Having Christmas lights professionally installed costs most homeowners $300 to $1,500 for a single-story house, and $1,500 to $4,000 or more for large two-story homes with long rooflines. Priced another way, installers charge about $2 to $6 per linear foot of roofline, plus extras for wrapped trees and bushes. What you pay depends on home height, roofline length, and whether you own the lights or rent them from the company.
What does professional Christmas light installation cost per linear foot?
Christmas light installation is usually quoted one of two ways: a per-linear-foot rate for the roofline, or a flat seasonal package. Per-foot pricing runs roughly $2 to $6 installed, with the higher end reflecting commercial-grade C9 LED bulbs, steep pitches, and multi-story access. A flat package typically bundles the design consultation, hanging, mid-season maintenance, takedown, and off-season storage into one price. The table below shows realistic ranges by home size.
| Home size | Roofline covered | Typical installed cost |
|---|---|---|
| Small single-story | Roofline only, ~100 ft | $300 – $600 |
| Average single-story | Roofline + a few bushes | $500 – $1,200 |
| Large two-story | Roofline, columns, trees | $1,500 – $3,000 |
| Estate / heavy display | Full property, wrapped trees | $3,000 – $8,000+ |
Rent vs. buy: which pricing package is cheaper?
Most Christmas light installation companies offer two models. In a rental (or lease) model the company owns the lights, so year one is cheaper but you pay a similar fee every season and never keep the product. In a buy-and-own model you pay more the first year to purchase custom-cut, color-matched LED strands, then drop to an install-only fee in later seasons. Over three to four years, buy-and-own is often the better value because your later-year cost falls to roughly $150 to $400 for labor alone.
| Model | Year 1 | Following years | Who owns the lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent / lease | $400 – $1,200 | $400 – $1,200 each year | The company |
| Buy & own | $800 – $2,500 | $150 – $400 install only | You |
What's included: design, takedown and storage
A full-service quote should cover an on-site measure and design, professional-grade bulbs and clips, the install itself, one mid-season service call for outages, takedown after the holidays, and storage. Several factors reliably raise the price. Two- and three-story rooflines need lifts or extended ladders and more safety time. Steep or slate roofs slow the crew down. Wrapping trees and bushes is labor-heavy and often billed per tree ($50 to $150 each). Custom color themes and commercial C9 spacing also cost more than standard warm-white mini lights.
How installers price the roofline: single-story vs two-story
Because roofline length is the biggest driver, it helps to estimate your own. Measure the total length of the gutters and peaks you want lit, then multiply by the per-foot rate. A 120-foot roofline at $4 per foot works out to about $480 for the roofline alone, before trees, columns, or wreaths. Getting two or three written quotes is the best way to sanity-check a price, since local labor rates and travel time vary widely.
How to estimate your own installation cost before you call
You can sanity-check any quote with two numbers: your roofline length and the per-linear-foot rate. Walk the perimeter you want lit, add up the gutter and peak runs, and multiply by a rate in the $2 to $6 band — use the lower end for a simple single-story roofline and the higher end for a steep or two-story home. Then add per-tree and per-bush figures for anything beyond the roofline. A written package quote should still beat your rough estimate on accuracy, because an installer accounts for access, travel, and the grade of LED or C9 bulb they supply, but the math tells you whether a quote is in the right ballpark before you commit a deposit.
Cheaper alternatives to a yearly install
If the recurring cost of professional hanging adds up, two routes cut it down. The first is doing it yourself with quality outdoor-rated strands — see our guide to the best outdoor Christmas lights and best Christmas lights for a roofline, plus how to hang Christmas lights on a house. The second is a one-time investment in permanent Christmas lights: fixed under the eaves once, then controlled by app all year — no annual hanging or takedown. For the safety basics behind any install, visit the Christmas Lights 101 & Safety hub.
Tips for getting an honest quote
- Get the scope in writing. Confirm the quote includes takedown and storage, not just hanging.
- Ask who owns the lights. This single answer tells you whether you're renting or buying.
- Confirm bulb grade. Commercial C9 LED looks cleaner and lasts longer than store-bought strands, and the price reflects it.
- Book early. Crews fill up by early November, and off-season deposits often lock a lower rate.