Philips Hue lights are awesome but there is also a wide variety of other light manufacturers that make light strips just as good. Whether you're looking for the best HomeKit light strips or some bayonet smart lights, Hue has you covered.
If however, you're looking for other brands to use in your smart home there are some seriously impressive light strips that will enhance the mood in your home, often for far cheaper than Philips' offerings.
These are our top picks for the best alternatives to Philips Hue light strips including Nanoleaf, meross, and more.
Quick List
Best overall
The LIFX light strip is easily the best choice for aPhilips Hue alternative. This 6.6-foot light strip has 16 individual zones, so instead of a single accent color, you can paint your walls with multiple colors at once, creating all kinds of fun looks. The LIFX Lightstrip works with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant, and it cranks out up to 1,400 lumens of brightness.
Best for Thread
Nanoleaf's Essentials Lightstrip supports Bluetooth and Thread connectivity. In our hands-on review, we loved how Thread enabled blazing fast response times and excellent reliability when paired with our HomePod minis and the Apple TV 4K. The Essentials strip is also extremely bright, with the ability to produce up to 2,000 lumens of colorful lighting.
Most immersive
Govee Immersion TV LED Backlights offer a unique light strip and camera combination that creates a truly immersive lighting experience. The included camera captures the colors directly from your TV or monitor and recreates the look throughout the light strip with multiple color zones. Govee's strip even has a built-in microphone, so it also works great for keeping your music in sync.
Best Adaptive lighting
The HomeKit-exclusive Eve Light Strip puts your home's lighting on auto-pilot with support for HomeKit Adaptive Lighting. HomeKit Adaptive Lighting automatically adjusts color temperature throughout the day to promote focus during the afternoon with bright white light and rest in the evening with softer yellow tones. We also found during testing that Eve's strip is plenty bright at 1,800 lumens.
Most colorful
Like the LIFX Lightsrip, the Onvis strip supports the ability to display multiple colors at once through addressable zones. Color zones allow the light strip to put on a show with tons of preset special effects that automatically cycle colors through the Onvis app, and with paint mode, you can add the perfect splash of color to suit your mood or decor.
Best for large areas
Our recent review noted how the meross Smart Wi-Fi Light Strip is perfect for larger installations as it includes 32.8 feet of colorful LED lights in the box that work alone or together to create impressive light displays. It isn't all just about the length, though, as the meross light strip still matches others with millions of colors and voice controls over Wi-Fi through HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
Q&A
Should I opt for Hue or one of these light strip alternatives?
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While it may be the most familiar name for smart light bulbs, there are plenty of Philips Hue Light Strip alternatives that are cheaper and just as capable. Some of the latest light strips go above and beyond with extras like music detection and dynamic colors. The LIFX Lightstrip easily bests the Philips Hue strip with 16 color zones and higher maximum brightness levels. While its price is slightly higher, you will save a little because it doesn't require a separate hub.
If you're looking for a brighter smart alternative, check out the Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip. This light strip can output a whopping 2,000 lumens of colorful lighting; plus, it works with HomeKit Adaptive Lighting and the Google Assistant. Nanoleaf's strip also packs in Thread wireless capabilities when paired with a HomePod mini, offering faster and more reliable connections over Bluetooth. Regardless of which option you go with, smart LED light strips will allow you to light your home your way.
