You can skip the hub and opt for Bluetooth control only via the Philips Hue Bluetooth app for iOS and Android—just make sure you stay within range. The Eve Energy app is also iOS-exclusive, and the strip supports Apple’s HomeKit Adaptive Lighting. This iOS feature that automatically adjusts the color temperature as the day goes on. All in all, Android users should avoid this light strip. The Philips Hue Light Strip Plus puts out 1600 lumens, which does a fine job of illuminating dark spaces, but it's not as bright as others in our guide. In the Hue app, you can set the lights to one of 16 million colors or opt for one of the many awesome preset light settings. The app is incredibly easy to navigate and use. The Eve Light Strip is made for the Apple ecosystem, making it the best LED strip light for HomeKit that you can buy. The 1,800-lumen strip light offers a wide array of full-spectrum white and colors to choose from. While we had a nice and easy experience with the Eve strip, there are a few shortcomings. The digital setup and physical installation are painless and should only take a few minutes. With features like remote control and timers, the Wyze app makes it easy to manage the LED light strip from anywhere.

While this LED strip light puts out incredibly vibrant shades of tunable whites and over 16 million colors, there are a few qualms to note. The cord connection between the strip and the controller tends to come apart. This shouldn’t be much of an issue once you get it into place, but it was a bit annoying during our setup. Whether you have single colour LED tape, RGB or RGBCCT LED Tape, our Wi-Fi LED controller solutions are fully compatible and only require a straightforward installation. Allowing you to control your lights via a 2.4 GHz handheld controller, a wall mounted controller or via a smartphone application. These Kasa lights are easy to sync up with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Samsung SmartThings—no hub needed. However, one downside of the KL420L5 is that it can’t be connected or spliced to increase the strand’s length, so you have a maximum length of 16.4 feet to work with.

This strip light isn’t as customizable as some others. It doesn't offer any fun lighting effects or presets—you're limited to single colors only. The Music DreamView feature even syncs your playlist with the lighting effects, giving a nightclub feel when you’re feeling energized or a subdued, dreamy ambiance when it’s time to settle down.

One feature that impressed us is that cut segments can be reused and reconnected to other portions of the strip using the Philip Hue connector. This is not the case for most smart light strips. The LEDs themselves are super bright and punchy and once connected to the app can be set to your choice of 16 million different colours. Unlike some LED Strip lights, the Tapo light lets you display more than one colour at a time. There are a number of themes already built-in, or you can use the colour painting option to set up your own custom patterns. It even offers effects, including the ability to sync to music. For more neutral settings you can also precisely dial in the colour temperature of the white light to match it to the ambient lighting in the room.

The strip and plug are weather-resistant and so safe to set up outdoors, although this does mean that you’re unable to cut or extend the strip as you can with traditional LED strip lights. The Outdoor Flex Light can, however, act as a signal repeater should you want to pair it with other compatible lights. The M1 also comes in a Manner-compatible version if you’re looking to expand the number of Matter smart home devices in your house. The amount of light you’re getting from a bulb is measured in lumens—the more lumens, the more brightness. Many of the light strips we tested had adjustable brightness to best fit the space you’re using them. However, even one of the sets on the lower end of brightness, the Cync LED Light Strip, with 800 lumens, was capable of lighting a dark room. Length