Permanent Christmas lights: what a foot of track actually costs
Retail systems you install once against dealer-installed track quoted per linear foot. Published IP ratings, LED pitch, and where the money goes.
By Sawyer V. · Published
Permanent outdoor lighting splits into two products that get discussed as one. There is retail track you buy in a box and mount yourself in a day, and there is dealer-installed track quoted per linear foot by a local company. They cost different amounts, they fail differently, and only one of them can be compared on a spec sheet.
This page compares what can be compared. The retail systems below publish IP ratings, lengths and LED counts, so we can derive LED pitch and put them side by side. Dealer systems do not publish a national price, so we do not print one.
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 imageGovee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro, 150 ft, 90 RGBIC LEDs150 ft, 90 RGBIC LEDs, IP67 | A full roofline you never climb again | 8.3/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 2 | No imageGovee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2, 100 ft RGBIC100 ft, IP67, 100 scene modes | A single-story front elevation | 7.5/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 3 | No imageGovee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro, 200 ft, 120 RGBIC LEDs200 ft, 120 RGBIC LEDs, IP67 | Two-story frontages and wrap-around eaves | 8.3/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 4 | No imageGovee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2, 50 ft RGBIC50 ft, IP67Skip this | A porch, a deck edge, or trying the idea before committing | 7.5/ 10 | Check price #ad · Disclosure |
| 5 | No imageTrimlight (dealer-installed permanent lighting)Quoted per linear foot by a local dealer | Reference only — sold and installed by local dealers | 6.0/ 10 | Not sold on Amazon. Trimlight sells direct and we earn nothing there. |
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 — A full roofline you never climb again
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro, 150 ft, 90 RGBIC LEDs
150 ft, 90 RGBIC LEDs, IP67
8.3
/ 10
The retail answer to dealer-installed permanent lighting: published IP rating, buy it once, hang it once.
Published specifications
- Length
- 150 ft
- LEDs
- 90 RGBIC, individually addressable
- Ingress rating
- IP67 track, IP65 control box
- Rated life
- 50,000 hours (manufacturer claim)
- Operating range
- -4 F to 140 F
- Control
- App, Alexa, Google Assistant, Matter
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 9 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 9 / 10
- Control
- 9 / 10
- Density
- 6 / 10
Good
- IP67 is a published, checkable number — most seasonal lighting publishes none
- Spacing works out to one LED every 20 inches, which is the number to compare against a dealer system
- Matter support means it does not depend on one vendor's cloud staying up
Watch out
- It is a one-day install on a ladder, and it is permanent
- 90 LEDs over 150 feet is sparser than a C9 run at 12-inch spacing
Specs from the Govee Amazon listing (ASIN B0CGJ3S8YM), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#2 — A single-story front elevation
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2, 100 ft RGBIC
100 ft, IP67, 100 scene modes
7.5
/ 10
The entry point. Buy it if 100 feet covers your front elevation and you can live without Matter.
Published specifications
- Length
- 100 ft
- Ingress rating
- IP67
- Modes
- 100 scene modes, 16 million colors
- Control
- App, Alexa, Google Assistant
- LED count
- Not published by the manufacturer for this SKU in the listing title
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 7 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 9 / 10
- Control
- 8 / 10
- Density
- 6 / 10
Good
- The cheapest honest entry into permanent lighting with a published IP67 rating
- 100 ft covers most single-story front elevations with slack to spare
Watch out
- The listing title does not state the LED count, so pitch cannot be computed before purchase
- No Matter support on this line
Specs from the Govee Amazon listing (ASIN B0D14WP9TB), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#3 — Two-story frontages and wrap-around eaves
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro, 200 ft, 120 RGBIC LEDs
200 ft, 120 RGBIC LEDs, IP67
8.3
/ 10
The 150 ft kit's larger sibling. Measure the eave line before you choose between them.
Published specifications
- Length
- 200 ft
- LEDs
- 120 RGBIC
- Ingress rating
- IP67 track, IP65 control box
- Control
- App, Alexa, Google Assistant, Matter
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 9 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 9 / 10
- Control
- 9 / 10
- Density
- 6 / 10
Good
- Same 20-inch LED pitch as the 150 ft kit, so the look scales without a visible seam
- One controller for the whole frontage instead of two systems fighting each other
Watch out
- More track than most single-story homes need
- Still a permanent ladder job
Specs from the Govee Amazon listing (ASIN B0DX1WPB9J), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#4 — skip this
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2, 50 ft RGBIC
50 ft, IP67
7.5
/ 10
Skip this here. Fifty feet does not cover a roofline. It is the cheapest way into permanent lighting and, on a page about lighting a house, it is the one that sends you back for a second kit. Measure the eave line first and buy the length that covers it.
The trial size. Fine for a porch; not a roofline solution.
Published specifications
- Length
- 50 ft
- Ingress rating
- IP67
- Modes
- 100 scene modes
- Control
- App, Alexa, Google Assistant
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 7 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 9 / 10
- Control
- 8 / 10
- Density
- 6 / 10
Good
- Cheapest way to find out whether you actually want permanent lighting
- 50 ft is enough for a porch roof or a deck perimeter
Watch out
- Too short for a roofline — measure first, or you will be buying twice
Specs from the Govee Amazon listing (ASIN B0D14W3213), retrieved 2026-09-04.
#5 — Reference only — sold and installed by local dealers
Trimlight (dealer-installed permanent lighting)
Quoted per linear foot by a local dealer
6.0
/ 10
Included because a reader comparing permanent lighting will meet it. We earn nothing here and there is no buy button.
Published specifications
- Sales channel
- Local dealer, installed
- Price
- Quoted per linear foot; not published as a single national figure
- Buy online
- No
Our scoring
- Published specs
- 3 / 10
- Weather tolerance
- 7 / 10
- Control
- 7 / 10
- Density
- 7 / 10
Good
- Professionally installed and warrantied through the dealer
Watch out
- Nothing to buy online and no published national price, so it cannot be compared like-for-like on a spec sheet
Channel and pricing model from trimlight.com. We have no dealer quote of our own and publish no dollar figure we cannot source.
LED pitch is the number to compare
Length alone tells you nothing. Divide the track length by the LED count and you get pitch — the distance between points of light — and that is what decides whether the roofline reads as a line of lights or a glowing edge.
| System | Length | LEDs | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Govee Permanent Pro, 150 ft | 150 ft | 90 | 20 in |
| Govee Permanent Pro, 200 ft | 200 ft | 120 | 20 in |
| Govee Permanent Pro, 100 ft | 100 ft | 60 | 20 in |
| C9 set at 12 in spacing (for scale) | 25 ft | 25 | 12 in |
Pitch is length divided by LED count, computed by us. The Govee Permanent 2 line does not publish an LED count in its listing titles, so its pitch cannot be derived and is not shown.
Source: Manufacturer listings on Amazon.com, retrieved 2026-09-04.
A 20-inch pitch is noticeably sparser than a traditional C9 run at 12 inches. That is the trade: permanent track buys you never climbing a ladder again, and it costs you some of the density a seasonal C9 run gives you. If a dense, punctuated roofline is the look you want, permanent track will disappoint you and no amount of color modes will fix it.
What the two routes actually cost
We publish live prices where the price layer has one and “check price” where it does not; we never print a remembered number. What we can do is show you the shape of the arithmetic so you can fill in today’s figures yourself.
The arithmetic
- Retail: (kit price) / (track length in feet) = cost per foot, one time
- Retail also costs: your day on a ladder, plus a nearby outdoor outlet
- Dealer: (quoted price per linear foot) x (feet of eave) = installed cost
- Dealer also includes: labor, warranty, and the installer's fixings
Compare cost per foot to cost per foot, and then add your own day to the retail side.
IP67 is the reason to buy retail track at all
The single strongest argument for the retail systems here is that they publish an ingress rating. IP67 means dust-tight and able to survive temporary immersion. Seasonal string lights almost never publish anything comparable. When the track is going up once and staying up through summer sun, winter ice and everything in between, a published, testable rating is worth more than any feature list.
Note the split rating: the track is IP67 and the control box is IP65. The control box is the part to mount somewhere sheltered.
Who should not buy permanent lighting
If you move house every couple of years, it goes with the house. If your eave line is complex, with dormers and steps, a continuous track fights the geometry in a way individual C9 clips do not. And if you actually enjoy the ritual of putting lights up, permanent track removes the thing you liked. None of those are faults in the product; they are reasons the product is not for you.
For a seasonal roofline done properly the first time, start with C9 sets and the right clips instead.
Questions
›Can permanent Christmas lights stay up all year?
That is the design intent, and it is why the ingress rating matters so much. The systems here publish IP67 on the track, meaning dust-tight and rated for temporary immersion, with an IP65 control box that should be mounted somewhere sheltered.
›How much do permanent Christmas lights cost per foot?
For retail track, divide the kit price by the track length — the arithmetic is on this page and the live price is on the buy button. For dealer-installed systems there is no national published figure, so get a local quote; we do not print a price we cannot source.
›Is Govee permanent lighting as good as a dealer-installed system?
They are different products. The retail track publishes its IP rating and its LED pitch, which lets you compare it against anything. A dealer system includes labor, fixings and a warranty, and its price describes your house rather than a box. Compare cost per foot, then decide what your own day on a ladder is worth.
Sources
- Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro listings (ASINs B0CGJ3S8YM, B0DX1WPB9J, B0CGHQYC5N) — length, LED count, IP67 / IP65, operating range, rated hours
- Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2 listings (ASINs B0D14WP9TB, B0D14W3213) — length, IP67, scene modes
- trimlight.com — sales channel and per-linear-foot pricing model; no national price is published and we obtained no quote
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.