The Best Artificial Christmas Trees, According to People Whose Taste We Trust

Best overall artificial Christmas tree

Also available in 4-, 4.5-, 6-, 6.5-, 7-, 7.5-, 9-, 10-, 12-, and 14-foot heights with the following pre-lit options: unlit, clear, multicolor, and dual-color

As long as Carrie Courogen, author of Miss May Does Not Exist, has lived in New York, she’s “gone through all the pathetic-tree phases: no tree at all, lights on a random plant, tiny table-top fir.”When she started researching artificial trees, the Kingswood Fir came up on this very site (our writer Brenley Goertzen kept it between a couch and a fireplace in her old apartment).It’s ideal for Courogen’s studio apartment, where “I don’t have a ton of space for something big, both when it’s up and when it’s time to store it.” It has shed minimally between Christmases, but she’s “consistently surprised by how well it fluffs out in spite of its compact nature.” And it’s “comically easy” to set up, taking her no more than ten minutes of “maneuvering to get it looking in good shape.” For someone who grew up in a “very passionate real-Christmas-tree house,” it works. “It obviously gives fake tree during the day, but at night when the lights are low and it’s glowing in the corner, I’ll admit, it comes pretty close to the real thing,” she says.

Other traditional artificial Christmas trees

Available in 4.5-, 5.5-, 6.5-, 7.5-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 12-, 15-, and 18-foot heights and with the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): unlit, LED color + clear lights, clear incandescent lights, LED clear lights, twinkly light show, and C7 multicolor LED

Balsam Hill’s Classic Blue Spruce was featured on the set of Hallmark’s One Royal Holiday. Fittingly, the movie’s set decorator, Christi Whiteley, calls it “majestic.” Another fan is Lauren Ragan, director of ad operations at Vox Media. The real-looking needles on this tree take a while to arrange the first few times — each branch has needles arranged in a sort of fan shape, and they need to be pushed out and down — “but after some time, it gets easier and easier, my husband tells me,” Ragan says. After pulling the trigger on the “onetime investment” four Christmases ago, she hasn’t looked back. Ragan goes for a “nice dressing” of different-colored ornaments on the tree, a compromise with her husband. Her in-laws, who are big on Christmas, have theirs “doused in ornaments,” a tradition her husband embraced before.

Available in 6.5-, 7.5-, and 9-foot heights and with the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): unlit and LED clear lights

Massillon has rented Balsam Hill’s trees for shoots — and remembers the box for a Douglas Fir “was beat up because it has been used over and over for 15-plus years by me and every other prop stylist or set designer in NYC.” Maybe that’s because setting it up is easy, says Massillon: “I hate the other artificial trees because there can be so many branches that get bent and flat; it is a nightmare.” In comparison, when the parts of the Douglas Fir are stacked, “the leaves kind of fall into place … like an umbrella.”

Available in 4.5-, 5.5-, 6.5-, 7.5-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 11-, 12-, 15-, and 18-foot heights and with the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): unlit, LED color and LED color + clear lights, and LED clear lights

The Vermont White Spruce is another Balsam Hill bestseller. It’s meant to resemble the true white spruces of New England. Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio, who was sent a sampler kit, says the branches on the Vermont White Spruce are ever-so-slightly darker with pointier needle tips than those on the Balsam Fir’s. Joanna Douglas, the former director of branded content at Vox Media, says guests always compliment hers for how real it looks. That was especially important to her, as someone who was formerly against going faux. Douglas praises the branches’ bendability, allowing her to arrange and rearrange them as needed. Hers is decorated with photos of her cats depicted as angels — they were once naughty, nibbling on the needles and sipping on trunk water of her real trees, but are now “completely disinterested” in messing with her fake.

Available in 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, and 12-foot heights and with the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): unlit, LED color + clear lights, twinkly light show, ultrabright clear LED, and starlight twinkle LED

This is the first artificial tree designer Jess Knauf has owned as an adult, and it’s a far cry from “the very plasticky one my parents had in the ’90s.” She says it’s a cinch to put together, and the branches have plenty of space for ornament hanging. “We will be on year six this year,” she says. During each of those years, she’s filled with her collection of “vintage, unfashionable but sentimental ornaments,” and that this year, her topper might be a new floppy bow.

Available in 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-foot heights and with the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): unlit and LED clear lights

If you want a realistic tree that nonetheless looks a bit frosty — and isn’t flocked — Trolio recommends Balsam Hill’s Sanibel Spruce. “It’s one of my absolute favorites of the handful of Balsam Hill trees I’ve acutally seen in person,” she says. Plus it “very much matches the product photo on the site,” which isn’t always the case when it comes to artificial trees. The tips of the needles on this tree are a bit lighter in color, and the branch tips are especially lifelike. “One of the more obvious giveaways that makes a tree look fake is how the needles look,” explains professional organizer Britnee Tanner. The Sanibel Spruce resembles the evergreen in her yard instead of the “loose, sparse, and floppy” look of other fakes. Trolio agrees: “There are a good number of tips per branch” with longer ends that allow for “excellent ornament distribution.” (An important note: It comes pre-fluffed with memory-wired arms that fan into place, according to the company, though Trolio notes that you should still plan to do a good bit of finishing on your own.) Even after a few Christmases, Tanner still considers it to be her best buy for the holidays.

Available in 6.5-, 7.5-, 9-, 10-, and 12-foot heights and with the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): LED color + clear lights, LED clear lights, and twinkly light show

This is the narrow version of Balsam Hill’s famed Fraser Fir (46 inches wide versus 60 inches wide for a 7.5-foot-tall tree). Selina van den Brink, a freelance set decorator, used this tree for the Oscar-winning film Green Book. She needed something that would last for the entire weekslong shoot and “wouldn’t drop needles while being decorated,” settling on Balsam Hill’s Fraser fir after doing a quick poll of fellow set decorators. “It just has all the characteristics of a real tree,” she says. “It’s not too perfect — with an organic quality to the manufactured branches.” It was featured in a traditional tree-decorating scene, with star Viggo Mortensen coming home for Christmas “just in time to celebrate with his family,” so “the tree was a very big deal,” van den Brink explains.

Available in 3-, 4-, 6.5, 7.5-, and 9-foot heights

Target’s in-house holiday line, Wondershop, is full of inexpensive trees. Because it’s a seasonal shop (like its Halloween Hyde & Eek), stock moves fast — and might not come back for the next holiday season. Thankfully, this Alberta Spruce has, and now comes in different heights: 3, 4, 6.5, 7, and 9 feet. In the old apartment of e-commerce consultant (and my former boss) Brittany Nims, this tree stood between her now-husband’s desk and the entertainment console in their living room, which was very small (even by Brooklyn standards). Nims packed on the sparkle while decorating it, adding mini disco balls, a glittery star topper, and sequined, faux-fur-trimmed skirt. “There’s something about a glowing Christmas tree that’s just so cheerful,” she says.

Available in 5-, 7- and 9-foot heights

“I used to be morally opposed to artificial trees, but my husband is allergic to pine, which left me no other choice when we moved in together,” says Carrie Wittmer, author of First Famous Christmas. Moving into a then-new apartment with high ceilings in 2023, Wittmer decided — after “several years of owning a pitiful but hardworking Target tree” — to get a nine-foot Terrain Alpine Fir (which comes in five- and seven-feet versions too).At Christmastime, it resides in a corner between her dining table and kitchen. “I think the best Christmas trees are ones that feel like they fit into the space naturally,” she says. “Once decorated, it feels quite full. Its slim silhouette makes my weird collection of ornaments stand out more than they would in a thicker, denser tree.” (Her holiday-scented candles “make up for the lack of Christmas tree smell.”)

More nontraditional artificial Christmas trees

Available in 4.5-, 6-, 7.5-, or 9-foot heights

Once a traditionalist, Strategist contributor Ivy Pochoda “left the fake spruce and tinsel trees behind” for what she describes as a “profane pink number” back in 2021. Even though the tree seemed frivolous at first, it’s well made — sturdy and plush and “filled the living room with shiny pink delight,” she says. Fluffed to its fullest, it “swallows lights and ornaments” — Pochoda decorates the tree with string lights, silver garland, and vintage ornaments from Christopher Radko and Kurt Adler alongside boxed wine and disco-mirror-ball ornaments. She’s since become known as the “person with the pink tree” in her neighborhood. “People paused as they passed my window. They went out of their way to take a look,” Pochoda says.

Available in 5- and 7-foot heights with the following colors and pre-lit options: silver with white lights, gold with white lights, and silver with color lights

“I know it’s fake, but it embraces the fakeness,” says Greco of this Martha Stewart tinsel tree. It reminds her of the retro ones from the ’50s and ’60s: “You know, silver could look tacky, but this does not.” She covered “the whole thing in disco balls” once and is thinking of adorning it with peacock and peach ornaments this year, but appreciates that it could go undecorated. “It’s like a giant jewel in your living room,” she says. “There are no sparse areas — you have to fluff it out, but it’s pure silver.”

Available in 6.5- or 7.5-foot heights and a pink version

Another big name to know in faux is King of Christmas. Its traditional and nontraditional trees are similar to Balsam Hill’s (with cheaper starting prices). Trolio had the chance to try out the King of Christmas’s Duchess (in a now sold-out flocked Barbie pink, but the blue version is still available). The color makes an obvious statement, and the settings on the dimmable light bulbs are another show in themselves — including one that Trolio describes as “very ‘dance party’ flashy.” Because of the flocking on the branches, the tree looks much fuller. “Think of thickening mascara on eyelashes,” Trolio says. Beware that upon opening, the tree has a slightly musty smell and sheds during assembly. “It wasn’t terrible, but there was a decent dusting,” she warns. Luckily, it was easy to clean up any fallen flocking with a vacuum. Like Balsam Hill, King of Christmas includes a storage bag and two-year warranty on every tree.

King of Christmas also makes a tabletop tree with lights that remind me of little stars (I kept one on my fireplace mantel all of last December).

Available in 6- and 7-foot heights, and with either of the following pre-lit options (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference): LED clear lights or LED multi-lights

Balsam Hill’s Fifth Avenue Flatback was the tree I used last Christmas. It’s convincing enough that I didn’t even miss the fresh-pine smell of a real tree. But the biggest selling point of the Flatback is that, well, the back is flat. You’re still getting all of the fullness of a real tree in the front, but this tree can stand flush against a wall. It’s ideal for small spaces like mine, where I can only fit a tree between my staircase and the couch.

I also loved that the Flatback assembled (and disassembled) quickly. Because I didn’t have to think about a full 360-degree view, I could cut down on some decorating time, too. Just note: You’ll want to measure the bottom carefully for a tree skirt — I used a standard-size 48-inch one on mine, and had to tuck it around the trunk rather awkwardly. But I’m planning on getting something better-fitting this for coming Christmas.

Available in 4.5-, 6.5-, 7.5-, 9-, 10-, and 12-foot heights with LED clear fairy lights (see Balsam Hill’s guide here, for reference)

This was the the first Balsam Hill tree Trolio bought for herself (after previously inheriting a hand-me-down in a different style). Though in the end “a fake is still a fake,” Trolio says she chose the “sparse-on-purpose, pre-lit” design specifically for displaying certain ornaments. “I have become a way too over-the-top-Christmas-ornament person. I own hundreds and can’t stop buying them,” she admits.

This Alpine Balsam Fir has a place in the corner of her dining room as a “theme tree” holding her collections of pickle and pretzel ornaments. Since the branches aren’t especially full, the wires for the lights are a bit more visible, so Trolio advises that you be extra thoughtful about what kinds of ornaments you’re hanging — and mindful about getting the right “drop.” (On the same note, she recommends using a tree skirt instead of a tree collar, as the branches don’t go very low on the trunk and a skirt does a better job of hiding the flat metal base.) As for assembly, the tree “goes together super-easily, and the light connectors are built into the sections of the trunk so you don’t have to plug them together separately,” she explains.

If MacKinley Jade Lutes-Adlhoch, writer of the newsletter Yeehawt, could, she’d leave a Christmas tree up year-round: “There’s no way I’d sacrifice having one,” adds Lutes-Adlhoch. “But I have zero room for a wide base anywhere in my apartment.” Not that it’s a problem with this Homcom tree, which goes in a “corner around existing furniture without having to rearrange the whole living room.”You “can’t use a tree skirt because there’s no extra room at the base” (her tree is between an armchair and dresser too). But it’s a price she’s willing to pay for convenience’s sake — and she estimates it takes about 30 minutes to set up. Another bonus:Her cat Tofu, who’d “be thrilled to vomit up pine needles,” isn’t able to climb it. “While the most tenacious of cats could certainly still figure out a way to break every precious ornament, my own cat gave up pretty quickly with this tree,” she says.

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