No Outlet, No Problem—We Narrowed Down the Best Solar String Lights

Sign Up for Domino’s Newsletter

Email address Join Thank you!

Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Reading up on Domino’s shopping guides is like having your own personal product concierge. We do the tedious part—deep-dive research, hands-on testing, and tapping experts for advice—so all you have to do is hit “add to cart.” That’s why we call them Simply the Best.

Pros have long relied on string lights to cast a soft, ambient glow on outdoor living and dining spaces, but these days, you aren’t limited to your proximity to a power outlet. Meet the best solar string lights—as long as they get a decent amount of direct sunlight, you can hang our picks pretty much anywhere, even draped from a tree canopy or along a fence. Whether you’re after simple white globes or something a bit more unexpected (changeable colors! perforated metal!), we’ve found your perfect match below.

Our Favorites

• Best overall: Brightech Glow Solar LED String Lights 
• Best smart: Avatar Controls Solar Outdoor Lights
• Best candle: West Elm Rectangular Solar String Lights
• Best value: Brightech Ambiance Pro Solar LED String Lights 
• Best mini: Mainstays 100-Count Mini Solar String Lights 
• Best metal: Pottery Barn Marrakesh Metal Solar String Lights

Best Overall: Brightech Glow Hanging Solar LED String Lights 

Length: 27 feet | Hours: 5–6 | Number of bulbs: 12

Why we chose it: Edison-style bulbs and brass sockets come together for a particularly elevated take on standard string lights. 

As soon as the sun disappears behind city buildings or your neighbor’s house, these oversize, Edison-like bulbs automatically turn on. Come daytime, the mid-century modern sockets and thin black wire are less distracting than most other options. And while looks matter, these lights are reliable, too: The shatterproof bulbs and rubberized cord are resistant to the elements, and their long-lasting durability is backed by the brand’s two-year warranty. 

Best Smart: Avatar Controls Solar Powered String Lights

Length: 48 feet | Hours: Varies | Number of bulbs: 25

Why we chose it: A fully customizable look backed by 2,000-plus positive reviews.

These remote- and app-controlled solar string lights offer the choice of a classic, warm-white, or completely customizable glow limited only by the color wheel. That’s far from the only element you can personalize: Dim things down from an intensity of 0 to 100, determine daily timers, or sync one of the 20 different light patterns up with their music. There are even a few modes geared toward the holidays, so you can spook-ify the front porch for Halloween, then change the colors for Christmas with the touch of a button.

Best Candle: West Elm Rectangular Solar String Lights

Length: 6 feet| Hours: About 5 | Number of bulbs: 10  

Why we chose it: For an industrial vibe, go with flame-shape bulbs encased in metal shades.  

This West Elm style features candle-shaped bulbs and metal cages for a modern twist on a classic railroad-style lantern, so it’s sure to add a dramatic flair to your dining scene. You’ll probably want to stock up on a few sets, though, as there are only 10 bulbs per string.

Best Value: Brightech Ambiance Pro Solar LED String Lights 

Length: 27 feet | Hours: 5–6 | Number of bulbs: 12

Why we chose it: It doesn’t get more classic than these bistro-style bulbs made of real glass.

With a commercial-grade weatherproof guarantee, these Brightech lights can stay outside all-year long, enduring up to 50-mile-per-hour winds, rain, snow, and sleet. But the big selling point is the glass bulbs in a timeless globe shape, which provide a consistent, warm white glow (though the brightness will largely depend on how much sun the panel can soak up throughout the day).

Best Mini: Mainstays 100-Count Mini Solar String Lights 

Length: 22.5 feet | Hours: 8 | Number of bulbs: 100

Why we chose it: The perfect teeny-tiny twinkles for wrapping around smaller features. 

The pole of your patio umbrella, the rails of deck stairs, the trunk (and branches!) of trees—these mini string lights can go just about anywhere. The latter is a particularly great fit since the brown wire will blend right in with the bark.

Best Metal: Pottery Barn Marrakesh Metal Solar String Lights

Length: 15 feet | Hours: N/A | Number of bulbs: 10

Why we chose it: Moroccan-inspired, star-punched metal gives these lights extra sparkle.

String up these metal lanterns and prepare to be instantly transported to the streets of Morocco. Each strand of shiny silver lanterns casts a romantic glow in the shape of small stars. While weather-resistant, these beauties can’t be exposed to moisture (aka rain!) for long periods of time.

How We Chose These Products

The best solar string lights never let sunshine go to waste and won’t get tattered after a thunderstorm. Your dinner parties can go on for hours, from sunset to sunrise, in any season, thanks to this durable mood lighting. We made sure our picks went beyond the standard chunky black cables, focusing on design-forward picks that can easily be strung along your balcony fence or even the tree limbs in your backyard. Each product on our list provides a minimum of five hours of glow and won’t require direct-only rays to light up come evening. 

Our Shopping Checklist

Style and Shape

The most popular bulb shape for solar string lights comes in the form of globes or an Edison, but those aren’t the only silhouettes you’ll come across. Other options available include a rounded pear or oversize tubular silhouette, as well as different takes on even smaller hexagonal, candle, or fairy lights. String lights, for the most part, are small in size, as they’re tethered together by a main line and can’t be too heavy to sag. Aside from the bulb design—and choosing between frosted, clear, white, or colors—the socket can help make your string lights a decorative fixture. For instance, our list doesn’t only consist of white or standard black (most common when it comes to weather-resistant wires). There are also brass-, copper-, and silver-colored encasings that caught our eye, and even a few that make the string lights feel more like a bunch of floating pendant lamps. 

Brightness and Color Temperature

Aside from a bulb’s overall look, the whole purpose of this product is to illuminate and add a bit of ambience to an outdoor area. Solar lights are best suited for string lights since, in most cases, they don’t put out enough lumens to be path or stair lights—the more lumens, the brighter. As Julia Discroll of Katherine Field and Associates previously told us when talking about the best outdoor solar lights, “Most have a maximum battery life that’s based on brightness (eight hours of light at the brightest setting when fully charged), but it’s not at the same level of hardwired landscaping lighting.” The latter is typically able to deliver 300 lumens of light, whereas solar lights average out at about 30. 

Weather Resistance

Since the best solar string lights require sunlight as their main source of power, these fixtures are designed to be hung outside. That means they’ll need to be durable enough to survive a rain or hail storm. Most common materials include vinyl, rubber, and plastic, but to make sure these are safe to leave outside, you’ll likely need to look for an IP (Ingress Protection) rating higher than 44. These two digits stand for what your lights are protected against; the higher the number, the more they can endure, from solid objects like dust and debris to water drips, jets, spray, splashes, and more. Of course, this number also varies greatly depending on where you install them. For instance, it becomes less of a concern if you’re hanging up solar string lights from a covered ceiling rather than an open deck or patio.  

Wire Length 

Because these lights are solar powered, you won’t be as restricted by cord length, at least in proximity to an outlet. You’ll still want something long enough to loop or weave, and most size options range from 25 to 60 feet. If you want to figure out exactly what you need, measure the total length that the wire should stretch across, and add 2 feet or more (we wager you won’t be hanging these as taut as can be, but will instead allow for a soft dip in between destinations). Our advice: Buy more than you think you need, then return whatever is extra. 

Ask Domino

Q: How long will outdoor solar string lights last? 

This really depends on the product you choose. While solar lights rely on the sun to operate—often an endless supply of energy—solar panels aren’t effective for long periods of time. You’ll likely only get two years or so out of the lights before they fail to glow anew.

Q: Where is the best place to put the panels for solar string lights? 

All solar string lights come with a panel that captures energy used to power them up. You’ll want to be strategic about placement, ensuring it’s in enough direct sunlight to work come nightfall. If not, yours may not illuminate fully. 

Q: Why do my solar string lights turn on automatically? 

Most solar lights come with a manual switch, though they could be left on if you’d like the light to glow once dusk has arrived. The string lights’ solar panel is equipped with a sensor that absorbs sun during the day and then channels all that power to your bulbs.

The Last Word

The best solar string lights are safe to hang up outdoors, giving consistently bright light for five hours or more (i.e., all evening). The decorative accessory can be hung anywhere as the finishing touch to your backyard or balcony. As long as you have the sun shining on them, you’ll have light.