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Holiday Light Pricing Guide
What installers actually charge per linear foot — by region, by service model, and with the two-story and tree-wrap adders that most bids forget. Use it to sanity-check your number before you send it.
You own the product, install, maintain, remove and store it. The recurring-revenue model.
Standard 8′ tree: $400–600 · canopy wrap (8′ diameter): +$300–400
$20–35 per strand used
- Per foot$10.00–15.00
- Roofline$1,600–$2,400
- Trees (2)$800–$1,200
A range, not a quote. Your labor rate, insurance, storage cost and drive time decide where in the range you land.
Per-foot ranges by service model
| Model | Per foot | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Install only (customer's lights) | $6.00–$9.00 | Labor and clips. You hang what they hand you — and inherit whatever condition it's in. |
| Lease / rental program | $8.00–$12.00 | You own the product, install, maintain, remove and store it. The recurring-revenue model. |
| Sell the lights outright | $9.00–$14.00 | Customer buys commercial-grade product year one, then pays install-only in later years. |
Where these numbers come from
These are working ranges from the residential holiday lighting trade, not a survey. They assume commercial-grade LED product, a two-person insured crew, and a price that includes takedown. The regional multipliers track labor cost and what the market bears: the Midwest sits about 12% below the national middle, the West Coast about 22% above. Two-story and steep-pitch work adds roughly a quarter to the labor because ladder setup, fall protection and repositioning dominate the clock.
The most common pricing mistake is quoting install-only rates while delivering lease-program service. If you supply the product, service it mid-season, take it down and store it, you are running a lease program — price it as one. The second most common mistake is competing on price at all. Homeowners paying $1,500 for holiday lighting are buying a result, and the company that can show them that result before installation day rarely has to be the cheapest bid.
Now show them what it'll look like.
Numbers win arguments. A photoreal nighttime render of their home wins the job. Three free renders, no credit card.
Common questions
How much should I charge per foot for Christmas light installation?
Rooflines typically run $6-$12 per linear foot, with added money for second-story houses and complicated rooflines. Install-only on the customer's own lights sits at the lower end; a lease program where you supply, install, maintain, remove and store commercial product runs $8-$12 per foot. Selling the product outright in year one runs $9-$14. Multiply by about 1.25 for two-story access, and adjust for your region.
Why do lease programs charge more per foot than install-only?
Because the price covers far more than the hang. You're carrying the cost of commercial-grade product, custom cutting and fitting, mid-season service calls, takedown, and climate-controlled storage with the job labeled and boxed for next year. Spread over a typical three-to-five-year customer, the lease model earns more per house and holds the customer.
What's a fair minimum for a Christmas light job?
Most established companies set a minimum somewhere between $600 and $1,200. Below that, drive time, ladder setup, takedown and storage eat the margin. A minimum also filters out the price shoppers who will call three competitors over $50.
How much do installers charge to wrap a tree?
The unit most installers use is $35 per strand on a tree. A standard 8-foot tree with a half dozen branches runs $400-$600 with canopy or foliage wraps at $35 a strand. A canopy wrap with an 8-foot diameter adds another $300-$400. Large specimen trees wrapped to the upper canopy are quoted individually and routinely run $800 or more.
How much do installers charge to light bushes?
Bushes typically run $20-$35 per 5mm mini strand used, depending on region and how dense the coverage is. A front bed of six to eight shrubs commonly adds $150-$300 to the job.
Should I charge extra for takedown?
Build it in rather than billing it separately. Takedown is typically 15-20% of the install cost in labor, and customers who see it as a separate line item negotiate it away or do it themselves badly, damaging your product. Quote one all-in seasonal price.
How do I justify a higher price than the cheapest bid?
Show the outcome, not the line items. A photorealistic nighttime mockup of their actual house next to a competitor's verbal description ends most price conversations, because the customer is no longer comparing two numbers — they're comparing a result to a promise.
How much does it cost to have Christmas lights professionally installed on a house?
Most homeowners pay somewhere between about $600 and $3,000+ for a full season, depending on roofline footage, height, region and whether the installer supplies the lights. Rooflines run $6-$12 per linear foot, wrapped trees $400-$600 each, bushes $20-$35 per mini strand. A typical two-story home lit along the front and sides with a lease program commonly lands around $1,500-$2,500 including takedown. Use the calculator above for a local estimate.
When should I book Christmas light installation?
Book in September or October. Established installers fill their November schedule early, and many start hanging right after Halloween so lights are ready to turn on the day after Thanksgiving.