Best outdoor Christmas lights UK
Mains-powered LED strings that survive British weather — compared by the number that matters: pence per metre.
TL;DR
Best known quantity: Ollny’s 20m warm white, the category’s bestseller for a reason. Lowest price per metre: usually the Jsdoin 20m — the table below works it out from today’s prices. Multicoloured: the same Ollny set in multicolour.
The per-metre table
| Lights | Length | LEDs | ≈ per metre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ollny warm white | 20m | 200 | – |
| Ollny multicolour | 20m | 200 | – |
| Jsdoin | 20m | 200 | – |
Price per metre is calculated from the live Amazon prices on this page.
All three are mains-powered (no battery-swapping in December rain) and sold as outdoor waterproof LED strings; both Ollny sets are IP44 rated. Measure your run before buying — gutter + porch + one tree wrap eats 20 metres faster than you’d think, and joining two cheap strings usually beats one premium one.
Ollny 20m / 200 LED warm white
The safe pick with the review mountain behind it: reliable controller, proper warm white (not the cold blue-white cheap strings drift into), timer memory.
£12.99£12.34–£16.99 since 8 SepJsdoin 20m / 200 LED
The price-leader for a single tree or window run — same length as the Ollny for a couple of pounds less when its price dips.
£11.99£10.19–£11.99 since 8 SepOllny 20m / 200 LED multicolour
The bestseller’s multicoloured twin: dark green cable that disappears into hedges and trees, 8 modes, a remote, 4 brightness levels and a timer. IP44 rated.
Check priceWant more than lights? See our outdoor decorations guide for snowfall projectors and 8ft inflatables.
Prices update hourly from the Amazon API.
Frequently asked questions
How many metres of Christmas lights do I need?
Rough guide: 5m per 1ft of tree height for a full wrap (so ~30m for a 6ft tree), 15–20m for a gutter run on a typical terrace, 10m per window outline. Measure first — running short mid-job is the classic December mistake.
Can these lights stay out in the rain?
The Ollny picks are IP44-rated for British weather; check the rating on any set you buy. Keep the plug and controller under cover (a porch or a weatherproof box); it's the connections, not the string, that fail wet.
Are LED Christmas lights cheap to run?
Very — a 200-LED string draws around 6W, so under 2p for a 6-hour evening even at 27p/kWh. Running cost is no longer a reason to leave them off.
Warm white or multicoloured?
Warm white for elegant kerb appeal and property-listing looks; multicolour for family fun. Warm white holds its resale/reuse value across years — it never goes out of style.