25 Awesome Outdoor Fire Pit Ideas For Every Budget + Helpful Fire Pit Guide

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Fire pits are a great way to have an evening outside with friends and family while staying warm and keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Besides which, they’re a hot commodity – if you have a well-made fire pit, you’ll get back three-quarters of your investment if you ever sell your property. 

We’ve put together a list of the best fire pits that include elegant shop-bought fire tables to DIY fire pits you can make for just a few $$. And we’ve included something for everyone, from the classic stone or brick fire pit for the yard, to a compact metal fire pit suitable for a cosy balcony setup. 

Whether you want a brick fire pit in your backyard, a propane fire pit on the patio, or you’re looking for backyard DIY fire pit ideas, you’ll find a design here that meets your needs. Plus we’ve put together a useful guide to fire pits to help keep you safe and make your experience an enjoyable one, whether you’re using an in-ground fire pit, a propane fire pit, a metal fire pit, or doing DIY with rocks and boulders.

Check out our article on the best firewood storage ideas to keep it dry and in great shape for burning.

1. Stone Fire Pit Surrounded By A Circular Half-Wall

Stone fire pits are very popular for outdoor living. A circular half-wall surrounds the stone pit, which is perfect for eating, drinking, and socializing with friends. There are many types of stones to choose from so you can customize the design to fit your personal taste.

Just make sure that if you go this route, you use a fireproof inner wall made of fire bricks or with a steel fire pit ring. This keeps the exterior stone wall safe from extreme heat and prevents porous natural stone from cracking due to heat exposure.

2. Square Fire Pit With Colored Glass

The square fire pit idea is perfect for those who are looking for a simple, yet modern design. This 30-inch gas-fired outdoor fireplace has pretty blue fireglass, and the real flames sit in the center of this glass, for a unique, warm, stylish atmosphere in your backyard.

It also features an electric ignition system that’s easy to use, so you don’t have to worry about having matches handy or starting it up manually. The black steel firebowl and sleek side panels give this good value fire pit a contemporary, up-market vibe.

3. Custom Fire Pit With A Rock Circle

Fire pits are a great way to enjoy the outdoors, whether you’re sitting around it or cooking over it. But if you want something different than the typical square shaped fire pit, this budget fire pit idea is for you.

A custom rustic circular firepit like this one costs little (or nothing) to make if you have the boulders available and is charmingly rustic. This particular design has a rock circle which provides protection against wind while still looking beautiful. A perfect addition to any backyard!

4. Cheap DIY Fire Pit That Looks Store-Bought

All you need to buy for this cheap DIY fire pit is the fire bricks (and if you’re a thrifty DIYer, you might even be able to snag these reclaimed or even free). And you may want to grab some pea gravel for the base, but apparently that’s optional.

No matter which route you go with, though, you’ll still be saving money by making this DIY firepit yourself. For the average person looking for an outdoor fireplace that looks custom made but doesn’t break the bank, it’s hard to find anything better than this cheap and easy DIY fire pit!

5. DIY Fire-Safe Fire Pit With Campfire Ring

A fire pit is more than just a place to light up some marshmallows. It’s also an opportunity for you and your friends or family to gather around the warmth of the flames, chatting about old times, telling jokes, playing games—sharing life together in a way you can’t do with TV or smartphones.

But how you build that pit—and what you put it on—makes all the difference in whether you have fun stories to tell afterward or not. This tutorial breaks down exactly how you need to build your own safe fire pit and includes a steel campfire ring.

It’s not the easiest project and will take you a couple of days, but when you’ve finished, you’ll have a solid, safe, permanent fire pit that looks pretty fabulous.

6. Round 48-inch Brick Fire Pit

If you’re looking for an outdoor fire pit idea, you’ll want to consider the brick fire pit.

This type of fire-pit is a great option if you enjoy using your grill or smoker outside and would like a place where you can set up a small campfire as well. It’s also perfect if you have little space in your yard and want to save money on building materials by reusing bricks from old projects.

This project will take about one weekend to complete, but it can be done with some basic tools and skills that you likely already have lying around the house. Let’s get started!

7. Modern Rectangular Cast Concrete Natural Gas Fire Pit Table

This rectangular cast concrete natural gas fire pit table has a stainless steel burner that burns fuel, such as butane. This gas fire pit table is a great centrepiece for your backyard. The lava rock helps you to create a beautiful outdoor fireplace experience, and you can enjoy the warmth from the fire pit table on any day you want.

You can also style this natural gas fire pit table with your own personal pieces of furniture or design it to match the other items you have in your backyard.

8. Cosmic Outdoor Fire Pit

The Cosmic Fire Pit is a 42-inch steel patio and backyard fire pit that’s good for small spaces, burns real wood, and includes a domed spark screen. One of its most unique features are the star and moon cutouts you can see on the side. These look fab in the dark, with the fire shining through.

We like that you can set this up outside almost anywhere and, thanks to the sturdy spark screen, it’ll stay safe. The included grates in the base of the 34-inch fire bowl ensure good airflow for a better, longer-lasting fire.

9. Round Propane Fire Bowl

You want to add a touch of elegance and style to your outdoor space, but you don’t want all the maintenance that comes with an expensive gas fire pit. Here is the perfect solution! It’s a sleek and modern design you can use on your patio or deck. It’s made of gray cast concrete and features a natural gas flame for safety and warmth without all the hassle you get with other types of outdoor fires.

This fireplace will make you feel like you’re relaxing in front of a campfire, but without any risk of smoke inhalation or insects coming into contact with you while you enjoy it! Don’t forget to load up on decorative lava rock.

10. Wall-Integrated Fire Pit

When you’re creating a new outdoor living space, you need to think about what you want from it and, to save money, if you can make use of any features you’ve already got.

If you would like an area that will be used year-round and can also double as a cooking or dining area on those cooler nights, then installing a fire pit in the garden’s retaining wall is a great move.

If you don’t have a suitable spot already, you can create one like they’ve done here, digging out a “sunken” area, adding a stacked stone wall and fire pit, and steps, gravel, and chairs.

With this design, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of both sitting around the campfire, but in a cosy nook in the garden, instead. And the high back of the retaining wall lets you enjoy the warmth and mesmerizing spectacle of the fire pit without risking setting fire to nearby vegetation.

11. Simple DIY Fire Pit and Seating Area

You can build a fire pit and seating area like this in a weekend. The fire pit is round and made of thick pavers, four courses high. It also has sand in the base for safety. I love how they’ve created a whole little outdoor living space that’s so welcoming, with its suspended light strings around the seating area and solar lights lighting your way along the path. Not to mention those cute Adirondack chairs!

There are many different designs you can choose from when you’re building your own outdoor fireplace, but this is one simple design that you can make on your own without any special skills or tools!

12. Advanced Modern DIY Fire Pit

This is a DIY fire pit you can make for about $250. You make the concrete form from wood and pour the concrete yourself, and you get an ultra-modern fire pit for 10% of the price of buying one. It takes around 16 hours start-to-finish, so this is a fab weekend DIY fire pit table project for those with a little practical skill. This one burns wood and you could place a removable grate over it to grill food, too.

13. Recycled Washing Machine Drum Fire Pit

This is a brilliant cheap fire pit idea! A washing machine drum upcycled into a fire pit. Inventive and amazing. Plus, it’s ridiculously easy. And cheap. Did I mention cheap? You can pick the drum up for free if you’re lucky. Otherwise expect to pay around $10.

The plant stand or legs you choose to attach you can thrift for just a few dollars. We love this upcycled fire pit idea for its sheer ingenuity.

14. 28-39-inch Traditional Wood Burning Fire Bowl

When you think of an outdoor fire pit you might envision a big, fancy stone or brick design. A simpler option is to use metal fire bowls that are heavy but portable and that you can place on your patio, on the beach, or on a gravelled area thanks to its three sturdy legs that safely raise the fire pit off the ground.

You can choose a cast iron bowl of between 28 and 39 inches. Plus, with its deep sides and the included grate, it’s great for cooking too! If you’re looking to create a simple rustic setup with seating you could consider placing this fire pit in the middle and rough logs around it.

15. RumbleStone 46-inch Round Concrete Fire Pit Kit With Round Steel Insert

This concrete round outdoor fire pit kit from Home Depot combines the best of both worlds. You get a really solid kit that, when put together properly, gives you a beautiful fire pit with a high-end look, but you still get to DIY. Just with a full set of instructions and everything you need to make it work.

We like this particular backyard fire pit idea because the cast concrete blocks cleverly mimic natural stone without the insanely hefty price tag. Plus, the iron pigment used to color the concrete won’t fade with heat or UV exposure, so this modern outdoor fire pit should last for years.

You can choose from three different earthy colors and the kit also includes a steel fire ring for added safety. It should only take you a day or two to put the whole thing together, so it’s a great little weekend project that requires no advanced skills and no cutting.

16. Lowes Rustic Budget-Friendly Fire Pit Kit

This rustic kit from Lowes, at just $230, is one of the best outdoor fire pit ideas if you want a complete kit but don’t want to spend too much. It comes ready to assemble and should take you no more than a weekend.

You can place it on a patio or add it to the wider landscape as long as you add a safe base of gravel or sand. It’s rustic and simple, made of gray flagstone and has a nice overall look.

While the kit contains everything you need to make the basic fire pit, you can always customize it and give it an up-market makeover by adding fire glass or decorative stone chips.

17. Cohesive Timeless Outdoor Rock Fire Pit With Seating

See how cohesive this one is? As far as outdoor fire pit and seating ideas go, we think this one is one of the best. It looks deceptively simple. And alone, the fire pit is nothing particularly special, but when combined with the matching seating built from the same stone, it’s quite spectacular.

This outdoor fire pit area with the brick pavers and matching pit and seating is a great place place to entertain. And if the stone benches are a bit hard on your heinie, make or buy some outdoor cushions. Alternatively, just get everyone up and dancing!

18. Tribal Terrace With Fire Bowl

We adore this DIY fire pit setup. Even the chairs give off that homespun/DIY vibe. And the addition of those comfy tribal cushions and little carved wooden side tables is sheer genius. The large cast iron fire bowl sits on a bed of concrete for safety and is surrounded by a beautiful wooden terrace.

You could even add a grate and/or rig up a tripod or stand to cook food. 

19. Enjoy Snowy Beauty While Staying Toasty Warm

For those who get to experience beautiful snowy landscapes, this outdoor fire pit idea is fantastic! Whose to say that fire pits are only for summer and warm climates? We love the idea of having backyard fire pits (or, in this case, elevated terrace fire pits) year-round, even in the depths of snowy winter.

The half-round design that’s integrated into the surrounding wall is smart and attractive. Plus, of course, no built in fire pit would be complete without the ubiquitous Adirondack seating. And for the sake of convenience, each pair of chairs shares a side table.

20. Elegant, Modern Wood-Burning Fire Pit and Seating Area

In a cleverly designed sunken deck area, this is the mother of square fire pits. While this isn’t really suitable for a build your own fire pit unless you have impressive DIY skills, you have to admit, the whole setup is pretty stunning as far as backyard fire pit ideas go. 

This is such a cleaver build because they’ve used squares, straight lines, and right-angles to create a beautiful, cleanly modern, elevated fire pit design. Even the seating follows the same clean, straight lines and compliments the color of the fire pit. 

21. Simple Wooden Fire Pit

This simple wooden round fire pit is modern and minimalist and there’s no stone pavers or concrete material in sight! It’s a great idea if you want to make your own fire pit and create something a bit different, with an attractive look for your backyard. 

As a DIY project, this is pretty straightforward and shouldn’t take more than a weekend. Plus, it does double duty (or potentially triple duty) as a table, an above ground fire pit, and a grill. For a more challenging DIY project and maybe a better structure, you could build storage into the wooden table (obviously plenty of distance away from the fire bowl).

22. Budget-Friendly Fire Ball

From Home Depot, the Briarglen fire ball fits just about everyone’s budget at around $130. It’s not fancy or particularly big, but look at those lovely tree silhouettes. It’s reasonably small at just 33 inches at its widest point, so even if you only have room for a small patio fire pit, you can still sit under the starry night sky and enjoy roasting marshmallows over the open flames.

There’s a large pivoting door you can open so you can really get those marshmallows toasty. The ball itself is metal, but there’s a porcelain fire bowl inside for safety and durability.

23. Cosy Balcony Fire Pit Idea

If you don’t have the right kind of backyard for a fire pit, how’s this for a fire pit with seating idea? Circular fire pits are often huge affairs built with stones, bricks, large rocks, and similar. But this little fire table is perfect for an intimate fire pit setting. And one of this size is pretty affordable, too.

This is a gas model, but if you want to go super environmentally friendly, you could always go for a fire pit that burns ethanol.

We love that the chairs match the rail and the awning, too. And that there’s an awning to begin with, so you can enjoy your cozy fire pit balcony space whatever the weather. 

24. Beautiful Colorful DIY Fire Pit Idea

Of all the DIY fire pit ideas on this list, this is one of my absolute favorites because of its colorful nature and the joyous vibes it gives off. This backyard fire pit uses colorful stones and rocks, maybe imbued with some pigments to achieve this kind of color. And interestingly, the gravel matches the fire pit walls. As does the blue cushion on the rustic-looking bench.

25 Concrete “Wood” Fire Pit

A concrete fire pit that looks a lot like wood! This is not for you if you want to make a fire pit from scratch, but if you’re looking for unique fire pit design ideas, this might just be the right choice. Much more imaginative than the regular run-of-the-mill concrete fire pit, this freestanding model is suitable for the deck, patio, balcony, or yard.

It burns propane gas so is reasonably clean and environmentally friendly. Plus, the body is heat-resistant for added safety. 

Fire Pit Safety Precautions

Fire pits are great, but they’re dangerous because, well… fire. Aside from the actual flames and obvious burn risks and environmental dangers, there are other risks. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency tells us that the fine particle pollution from burning wood can cause significant respiratory issues for some people. 

So whatever type of fire pit you’ve got, there are some basic precautions you need to take to make sure everyone and your property stays safe. 

• Never burn garbage, plastic, carpet, or any other type of waste as it can release toxic fumes
• In wood-burning fire pits, only ever burn dry, seasoned wood as this burns hotter, cleaner, and longer
• Don’t use wood-burning fire pits on days with air quality alerts
• Check local ordinances for any restrictions about backyard fire pits
• Avoid using a backyard fire pit on very windy days as sparks can blow out of the pit and set fire to vegetation or property
• If your fire pit burns gas, make sure the gas is safely turned off before you finish up for the night
• Have a method of extinguishing the fire close to hand
• Never build a fire pit on a combustible surface
• Keep chairs at a safe distance
• Never leave a fire pit unattended
• Avoid throwing bottles or alcohol into the fire pit
• Don’t ignore a no-burn warning

Best Fire Pit Accessories

FAQs

A great fire pit needs to have fireproof materials on the interior. If you’re planning on making a stone or brick fire pit, for example, we recommend lining the interior with fire bricks and adding a steel fireproof fire pit ring. 

The decorative exterior should still be heat resistant but you have a wider choice of materials, including natural stone, brick, pavers, or masonry blocks. 

If you’ve got a gas fire pit, it’s as simple as switching off the gas at the source. If you’ve got a wood-burning fire pit, you need to do a little bit more. 

Firstly, don’t attempt to put out a fire in a fire pit while it’s at its peak unless in an emergency. Instead, wait for the flames to die down or, if possible, until the logs have all burned to ashes. Once the combustibles reach this stage, use buckets of water or a hose to drench what’s left. Use a metal shovel or fire pit poker to stir the contents of the fire pit with the water to make sure all the ashes and wood remnants are soaked, then leave them to cool down. 

Once cooled completely, you can scoop out the cold ashes and dump them into your ash bucket. If you’re certain that you only burned seasoned, untreated wood, you can use the ashes as a soil modification, in moderation in your compost, or to protect your direct-planted beans and peas from marauding mice. 

It really depends on your fire pit. If you’ve got a gas-fuelled fire pit or fire table, the answer is nothing. Don’t put anything other than the fire glass or lava rocks that come as part of your fire pit setup into the fire pit. 

If, however, you’re DIYing a traditional fire pit, you can add a thick base layer of sand to protect the surface you’re building the fire pit on. And then, add another layer of sand or gravel to the base inside the fire pit. 

You can build a cheap backyard fire pit using any of the DIY fire pit ideas above. Additionally, you can often find cheap materials if you look for reclaimed items like fire bricks. A recycled washing machine drum, as detailed above, can cost as little as $10 and only requires some study fireproof legs and a few bolts to hold the whole thing together. Just make sure that you don’t cut corners. You can build a cheap fire pit and still make it safe. Take sensible precautions and make sure you follow best practices for your DIY fire pit.

If you have the right skills and enough time, there’s no reason you can’t build a basic firepit yourself. However, if you’re working with gas or you want to build something fancy and maybe include a beautiful seating area or turn the space into an outdoor kitchen, it might be worth consulting with a pro. When deciding whether to hire a pro or go DIY for your outdoor project, be clear about exactly what you want and be honest with yourself about your skill level.

The safest outdoor fire pit is one powered by natural gas, propane gas, or ethanol. These fire pits, fire tables, and fire bowls should be of high-quality, durable materials and have a secure fuel connection and easy to use controls 

If you’ve got a wood fire pit, aside from adding more logs to get the flames higher, to get more heat from your fire pit, you can add plenty of lava rocks which hold and slowly release heat, helping to keep your fire burning as hot as possible.

Yes, you can use pavers as the exterior wall and “cap” of your fire pit, as long as you’ve built the interior ring of fireproof materials – preferably fire brick and maybe an additional steel fire ring for extra safety, you can use more decorative materials like pavers on the outside of the fire pit.