Philips Hue's cheapest lightstrip is finally available to buy – here's how much it costs

The Philips Hue Essential Light Strip is finally available to buy in the UK after first launching at IFA in September 2025. It was available in the US not long after, but as the brand’s most affordable light strip yet, UK smart lighting fans have had to wait for it to arrive.

The new Essentials range is designed to make Philips Hue more accessible, offering a more affordable way to add smart lighting around your home. Alongside a selection of A19 bulbs, GU10 spotlights and starter kits, there are two light strip options, and it’s the cheaper of the two that’s now available to buy in the UK.

The Philips Hue Essential Light Strip is priced at £49.99 for the 5-metre version. Right now it appears to be exclusive to Very and isn’t even listed on the Philips Hue website yet, but that should change soon. In the US, it’s already available direct from Philips Hue for $59.99.

Despite the lower price, the Essential Light Strip still delivers both white and colour gradient lighting effects. Users can tweak brightness and choose from a temperature range between 2,200K and 6,500K, and once paired with a Hue Bridge, advanced features like Matter integration and wider smart-home compatibility are available too.

There are a few compromises compared to Hue’s premium light strips. It only dims down to 2%, and its colour blending is less sophisticated and unable to extend. That said, you can cut it to size, and for the price, it's still a very appealing way to get started with the best smart lights.