Trimlight vs JellyFish vs Gemstone vs EverLights vs Oelo

How does node spacing change the quote?#

It changes your cost, not the customer's arithmetic. A house has the same lit footage whichever brand you draw on it; what changes is how many nodes go into that footage and what each one costs you. On 170 lit feet:

Twice the nodes at 6 inches against 12 means roughly twice the LED cost per foot on the same channel and the same ladder time, so the two should not share a per-foot rate. The way we handle it is one product line per brand and spacing on the rate card: a 9 inch track line and a 6 inch track line each with their own roofline, ridge line, peak and jump rates. The customer picks the spacing from the mockup; the quote picks the line. The permanent per-foot pricing guide sets the base rates.

Gemstone's node is a different animal: three LEDs per light, four diodes each, with a warm white diode alongside red, green and blue. That is what a dedicated warm white looks like on a spec sheet, and it matters for the customer who wants architectural white eleven months a year. Trimlight, JellyFish and EverLights all publish warm white as a colour setting; whether it comes from a separate diode or a mix is not stated on the pages we read, so ask before you promise a colour temperature.

Channel or track: what changes on the ladder?#

All five hide the nodes in a colour-matched extrusion under the eave; the differences are material, colour count and where it mounts. Trimlight's channel is patented aluminum with "50+" colours on its comparison pages. Gemstone claims "over 150" track types and colours and will custom-fit the depth. JellyFish colour-matches the track to the soffit at the measurement visit. EverLights lists 25 colour-matching channel options on its own site and installs on the top lip of the gutter or in the drip edge, which is a different mounting position from an under-soffit channel and worth a look at the fascia before you quote. Oelo is the odd one: an acrylic channel with the LEDs behind a translucent lens, nine standard colours and paintable, plus a metal channel option.

From the ladder, three things decide the day: how the channel cuts and joins at a hip or a return, how it handles a jump between two lit runs, and whether the colour will still match in year four after the fascia is repainted. None of the manufacturers publishes a jump method on the pages we read, and every quote should price jumps as their own run at their own rate; the method is in ridge lines, peaks and jumps pricing.

Controllers, voltage and zones#

Voltage decides how far a run goes before it needs power again, and that decides how many controller and power supply lines are on the quote. Trimlight publishes a 12 V system; EverLights' ClickLights run on 24 V; JellyFish runs the lights at 48 V DC with a 12 V controller and states 250 ft of lights per controller, with more power supplies added per controller for longer runs. Gemstone's Hub2 controls the system from an 8 by 11 inch box and the app has no monthly fee. EverLights pairs wireless receivers with a Smart Bridge, up to 20 receivers per bridge. Oelo's controller specs were not readable to us.

What this means on the quote: the controller is its own line, always. GlowBid's default card carries a $250 Wi-Fi controller add-on, JellyFish prices its controller at $650 to $850 at corporate locations, and a long house or a back-and-front job needs a second zone priced as one. A quote that folds the controller into the per-foot rate looks cheaper than the dealer next door until the second power supply shows up on install day.

What does the warranty cost you?#

The labour year. Every brand in the table puts labour at 1 year (Oelo's pages did not state it), and every brand's parts warranty is longer than that, so from year two a dead node is a free part and a paid ladder. Whose ladder is the question your agreement answers, and the permanent lighting installation agreement template has the clause.

The parts terms are worth reading in full before you pick a line. Trimlight's lifetime warranty covers parts for the manufacturer's estimated lifespan of the component (about 50,000 hours), with ridge lights at 1 year and controls flagged as likely to change with technology. Gemstone puts a lifetime warranty on the lights and 10 years on every other component, including controllers and track, transfers once to a new owner, and is void if not registered within 30 days of install. JellyFish's product page says 5 years on parts and its holiday lighting page says 3, so get the number in writing on the dealer agreement. EverLights' warranty depends on who installed it: 5 years by EverLights, 1 year DIY, 15 years on the Classic white line, and the manufacturer warranty excludes labour outright. Oelo's search listing says 7 years on Authorized, Preferred and Platinum dealer installs and 5 on contractor or DIY installs from January 1, 2024.

What does it cost to become a dealer?#

From nothing to $10,499 up front, and the cheap door usually has the smaller discount.

• Trimlight: $5,000 plus $499 for 30 zip codes or fewer, $10,000 plus $499 for 31 or more. The $499 is the demo kit and colour chips; the balance becomes product credit. No royalties, no monthly fees, a protected territory from your zip code outward, a required two-day training in Salt Lake City at your own travel cost, and a territory that can be reassigned if you fall below 10 percent of quota.
• JellyFish: no franchise or territory fees, "different opening purchase levels," a dealer kit, dealer pricing and a dedicated specialist. The dollar figure is not on the page.
• Gemstone: no application fee and no exclusive territories, an initial inventory of roughly $10,000 to $15,000, $2 million liability insurance, onboarding inside 90 days, a first install approved by a Gemstone rep and an annual minimum after that. The separate program page lists 5 years in business, $2 million revenue, sales and install staff and financing as what they look for.
• EverLights: "minimal startup costs that include product," no figures published.
• Oelo (via search results): a Contractor tier at no cost, an Authorized Dealer at $5,000 with a $5,000 to $24,999 annual purchase, then Preferred and Platinum tiers with larger commitments and larger discounts. The discount ladder differs between the December 2023 sheet we could read on a mirror (5, 15 and 25 percent off list) and the 2024 page as summarised in search results (20, 30 and 35 percent, Platinum at $70,000 a year), so confirm the current sheet with Oelo before you sign.

What the manufacturers give in exchange is on our permanent lighting dealer software page: portals, training, leads and marketing, and no quoting tool for your own price list from any of the five.

Worked example: one house, drawn once, priced on any line#

The house is the two-storey we price on the permanent pages: 122 ft of roofline (50 ft of it on the upper storey), 48 ft of peaks, three jumps totalling 18 ft, 170 lit feet. Measured from one owned photo with the 16 ft garage door as the reference; you can price this house in the free tool. GlowBid's default track line, US dollars before tax, the controller as its own add-on.

That total is $30.51 per lit foot, inside Trimlight's $18 to $35 and JellyFish's $25 to $35 plus controller. Now the part the brand changes:

The drawing, the footage and the customer's price did not move. The node count, your cost per foot and the warranty paragraph did, which is why each brand and spacing is its own product line on the card and the quote PDF prints the right warranty text for the line you chose.

When to choose which#

Trimlight when you want a protected territory and a lifetime parts story to sell against seasonal lights, and you can fund $5,499 to $10,499 plus travel before the first job. Three spacings give you a good-better-best on one brand.

JellyFish when you want the lowest published door price and a 48 V track that runs 250 ft per controller, and your market already knows the name. Get the parts warranty term in writing, since two of its own pages disagree.

Gemstone when you are already an established exterior contractor (their program page asks for 5 years and $2 million in revenue), you install in Canada (ETL for both countries, dealers by province), and your customers ask for a dedicated warm white. The 10 year component warranty is the longest published on controllers and track.

EverLights when you want a line that also sells as a DIY kit, a gutter-lip mount that suits your fascia, and a low published startup. Confirm spacing, channel colours and dealer terms directly, because the public pages are thin.

Oelo when you want a paintable acrylic channel and a no-fee contractor tier to start on, and you are prepared to confirm every number in the table by phone, since the site would not load for us.

Mistakes we have seen dealers make#

• One per-foot rate for every spacing. 6 inch nodes at a 12 inch price is a margin you never see. One line per spacing.
• Controller inside the per-foot rate. The second zone on a long house shows up on install day as a free power supply. Controller as its own line, always.
• Quoting the manufacturer's warranty as yours. Parts are theirs, the ladder after year one is yours. The agreement says which.
• Not registering the warranty. Gemstone's is void after 30 days unregistered; EverLights' transfer needs registration within 90 days. Put it on the install checklist.
• Believing a competitor's comparison page. Trimlight's page says JellyFish has one spacing; JellyFish's product page lists three today. Read the manufacturer's own product page for every figure.
• Signing for a territory before checking the quota. Trimlight can reassign a territory under 10 percent of quota. Know the number before the $10,000.
• Ordering nodes from the tape instead of the drawing. 170 lit feet at 9 inches is 227 nodes plus waste; a photo estimate confirmed on site, with a materials buffer you set (GlowBid's default is 10 percent), is what stops the second trip.

Whichever line you carry, the measurement disclaimer stays on the quote: footage came from a photo, it is an estimate, and it is confirmed on site before track is cut. In GlowBid the drawing, the footage, the bill of materials and the price are one object, each brand and spacing is a product line with its own rates and warranty text, and the controller is an add-on line. Founding prices for dealers are on the pricing page.