We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Shopping Home Reviews Home Improvement Product Reviews The 9 Best Under-Cabinet Lighting Options of 2024 to Illuminate Your Kitchen Countertops Instantly brighten your countertop workspaces and set an ambient mood with these picks. By Adria Greenhauff Adria Greenhauff Adria Valdes Greenhauff has written for numerous publications including Better Homes & Gardens, Food & Wine, Southern Living, and Allrecipes. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Sarah Halverson Sarah Halverson Sarah Halverson has written several do-it-yourself and home tour feature articles for Better Homes & Gardens. Much of her work focuses on updating older or historical homes, and her home tour articles cover a range of home styles and restoration processes. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on February 20, 2024 In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews The Bottom Line What to Know Before Shopping Your Questions, Answered Who We Are Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Good lighting goes a long way in any room of your home—but especially in the kitchen. Well-lit kitchen countertops provide a pleasant place to prepare meals and gather with friends and family. While quality overhead lighting is important, it’s not the only place you should concentrate on. “The benefits of under-cabinet lighting are tremendous,” says Tim Vislay, director of sales for the Showroom Channel at Legrand. “It gives you light directly on the work surfaces as you prepare meals and eliminates shadows that can be created by your overhead lighting.” There are myriad options available when it comes to under-cabinet lighting—built-in, strip, puck, and battery-powered, among others. To save you time and effort, we’ve put together a list of the best under-cabinet lighting you can buy today. Then we tested two of our favorite picks at home. Key Terms to Know Kelvins: The unit that measures color temperature. Higher Kelvins indicated whiter, brighter light. What We Researched Power Source and Installation: These are important considerations for any lighting. The under-cabinet options we featured are either plug-in, battery-operated, or hardwired. Power source is directly related to the installation process.Light Type: We researched dozens of options including puck lights, strips, tape, and rope. All styles have their benefits and drawbacks, which we took into consideration when making our picks.Features: Many under-cabinet lights these days come with features such as different modes, smart home capabilities, motion sensors, and various colors. We took these into account when making our selections. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Commercial Electric LED Tunable White Tape Light Kit at Amazon ($74) Jump to Review Best Splurge: Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip at Amazon ($71) Jump to Review Best Budget: Brilliant Evolution Wireless Ultra Thin LED Light Bar at Amazon ($9) Jump to Review Best Hardwired: UltraPro 48-Inch Direct Wire LED Light Fixture at Amazon ($70) Jump to Review Best Rechargeable: Szokled Wireless Under Cabinet Lighting at Amazon ($41) Jump to Review Best Puck Lights: Brilliant Evolution Stick-On LED Lights at Amazon ($30) Jump to Review Best Color-Changing: Tjoy Multicolored LED Strip Lights at Amazon ($9) Jump to Review Best Plug-In: GE 12-Inch Plug-In Bar LED Light at Amazon ($14) Jump to Review Best Smart: Energizer Smart Wi-Fi LED Light Strip at Wayfair ($37) Jump to Review Best Overall Commercial Electric LED Tunable White Tape Light Kit Walmart View On Amazon $74 View On Home Depot $60 Why You Should Get It Our best under-cabinet lighting option comes on a roll-like tape for bending into whatever shape you need. Keep in Mind The power box is very large and heavy, making it difficult to conceal. There are all kinds of possibilities with the best under-cabinet lighting option. The all-in-one LED light is ready to go out of the box. The tape-like roll of lights is backed with 3M-brand adhesive, which can be stuck to almost any surface for immovable hold. We found the installation a touch cumbersome compared to other styles, but it's standard for a highly customizable tape light. Plug it into a regular household outlet or have an electrician hardwire it to a switch—you can even connect it to a dimmer to control the brightness. Cut the tape to size, and use connectors (sold separately) to bridge gaps and make turns. Once the tape lights are installed, they have a 36,000-hour lifespan. They emit soft white light at 3000 Kelvins, while using a mere 36 watts of electricity. You can control the lights with a remote, tuning them dimmer or brighter with ease. We were highly impressed with the temperature and brightness settings. It adds a high-end look to cabinets that we felt would be right at home in a modern kitchen. Our main complaint was the power block, which is large and heavy and difficult to conceal. This wouldn't be an issue if you had it hardwired, though. This is not a smart light kit, so it’s not Bluetooth-enabled and won’t connect to an app or home assistant. If you want to control the lights with a voice command, this product isn’t for you—but the remote control is almost as easy. Product Dimensions: 197 inches | Wattage: 36 | Lumens: 2950 | Color: Adjustable from soft white to very bright white (2700–5000K) Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Best Splurge Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Amazon View On Amazon $71 View On Walmart $100 View On Home Depot $73 Why You Should Get It This Philips light strip shines either white or colored light wherever you put it, with preset options that cater to your mood. Keep in Mind To add to the light strip, you need to purchase extensions from the same brand and the same model. The best under-cabinet lighting splurge is flexible like a hose, so it can snake around corners or into various shapes—whatever you need to illuminate your kitchen countertops, highlight a bar, or showcase the contents of glass-front cabinets. Once you have it where you want it, you can control the lights with your voice. The strip is Bluetooth-enabled; connect it to the Philips Hue app on your phone or tablet, or with a voice or smart home assistant, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple Homekit. The lighting possibilities are vast. It offers white light and a rainbow of colored options like red and violet. And both types are completely dimmable, so they can be low and moody or bright and cheery. Customize the settings to exactly what color and brightness you want, or use preset settings, such as Read, Relax, Concentrate, or Energize. The base kit comes with an 80-inch light strip, power adapter, and connector box (which reattaches cut pieces). To lengthen this strip up to 32 feet, you’ll need to buy 40-inch extensions and connect them to the main strip. Note that the connector box is compatible only with this model, so you need to buy coordinating extensions to add to the light strip. And it’s suitable for indoor applications only. Product Dimensions: 80 inches; can be lengthened with extensions up to 32 feet | Wattage: 10 watts | Lumens: 1600 | Color: Warm white (2700K) and multicolor Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Best Budget Brilliant Evolution Wireless Ultra Thin LED Light Bar Amazon View On Amazon $9 View On Wayfair $21 View On Walmart $11 Why You Should Get It This light strip takes under 5 minutes to install. Keep in Mind The light requires three AA Batteries, which are not included. If you’re looking for the best under-cabinet lighting for a small kitchen, consider this battery-operated LED wireless light strip by Brilliant Evolution. Priced at under $20, this light is super bright and long-lasting, emitting a warm, white glow that’s perfect for brightening areas like your sink or stovetop. This LED bar light operates on three AA batteries (not included) and has a run time of over 100 hours. Turn your lights on and off by simply tapping the lens. You can also use the included remote control for added convenience. Installation is easy with adhesive tape or screws (both included). It took less than 5 minutes to set up with the adhesive tape, which is incredibly sticky (we weren't able to make minor adjustments once we laid the tape down). We like that it's battery-powered since it doesn't have any cords to clutter up the space, though we noticed the lights dimmed significantly as the batteries drained. Keep in mind these aren’t the longest lighting strips, measuring 8.5 inches long. This means you’ll need quite a few of them to illuminate your entire countertop, depending on the size of your kitchen. And because they run on batteries, they’re also not the best option if you plan on having them on for prolonged periods. Product Details: Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 2 x 0.9 inches | Wattage: 1W | Lumens: 65 | Color: Warm white (3000K) Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Better Homes & Gardens / Eric Brockob Best Hardwired UltraPro 48-Inch Direct Wire LED Light Fixture Amazon View On Amazon $70 Why You Should Get It These lights don’t require plugging into an outlet, and they have no visible cords. Keep in Mind The installation for these lights is more extensive than other options on our list, so it may not be the best option if you aren’t DIY-savvy. We recommend hiring a pro. Looking for the best under-cabinet lighting that’s hardwired? Take a look at this light from UltraPro. Hardwiring under-cabinet lighting is more complicated than installing other plug-and-play options. However, the result—no visible cords or power adapters using up your wall outlets—lends to a clean look that’s desirable in a kitchen. The UltraPro 48-Inch Direct Wire LED Light Fixture offers a high-powered diffused LED light source with three color options: 2700K (soft), 3000K (bright), and 5000K (daylight). Whether it's a warm white light for ambiance or a cooler daylight look for functionality, you can customize your space to fit your needs and aesthetic. We also like the sleek, non-bulky design, which fits well with most kitchen cabinets. Included is all the hardware needed for installation, including a direct wire for easy operation from a wall switch. Strain relief screws also help streamline the direct-wire process and keep your wiring setup safe and secure. Keep in mind that these lights may be difficult to install if you’re not familiar with DIY wiring. We recommend hiring an electrician to ensure proper and safe installation. Product Details: Product Dimensions: 48.82 x 3.15 x 1.5 inches | Wattage: 20.6W | Lumens: 1585 | Color: Three setting options: 2700K, 3000K, and 5000K Best Rechargeable Szokled Wireless Under Cabinet Lighting Amazon View On Amazon $41 Why You Should Get It Magnet strips make installing these lights a breeze. Keep in Mind A full charge can take about two hours. Battery-operated lighting is convenient until you find yourself out of replacement batteries. With this rechargeable lighting option by Szokled, you’ll save time, money, and the stress that comes with constantly remembering to buy batteries. This pack includes four lights that are as simple and convenient as they come—each light is made up of 10 pure white LEDs with 100 lumens and 10 warm LEDs with 100 lumens, creating an ideal layer of color. The lights are easy to operate via the included remote with an on/off switch, dimming option, timer, and color change mode. Turn on your entire set of lights using “auto” mode, or choose from three different color options –3000K, 4500K, or 6000K. You can also navigate through 10 levels of brightness, from 10% to 100%. Preserve battery life by using the timer function. Automatic shut-off is available after 15, 30, or 60 minutes. Keep in mind that lights will turn off after 90 minutes if there is no timer setting selected. We also love the included magnetic strip that makes these lights extremely easy to install—no hammers, drills, or screws are needed. These lights require four lithium-ion batteries (included) and take about two hours to fully recharge. The batteries can power the lights at 100% brightness for eight to nine hours before needing a charging session. Product Details: Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.3 x 0.59 inches per light | Wattage: 1.5W | Lumens: 200 per light | Color: Three setting options: 3000K (soft), 4500K (bright), and 6000K (daylight) The 10 Best Outdoor String Lights of 2024 to Add Ambiance to Your Outdoor Space Best Puck Lights Brilliant Evolution Stick-On LED Lights Amazon View On Amazon $30 View On Target $35 View On Walmart $31 Why You Should Get It These spotlights provide a high-end feel at a very accessible price. Keep in Mind Each individual light takes three AAA batteries. Sometimes lighting is more about aesthetics than functionality. If you’re looking to add a bit of luxury to your kitchen without investing too much time or money, these LED puck lights are a great option. Unlike strip lights, which provide balanced illumination across an area, puck lighting provides more of a spotlight, which can show off specific areas of your counter, including your coffee bar, cookbook or wine collection, vases, and other decor. Easy to install with heavy-duty adhesive tape or screws (both included), these lights provide long-lasting brightness with a 3000K warm glow. Use the wireless remote to turn the lights on and off, adjust the brightness, and set the timer function—available for 15-, 30-, and 60-minute time intervals. These lights are also touch-sensitive, which means you can also operate with a slight tap of the lens when you aren’t near the remote control. Keep in mind that each light requires three AAA batteries (included). Product Details: Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 3.4 x 1.25 inches per light | Wattage: 5.04W | Lumens: 55 per light | Color: 3000K Best Color-Changing Tjoy Multicolored LED Strip Lights Amazon View On Amazon $9 Why You Should Get It These lights give you endless color options to fit any aesthetic. Keep in Mind They come in a roll, making it a challenge to get your strip to lay completely flat. Bored by the idea of ordinary white lights and looking for a way to create colorful ambient lighting in your home? Then we recommend these multicolored strip lights by TJoy. Each 25-foot strip (two included) is outfitted with high-quality 5050 LEDs to give you vibrant color and illumination. The 44-key remote controller comes with 20 preset colors, six DIY color options (mix hues of reds, blues, and yellows to create a custom color setting), and eight levels of brightness. Installation is simple thanks to the cuttable and linkable design that lets you adjust the length of the strip to fit your space. Just cut along the marked areas to your desired length and link strips via the four-pin connector. The strong, self-adhesive mounting tape makes it easy to attach to any clean, dry surface. Just keep in mind it may take a bit of time to get the strip to lay flat since it comes in a roll. Product Details: Product Dimensions: Two 25-foot-long rolls (width and height measurements not listed) | Wattage: Not listed | Lumens: Not listed | Color: 20 preset colors, six DIY color options The 6 Best Motion Sensor Lights of 2024, According to Testing Best Plug-In GE 12-Inch Plug-In Bar LED Light Amazon View On Amazon $14 View On Lowe's $14 View On Dkhardware.com Why You Should Get It This is a slim option at only 1.5 inches deep, so it won’t jut out from under your cabinets. Keep in Mind There aren’t many bells and whistles: it’s not dimmable, and it doesn’t connect to Bluetooth. Available in lengths of 12, 18, and 24 inches, this plug-in bar light from GE is widely available, inexpensive, and easy enough to install that almost any homeowner can do it—no electrician required. The light is powered with a regular household electrical socket, so it plugs right in like an appliance or lamp. The package includes captive screws to easily mount it under cabinets, and no assembly is required. You can customize the length by buying lights of different sizes and linking them together with the included 12-inch cable. (You can buy 24- and 36-inch cables too; just note that additional lights must be the same model number.) That’s a handy feature to put light exactly where you want it and at just the length you need. The bar light is slim, just 1.5 inches deep, so it likely won’t jut out from beneath your cabinets. And it emits soft white light (3000 Kelvins) for a cozy, homey ambiance. It is rated to last 50,000 hours. The drawbacks of this light are that it can’t be dimmed, and it won’t connect to Bluetooth for voice control. But for this price, easy installation, and the ability to link it with other lights, we think it is a smart buy. Product Dimensions: 12 inches (also available in 18 and 24 inches) | Wattage: 7 watts | Lumens: 540 | Color: Soft white (3000K) Best Smart Energizer Smart Wi-Fi LED Light Strip Walmart View On Wayfair $37 View On Walmart $25 View On Office Depot $32 Why You Should Get It With 60 LED bulbs per meter, this product lets off significantly more light than many similar options. Keep in Mind Like many LED bulbs, these are built into the fixture and not replaceable. This strip of Energizer LED lights is compatible with Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Energizer’s Connect App, so once they’re linked via Bluetooth, you can turn them on and off with just your voice, a phone, or a tablet. The product offers several settings and colors for the lighting, from white illumination to zany bright colors, so you can create whatever atmosphere you want. The strip has 60 LEDs per meter, so it offers much more light than similar products—5,000 lumens! But it is also dimmable so you can adjust how bright these lights are. The roll of lights is backed by adhesive, which will stick to the underside of cabinets (or wherever you want extra light) for quick installation. The lights come on a spool so they unroll easily, and the roll is flexible and bendable—though reviewers report that creating curves is a little tricky. If you need more lights than this roll, you can add other strips to it. It plugs into a regular household outlet, and it promises up to 50,000 hours of life. The only caveat is that built-in LEDs like these are not replaceable, so once they reach the end of their life span, the whole strip must be replaced. But that’s true of all similar LEDs. Product Dimensions: 197 inches | Wattage: 5 watts per bulb | Lumens: 5000 | Color: White and multicolor The Bottom Line We chose the Commercial Electric LED Tunable White Tape Light Kit as the overall best under-cabinet lighting option because of its flexibility, long life span, and the ability to plug it in or hardwire it. If you prefer a hardwired option, we recommend the UltraPro 48-Inch Direct Wire LED Light Fixture, which allows you to customize the lighting color. It’s also extremely streamlined and low-profile underneath cabinets. What to Know About Under-Cabinet Lighting Before Shopping Power Source and Installation Regardless of the lighting scheme you choose, under-cabinet lights come with three installation choices: plug-in, battery, and hardwired. Plug-in lights and battery-operated lights are DIY-friendly for easy installation and instant gratification, although they may need to plug into outlets or require periodic battery replacements. Hardwired lights require a skilled electrician, but don’t require much maintenance after that. Light Type Under-cabinet lighting is available as pucks, strips, tape, and ropes. Puck lights come in a variety of finishes and can be positioned straight down at the work surface or directed toward your backsplash for an ambient glow. How many puck lights you need depends on how much space you have. According to Lowes, you should buy one light for every 8 to 12 inches of space. Light strips come in varying lengths and, if installed professionally, can be customized to fit under irregular cabinets. Lowe’s suggests, for the most even light distribution, to choose fixtures that match your cabinet length. If you’re installing several light strips, you will need to look for linkable fixtures. This means you’ll have several fixtures connected, all using one outlet. You’ll control all of the fixtures, including dimming and on/off power, with one main fixture. Light strips also come in hard-wired options, which eliminates the need to plug them into a power outlet. Other types of under-cabinet lighting, according to Lowe’s, include rope lights and tape lights, where small LEDs are embedded into a flexible strip that can be secured under your cabinets with peel-and-stick adhesive. Light Purpose and Features The best under-cabinet lighting can add depth, dimension, and visual interest to a variety of spaces, or highlight architectural features, like a tray or cove ceiling. They can also reduce the problem of shadows interfering with your working spaces, making food preparation safer. The best under-cabinet lights come equipped with motion sensors, dimming capabilities, color options, and smartphone compatibility for better accessibility, the ability to create ambient light, and to control lighting from the couch or even outside the home. Your Questions, Answered How do I run power to under-cabinet lighting? “A homeowner can easily learn how to install under-cabinet lighting,” says Nate Johnson, a real estate investment expert at NeighborWho. “With proper planning, this is a relatively easy DIY project that shouldn't take too long to complete.” The most convenient way to install LED under cabinet lighting, Johnson says, is to hardwire it to a wall switch. This will allow you to dim them and turn them on or off without having to run wires and plugs throughout your space. If you are unsure how to proceed, Johnson recommends talking to an electrician first. “A good electrician can help you with your electrical concerns,” he says. “In addition, local industry professionals can make sure you are complying with all the required codes related to your city, county, and state.” While hardwired LED lighting might be the most convenient, peel-and-stick LED tape might be the easiest. “There are many stick-and-go LED strips available on the market at a reasonable cost,” he says. “These either come battery-operated or [are] plugged in directly to a wall outlet. What’s amazing is you can outfit all of your cabinets in under 20 minutes and for under $50.” Some of these light strips even come with smart assistants and smartphone integrations, allowing consumers to control them via voice or phone command. Other LED stick-and-go options boast motion sensor capabilities, turning on only when movement is detected to save on battery life too. How do you hide under-cabinet lighting wires? “By bundling the wiring carefully and compactly into a bundle, you can conceal under-cabinet lighting. The wires can then be tied in place with a tie wrap,” Johnson says. “You can then adhere it to the underside of the cabinet with staples (while taking care not to cut through the wiring and ruin all your hard work). Lighting fixtures should be connected to wall outlets with wiring long enough to reach the wall outlet itself.” What kind of under-cabinet lighting is best? Most experts would agree that the best option for under-cabinet lighting is LED. LED strip lights have a great color rendering index, also known as CRI, meaning they can reveal the actual color of objects compared to other lighting sources. LEDs also consume 75% less energy and last up to four times longer than fluorescent lights, or up to 40 times longer than the average incandescent bulb. Should you use warm or cool light under cabinets? When we talk about warm vs. cool light, we mean color temperature, which is measured in Kelvins. The higher the Kelvin rating (which is abbreviated K) the whiter—cooler and bluer—the light will be; the lower the Kelvin rating, the warmer and yellower the light. Household lighting ranges from about 2700K to 3500K, on the warm end of the spectrum. In addition to a product’s Kelvin rating, lighting manufacturers often use terms like warm white (equivalent to about 2700K), soft white (3000K), neutral white (3500K), and bright white (4000K) to describe their products. “If you want a warm, cozy feel, then you want to look for something under 3,000K,” says Shannon Eddings, an interior designer in Austin, Texas. “If you want a brighter, cooler, more ‘daylight’ feel, then look for something in the 4000–5000K range. I love a lower-Kelvin, warmer light output personally for mood, but I also appreciate something brighter for function, especially chopping food.” Get the best of both worlds by opting for warmer ambient light in overhead fixtures and cooler task lighting under cabinets and over the sink. How many lumens do you need for under-cabinet lighting? Lumens are a measure of how much light a bulb or fixture emits. More lumens translate to brighter light; fewer lumens mean it’s a dimmer light. “If you want under-cabinet lighting that is bright—for things like food prep and cooking—then you will want to find something with high lumens,” Eddings says. Between 3000 and 4000K is ideal for the best under-cabinet lighting in a kitchen, but you can go higher or lower depending on your kitchen’s size and how much other lighting, both natural and artificial, is available. Who We Are This article on the best under-cabinet lighting was written by Adria Greenhauff, who has been writing about food and lifestyle topics for over a decade, and Sarah Halverson, who has more than 25 years of experience writing about home and kitchen design. To come up with this list, they interviewed Tim Vislay, director of sales of the Showroom Channel at Legrand and Nate Johnson, real estate investment expert at NeighborWho, both of whom have extensive experience in sourcing and installing under-cabinet lighting for a wide range of indoor living spaces; as well as Shannon Eddings, an interior designer in Austin, Texas. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit