Most Realistic Christmas Trees for All Budgets in 2024

A round-up of the 16 most realistic Christmas trees for all kinds of budgets and decorating styles.

Consider this the nerd lab of finding the most realistic Christmas trees.

Finding the best fake Christmas tree that actually looks real is like finding a unicorn and a pot of gold in the same day, but by golly, I think we did it.

I’ve admitted this before and I’ll say it again… I’m a research nerd. I cannot help it.

It is physically impossible for me to buy anything online without reading reviews and comparing a bajillion different similar items. So I had a hay day doing a ton of homework for finding the best artificial Christmas trees so that you don’t have to.

Over the past several years, we have bought many artificial trees (and we returned the ones that didn’t look realistic enough to make the cut). So I’ve rounded up lots of our favorites from all price points. We have owned and/or seen many of these in person so we can vouch for the most realistic Christmas trees out there.

Budget: 1 2 3 4 | Mid-Range: 1 2 3 4 | Investment: 1 2 3 4 | Flocked: 1 2 3 4

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The Most Realistic Artificial Christmas Trees

Budget

• Pre-Lit Aspen Fir
• Feel-Reel Pre-Lit Norwegian Spruce
• Pre-Lit Mountain View Spruce
• Pre-Lit Foxtail Pine

Mid-Range

• Pre-Lit Grand Duchess Twinkling Balsam Fir
• “Feel Real” Pre-Lit Dunhill Fir Tree
• “Feel Real” Pre-Lit Frasier Fir
• Pre-Lit “Feel Real” Frasier Grande

Investment

• Pre-Lit Norway Spruce
• Pre-Lit Natural Cut Monaco Pine
• Frasier Fir “Quick Shape” Pre-Lit Tree
• Noble Fir Pre-Lit Slim Profile Tree

Flocked

• Flocked Pre-Lit Aspen Fir
• Pre-Lit Flocked Mountain Pine
• Prince Flocked Pre-Lit Tree
• Glitter Flocked Pre-Lit Balsam Fir

We’ve had our fair share of the good, the bad, and the ugly with Christmas trees over the years.

Recently, they’ve come SUCH a long way that sometimes it’s difficult to tell apart the real from the fake until you really get up close and personal with them.

Best Sparse Christmas Tree

We bought this artificial sparse Christmas tree for our living room three years ago, and we’re still completely happy. It’s a beaut without costing a lotta moolah. It’s by far the ultimate winner of “budget Christmas trees”out there.

If you love the look of a charmingly sparse Christmas tree, this one is the perfect budget-friendly pre-lit option under $300.

We have 8 foot ceilings, and the 7.5 feet tall option fit with just enough room to spare for a star tree topper. It’s on the slim slide making it great for small spaces.

The scrawny Alpine tree look is best suited for rustic, cottage, Scandinavian styles. They’re so easy to decorate because they’re so beautiful in their perfect imperfection without any ornaments at all, if you prefer the minimal look.

But there are wide spaces between branches making decorating boughs easier than other tree types.

The high quality “pine needles” on its branches are rigid, yet slim making them appear lifelike even up close.

This tree is definitely much more easy to assemble than any other tree we’ve owned because the branch tips need very little fluffing when we pull it out of its storage bag each year.

It comes with a foot pedal switch to make turning on lights easier too (though hooking up a smart plug to your outlet is even better).

Best Full Christmas Tree

We bought this very full, fluffy “Feel Real” Frasier Grande Christmas tree in 2022 and were really happy with it. Overall, it felt like it took up too much room in the small corner of our living room, which is why we didn’t keep it. But that was just our personal preference.

It turned out to be way more “grande” than we anticipated.

For a dose of nostalgia, we covered it with tinsel. You can see how realistic the needles look up close in the photo below.

Best Flocked Christmas Tree

The best part about this heavily flocked Christmas tree is it makes any colored ornaments pop beautifully against the white, snowy branches.

But if you prefer a neutral look, the fluffy white branches create a glamorous almost metallic look against twinkle lights.

We loved using a flocked Christmas tree in our girls’ playroom filled with handmade ornaments our family has collected over the years, brought home from preschool or doing arts & crafts with Grandma.

The white flocking helps those hodgepodge ornaments actually look cohesive with a little ribbon thrown in.

The flocking on this tree is very thick and fluffy. Despite being in and out of the attic over four years, it really held up! It does require vacuuming underneath frequently as the flocking tends to fall, but that’s to be expected.

Best Traditional Christmas Tree

This traditional pre-lit Christmas tree we used in our dining room, the spruce kind that is a full but not “fat” shape, works so well if you prefer a standard tree.

If your family has mixed preferences between white, colored, or twinkling LED lights, this tree has different settings for all of them so you can change the look or effect at the click of a button.

Best Microdot Pre-Lit Christmas Tree

We bought this Faux Twinkling Pre-Lit Norway Spruce this year on sale, and it is by far the most gorgeous tree we have ever owned!

Granted, it’s a pricey one. But if you’re willing to spend more for the best quality Christmas tree, it is the ultimate winner.

Realistic Cheap Christmas Tree Tip

If you want a fake Christmas tree that looks as realistic as possible but you don’t want to shell out more than $200, buy an unlit tree instead and add lights yourself.

It might require an extra few minutes in the decorating process, but it can sometimes save a couple hundred bucks this way. And it gives you the flexibility to add multicolor lights if you prefer that more retro style instead.

We used this unlit sparse Christmas tree several years ago that took some extra effort in the decorating process, but I loved having that natural look for cheaper than the pre-lit version.

We totally went overboard with the lights by adding the strands ourselves. That made it extra glowy at night. Not a bad problem, right?

How to Make a Fake Tree Look Realistic

Here are a few more tips you can try to make your artificial tree look like the real thing.

• Separate each of the branch tips on every bough of the tree to make tree look more full
• Add battery powered candle lights clipped onto ends of branches
• Weave ribbon through the tree to hide any holes or bare spots
• Tuck some artificial pine garland or pine picks through the branches to make it appear full
• Add a tree collar at the base to hide the metal tree stand (or get creative by stuffing it inside of a large basket or barrel planter)
• Hang some Scentsicles all over the tree to make it smell like the real thing!

Got any other tips you’d add?

Or other fake tree recommendations you would add to the list this holiday season? The more the merrier (literally). Ho Ho Ho.

More Christmas Decor Resources

• Best Battery Operated Christmas Lights from Amazon
• Vintage Christmas Decor Favorites That Never Go Out of Style
• How to Put Christmas Tree Ribbon Decorations on Trees
• How to Hang Garland on Stairs + Entryway Christmas Decor
• 5 Minute Christmas Bow Ribbon Art
• 18 Christmas Wall Decor Ideas and Holiday Art Printables