The best way to compare is to look at the specification sheets for the individual LED emitters used.

The reels can be relatively "cheap" on a per foot basis. However, the vendors would want to sell whole reels.

I propose taking an alternative look at the problem as described in the link below since the end result has to work properly from the start and for quite a while.

Here is a link that might be useful: LED UCL continuation

I will be using some of those for my ceiling cove lighting. The possible downside is color matching, either from LED to LED or from reel to reel. I bought 4 reels of ~2700K and one reel of ~3100K, to check them out ($16 per 5 meter reel). I couldn't see any mismatch at all. There were the less bright reels of 300 LEDs /~900 lumens. I will use a double row of them in my cove lighting.

I saw the strips on eBay and Amazon, but ordered them directly from an Amazon dealer, ledwholesalers.com.

For kitchen under cabinet lights, it might be best for the strips to have a cover so you could gently wipe them off.

Thanks for the replies davidtay and attofarad!

I'm probably going to get a reel or two and see which ones I like. Even the 600 LEDs reels are only about $25 for 5 meters so quite reasonable.

davidtay, I went through that helpful thread and I think I get the issues. It sounds like the most common gotcha with strips is that they shouldn't be wired in series. The power for each strip should be sourced directly from power leads of the supply. As long as I do that, and of course make sure I have sufficient power, it sounds like this is pretty straightforward.

attofarad, did you get the transformer from the same supplier? When you said it's better for the strips to have a cover, I'm assuming that you are talking about the waterproof versions of the strips? I thought the waterproof versions would have less light output or it would be diffused because of the cover?

I got one transformer from them (150W) for my kitchen ceiling. The 300W one for my living room was from Alcon Lighting. They are made by Technomagnet. Always allow at least 20-25% more power rating for the transformer than your LEDs add up to.

I just thought that, if the strips are close enough to collect kitchen grease and splatters, it would be good for them to be a bit more protected if you want to wipe them off. I'm not doing that, so I haven't investigated the options.

Strips can be wired in series under certain conditions. If low voltage lighting is deployed, the wire gauge has to be calculated based on the length of the wire to the power supply and the anticipated power consumption of the segment being fed.

The power consumption (of the segment) in turn depends on the efficiency and number of emitters used. In addition to proper mounting, heat sinking may be required.