COB vs SMD vs CSP LED Strips: What the Numbers on the Box Actually Mean

The short answer

SMD strips space individual LED chips a few millimetres apart, so you can see each one as a small dot of light. COB (Chip-on-Board) strips pack hundreds of bare chips close together under one continuous phosphor coating, so the light reads as a single seamless line instead of a row of dots — the look most professional cove lighting and wall-paneling jobs want. CSP (Chip Scale Package) is a newer chip-packaging method used in some COB-style strips that removes the wire-bonding step between chip and board, giving better heat dissipation and tighter colour consistency, at the cost of being more specialised and harder to source.

220V strips build a rectifier and current limiter into the strip itself, so they plug straight into a wall socket without a separate 12V/24V driver — convenient for long signage runs, but a cut or damaged section exposes live mains voltage, which 12V/24V strips never do. LED density (the "240" or "288" in "240 LED/m") tells you how many chips are packed per metre — it has nothing to do with voltage, even though both show up as numbers next to "LED" or "V" in a listing and get confused constantly. And MicroLED is a self-emissive TV/display technology (competing with OLED), not a type of flexible strip light — the similar name is the main source of that confusion.

SMD vs COB vs CSP: how they're actually built

All three use the same basic diode, just packaged and mounted differently. The packaging is what decides whether you see individual dots, how wide the beam spreads, and how easy the strip is to repair or source.

In practice: SMD is the default for most jobs since it is cheap, widely available, and fine once hidden behind a diffuser. COB is worth paying for specifically when the strip itself will be visible with nothing to hide the dots. CSP is a step beyond COB for colour-critical or premium installs, but is a more specialised, harder-to-source product.

220V COB strips: no driver, but a real safety trade-off

A 220V strip has a rectifier and current-limiting circuit built into the strip, so it runs straight off your wall socket — no bulky external driver box. That is genuinely convenient for long outdoor signage or facade runs. The trade-off is that the strip itself now carries mains voltage end to end, which changes the risk profile compared to a 12V/24V strip.

• A cut, nicked, or damaged section exposes live 220-230V AC — a 12V/24V strip cannot shock you this way even if damaged.
• These strips must only be cut at the marked cut points; cutting elsewhere, or a loose/incorrectly wired end cap, can cause a short, overheating, or fire risk.
• Mains-connected electronics are also more exposed to voltage surges (e.g. lightning strikes on the supply line) than low-voltage DC strips run off a separate driver.
• Installation close to water (bathrooms, near pools) or anywhere within reach needs a properly rated enclosure and, for anything beyond a simple plug-in run, a qualified electrician.

We do not currently stock 220V strips — our LED strips run on 12V/24V DC through a separate driver, which keeps the strip itself at low voltage throughout. If a project specifically needs a 220V run, get it installed by a qualified electrician and never cut or splice it outside the marked points.

What "240 LED/m" or "288 LED/m" actually means

This number is LED density — how many individual chips are packed into one metre of strip — not voltage, even though listings often put a density figure right next to a voltage figure and the two get mixed up (the strip is "24V", with, say, "120 LED/m" density — two completely unrelated numbers). A higher density at the same strip width and phosphor coating generally means a brighter, more evenly-lit line: a 288 LED/m COB strip packs its chips tighter than a 240 LED/m strip, so it reads as very slightly brighter and smoother, though the actual wattage and lumen output of any specific strip still depends on the chip efficiency and the manufacturer’s driving current — density alone does not fix the brightness number.

2-wire, 4-wire, 5-wire and addressable: how strip wiring actually works

Wire count tells you what the strip can do with colour, not how bright or what voltage it is.

A plain "2-wire, 24V" strip is simply a single fixed-colour strip running at 24V — the wire count and the voltage are two separate specs that happen to sit next to each other on the listing.

MicroLED and "smart" strips: what they are (and aren't)

MicroLED is a self-emissive display technology used in premium TVs and large video walls — each pixel is its own microscopic LED, competing with OLED on contrast and brightness. It is a screen/display technology, not a type of flexible strip light, and nothing in a home lighting project uses it; the name similarity to "LED strip" is the entire source of the confusion.

"Smart" or tunable LED strips are a control-layer feature, not a chip technology — they pair a WiFi (or increasingly Matter-compatible) module with RGBW or CCT-tunable chips so you can shift from warm 2700K to cool 6500K white, or any RGB colour, from an app or voice assistant. Many newer smart strips connect straight to your home WiFi and work with Alexa/Google Home/Apple Home without a separate bridge or hub, though some older or budget models still require one — check the specific product before assuming either way.

What Unihox Shop stocks today

We currently carry SMD2835 LED strips — 12V DC, 60–240 LED/m density options, 2700K–6500K plus RGB variants, in IP20 (indoor) or IP65 (wet-area) — and a 24V IP65 outdoor wall-washer strip for facade and wall-grazing work. We do not currently stock COB, CSP, 220V, or addressable strips; if your project specifically needs one of those, message us on WhatsApp and we will help you source and spec it correctly.