How to price Christmas light installation, step by step
Price Christmas light installation by the linear foot for each run you measure, add separate lines for shrubs, trees and takedown, apply your minimum job charge, and list the lights as materials if the customer keeps them. Then take a deposit when the customer accepts. Per-foot pricing is easy to explain on a doorstep and easy to re-use next year.
- Measure every run. Roofline, ridges, gutters, walkways, windows. A measuring wheel along the ground under the eaves works for single-story roofline.
- Set a per-foot rate from your own time. Time one 100-foot run including ladder moves. Hours × the rate you need, plus clips and margin, divided by 100.
- Add the extras as their own lines. Shrubs, tree wraps, wreaths, timers. Separate lines make yes-to-some easy.
- Price the takedown now. Put the window on the quote, such as the first two weeks of January 2027.
- Decide who owns the lights. Customer-owned lights are materials. Lights you keep and reuse belong in your install price.
- Apply your minimum. A 30-foot job still needs the truck, the ladder and the drive.
Measure in feet, quote in lines, collect a deposit.
Per foot, flat package or hourly: a comparison strip
Per foot
Good: fair across house sizes, easy to explain.
Watch: second-story and steep roofs take longer per foot. Use a higher rate for height.
Flat package
Good: simple to sell ("front roofline plus two shrubs").
Watch: a long ranch house eats the margin.
Hourly
Good: safe on odd jobs and repairs to existing displays.
Watch: customers hate an open-ended bill in December.
Per foot for installs, hourly for fixes: a simple split.
Your quote, line by line
This updates from the counter at the top. It is the same structure you would build in ScopeBid with per-unit lines in feet.
Example rates only. Your area, roof height and materials decide your real numbers.
Holiday light pricing questions
How do you price Christmas light installation?
Measure the linear feet of every run (roofline, ridges, walkways), price per foot for the install, add separate items for shrubs, trees and extras, then add takedown, any minimum charge, and the lights themselves if you supply them. Take a deposit when the customer accepts.
How much should I charge per foot for Christmas lights?
We don't publish a going rate, because it depends on your area, height, and whether you supply the lights. Work out yours: time a typical 100-foot run, multiply by the hourly rate you need, add materials and margin, and divide by 100.
Should takedown be priced separately?
Write it as its own line so the customer sees it is included. Many installers bundle install and takedown into one price and collect the balance after takedown; either way, put the takedown window on the quote, for example early January 2027.
Should I sell or lend the lights?
Decide before you quote. If the customer keeps the lights, list them as materials. If you keep and reuse them, price that into the install and say so on the quote, so nobody is surprised in January.
When should I send holiday lighting quotes?
As early as you can. If customers want lights up for Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, 2026, every install has to fit before that weekend, so quotes sent in early November give you time to schedule.
Do I need insurance to hang Christmas lights?
Ladder and roof work carries real risk. Ask your insurer what your policy covers before you take the job. This page is not legal, tax or insurance advice.
Can ScopeBid quote per foot?
Yes. Per-unit line items take your own units, such as feet, alongside hourly, crew and area items. Add deposits and payment stages, then share a PDF quote. Your first 3 quotes are free; unlimited quoting needs ScopeBid Pro.
Honest limits
- ScopeBid doesn't measure roofs or know local prices. It remembers what you charged last time and what the job really cost.
- It records deposits and payments but does not process cards or move money.
- It is not a scheduling app, so your install calendar lives elsewhere.
- Your first 3 quotes are free with full PDFs. Unlimited quoting, the full Business Memory and job costing need ScopeBid Pro, monthly or annual.
Who should pick something else: crews running dozens of installs with routing and online booking need a field-service platform. If you are doing three houses for neighbors, a notes app and a calculator will do.
One design decision we made: quoting, PDFs and invoices work with no signal, because a lot of quotes get written in a driveway. And internal costs never print on the customer's copy.
Make it a habit with ScopeBid
Quote this year's houses tonight. Next November, each one starts from the saved job.
Make it a habit with ScopeBid on the App Store · Updated November 2026
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