The best curtain lights, ranked on control rather than LED count
Every set is 300 LEDs over 9.8 by 9.8 feet. What separates them is whether you can dim it, time it, and know which modes you are getting.
By Sawyer V. · Published
Curtain lights are the one lighting format bought almost entirely on a photograph, and the category has quietly standardized: effectively every set worth buying is 300 LEDs over a 9.8 by 9.8 foot drop. The headline numbers are identical across the field.
So the specification that decides the purchase is control — whether the thing can be dimmed, timed, and set to a mode you actually want. Five sets below, ranked on exactly that.
Wreath & Watt earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links on this page. It costs you nothing and it does not change the order of the picks — here is exactly how we are funded.
Quick picks
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No imageHXWEIYE 300 LED curtain lights, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, remote, timer, dimmable300 LEDs, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, 8 modes, timer, dimmable | The most complete published control set | 8.8/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 2 | No imageBrightown 300 LED curtain lights, 9.8 ft, 8 named modes, memory300 LEDs, 8 named modes, memory function | Knowing exactly which modes you get | 7.5/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 3 | No imageHOME LIGHTING 300 LED curtain lights, copper wire, waterproof300 LEDs, copper wire, published waterproof | A curtain that can go outside | 8.3/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 4 | No imageDomeStar 300 LED curtain lights, battery operated, remote300 LEDs, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, battery, remote | A window with no outlet under it | 7.8/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 5 | No imageHOLITS 300 LED curtain lights, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, warm white300 LEDs, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, warm white, USB | A straightforward warm-white drop | 6.8/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
Scores are our own weighting of published manufacturer specifications, explained in full on how we research. They are not test results. We have not tested these products.
The picks in full
#1 — The most complete published control set
HXWEIYE 300 LED curtain lights, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, remote, timer, dimmable
300 LEDs, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, 8 modes, timer, dimmable
8.8
/ 10
Our pick. Curtain lights live indoors at close range, and dimming is what stops them dominating the room they are in.
Published specifications
- LEDs
- 300
- Size
- 9.8 x 9.8 ft
- Modes
- 8
- Control
- Remote, with timer
- Dimming
- Yes
- Power
- USB
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 10 / 10
- Control
- 10 / 10
- Coverage
- 8 / 10
- Placement flexibility
- 7 / 10
Good
- Publishes modes, timer AND dimming together — the only set here that carries all three
- Dimming matters on a curtain because 300 LEDs at full output behind a sheer curtain is a lot of light in a small room
- USB power means it runs from the same strip as everything else
Watch out
- No published ingress rating, so treat it as an indoor set
- A 9.8 ft drop needs a fixing every couple of feet or it sags in the middle
Specs from the Amazon listing (ASIN B085Y1J85P), verified 2026-09-10.
#2 — Knowing exactly which modes you get
Brightown 300 LED curtain lights, 9.8 ft, 8 named modes, memory
300 LEDs, 8 named modes, memory function
7.5
/ 10
Buy it for the published mode list. 'Eight modes' means nothing if seven of them flash and you wanted steady.
Published specifications
- LEDs
- 300
- Length
- 9.8 ft
- Modes
- 8 — combination, waves, sequential, slo-glo, chasing, slow fade, twinkle, steady on
- Memory
- Retains the last mode
- Power
- Plug in
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 9 / 10
- Control
- 7 / 10
- Coverage
- 8 / 10
- Placement flexibility
- 6 / 10
Good
- The only set here that publishes what the eight modes actually are rather than just counting them
- A memory function means it comes back on in the mode you left it, not in flashing
- A steady-on mode is published, which is the only one most people use
Watch out
- No published timer
- Mains plug rather than USB, so it needs its own outlet
Specs from the Amazon listing (ASIN B073GPG376), verified 2026-09-10.
#3 — A curtain that can go outside
HOME LIGHTING 300 LED curtain lights, copper wire, waterproof
300 LEDs, copper wire, published waterproof
8.3
/ 10
The one to buy if the curtain is going outdoors. Read the weather claim for what it is: a claim, not a rating.
Published specifications
- LEDs
- 300
- Wire
- Copper
- Modes
- 8
- Control
- Remote
- Weather
- Waterproof, per the listing
- Power
- USB
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 7 / 10
- Control
- 8 / 10
- Coverage
- 8 / 10
- Placement flexibility
- 10 / 10
Good
- A published weather claim, which is what lets a curtain go on a porch or a pergola rather than only a wall
- Copper wire is thin and bends to shape, so it drapes rather than hanging in stiff lines
Watch out
- 'Waterproof' without an IP rating is a word, not a tested figure
- Fine copper wire is easy to kink permanently and hard to untangle
Specs from the Amazon listing (ASIN B08L7HY8CZ), verified 2026-09-10.
#4 — A window with no outlet under it
DomeStar 300 LED curtain lights, battery operated, remote
300 LEDs, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, battery, remote
7.8
/ 10
The cordless answer, with an honest caveat: 300 LEDs on batteries is the configuration most likely to disappoint on run time, and nobody publishes it.
Published specifications
- LEDs
- 300
- Size
- 9.8 x 9.8 ft
- Power
- Battery operated
- Modes
- 8
- Control
- Remote
- Battery life
- Not stated in the listing
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 6 / 10
- Control
- 8 / 10
- Coverage
- 8 / 10
- Placement flexibility
- 9 / 10
Good
- The only battery curtain here, which solves the window with no socket beneath it
- Remote control, so a battery set does not have to be reached behind a curtain to switch
Watch out
- No published run time against a duty cycle, and 300 LEDs is a real draw for a battery pack
- A battery box has to hang somewhere, and on a curtain there is nowhere discreet
Specs from the Amazon listing (ASIN B0FG1T6VJX), verified 2026-09-10.
#5 — A straightforward warm-white drop
HOLITS 300 LED curtain lights, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, warm white
300 LEDs, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, warm white, USB
6.8
/ 10
The plain option, correctly labeled. If you only want a warm-white curtain and no controls, this is all of it.
Published specifications
- LEDs
- 300
- Size
- 9.8 x 9.8 ft
- Color
- Warm white
- Modes
- 8
- Control
- Remote
- Power
- USB
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 7 / 10
- Control
- 6 / 10
- Coverage
- 8 / 10
- Placement flexibility
- 6 / 10
Good
- Warm white published explicitly rather than left as 'white', which is the difference that matters against a warm room
- Standard 9.8 x 9.8 ft drop, so it matches the rest of the category for planning
Watch out
- No published timer or dimming
- Nothing differentiates it beyond the color being stated
Specs from the Amazon listing (ASIN B0CRR4XGH8), verified 2026-09-10.
How we ranked these
| Set | LEDs | Drop | Timer | Dimming | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HXWEIYE | 300 | 9.8 x 9.8 ft | Yes | Yes | USB |
| Brightown | 300 | 9.8 ft | Not stated | Not stated | Plug in |
| HOME LIGHTING | 300 | 9.8 x 9.8 ft | Not stated | Not stated | USB |
| DomeStar | 300 | 9.8 x 9.8 ft | Not stated | Not stated | Battery |
| HOLITS | 300 | 9.8 x 9.8 ft | Not stated | Not stated | USB |
The LED count and drop size are identical across the field, which is why they are not the ranking. One set publishes both a timer and dimming.
Source: Manufacturer listings on Amazon.com, verified September 2026.
The HXWEIYE set takes the top spot as the only one publishing modes, a timer and dimming together. Dimming matters more on a curtain than anywhere else in a display: 300 LEDs at full output on a bedroom wall is a great deal of light in a small room, and the difference between a warm backdrop and a floodlit one is a setting.
“Eight modes” is not a specification
Every set here publishes eight lighting modes, and only one publishes what they are. That matters, because most people use exactly one of them.
The Brightown set lists them: combination, waves, sequential, slo-glo, chasing, slow fade, twinkle, and steady on. Seven of those move and one does not, and the one that does not is what most rooms want. It also publishes a memory function, so it returns to your setting rather than restarting in flashing mode every time it is switched on.
The arithmetic
- A 9.8 ft wide drop needs fixing across its full width
- At 24 in spacing: 9.8 ft = 118 in, so 118 / 24 = 5 fixing points
- At 12 in spacing: 10 fixing points
- Fewer than 5 and the top wire scallops between fixings
Plan about five fixings across a 9.8 ft drop, more if the top wire is fine. Three is what people use, and three is why curtains sag in the middle.
Hanging a drop that does not sag
The weight of a curtain set hangs from its top wire, and that wire is thin. Three command-strip hooks across ten feet produces visible scallops between them, which reads as a mistake rather than a drape.
Space fixings at roughly two feet, and hang from something continuous — a curtain pole, a tension wire, a rail — where you can. Fine copper-wire sets like the HOME LIGHTING curtain drape more softly than stiffer wire but also kink permanently if they are pulled straight.
Which of these can go outside
One publishes a weather claim. The HOME LIGHTING set is described as waterproof, which is what allows a curtain on a porch, a pergola or a fence rather than only an interior wall.
Read that for what it is: a claim in a listing, not a tested IP rating. Treat it as rain-tolerant under cover rather than as something to leave in standing water, and use an outdoor-rated cord for the run — the practices are on outdoor Christmas light safety.
Curtain lights are not icicle lights
The two get confused and they are different formats for different surfaces. An icicle set is a horizontal run with short vertical drops, built to trace an eave line outdoors. A curtain is a square mesh of long drops, built to fill a flat vertical surface — a window, a wall, a backdrop.
Put a curtain on an eave and it is far too deep; put icicles on a wall and they cover the top foot of it. The icicle roundup, with drop counts and spacing, is on icicle lights, and the window treatment more broadly is on Christmas window decorating.
Questions
›What size are curtain lights?
The category has standardized on 300 LEDs over a 9.8 by 9.8 foot drop, and effectively every set here is that. Because the size and count are identical across the field, the control features are what actually differentiate them.
›How do I stop curtain lights sagging?
Fix them about every two feet across the top — roughly five points across a 9.8 ft drop. Three fixings across ten feet is what produces the scalloped droop between hooks.
›Can curtain lights go outside?
Only the ones published as weather-tolerant, and even then treat the claim as rain-under-cover rather than a tested IP rating. Use an outdoor-rated cord for the run either way.
›What is the difference between curtain lights and icicle lights?
Icicles are a horizontal run with short drops, built to trace an eave. A curtain is a square mesh of long drops, built to fill a flat vertical surface like a window or a wall. Neither substitutes for the other.
Sources
- HXWEIYE curtain lights listing (ASIN B085Y1J85P) — 300 LED, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, 8 modes, timer, dimmable, USB
- Brightown curtain lights listing (ASIN B073GPG376) — 300 LED, 9.8 ft, 8 named modes, memory function
- HOME LIGHTING curtain lights listing (ASIN B08L7HY8CZ) — 300 LED, copper wire, 8 modes, remote, waterproof claim
- DomeStar curtain lights listing (ASIN B0FG1T6VJX) — 300 LED, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, battery operated, remote
- HOLITS curtain lights listing (ASIN B0CRR4XGH8) — 300 LED, 9.8 x 9.8 ft, warm white, USB, remote
- Fixing arithmetic — Drop width divided by fixing spacing — printed above. Battery run time is not published by anyone here.
We have not tested these products. Every figure above comes from a published manufacturer specification or from arithmetic shown on this page, and anything a maker does not publish is printed as unavailable rather than estimated. How that works, and what we will not claim, is set out on how we research.