JellyFish vs Gemstone Lights: Which Line Should You Install?

Can you get in the door?#

That is the first real split, and it comes before any spec. Gemstone's authorized dealer program page lists what it looks for: 5 years in business, $2 million in annual gross revenue, sales staff and skilled installers, a high-quality or luxury product or service already, and customer financing. A one-truck shop in its second season does not fit that list.

Gemstone's dealer opportunity page adds the mechanics. It does not charge anyone to become a dealer; instead you buy starter inventory. Its FAQ says roughly $10,000 to $15,000 excluding track, while its onboarding section says the Dealer Starter Kit is up to $10,000 CAD or USD. Those two figures do not match, so ask which applies. You also need $2 million in liability insurance, onboarding done within 90 days of approval, required online training, the ability to pull an electrical permit where one is needed, and one job approved by a Gemstone rep before you sell to the public. There is an ongoing annual sales minimum; the amount is not published.

JellyFish's dealer page is shorter. It says there are different opening purchase levels with no added franchise or territory fees, that startup costs are low, and that each dealer gets a dedicated lighting specialist and guided training. It lists questions about territories, franchises and selling a competing brand in its FAQ without answering them on the page. Its pricing page also quotes installed prices from "Corporate Locations" and says authorized dealers price independently, so ask whether a corporate location already serves your area.

Where does each one sell?#

If you install outside the United States, this decides it before price does. Gemstone was designed, developed and founded in Calgary, Alberta, and its FAQ says most products are assembled at the Calgary head office and manufacturing facility. Its dealer page names Canada and the United States and says the products carry ETL certification for both. For a Canadian installer, that is a manufacturer in your own country with a starter kit priced in CAD or USD.

JellyFish's dealer finder says "Search our 400+ US locations" and lists only US addresses, seven of them corporate JellyFish locations (Salt Lake City, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Central Florida and South Florida); the rest are dealers. That is not a statement that it will never sell outside the US, and I did not find one either way. If you work in Canada, ask JellyFish in writing about shipping, certification and warranty service before you plan a season around it.

What does the node look like up close?#

JellyFish sells choice; Gemstone sells one node built around white. JellyFish's track comes in 6, 9 or 16 inch spacing (one JellyFish landing page says 18, so confirm the order form), and uses 16 gauge, 4 wire cable: power, communication, a redundant data line and ground. The Omega Chip its pages mention is listed under the controller, not the lights. The team colour-matches the track to the soffit at the first measure. Three spacings let you build good-better-best on one brand.

Gemstone spaces lights 9 inches apart, and each light carries 3 LEDs with 4 diodes each: red, green, blue and warm white. Its FAQ gives a range from 2800K warm white to 7000K daylight, and its product page lists up to 46 lumens per light and a maximum of 1 W per bulb at full bright white. It also lists over 150 track types and colours.

What that means for the sale: the homeowner who wants architectural white eleven months a year is the Gemstone customer, because the warm white has its own diode on the spec sheet. The homeowner who wants a denser holiday look, or a cheaper sparse one, is a JellyFish customer, because you can change spacing. The JellyFish product page does not say how its whites are made, so show both at night before you promise anything.

How far does one controller go?#

On JellyFish, 250 ft of lights per controller, and you can add power supplies to run more. The lights run on 48 V DC and the controller on 12 V, plugged into a standard outlet. The controller works on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi but also without it, through its own display, arrow buttons, OK, on and off, and menu. That last part matters on a January service call when the homeowner changed routers.

Gemstone's Hub2 has been the controller since 2024, with the original Hub listed from 2017. The pages we read do not publish voltage or feet per controller. Ask the rep for the run limit before you quote a long house on one Hub2, and write it into your materials rules.

Either way, the controller is its own line on the quote, and so is any second zone. JellyFish's own pricing page lists the controller at $650 to $850 at corporate locations, separate from the $25 to $35 per foot. That is the right shape for any brand.

What does the warranty paperwork look like?#

On Gemstone, the warranty is something you must register; on JellyFish, it is a term you must confirm. Here is the life of each one from install day.

Gemstone: track and deck lights carry a lifetime warranty based on a manufacturer estimate of 50,000 hours; flood and patio lights carry 5 years. Power kits, controllers, extensions, cables, connectors and tracks carry 10 years. Labour is not covered by Gemstone; the dealer may offer its own. Registration must be done within 30 days of installation through the app or the registration page, or the warranty is not honoured. It transfers once to a new homeowner if done within 90 days of taking possession.

JellyFish: the track lighting product page says 5 years on parts and 1 year on labour. The permanent holiday lighting page says three years on parts and one year of labour. Two numbers from one company means one thing: get the term in your dealer agreement.

The labour gap is wider on Gemstone: JellyFish covers the first year of labour and Gemstone covers none, so any labour term on a Gemstone job is one you wrote. Put it in your permanent lighting installation agreement.

What does the homeowner get in the app?#

Gemstone publishes far more about its app than JellyFish does. JellyFish calls it the JellyFish app, and the product page links to it without listing features or fees. Gemstone's FAQ says there are no monthly fees, that the app works over Bluetooth without Wi-Fi, and that it supports 2.4 and 5 GHz networks. Its product page lists over 14,000 premade patterns, a pattern builder with zones, sunset-to-sunrise scheduling, and an Autopilot feature that subscribes the house to seasonal, holiday and sports patterns.

The app is also one of the two ways to register a Gemstone warranty, which is a good reason to set it up on the homeowner's phone before you leave the driveway. On JellyFish, set the everyday scene and the first holiday scene before you go, and show the homeowner the controller buttons for the day the Wi-Fi drops.

Worked example: a long two-storey that needs a second controller#

A two-storey with an attached garage wing: 214 ft of roofline (88 ft of it on the upper storey), 52 ft of peaks over three gables, and four unlit jumps totalling 22 ft. That is 266 lit feet, measured from one owned photo with the garage door as the reference. You can price this house in the free tool to see the footage by run. GlowBid's default track line, US dollars before tax; installers set their own rates.

266 lit feet is past JellyFish's 250 ft per controller. JellyFish says more power supplies are one route; we priced a second controller for a separate garage zone, which the homeowner usually wants anyway. Ask your rep which they prefer.

That is $30.11 per lit foot with both controllers in it. JellyFish's corporate locations publish $25 to $35 per foot with the controller separate at $650 to $850, so a homeowner comparing quotes will add those up the same way. Now the parts that change with the brand:

The second controller is the JellyFish question on this house and the run limit is the Gemstone one, so both reps get a call before the quote goes out. Footage from a photo is an estimate; confirm it on site before track is cut.

When to choose JellyFish#

Pick JellyFish when you are building a lighting business from a small start, you install in the United States, and you want three spacings to sell from one brand. The 48 V track and the 250 ft per controller figure make layout planning simple, and the controller's buttons work without Wi-Fi. Confirm the warranty term, the opening purchase level and whether a corporate location covers your area before you sign.

When to choose Gemstone#

Pick Gemstone when you are already an established exterior contractor with staff, financing and $2 million in liability cover, when you install in Canada, or when your customers want a true warm white all year. The lifetime light warranty and 10 years on controllers and track are the longest terms in this pair. Budget for the starter inventory and the approved first job, and put warranty registration on your install checklist.

Where JellyFish and Gemstone quotes go wrong#

• Promising JellyFish's 5 years when your agreement says 3. Print the number in your contract, not the one on the nicer page.
• Missing Gemstone's 30 day registration. After that the warranty is not honoured. Register from the driveway on install day.
• One controller on a 266 ft house. JellyFish states 250 ft per controller. Price the second zone or the added power supplies before install day.
• Selling Gemstone's spacing as a choice. It is 9 inches. If the homeowner wants denser lights, that is a different brand.
• Applying to Gemstone in season two. The program page asks for 5 years and $2 million in revenue. Build the business first.
• Assuming a US brand ships north. JellyFish's finder lists US locations only. Ask about Canada in writing.

Homeowners: what to ask a JellyFish or Gemstone dealer#

Ask the dealer which spacing is on the quote, how long the parts warranty runs on that install, who pays the labour after year one, and, for Gemstone, whether the warranty has been registered. JellyFish publishes $25 to $35 per foot and $650 to $850 for the controller at its corporate locations; independent dealers set their own price. Gemstone does not publish a price. Either way, ask for footage by run.

Starting small, then adding Gemstone later#

For a small installer the pair can be a sequence, not a choice: JellyFish's door is open to a small start, and Gemstone's program page asks for 5 years and $2 million in revenue. JellyFish's FAQ asks about competing brands without answering, so ask both in writing before you plan to carry the pair. Each brand and spacing becomes its own product line with its own per-foot rates and controller price.

In GlowBid, a second brand is a second product line, not a second system. The drawing, footage and price come from one set of runs on a photo you own, so the same house can be quoted on either line. On the Ultimate plan, the Gemstone 30 day registration can be a step on the photo-gated install checklist, with a photo of the registration screen as the proof. The customer signs the quote on their phone and pays a Stripe deposit, which carries Stripe processing plus a GlowBid platform margin under 1 percent, shown before you connect Stripe. Core is $69 a month or $299 a year, with a 7-day trial, no card, and a 30-day money-back on a first yearly payment. See the pricing. If you are deciding whether to start at all, read how to start a permanent lighting business, and for two other brands head to head, Trimlight vs Oelo.