What is best landscape lighting?

Unlike basic on-and-off bulbs and fixtures, smart versions let you schedule and automate your lighting and control bulbs and fixtures remotely. And smart versions have other useful or fun features that make them far more versatile and convenient. We tested outdoor smart bulbs as well as sconces, path lights, and spotlights. Here are the best models for any outdoor scenario.

Outdoor lighting isn’t a splurge. It can save you from tripping on a dark pathway (again) or fumbling to find the right key. And it enhances home security by lighting up dark corners or reacting to motion at night. It can also really light up a party.

Feit packs a lot of bulbs into a 24-foot strand. It’s built to withstand brutal weather, and it’s the only model we tested that includes extra bulbs and a remote control.

Because it doesn’t need to be plugged in, this solar light is easy to place and set up. It offers scheduling and snooze options, and you can link it with other Ring lights and devices.

Despite having an especially low price, this bulb is among the brightest we’ve tested. It offers a good dimming range, an attractive color palette, and some fun special effects.

Outdoor bulbs are rated to tolerate wetness, so if you don’t have a totally weather-tight fixture, an outdoor smart bulb will work best.

Smart bulbs need a Wi-Fi signal in order to function correctly. If your signal is weak outside, you may need to add a Wi-Fi extender or a repeater, or consider a mesh network.

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home

The floodlight-style Feit Electric PAR38 Smart Light Bulb is the least expensive outdoor bulb we reviewed, yet it’s also one of the brightest—our measurements revealed it’s as bright as similar bulbs that cost twice as much. This bulb also has special features, including tunable white tones, Scene control (which lets you trigger preset actions of one or more devices with a single command), and a few useful lighting effects. This bulb can also change colors, though we found that the color options greatly reduced brightness. Still, in our testing, whites were very bright. So this is a good bulb for lighting up your yard or driveway.

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Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, SmartThings, Ring

The Ring Solar Pathlight adds easy, elegant lighting to areas that may be tricky to navigate in the dark, such as walkways or patios. It has a solar rechargeable battery, so there are no wires or disposable batteries to deal with. And you can directly control it with an app, or set it to turn on and off automatically through a built-in motion sensor. It’s intended to light up for short periods of time—less than 15 minutes—so it may not be the best choice for anyone who needs constant lighting. It also requires the Ring Bridge (usually available as a bundle), the Ring Alarm Pro, or a compatible Amazon Echo device, which will act as the network bridge.

Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home

Feit Electric LED Smart String Lights are perfect for a deck, fence, garage, shed, or pool area. The 24-foot strand includes 12 bulbs, and it’s expandable—up to an astonishing 552 feet. This strand projects tunable white tones and colors and offers a variety of special effects for holidays or other celebrations. And it’s really well made, so it can withstand those days when the party has to be moved inside.

Matt smiles as Christina blushes at his compliment. “I can’t believe you agreed to get the best landscape lighting brand for our home! I know it’s our anniversary, but it seems like a bit much for a gift. Next thing I know you’ll agree to my reasons for hiring a pro lighting company.”

Matt shrugs. “The more I thought about it, the cooler getting outdoor light fixtures seemed. We’ll need to do some more digging so we can find the best brand and the best quality outdoor lighting fixtures.”

Christina nods excitedly. “I’m totally on board, let’s go ahead and start. The sooner we do the sooner we can start enjoying our backyard to the fullest!” She fumbles her phone from her purse and gets to searching on Google. Matt does the same.

Here’s what they find out: