The short answer: professionally installed permanent christmas lights cost roughly $18 to $35 per linear foot of roofline, per industry pricing guides including Trimlight’s 2026 breakdown. For a typical 150-foot roofline, that’s about $2,700 to $5,200 installed. We’re EverGlow Exteriors, a Des Moines metro install crew, and here’s what actually moves that number.
What do permanent christmas lights cost per foot?
The per-foot price covers three things: the channel (the slim aluminum track color-matched to your fascia), the addressable LED bulbs inside it, and the labor to mount it all cleanly. Simple, straight rooflines sit near the bottom of the $18–$35 range. Steep pitches, multiple gables, and three-story anchor points push toward the top, because every corner and peak is a cut, a connection, and more time on the roof.
Example roofline math for Des Moines homes
- Ranch, ~100 ft of front roofline: roughly $1,800–$3,500 installed
- Two-story, ~150 ft: roughly $2,700–$5,200 installed
- Large two-story w/ peaks, ~200 ft: roughly $3,600–$7,000 installed
Those are the national per-foot figures applied to common metro rooflines — not our rate card. Your exact number depends on your house, and we quote it free from your address, usually the same day.
Why do permanent lights cost more than seasonal installs?
Because you’re buying hardware that stays. A seasonal install — per Angi’s 2026 figures, $220–$684 for most homes — pays for lights and labor every single year. A permanent system is one purchase: after the install there’s nothing to re-buy, re-hang, or take down, ever. Most families compare it as several seasons of full-service installs paid at once — and then the system doubles as year-round warm-white accent lighting the other ten months.
Is DIY or a kit from Costco cheaper?
Kit systems exist, and the hardware alone does cost less. The honest trade-offs: you’re on a ladder at the roofline for the full install, the channel has to be cut, mitered, and sealed at every corner, and a misaligned run is visible from the street forever. Professional installs also color-match the channel to your fascia and wire the controller cleanly. If you’re handy and your roofline is one story and dead straight, a kit can work. For everything else, installed systems exist for a reason.
What’s included in an EverGlow permanent install?
Measured design, color-matched channel, addressable LEDs, app setup on your phone, and a walkthrough of scenes and schedules before we leave — by the same insured local crew that handles seasonal christmas light installation across the metro. The full system rundown is on our permanent christmas lights page, including the Trimlight/EverLights/Gemstone comparison.
Get your exact number
Text your address to (515) 642-1986 and we’ll quote your actual roofline — free, firm, and usually same-day. If a seasonal install fits your house better, we’ll tell you that instead.
Last updated: November 2026 — written by the EverGlow Exteriors crew, Urbandale, IA. National figures cited above are market averages, not EverGlow rates.
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