GlowBid

Christmas light pricing calculator

Type the footage by run, pick the storeys, and read a priced quote built by the same pricing engine GlowBid uses on real jobs. Every rate starts at GlowBid's default and every one is yours to change.

1The house

Feet per run type. Peaks and jumps are counted, so the count feeds the per-peak and per-jump charges.

Unlit cord between runs.

2Price per foot

GlowBid's default rate card for the chosen line. Type your own rates over them.

GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
3Premiums and add-ons
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
4Terms
GlowBid default
GlowBid default
GlowBid default

GlowBid ships at zero; every company confirms its own rate.

GlowBid default

Your quote

Updates as you type

Enter at least one run to see a price.

What this calculator does, and does not

It prices a seasonal Christmas light job the way GlowBid prices one: feet by run type times your rate per foot, plus peak and storey premiums, add-ons, then the minimum job, tax and deposit. It does not measure the house. Draw the roofline in the free tool, carry the feet here, and the two agree. It does not know your costs; the defaults are a starting point, not advice.

Photo-based measurements are estimates. Every GlowBid quote carries a source tag and a confidence level on each run and recommends on-site verification for full accuracy. The safety buffer applies to materials footage only, never to the price, and it is the installer's choice.

Questions installers ask

How much do installers charge per foot for Christmas lights?
GlowBid's default rate card starts Seasonal C9 at $8 per foot on the roofline and ridge line, $9 on peaks, $5 on ground runs and $6 on tree runs, with a $1,500 minimum job. Those are starting numbers for a new company. Every installer sets their own rates, and the calculator lets you type yours over the defaults.
Why does the total jump to the minimum job?
A small roof still costs a truck, a ladder crew and a return trip for takedown. The minimum job is the floor under every quote: when runs, premiums and add-ons come in under it, the calculator adds the difference as its own line so the homeowner sees the floor, not a mystery number. GlowBid's default is $1,500; set yours.
Does the seasonal price include takedown?
On the Seasonal C9 line the per-foot rate is the full season: install, the lights, and takedown in January. On the seasonal service line the homeowner owns the lights, so the per-foot rate is labour only for install and takedown. Neither line stores lights over the summer unless you add that as your own add-on.
How do storeys and peaks change the price?
By default each storey above the first adds 10 percent to every roof run, because a second-storey eave means taller ladders and slower work. Peak runs carry a 15 percent premium on top for the pitch. Both percentages are editable, and the quote sheet shows each premium as its own line under the run it applies to.
What is the 10 percent materials buffer?
It is extra footage on the order sheet, not on the price. Photo measurements run a little short on eaves angled away from the camera, and every cut wastes a few inches, so GlowBid adds a buffer to materials footage by default. The homeowner pays for measured feet. You order buffered feet. Set the percent to zero if you measure on site.