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Planning one of those popular solar light craft projects? See how the Dollar Tree Garden Collection compares to Walmart’s Mainstay model. You might save time or money using one over the other.
I’d never completed one of those crafts myself until yesterday.
I came across a simple idea in a video and thought I’d finally give one a try.
Every one of those videos I’ve seen mentions using solar stake lights from Dollar Tree because they’re cheap.
But I knew I had to run an errand to Walmart and figured if they had ones that were similar that would save me from having to make two stops.
Their website showed they carry the Mainstays brand and those looked really close to the Dollar Tree ones.
I did buy a set of 6 but just as I was walking out of Walmart, I noticed there was a Dollar Tree in the very same parking lot.
(I’ve been shopping at this location for more than 15 years. Let’s not ask why I never noticed this before.)
So, I popped into Dollar Tree and bought some of their solar lights, too.
This gave me the perfect opportunity to compare the two for future reference since there are some important differences.
Price Comparison – Which is Cheaper?
First, there is a price difference between the two and the winner isn’t what I expected.
The Mainstays stake light at Walmart that is closest in size and shape to Dollar Tree’s lights is actually cheaper.
Walmart’s websites showed the normal price was $1.12 per light but that was crossed off and a new price of just $0.97 per light was shown.
They also advertised a set of 6 regularly priced at $5.94 but on sale for $4.98 and a set of 12 regularly $11.64 with no sale price shown.
The best deal is for the set of 6 at the sale price as that works out to $0.83 per light but even if you had to pay the full price of $1.12 per single light it’s cheaper.
Next to the prices online for the single lights and the set of 6 was a note that said “Price when purchased online“.
I initially thought that meant that the lower price wasn’t available in the store but that wasn’t the case.
As you can see in the image below the store price was the same as the lower online price.
Fortunately, the sale price was reflected in-store, too, so I bought a set of 6.
I never noticed before, but as I was walking out of Walmart I realized there’s a Dollar Tree in the same parking lot so I wandered in there, too. Perfect!
Their solar lights cost a bit more – $1.25 per light – but they’re bigger and have some different color and style options which I’ll get into in a bit.
At the time of this writing, Walmart’s best regular price (the set of 6 at $0.99/unit vs $1.25) is 20.8% cheaper than Dollar Tree’s regular price.
Walmart’s best sale price (the set of 6 at $0.83 vs $1.25) is 33.6% cheaper.
If you only need one, maybe paying $0.26-$0.42 extra doesn’t matter a great deal but if you’re planning to make 50 solar light decorations for a special event like an outdoor wedding or an anniversary party then the difference can add up.
Color and Style Options
Another big difference has to do with the styles available at either store.
The Walmart Mainstays that were most similar to the Dollar Tree Garden Collection only come with smooth, black caps and stakes whereas the Dollar Tree ones come in either silver OR black and you can get either color with or without texture.
If you are looking for solar lights with a silver finish for your craft then you’re going to want to stick with Dollar Tree.
The clear plastic light covers are also different between the two.
The Walmart Mainstay lights have vertical ridges while the Dollar Tree light covers have a geometric print.
This makes a difference in the pattern of light that is cast from each at night.
The MAINSTAYS light is on the left in the image below while the Dollar Tree light is on the right.
See how the pattern that displays on the ground around the light is different? (Ignore the square block each is sitting on – that was a craft test).
The Walmart lights throw off a ray pattern while the Dollar Tree ones cast light that looks far less uniform due to the different mix of geometric shapes cut into the plastic light cover.
Size Difference
The Dollar Tree solar stake light is taller than the Walmart one by 1 1/2″ but 1″ of that comes from the stake.
The remaining 1/2″ difference comes from the height of the plastic light cover.
The caps on top of the light covers have the same height but the diameter of the Dollar Tree cover is 5/8″ wider.
The solar panel on the Dollar Tree light is also larger by 3/8″.
The following table shows the comparable dimensions of both lights.
| Walmart | Dollar Tree | |
|---|---|---|
| Length with stake | 12 7/8" | 14 3/8" |
| Stake | 9 3/4" | 10 3/4" |
| Cap | 1 1/4" | 1 1/4" |
| Cap diameter | 1 3/4" | 2 3/8" |
| Plastic light cover | 2 3/4" | 3 1/4" |
| Light cover diameter | 1 3/8" | 1 3/8" |
| Solar panel | 1 3/16" | 1 9/16" |
Warm vs Bright White Solar Light
The Dollar Tree solar stake light appears brighter than the Walmart one but that’s because it has a bright white bulb whereas the Mainstays one has a warm white bulb.
You can see the yellow tint in the Walmart light on the left.
The bulbs themselves are similar in size and both lights say they are powered by a 1.2V rechargeable battery.
The other difference is the size of the solar panel. The Dollar Tree stake lights have a bigger panel. However, after I’d charged both for a full day and then turned them on to run overnight, even the Walmart Mainstays with the smaller solar panel were still going when the sun was coming up.
Summary
In the end, both the Walmart Mainstays and the Dollar Tree Garden Collection solar stake lights can be used in your DIY outdoor light crafts.
The biggest differences have to do with price, size, cap/stake color, cap pattern, light color, and the light pattern.
Those things could have a significant impact on your final craft. If you know you want obvious rays of light coming out of your craft in a sun pattern then you might want to choose the Walmart Mainstays lights.
I’m hoping this info comes in handy for anyone planning some solar light decorations for a party. Knowing you have options might help you create a custom look from top to bottom while saving some money at the same time.
Wow! I bought a few dollar store lights and want to check out how to get the white clear ones. Then walmart popped up. Then your article. It’s great! Informative and very well composed. I appreciate you taking the time to ” investigate ” for me!
Thank you, you saved time and money!
Glad to hear that! Thanks!