Free tool
Christmas Light Installation Calculator
Turn roofline feet, storeys, peaks and tree wraps into an install price and a price per foot, then see the leased seasonal price with the lights amortised across three seasons, ready to publish.
Your light install price
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| Footage | — |
| Peaks & tree wraps | — |
| Takedown | — |
| Storage | — |
| One-time install total | — |
Leased / managed (installer-owned lights)
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Published 2026 installs run $2.50–$7 per linear foot, average project about $432, takedown $100–$400 when separate (christmaslights.io, June 2026). Validate against ten real jobs before publishing.
You just built a light install price. Sorvius turns it into bookings.
Load these prices into Sorvius and customers pick their roofline size and extras, see the price, and save a card on file, so the fall rush turns into booked, paid installs instead of phone tag.
Start free with Sorvius →Worked example
Start from two per-foot numbers: what the lights and materials cost you, and what your install labour is worth. This example uses $2.50 per foot for materials and $2.00 per foot for labour, a combined $4.50 per foot on a single-storey home. Every price below comes from that rate, the roofline length, and the season services you include.
A single-storey home with 100 feet of roofline is 100 × $4.50 = $450 for the install. Add $150 for takedown after the holidays and the one-time seasonal price is $600, which is $4.50 per foot installed. A taller home multiplies the per-foot rate: the same 100 feet on a two-storey house is 100 × $4.50 × 1.3 = $585 before takedown, and peaks or tree wraps add flat charges on top.
The leased model is how the repeat revenue works. The installer owns the $250 of lights, installs, removes and stores them, and spreads the light cost across three seasons, about $83 a season. On top of the $200 of labour and $150 takedown each season, the customer pays about $433 a season, and over three seasons that is $1,300 the customer rebooks without a new sales cycle.
Published 2026 range for reference: $2.50–$7 per linear foot installed, average project about $432, range $219–$673, takedown $100–$400 when separate (christmaslights.io, June 2026).
The formula
The install price is built from your per-foot rate, the roofline length, and the height of the home, with flat charges for accents and season services added on top. The leased price takes the same labour and services every season and spreads the installer-owned lights across the term, which is the recurring model this trade rebooks on.
height multiplier = 1 + (storeys − 1) × 0.30 (1.0 / 1.3 / 1.6 / 1.9)
install per foot = (material $/ft + labour $/ft) × height multiplier
install total = linear feet × install per foot
+ peaks × peak charge + trees × tree charge
+ takedown + storage (floored at the minimum)
leased per season = (linear feet × labour $/ft × height multiplier)
+ accents + takedown + storage
+ (linear feet × material $/ft × height multiplier) ÷ seasons
leased term total = leased per season × seasonsMaterials cover the lights, clips, cords and timers you supply; set the material rate to zero when the customer provides their own lights. The height multiplier reflects the extra ladders, time and safety setup a taller home needs. The minimum charge is a floor that protects you from small jobs where travel and setup time outweigh the footage, and every quote is floored at it.
Common questions
How much does Christmas light installation cost?
Professional Christmas light installation commonly runs $2.50 to $7 per linear foot installed, with the average project near $432 and most jobs between $219 and $673 (christmaslights.io, June 2026). A single-storey roofline sits at the low end, while a tall home with multiple peaks, tree wraps and difficult access moves toward the top. Takedown adds roughly $100 to $400 when it is billed separately.
How much should I charge per foot for Christmas light installation?
Build your per-foot rate from two parts: the lights and materials you supply, and the install labour, then multiply by a height factor for taller homes. At $2.50 per foot for materials and $2.00 for labour, a single-storey install is $4.50 per foot, so 100 feet of roofline is $450 before takedown. Check the combined rate against the published $2.50 to $7 range and against your own crew hours before you publish it.
Should I charge more for a two-storey or three-storey house?
Yes, because height changes the job. Taller homes need extension ladders, slower work and more safety setup, so this calculator adds 30% per storey: a two-storey home prices at 1.3 times the per-foot rate and a three-storey at 1.6 times. A 100-foot roofline that is $450 on a single-storey home becomes $585 on a two-storey one before takedown.
How do I price Christmas light takedown and storage?
Takedown is real labour that is easy to forget, so price it into the seasonal total or quote it separately at roughly $100 to $400 depending on the size and complexity of the display (christmaslights.io, June 2026). Storage is an add-on you can offer when you own and remove the lights yourself, since the customer no longer has to find space for several hundred feet of lighting. Both keep the customer with you from one season to the next.
What is a leased or managed Christmas light program?
In a leased program the installer owns the lights, installs them, takes them down and stores them, and the customer pays a seasonal fee to use them. The light cost is spread across the term rather than charged in full in year one, so a $250 set of lights amortised over three seasons adds about $83 a season on top of labour and takedown. It is how repeat revenue works in this trade: the customer rebooks each year and you already have their measurements and materials.
Should I set a minimum charge for Christmas light installation?
Yes. A 30-foot run above a front door is only $135 at $4.50 per foot, but you still drive to the property, set up a ladder, install, and clean up, so a per-foot price alone can push you into jobs that do not cover the trip. A minimum charge sets a floor below which you only take a job for another reason. This calculator floors every quote at the minimum you enter.
Related reading: How to price Christmas light installation
Turn these numbers into a booking page
Load your prices into Sorvius and customers answer a few questions about the job, see your price, pick a date, and leave a card on file while you're on site. Your rate card becomes a live booking page.