LED Strip vs Puck Lights: The Quick Answer
For most kitchens, an LED strip gives the better worktop light. It lays one continuous, even band of light along the whole run of wall units, with no pools or dark gaps between fittings. Puck lights win where you want focused light over one spot, a decorative pattern of light, or a simpler fit with fewer cuts and joins. This guide compares LED strip vs puck lights head to head, with the figures you need to plan a run under your own wall units.
Puck Lights vs LED Strip at a Glance
| LED strip | Puck lights | |
|---|---|---|
| Light spread | Continuous, even band along the worktop | Separate pools of light with softer areas between |
| Best for | Long runs of wall units and busy prep areas | Single units, coffee stations, display shelves and corners |
| Fitting | Cut to length, stuck or clipped in place, joined with connectors | Screwed or stuck in place one by one, each with its own cable |
| Power | Usually 12V through a driver | 12V through a driver, 230V mains, or battery |
| Look when off | Almost invisible inside a profile | Small round or shaped fittings on the underside of the unit |
| Main drawback | Visible dots and glare on gloss worktops without a diffuser | Shadows between fittings if they are spaced too far apart |
What Are Puck Lights?
LED puck lights are small, round or shaped fittings, usually 60 to 80mm across, that fix to the underside of a wall unit. Each one throws a cone of light down onto the worktop, so a row of them creates a series of overlapping pools. Some are surface mounted, sitting on the underside of the cabinet, while recessed puck lighting sits in a hole cut into the cabinet base for a flush finish. Recessing needs enough depth in the base panel, so surface-mounted pucks are the simpler choice for most existing kitchens.
Our UFO LED Downlight is a typical 12V puck: 66mm across, 3W, surface mounted, dimmable and available with or without a motion sensor.
What Are LED Strip Lights?
Kitchen LED strip lights are flexible tapes or rigid bars carrying a line of small LEDs. Fitted towards the front of the wall units, they light the full depth of the worktop in one even sweep, which is why they suit long runs where you chop, read recipes and prepare food. They come as tape on a reel that you cut to length, or as ready-made bars in an aluminium housing.
Our LED Strip Lights are the bar type: 12V, warm white (2800K to 3000K), housed in aluminium with a plastic diffuser, and available in 400mm, 1900mm and 2150mm lengths, with or without a motion sensor.
Which Gives More Even Worktop Light?
A strip does. Because the light source runs the full length of the units, the worktop is lit evenly from end to end, with no bright circles or dim patches. Pucks can come close, but only when they are spaced tightly enough for their pools of light to overlap. On a long, busy worktop that means more fittings, more cables and more connection points. Where you only need light over a kettle, a sink or one wall unit, pucks do the job with less work.
COB Dotless Tape vs Standard LED Strip
Standard LED tape has individual LEDs spaced along it. On our 5m LED Tape there are 120 per metre, and on a shiny worktop you can see each one reflected as a dot. A COB LED strip (chip on board) packs the LEDs so closely that the light looks like one smooth line. Our 5m Dotless COB LED Tape has 480 LEDs per metre at 9.6W per metre and 12V, in natural white (4000K).
If you can see the underside of your wall units, or your worktop is gloss, quartz or polished stone, dotless LED strip lights give a much cleaner result. Where the strip will sit inside a profile with a frosted cover, standard tape is usually fine.
Aluminium Profiles and Diffusers: Stopping Dots and Hotspots
An aluminium LED channel is a slim metal profile that the tape sits in. It hides the tape, gives a straight, neat line and draws heat away from the LEDs. Clip a LED strip diffuser (a frosted cover) over the top and the light is softened further, cutting down the bright reflections that show on gloss worktops. Fit the profile towards the front edge of the wall unit, so the light falls across the worktop rather than down the splashback.
Pucks can cause hotspots too. If you can see bright circles reflected in a glossy worktop, choose fittings with a frosted lens, or move them slightly further back so you are not looking straight at them.
Mains vs 12V Under-Cabinet Lighting
Most strips and many pucks run at 12V from a driver that plugs into a socket or is wired to a fused spur. 12V puck lights such as the UFO LED Downlight connect back to the driver, so several fittings share one power supply. Mains LED under cabinet lighting runs straight from 230V with no driver. Our Triangle LED Downlight and Surface Mounted LED Downlight are both 230V, 2W fittings. Wiring mains fittings is a job for a qualified electrician. Our guide to plinth lights, downlights and pop-up sockets explains the 12V and 230V choice in more detail.
Battery and Rechargeable Under Cupboard Lights
If there is no socket nearby, or you rent and cannot run new cables, under cupboard kitchen lights wireless options are the easiest fix. Rechargeable puck lights and bars stick or clip in place and are taken down to charge. Our Rechargeable Slim Bar Light is a 200mm, 1.25W bar in natural white (4000K) that fixes magnetically and charges by micro USB. Battery lights are ideal for a single dark corner or a larder, but for a full run of wall units a wired 12V system is brighter and needs no charging.
How Far Apart Should Puck Lights Be?
As a starting point, space pucks about 300 to 400mm apart between centres and keep them 30 to 50mm back from the front edge of the unit. That puts roughly two pucks under a 600mm wall unit and about eight along a 3m run. Wider spacing saves fittings but leaves darker gaps between the pools of light, so test one or two before fixing the rest.
Dimming, Remotes and Motion Sensors
Both types can be dimmed when the fittings and driver support it. A dimmable LED strip or a set of dimmable pucks lets you run bright light while you cook and a soft glow in the evening. Our Thumb Wheel Remote is a 2.4G wireless dimmer that works with our strip lights, UFO lights, downlights and plinth lighting. Motion sensors suit pantries, larders and early-morning kettle runs, and both our LED Strip Lights and the UFO LED Downlight come with a sensor option.
Hiding Wires and Drivers
Knowing how to hide under cabinet lighting wires is what makes a fit look professional. Run cables along the back of the underside of the wall units, then up through a small hole into the cabinet, and keep the driver and splitter inside the wall unit or on top of it. A light rail or pelmet along the front edge of the units hides the fittings themselves from view. Strips have one cable per run, while pucks need one per fitting, so plan cable routes before you fix anything.
Comparing Two Setups for a 3m Run of Wall Units
Here is how the two choices compare in parts and power for a typical 3m run:
- Strip: 3m of COB tape at 9.6W per metre draws 28.8W. That is too close to the limit of a 30W driver, so a 50W driver is the safer choice, plus a profile and diffuser if you want the neatest finish.
- Pucks: eight 3W pucks draw 24W, which sits comfortably on a 30W driver, plus a splitter to connect all eight.
Both draw similar power. The strip costs more for the profile, while pucks cost more in fittings and cable runs. Our LED driver wattage guide shows how to size the driver for any run.
Can You Use Both Together?
Yes, and it often works well. A strip lights the main prep worktop evenly, while pucks pick out a coffee station, a glass-fronted display unit or a corner. Keep both at the same colour temperature so the light matches, as our guide to warm white vs cool white kitchen lighting explains.
Our Verdict by Kitchen Type
- Long runs and busy cooks: LED strip in a profile, ideally COB, for even task light.
- Gloss or quartz worktops: dotless COB strip with a diffuser, or pucks with frosted lenses.
- Small kitchens and single units: two or three pucks are quick to fit and do the job.
- Rentals and no nearby socket: rechargeable bars or pucks.
- Feature lighting: pucks over a coffee bar or display shelf, with a strip over the prep area.
For a wider look at choosing under-unit fittings, read our guide to the best under cabinet lighting for kitchens, or browse under cupboard lights, drivers and remotes in our Lighting & Electrics collection. If you need help choosing, call us on 0161 465 4007.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which is better for under cabinet lighting, puck lights or strip lights?
Strip lights are better for most under-cabinet lighting because they give an even band of light along the whole worktop. Puck lights are better for focused light over one area, such as a coffee station or single wall unit.
2. Do LED puck lights get hot?
LED puck lights get warm but not hot like old halogen pucks, because LEDs turn far more of their energy into light. Low-wattage fittings, such as a 3W puck, stay comfortable to touch in normal use.
3. What are the disadvantages of LED strip lights?
The main disadvantages of LED strip lights are visible dots on shiny worktops, the need to cut and join them neatly, and a driver to power them. A COB strip in an aluminium profile with a diffuser solves most of these.
4. Should under cabinet lights go at the front or back of the unit?
Under cabinet lights should go towards the front of the unit, about 30 to 50mm back from the edge. Fitted at the back, they light the splashback rather than the worktop and leave shadows where you work.
5. Can you cut COB LED strips?
Yes, COB LED strips can be cut, but only at the marked cut points along the tape. Cutting anywhere else damages the circuit and that section will not light. Seal the cut end before fitting it into its profile.
6. Are LED under cabinet lights dimmable?
Many LED under cabinet lights are dimmable, but the fittings and the driver or controller must both support dimming. Check the product details first, then add a wireless dimmer or remote to control the brightness.
