LightingElf Is Now Part of Strandr

LightingElf was a lighting design tool used by contractors across the Christmas lighting and holiday lighting industry. The LightingElf app gave installers a way to plan layouts, estimate materials, and bring some structure to the design process before showing up to a job site. For many contractors, it was their first step away from napkin sketches and guesswork.

In October 2025, Strandr acquired LightingElf. The reason was straightforward: both products shared the same mission — building better tools for lighting contractors. The original LightingElf software solved a real problem, and the contractors who used it were proof of that. But the technology behind it had limits. It was desktop-only, lacked photo-based mockups, and did not support on-site presentations from a tablet. The acquisition was a chance to take what LightingElf got right and rebuild it on a modern, cloud-based platform.

LightingElf deserves credit for recognizing what contractors needed early on. It proved that lighting professionals would pay for real design software if it was built for the way they actually work. That insight shaped everything about Strandr. If you used the LightingElf app for your business, you already understand the value of showing a homeowner a professional design instead of describing it with words. Strandr takes that same idea further — upload a photo of any property, place lights directly on the image, and walk your client through the finished design on-site.

Today, Strandr is the official LightingElf alternative. It includes all of the core capabilities contractors relied on, plus photo-based mockups, drag-and-drop light placement, professional exports, and support for permanent lighting alongside Christmas lights. If you are searching for LightingElf software or wondering what happened to it, this is where it landed — and it is better than it has ever been.