket and light to the stake, turn the light on, and adjust the brightness. 

How It Performed Long-Term:

This light continues to perform well after three months of use, despite bouts of inclement weather, including snow. While they do not always shine all night long—this depends on how charged they get during the hours of sunlight, which is the case for all solar lights—we appreciate the light they provide in making our yard brighter and safer. Shorter daylight hours or cloudy days can affect how long your solar lights stay on. During testing, these lights were on for an average of 8 hours a night. 

_{Type: Spotlight | Dimensions: 4.3 x 2.4 x 5.7 inches︱Power Source: Solar, USB︱Brightness: 1000 lumens ︱Count: 2, 4, 6}

Best In-Ground

Rayolon Solar Ground Lights

$38 At Amazon

If you want to enhance the beauty of your landscaping without actually seeing the lights, you might want to consider this in-ground option. We tested the solar lights in our own home and discovered that they functioned exceptionally well when positioned close to one another but were not very bright on their own. We could not read a book under one of these lights in our tests, but they come in a 12- or 16-pack, so you have more units to create more light.

We conducted a rain simulation test using a watering can to check the product's water resistance. The solar lights proved highly resilient and continued shining through the “rain.” The actual lights lay flat on the ground, so they are designed to be hidden for an aesthetically pleasing look. They are functional to guide your way.

To achieve their maximum brightness, these lights require an initial charging period of three days. When setting up the lights, it's also important to dig a shallow hole for the stake. This will prevent any damage, especially since we found the base to be a bit fragile. Once installed, they are very simple to operate with just an on/off switch.

_{Type: In-ground | Dimensions: 4.72 x 4.92 x 5.2 inches | Power Source: Solar | Brightness: Not listed ︱Count: 4, 8, 12, 16}

Best with Motion Sensor

AloftSun Solar Motion Sensor Lights

$25 At Amazon

These motion sensor spotlights are the perfect mix of aesthetics and safety with a large detection range that can be adjusted to any angle you need. The AloftSun Solar Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights have a built-in motion sensor but are also bright enough to highlight your favorite tree or shrub.

At 800 lumens, they are just slightly dimmer than our best overall pick, the Lerekam Solar Spot Lights, but they are still brighter than the average pathway light or spotlight, so they’re suitable for every purpose. During testing, it took us a few minutes to figure out, but we loved the three lighting modes that you use by pressing the on/off button one, two, or three times. 

The first mode is a dim light mode that turns brighter when sensing motion in a 33-foot (about the size of a residential swimming pool) and 160-degree range (the highest detection range out of the in-ground options we recommend) so anyone coming to your house has a guiding light. Even in the dim mode, we were able to read under a single light. 

The second mode is a 10-hour constant-on with no motion detection, and the high angle allows you to highlight tall trees, bushes, and other lawn elements. And in the third mode, the light remains off unless it senses motion. 

During testing, we noticed no changes to these waterproof lights when we poured water on them, froze them, or dropped a golf ball on the solar panel.

We loved that these lights come in two pieces and are easy to assemble and stake into the ground. You can also pivot them so they can shine in your desired direction. While they charge in the sun, we recommend charging them for two full days before installation to achieve the highest and longest light output.

_{Type: Spotlight | Dimensions: ‎4.5 x 3.5 x 11.6︱Power Source: Solar︱Brightness: 800 lumens︱Count: 2, 4, 6}

Best Spotlight

Linkind StarRay Solar Spotlights

$27 At Amazon

If you are looking for solar-powered spotlights to illuminate a specific focal point on your property and live in a warmer climate, we recommend the Linkind StarRay Solar Spot Lights. They can be angled up to 180 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically to highlight tall and wide trees and shrubs. We used them in the ground and found the light bright enough to accent landscape features, but warn that the "bright mode" setting is not much brighter than the original. 

You can choose from five lighting colors, including a multicolor option that adds a fun pop of color to your outdoor lighting. These outdoor lights began to blink a bit after we put them in the freezer for an hour, so they operate best in warmer climates.

These lights also have motion detection. With the first tap of the on/off button, you get a dim light that brightens for 10 seconds and then reverts. The second tap (mode two) remains off but turns on in the brightest setting for 25 seconds when motion is detected. It has a 26-foot detection range, just seven feet shy of our favorite option with a motion sensor, the AloftSun Solar Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights, which is a better option if safety is your top priority.

When testing these, we had no issues with the assembly. There are only three parts to put together, and the base needs to be screwed in. Then, you simply stake them into the ground or mount them on the wall (screws for this are included). The solar lights charge in the sun, and then you can choose to keep them on for two, four, or six hours. Or keep them on, and they will automatically go on and off from dusk to dawn.

_{Type: Spotlight | Dimensions: ‎‎6.3 x 3.9 x 11.4 inches︱Power Source: Solar︱Brightness: 650 lumens ︱Count: 2, 4, 6}

Best Strip Lights

Govee WiFi Outdoor LED Strip Lights

$50 At Amazon $50 At Home Depot $50 At Target

Strip lights add a consistent shine to your home and can act as landscape lighting when installed on the front of your house. These smart LED strip lights from Govee sync quickly and easily in our experience with your smartphone for a hands- and stress-free lighting experience, even though you won't have the convenience of a cordless solar light. 

The intuitive app allows you to set schedules, change the color of the lights (which is great for holiday decor), sync with music, adjust the brightness, and more. These strip lights are all about aesthetics, which is why we love that the strips blend into the roof, so they are barely visible when off. Because you can adjust the brightness and location of these lights, they effectively illuminate landscape features, pathways, or the house as a whole.

While these lights are a dream for your outdoor home decor, they do offer some level of security. There is a motion sensor option on the app, and you can adjust the sensitivity level, which non-smart options don't offer. Because you can set schedules, they can operate similarly to a dusk-to-dawn solar light with motion sensor capability. But, for more accurate motion sensing, opt for a traditional option like the Linkind StarRay Solar Spot Lights.

Unlike in-ground lights, which take just minutes to stake into the ground, strip lights take a lot more effort. We used the 65.6-foot option and screwed the included brackets into our mounting points and stuck the strip using the included adhesive. Just be sure to wipe down your roof with rubbing alcohol between each bracket. It took just over two hours—the longest installation time on our list.

How It Performed Long-Term:

We are still in love with the endless opportunities these smart lights provide. They have held up great after three months, even through snowstorms. All of the color and brightness options on the app are working as they should, and we loved corresponding our lights to different holiday decorations. 

_{Type: Strip | Dimensions: ‎‎65.6 feet︱Power Source: Plug-in︱Brightness: 156 lumens ︱Count: 1}

Best Smart

Phillips Hue Calla Base Kit

$169 At Amazon $130 At Target View On Philips-hue.com

Smart lights offer endless opportunities for your space, especially when it comes to color. Through our testing, we discovered that dark colors (like navy blue or rich purple) reached about 5 feet. However, the lighter colors (like warm yellow or pale pink) brightly illuminated the entire 10-foot square area, so we recommend light colors for safety reasons. 

The Philips app has capabilities similar to those of our other favorite smart option, the Govee Outdoor Led Light Strips. Unlike the strip lights, which took a lot of time to set up, this pathway light is portable, so you can put it wherever you choose in your yard and even mix it with other lighting fixtures. 

The singular light requires a Philips Hue Bridge to get started (about $50 at the time of publish), but can be used to control other indoor and outdoor smart home products from the brand. Also, while this is designed to be a pathway light, it would be very pricey to line a long path with these, so we recommend this light for smaller outdoor areas. During testing, we illuminated a 10 by 10-foot area with ease with this option.

It took only eight minutes to install. Before you stake the light into the ground and connect it to an outdoor extension line, we recommend pre-puncturing the ground with a long, pointed tool, such as an ice pick or screwdriver, until it's four inches deep. This will ensure the light is fully staked to the ground and standing upright.  

This light provides equal amounts of aesthetics and security. It has a totally different look compared with other pathway lights. The design is more modern, but which style you prefer comes down to personal preference.

How It Performed Over Time:

After three months of use in heavy rainfall, high winds, freezing temperatures, and even a nearby tornado, these lights continue to work perfectly. Using the app, we've set an automation to turn these on every night at sunset and synced them with other Phillips Hue lights without issue. We also commonly adjust the settings using an Amazon Alexa, which is a huge plus.

These continue to be an awesome way to light up a steep set of stairs that commonly don't receive light, making our yard safer, brighter, and more attractive.

_{Type: Smart | Dimensions: ‎‎4.1 x 1.6 x 9.9 inches︱Power Source: Plug-in︱Brightness: 640 lumens ︱Count: 1}

Best Mounted

Leonlite LED Motion Sensor Floodlight

$40 At Amazon $59 At Wayfair

Mounted landscape lights don't take up space on your lawn and often shine farther than in-ground alternatives. The Leonlite LED Security Lights shine up to 30 feet in our experience and can detect motion up to 70 feet away, the highest on this list. While these lights can easily illuminate your landscape, we find them more suited for security needs due to their high detection range.

We used this light to brighten a 10 by 10 feet area near our garage. Unlike other options on this list, this one comes with two bulbs, each of which can be angled and rotated up to 360 degrees for precise shining every time. There are three lighting options available, the only aesthetic feature we found. But we did like the way the light blended into its surroundings and did not act as an eyesore on our house.

There are three modes for this light: one that constantly stays on until you manually turn it off, one that automatically turns on when it detects motion, and one that operates like a solar light and stays on from dusk to dawn. We preferred the motion detection setting and found that even construction projects on the same block activated the light, proving it was very effective. We also discovered that deer activated the motion sensor with ease, but not small animals scurrying around.

We experienced heavy rain during our testing period, and the light (partially covered by an awning) remained unharmed. They are designed to be waterproof, so we were pleased to see that they lived up to the manufacturer's claims.

Installation took about 15 minutes. You only need a few screws and a drill to get started, but you do have to pick a spot close to an outlet. With a mounted option, you don't have the freedom to move your light around as easily as an in-ground option or even a corded standalone pick, like the Philip Smart Calla Light. Despite this, we loved the impressive range of this option and the versatility of the two adjustable lights. 

How It Performed Long-Term:

After three months of use, this light continues to perform well, keeping large animals like skunks and raccoons away, and keeping us safe when walking outdoors in the dark. Rain and snow have not affected this light in the slightest, partly due to its partially covered location on the house. The only thing that would improve this option is if it were app-controlled for added convenience. 

_{Type: Mounted | Dimensions: ‎‎‎8.1 x 7.5 x 5.9 inches︱Power Source: Plug-in︱Brightness: 1800 lumens ︱Count: 1}

Best Pathway Lights

Mancra Solar Pathway Lights

$50 At Amazon

The Mancra Solar Path Lights allow you to illuminate a walkway or driveway with no cord (they’re solar-powered!). While we didn't test these lights, we're impressed with their modern look, 8-10-hour run time, and IP65 waterproof rating. The smart light sensor immediately switches on at dusk after charging all day in the sun. However, with all solar lights, the run time will vary by that day's light conditions. The manufacturer recommends allowing 6-8 hours for these to charge fully.

Unlike plastic, the frost- and heat-resistant glass casing and stainless-steel pole won't corrode or discolor over time. We loved the nontraditional squared look of these lights, which are available in black, white, and brown to match your outdoor decor. To start, just switch these lights on (the on/off switch is on the base of the lights), twist the top of the light to connect it, combine both parts of the included stake, and stake them into the ground.

Sold in a pack of 8, this set is a great deal, with each light only costing around $6. It’s worth noting that they do not offer any special settings or features. The LED bulbs emit a warm white glow, which might not be everyone's favorite. If you want more control over the color temperature of your lights, opt for a smart option like the Philiip Hue Calla Smart Pathway Lights.

_{Type: Pathway lights | Dimensions: 2.8 x 2.8 x 13.5 inches︱Power Source: Solar powered︱Brightness: 10 lumens︱Count: 8}