The short answer: WashTech lets you start smaller and know every season's cost. Our minimum is $900 against Festilight's $1,500, and your first quote shows next year's price, which Festilight does not publish. Festilight also lights businesses and events and carries a higher insurance limit, which can matter on a large commercial property.
We compare Christmas lights only here, the service both companies sell. WashTech publishes this page. Every Festilight fact comes from festilight.ca, checked November 5, 2026. That site is a Vancouver business, and festilight.com is a separate French firm.
Side by side
| WashTech | Festilight | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the lights | You, from year one | You. It rents no lights for the holiday season |
| First-time minimum | $900 | $1,500 |
| Later seasons | Labour only, about half of year one, $500 minimum | Labour and equipment, plus any additions. No figure published |
| Next year's price | Shown on your first quote | Not stated |
| Storage | Included | On its premises, no extra charge |
| Cover on seasonal lights | 4 years on product defects | 4-year limited warranty, labour included on valid claims |
| Days up in a row | 120 | 120 |
| Lights you already own | Not installed | Used commercial-grade lights only, no store-bought |
| Insurance | $2 million liability, registered with WorkSafeBC | $5 million general liability, staff WCB insured |
| In business since | 2020 | 2011 |
| Google rating | 5.0 | 4.8 Vancouver, 4.8 North Shore and Tri-Cities |
| BBB grade | A+, not accredited | A+, not accredited |
What the ratings tell you
We hold 5.0 on Google and an A+ at BBB. Festilight shows 4.8 on its Vancouver and North Shore and Tri-Cities listings, with the same A+. Ask both companies to show you lit homes near yours.
The minimum decides who fits
- WashTech$900
- Festilight$1,500
A minimum is the least you pay, whatever the job. Say you only want the front roofline lit, and it would price at $1,100. With us, you pay $1,100. Festilight's first-time minimum means paying at least $1,500, though you could ask what that extra $400 adds to the display.
Once a display passes about $1,500, the minimum stops mattering, and the later years matter more. Festilight does not publish a later-year figure, so the table below uses the one price we can both show.
| A $1,500 first-year display | WashTech | Festilight |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | $1,500 | From $1,500 |
| Season 2 | About $750 | Not published |
| Season 3 | About $750 | Not published |
| Three seasons | About $3,000 | $1,500 plus two labour quotes |
Illustrative, before tax. $1,500 sits at the top of our typical $1,300 to $1,500 range, and Festilight's $1,500 is a starting price. The two may not buy the same display.
So here is the one question to ask Festilight: what will labour and equipment cost in year two, in writing? If the answer is under about $750, its three seasons come in lower than ours on a display this size.
Its home page says later years cost "only" labour, and its pricing page adds equipment and any new features you choose. Ask which applies to you.
Homes, businesses and events
Festilight also lights businesses and events, and its warranty mentions custom sculptures. For a home, the display is rooflines, trees and paths, and that is what our free design visit plans. Our crews work on Vancouver rooflines all year, cleaning gutters and windows, so ladders and roof edges are daily work for them.
What year one includes
The two lists read almost the same. Festilight's first season covers commercial-grade lights, installation, seasonal maintenance, removal and off-season storage. Ours covers the design, the lights, installation, plugging them in, repairs during the season, a January takedown and storage. So the price gap at the low end buys you entry, and it says little about the service. Compare the display itself: which rooflines, how many trees, and what colour.
Insurance
We carry $2 million in liability and are registered with WorkSafeBC. Festilight carries $5 million in general liability and says all its staff are WCB insured. If your strata asks for a set limit, check it against the certificate before you book.
Warranty and repairs
Both covers run 4 years and allow 120 days up in a row. Festilight's warranty includes diagnostic and replacement labour on valid claims. It excludes extreme weather, animal damage, altered displays, outside electrical work and materials it did not supply.
Our cover applies to product defects when we install and take down the lights each year. It leaves out damage from homeowners, contractors, animals and weather. We come back to fix a bulb or strand that fails during the season, and a service call fee may apply to damage the cover excludes. Ask us to show that line on your quote.
A WashTech season, step by step
Festilight's process has similar stages: it maps and labels your lights after the season, then stores them in protective bins. Here is ours.
Free design visit
We look at your rooflines and bring a display kit.
Your quote
You see this year's price and next year's price together.
Install
We supply the lights, put them up and plug them in.
During the season
Call us if a bulb or strand fails, and we come back to fix it.
January takedown
We take the lights down. We can clean your gutters on the same visit.
Storage
We store your lights for next year.
Bookings close by late November. See Christmas light installation for details.
Permanent lights
Both companies install permanent roofline lights you run from an app. Ours start from a published $2,000, with 10 years on parts and 1 year on labour, and an install takes 1 to 3 days. Festilight's ChromaGlow Pro carries 10 years or 100,000 hours on the product and 4 years on labour, priced by custom quote. Start with permanent or seasonal lights if you are undecided.
Who each company suits
WashTech suits you if
- Your first display would price under $1,500.
- You want next year's price on your first quote.
- You want a published price on permanent lights, from $2,000.
- You want your gutters cleaned when the lights come down in January.
Festilight may suit you if
- You already own commercial-grade lights and want them installed.
- You need lighting for a business or an event.
Practical questions
Can I move my Festilight lights to WashTech?
No. We install only lights we supply, and those carry our 4 years of defect cover. Festilight's warranty also applies only to products it supplied.
Is there a contract with either?
We found no contract, renewal or cancellation terms on Festilight's site, so ask. With us, you decide each year, using the price on your first quote.
What about lights I already bought somewhere else?
Festilight says it can install your used lights if they are commercial grade, and it declines store-bought ones. We install only lights we supply, so your quote covers the lights, the install and the cover together.
How do I compare the two quotes?
Ask both to quote the same rooflines and trees. Then ask for the year-two figure, the warranty terms and who pays for a repair after a windstorm. Those three answers matter more than the first-year total.
Which covers my area?
Festilight says it serves Metro Vancouver from Lions Bay and West Vancouver to Chilliwack. We install across Greater Vancouver, with pages for Christmas lights in North Vancouver, Christmas lights in West Vancouver and Christmas lights in Burnaby. Send us your address and we will confirm, with a price back quickly in most cases.
