The 11 Best LED Strip Lights to Add a Little RGB to Your Life

The best LED strip lights can truly transform any space, adding a touch of magic without breaking the bank. While you certainly can splurge on high-end options, there are fantastic choices available for every budget.

LED strip lights can softly illuminate any area, be it your office, desk, or even your kitchen. And, if you really want to make an impact, you can opt for RGB lights to enhance your gaming PC setup. Some LED strip lights can even be controlled effortlessly through a smartphone app or even with your voice! It’s like having a mini light show right at your fingertips.

TL;DR — These are the Best LED Strip Lights

Just like smart light bulbs, LED strip lights are also a savvy investment that can help you save money in the long run. By pairing your lights with a compatible sensor or lighting up smaller areas with fewer LEDs, you can optimize energy usage and reduce your electricity bills.

No matter what your personal style is, there’s an LED light strip out there that’s perfect for you. With a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors available, you can easily find the ideal option to complement your space. Plus, many LED strip lights come with user-friendly apps that allow you to customize the lighting effects to suit your specific needs and preferences.

Whether you’re looking to add a subtle glow under your cabinets or create a vibrant RGB light show in your gaming room, the possibilities are endless! – and find them in the UK.

1. Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus

Best LED Strip Lights

Pros:

• Bright lights
• One of the few picks with Bluetooth

Cons:

Do you want to add a little light to your life? The Philips Hue strip generates loads of it at 1600 lumens, and you get just over a 6.5 feet strip to work with. Plus, it’s further expandable to up to 32 feet with Bluetooth extensions. For added convenience, you can cut the strips to be the exact size you need for a space, and it comes with adhesive for easy installation. This kit is perfect for wrapping around walls in a game room or attaching to a TV stand, and you’ll get a single bright light look rather than seeing the individual bulbs thanks to a special coating on the strip.

After you’ve got the Philips Hue strip set up where you want, you can control the lights from your smartphone or other smart home assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit via Bluetooth. There are ample light color options to choose from as well; you can go for a more toned-down look with a wide range of white light —including warm, orange-ish white, and crisp white — or RGB light for a bit of excitement. It’s even possible to expand your lighting setup with compatible light bulbs, light switches, and more for an expansive smart home setup. This makes it simple to turn the lights on from anywhere, set them to your mood, or have them synced to your music or game.

2. Wyze Light Strip Pro

Best Budget LED Strip Lights

Pros:

• Very affordable
• Automatically adjusts depending on time of day

Cons:

• Not extendable (can’t connect additional strips)

If you’re on the hunt for a super affordable light strip loaded with versatility and control, the Wyze Light Strip Pro is the way to go. It can automatically set color temperatures based on the time of day, has a microphone built-in to be synched with your music, and offers a vacation mode to deter intruders. But best of all, this 32.8-foot strip costs under $50 and offers 16 customizable segments to display 16 of the 16 million RGB colors and tunable whites available simultaneously.

Installation of the Wyze Light Strip is a breeze featuring adhesive and clips in the kit. You can even cut the epoxy-coated strip at specific points, ensuring a perfect fit for your desired location, though, unfortunately, you can’t connect strips. Finishing setup is simple thanks to the Wyze app, and it’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, making the strip easy to adjust using your voice.

3. Corsair iCUE Lighting Node

Best LED Strip Lights for PC

Pros:

• Customizable using iCue
• Easy setup

Cons:

• No smart home functionality

Sometimes, you just want to deck out your gaming PC with some cool lights, and the Corsair iCUE kit is a solid way to do just that. With four light strips, a Lightning Node Pro RGB controller, and the iCUE software, you can freely adjust and change the colors for each of the 40 individual LED lights. That means you get tons of freedom and creativity in how your PC looks. And if you want an extra bright setup, you can add up to 12 Corsair individually addressable RGB LED strips to the two RGB lighting channels provided with this kit.

The Corsair iCUE kit is easy to install and get using. There are built-in magnets to attach to your case and offer a simple removal option, or you can use the included tape for mounting anywhere. A USB 2.0 plugs directly into your motherboard to get you lit. After it’s powered up, the iCUE software comes with tons of effects, animations, and presets to choose from, keeping things nice and easy. You can even sync the lights with Corsair gaming keyboards, PC fans, or other peripherals, allowing your all lights to react to what you do and create an incredibly vibrant, dynamic environment. However, this pick isn’t “smart home” compatible, not that it should really matter in this case.

4. Elgato Light Strip

Best LED Strip Lights for Streaming

Pros:

• Long and extendable
• Can be cut to size

Cons:

• Controller is quite bulky

The Elgato Light Strip is made for people who are into game streaming, as it will amp up the look and vibe of your stream, making it more appealing to your viewers. When connected to Elgato’s Stream Deck, you have an easy-to-use central command for changing your lighting setup to fit the mood of whatever you’re doing or synchronize it to the action of your game. In addition to the Stream Deck, you can always make changes on your PC or your phone.

At over 6.5 feet long, and extendable up to 32 ft, the Elgato Light Strip offers 2000 lumens of light in full RGB and white colors. It’s also super thin, can be cut to size, and comes with a super sticky adhesive, making it perfect for fitting in cramped of places. And if you’re worried about distracting flickering during your streams, these LEDs are flicker-free for smooth footage.

5. Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights M1

Best Led Lights for a Gaming Setup

Pros:

• 50 customizable segments
• Incredibly bright

Cons:

• Extending gets expensive quickly

The latest version of Govee’s strip lights support Matter and can be extended up to 32.8 feet. The bright colors are incredibly immersive, whether you want to add additional lighting to your home or gaming setup. Using the Govee app, you can control the lights when you’re at home, or away, and customize them with over 64+ scenes.

If you have other Govee lights in your home, you can control them in the same place, syncing your color scheme, and creating a frankly awesome-looking display. The Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights M1 feature 60 LEDs per meter, resulting in bright and colorful lights wherever you decide to put them.

6. Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite

Best LED Strip Lights for Your TV

Pros:

• Accurate color matching
• Syncs with other Govee lights

Cons:

• Camera must be present on top of your TV

While the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite is an improvement over Govee’s T1 camera, it isn’t quite as good as the T2 kit, however, it is significantly cheaper. And for that reason, it offers better value for money for anyone looking to invest in a starter TV light set up. Using an upgraded fish-eye camera, the 3 Lite achieves accurate color matching, so your TV’s lights sync well with what you’re watching.

Still, Govee’s TV lights all come with the rather invasive camera that you must place on top of your TV. As long as you’re okay with this, the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite offers a reasonably affordable way to enjoy a more immersive experience when you’re playing games, watching movies, or TV shows. Using the Govee app, you can customize the lighting and add up to 7 sub devices. You can even use your voice to issue commands via Alexa and Google Assistant.

7. Maxonar Wi-Fi Enabled LED Strip Lights

Best LED Strip Lights for Your Room

Pros:

• All the LEDs!
• Good value for the money

Cons:

• Lacking customization versus other types

Most LED light strips are too short to wrap your entire room in a warm glow. That’s where the Maxonar Wi-Fi kit comes into play, it’s packing a 32.8-foot roll with a whopping total of 600 LEDs — twice what many competing brands have. That makes this pick perfect for covering tons of space, like a bedroom or living room. Installation is easy as it comes with a full DIY kit to cut, connect, and extend these strips to work for your space. And if you decide you need more, it’s also a steal, coming in under $40, so you can always snag a second roll.

Once set up, these strips are Wi-Fi enabled and smart home compatible, meaning they’ll work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and online systems like IFTTT. This makes changing colors or modes simple, and there are millions of color choices to set the ambiance of your space. Plus, with an IP65 rating, you can place these lights on a covered porch or patio to add a bit of pizzaz to your outdoor living spaces.

8. Nanoleaf Shapes Triangles and Mini Triangles Smarter Kit (17 Pack)

Best LED Strip Accent Lighting

Pros:

• Easy to set up
• Compatible with most voice assistants

Cons:

Add custom lighting to your home, easily, and enjoy rhythmically immersive lights that are easy to put together with the Nanoleaf Shapes Triangles and Mini Triangles Smarter Kit (17 Pack). Of course, there are different shapes available, including hexagons and mixed shapes – whatever floats your boat really.

The modular design means you can easily expand your Nanoleaf Shapes, mixing and matching with other kits. Once installed, you can customize the lights using the Nanoleaf app with as many color options as you could possibly imagine. Unlike some accent lighting, the Nanoleaf Shapes kit really does stick well with little issue, making setup painless, which is a welcome change.

9. Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip

Best Smart LED Strip Light

Pros:

• Highly compatible
• Expandable up to 10 meters

Cons:

The Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip packs tons of smarts, so it works with other smart home products and smart assistants for easy light adjustments. It’s even Thread-compatible for speedy response times, though you’ll need a Thread Border Router. And Nanoleaf Essential devices, as well as Razer Chroma products seamlessly sync for a uniform lighting experience.

This 40-inch light strips doesn’t come with a starter kit, so you’ll want to purchase that first if you don’t have one, giving you a controller to change the lighting locally and Bluetooth to make adjustments on your phone or tablet. Once you’ve got that, the Nanoleaf Essentials light strip emits adjustable white and RGB light and can expand up to 10 meters. Beyond creating dynamic scenes, it’s possible to mirror the lights of a TV or monitor for a more immersive viewing experience, while a circadian lighting feature helps maximize productivity or lull you into a more restful sleep.

10. Philips Hue Gradient Ambiance Smart Lightstrip

Best Diffused LED Strip Lights

Pros:

• Warmer colors
• Very durable

Cons:

A light strip does a lot to increase the ambiance of your space, but sometimes those LEDs can be a little overwhelming, and that’s why we love the Philips Hue Gradient Ambiance Smart Lightstrip. You still get 16 million colors to choose from, though multiple colors can blend together to create a seamless, ombre look. To make for a more enjoyable experience, those tiny LEDs live in a sturdy silicone wrap that features a milky finish. This extra diffusion creates a gentle glow and may even reduce eye strain.

The Philips Hue Gradient Ambiance Smart Lightstrip totes plenty of smarts, as it’s part of the Hue system, which allows you to connect and control multiple lights via Bluetooth. Smart assistants like Alexa, HomeKit, and Google Assistant even get support to make your life easier. And if you’re looking to light up a staircase or kitchen cabinets, up to eight of the light strips can be combined and cut to size at certain points, so you’ll find the perfect length.

11. Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro

Best Outdoor RGB Strip Lights

Pros:

• Can be cut for the perfect fit
• Durable and bright

Cons:

If you want to go all out and decorate your entire home in LED strip lights, the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro are the best available. Yes, they cost a small fortune, but they are worth it in every sense. These IP67-rated waterproof lights work with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Matter, and feature 75 scene modes so you can light up the street, no matter the weather or season.

These LED lights can also be cut to fit your home perfectly. With 100 feet of lights, you can seriously make an impact. Use the included controller, your voice, or the Govee app to control the lights, set schedules, customize colors, and more. Lighting up your home is easy with the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro.

Where to Get the Best LED Strip Lights in the UK

How to Pick the Best LED Strip Lights

Choosing the best LED strip lights can enhance your space by creating a more immersive environment. Depending on what kind of vibe you want to create, you’ll want to focus on the brightness and color temperature of your chosen lights.

Brightness is measured in lumens; this allows you to gauge how bright the lights will be; generally, higher lumens mean brighter lights. When it comes to color temperature, LED strip lights come in different options like warm white, cool white, and daylight. The color temperature can significantly impact the mood and ambiance of your space, so think about the atmosphere you want to create.

If you prefer a consistent color throughout, single-color LED strips might be the best choice for you. On the other hand, if you want the flexibility to change colors, RGB strips are an excellent option. RGB strips offer a wide range of colors and can be controlled with a remote or even a smartphone app, giving you ultimate control over your lighting.

One of the biggest things people overlook when picking the best LED strip lights is to measure the area where you plan to install them. This will help you determine the appropriate length and ensure the strip fits perfectly in your chosen location.

Depending on where and how you plan to use your LED strip lights, you could consider smart lights, allowing you to control them using an app, or even your voice.

FAQs

Do Led Strip Lights Use a Lot of Electricity?

LED lights draw much less electricity than standard lights or bulbs. While you might not use strip lights to light your entire home, you could use them to create an ambient environment, saving you money versus a light bulb.

Can You Cut Led Strips?

Some LED strips can be cut. You should check with the manufacturer before doing so, however. If the LED strips you purchase can be cut, there may be a specific line you need to cut along.

Do Led Light Strips Get Hot?

LED light strips can get a little warm to the touch, but certainly not too hot.

Brian Barnett writes reviews, wiki guides, deals posts, features, and more for IGN. You can get your fix of his antics on Twitter (@Ribnax) or check out his show on Twitch (The Platformers).

Danielle Abraham is a freelance writer and unpaid music historian.