Lighting guide
What Holiday Lighting Really Costs Over the Years
What holiday lighting costs each year in money, time and ladder risk, and how permanent lights compare over the years, using national cost data.
Every fall the same question comes around: do you get the ladder out again, pay someone to do it, or skip the lights this year? This guide sets out what holiday lighting really costs each year, in money, time and risk, and how permanent lighting compares once you count more than one season.
The quick answer
Is permanent holiday lighting cheaper than hanging lights every year?
Over enough years, usually yes, for a home that decorates every season. National cost guides put a professional Christmas light install at about $220 to $684 a year, with takedown often extra, while permanent lighting is paid for once and then covers every holiday, game day and everyday accent light after it. The bigger savings are the hours on a ladder each year, and the falls that come with them.
What it takes to hang holiday lights every year
Most of the cost of seasonal lights is not the lights. It is the work around them, repeated every year:
- Hanging them. In an Angi survey of homeowners, most said hanging their decorations takes three to six hours.
- Fixing them. Testing strands, hunting for the bulb that took out a whole section, and replacing what did not survive the attic.
- Taking them down. The same ladder work in reverse, usually in January.
- Storing them. Boxes, reels and tangles until next year.
Over ten years, three to six hours a year to hang the lights alone adds up to 30 to 60 hours on a ladder, before a single strand comes down.
The ladder is the real risk
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports about 160 Christmas decorating injuries a day during the holiday season, with nearly half of them involving falls. In the 2023 holiday season (November 2022 through January 2023), about 14,900 people were treated in emergency rooms for holiday decorating injuries.
Rooflines are where the ladders go highest, often on cold, wet or icy days. Lights that stay up remove that job entirely.
What it costs to hire seasonal installation
Hiring it out takes the ladder off your hands, but the bill comes back every year:
| Service | Typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Professional Christmas light installation | $220 to $684, average $444 | HomeAdvisor, 2026 |
| Professional installation | $220 to $650 | Angi, 2026 |
| Takedown | $100 to $400 | HomeAdvisor, 2026 |
| Rental package with install and takedown | $250 to $600 | HomeAdvisor, 2026 |
That covers one holiday. Lights for Halloween or the 4th of July are another job, or more often, they do not happen at all.
What permanent lighting costs
Permanent lighting is a one-time installation. National cost guides put it at about $20 to $40 per linear foot installed, or $2,000 to $8,000 for most homes (HomeGuide), with an average around $3,500 (HomeAdvisor). The length of the roofline, how many stories, and how many corners and peaks the track has to follow decide where a home lands in that range.
We price every home on its own after a free on-site consultation, with the price and the warranty in writing before you agree to anything. Low monthly payment options and 0% APR available for qualified buyers.
How the numbers add up over the years
Using HomeAdvisor’s national averages, here is what seasonal installation adds up to over time, against a permanent system paid for once:
| Years of holiday lighting | Seasonal installs at $444 a year | Permanent lighting, paid once |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $444 | about $3,500 |
| 3 | $1,332 | about $3,500 |
| 5 | $2,220 | about $3,500 |
| 8 | $3,552 | about $3,500 |
| 10 | $4,440 | about $3,500 |
On averages alone, seasonal installation catches up with a permanent system in about eight years, sooner once takedown fees are added. And the seasonal column buys one holiday a year. The permanent column covers every one of them, plus warm white accent light every other night.
What one set of lights does all year
Permanent lights are not only Christmas lights. The same lights, run from an app and set on a calendar months ahead, cover:
- Christmas: classic red and green, warm white candlelight or icy blue, from Thanksgiving night to New Year.
- Halloween: orange, purple and ghostly green, with patterns that flicker and chase.
- The 4th of July: red, white and blue for Memorial Day, the 4th and Labor Day.
- Game days, birthdays and every other night in warm white, or off.
See the full range on our permanent holiday lighting page.
Running costs and wear
LED holiday lights use about 70 percent less energy than incandescent strands, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Each JellyFish roofline light draws under 1 watt. The lights sit behind a UV-resistant lens in IP67-rated casings, and a redundant data wire means one light out does not stop the run, so there are no dead strands to replace each year. Our roofline lighting is backed by a 25-year warranty.
When seasonal lights still make sense
If you decorate only now and then, or for one holiday a year with a few strands along the porch, seasonal lights will cost less. Permanent lighting pays off for homes that light the roofline every year, want more than one holiday, or would rather nobody climbed a ladder in December again.
Holiday lighting cost questions
How much does professional Christmas light installation cost?
National cost guides put it at about $220 to $684 a season, with an average around $444 (HomeAdvisor), and takedown often billed separately at $100 to $400.
How much do permanent holiday lights cost?
National cost guides put permanent lighting at about $20 to $40 per linear foot installed, or $2,000 to $8,000 for most homes. We price each home after a free on-site consultation, in writing.
How long until permanent lights pay for themselves?
About eight years against seasonal installation at national averages, sooner if you also pay for takedown or light more than one holiday a year.
Do permanent lights use much electricity?
Very little. Each JellyFish roofline light draws under 1 watt, and LED holiday lights use about 70 percent less energy than incandescent strands.
Can I see permanent lights when they are off?
Very little. The roofline track is color-matched to your trim and tucked under the eaves, so from the street it reads as part of the house.
Sources
- HomeAdvisor: Christmas light installation cost (updated June 2026)
- Angi: professional Christmas light installation guide (updated July 2026)
- HomeGuide: permanent Christmas lights cost
- Angi: Christmas decor trends survey
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: holiday safety release (November 2024)
- U.S. Department of Energy: how holiday lights work
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