Patio Installation cost at a glance
- Typical range: $2,500 – $6,000
- Most homeowners pay: around $4,000
- Per square foot: $8 – $20 per sq ft
- Prices vary most by: Paving materials & base (35–45% of the budget)
Cross-checked against three published sources for this project. Sources used for this page: Angi's patio installation cost guide, HomeGuide's patio cost guide and Lawn Love's concrete patio cost guide. Sources last checked: October 2026 — HomeGuide, Angi. Last updated October 2026 · How we calculate these costs
Cost by scope
| Scope | Typical cost | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Small basic patio (about 200 sq ft) | $1,200 – $3,000 | A simple ground-level patio in plain poured concrete or gravel at the low end of the material table. HomeGuide prices 200 sq ft at $1,000–$7,000 across all materials, with plain concrete at $5–$15 per sq ft installed; Lawn Love prices a plain concrete slab at $4–$9 per sq ft. |
| Standard concrete or paver patio (about 300 sq ft) | $2,500 – $6,000 | The typical project on this page: excavation, a compacted gravel base, and a poured concrete or concrete-paver surface with edging. Angi’s band for what most homeowners pay is $2,029–$6,089 with a $4,007 average, and HomeGuide prices 300 sq ft at $1,500–$10,500 with concrete and pavers filling the lower half. |
| Large, stone or raised patio (400+ sq ft) | $6,500 – $15,000+ | Natural stone or flagstone, a raised build with steps and retaining edges, or a patio that wraps a pool. HomeGuide prices natural stone at $16–$35 per sq ft installed and raised patios at $8–$43 per sq ft; Angi’s large-patio band runs to $20,000. |
Where the money goes
| Part of the job | Share | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Paving materials & base | 35–45% | The surface plus the compacted gravel and sand base beneath it: materials run $2–$18 per sq ft in HomeGuide, from concrete at $3–$8 per sq ft in Angi to brick pavers at $8–$25 and natural stone above that |
| Installation labor | 35–45% | Excavation, base compaction, laying or pouring, and jointing: labor runs $3–$17 per sq ft in HomeGuide and $5–$20 in Angi, where it is about half of a typical total project cost |
| Site prep, grading & drainage | 10–15% | Leveling the site and sloping the surface so water runs away from the house: Angi prices grading and drainage prep at $500–$1,000, and removing an old patio first adds $2–$6 per sq ft in both Angi and Lawn Love |
| Edging, sealing, permits & cleanup | 5–10% | Edge restraints that stop pavers creeping, sealer where the material wants it, and the paperwork: permits run $50–$200 in Angi and $200–$300 in HomeGuide |
What moves the price most
Material is the patio budget. Per square foot installed, HomeGuide prices pea gravel at $0.85–$2.80, poured concrete at $5–$15, stamped concrete at $8–$19, concrete and brick pavers at $10–$17, flagstone at $15–$32 and natural stone at $16–$35; Angi’s material table agrees on the order, with concrete at $3–$8, brick pavers at $8–$25 and permeable pavers at $10–$30 before labor. Size then multiplies it: Angi’s size table runs from $250–$2,500 for a small 49 sq ft pad to $2,000–$20,000 at 400 sq ft and above, and HomeGuide’s 20x20 ft patio spans $2,000–$14,000 purely on material. Height is the third lever: a ground-level patio is excavation and base work, while a raised patio at $8–$43 per sq ft in HomeGuide adds fill, retaining edges and steps. Finally, the site itself: a sloped or poorly drained yard needs the grading and drainage work priced in the breakdown, poor access for machinery adds hand-digging labor, and pulling up an old patio first adds $2–$6 per sq ft in Angi and Lawn Love alike.
Worked example: how a typical patio installation budget breaks down
A typical job: a ground-level 300 sq ft concrete-paver patio behind the house — excavation, a compacted gravel base, sand bed, pavers with edge restraints, polymeric jointing sand, and the surface sloped away from the foundation. The budget below totals $4,000 — the "most homeowners pay around" figure from the top of this page — split using this page's own cost breakdown. It shows how a real quote at that level is usually composed; every line is built from the ranges on this page, and it is an illustration, not a quote for your project.
| Line item | Example budget |
|---|---|
| Pavers and base materials (300 sq ft) | $1,550 |
| Installation labor | $1,450 |
| Excavation, grading and drainage slope | $600 |
| Edging, jointing sand, permit and cleanup | $400 |
| Total | $4,000 |
What most people get wrong
- Sloping the patio toward the house — the surface must fall away from the foundation; a patio that drains to the wall trades a paving bill for a wet basement, and re-grading after the base is compacted means starting over.
- Skipping or skimping the compacted base — the base is what keeps pavers level through freeze-thaw cycles; a thin base shows up as dips and rocking pavers within two winters, and the fix is lifting and relaying, not patching.
- No edge restraints on a paver patio — without edging the field creeps outward, joints open and the border unravels; it is a small line in the quote that decides whether the patio still looks finished in five years.
- Pricing by the prettiest material photo — per square foot installed, HomeGuide runs from $0.85–$2.80 for pea gravel to $16–$35 for natural stone, so choosing the surface before the budget is set is how a $4,000 patio becomes a $10,000 one.
Costs in your city
Patio pricing follows local excavation and paving labor: HomeGuide puts labor at $3–$17 per sq ft and Angi at $5–$20, so identical patios price highest in high-rate metros and wherever concrete and paver crews are booked out. Climate travels with the city — freeze-thaw regions need deeper, better-compacted bases and price them in, while frost-free regions can run thinner sections. Material freight matters more than homeowners expect: natural stone and brick travel badly, so a flagstone patio prices near the quarry very differently from one three states away. Permit fees are modest where they apply ($50–$200 in Angi, $200–$300 in HomeGuide), but raised patios and covered patios trigger approvals in more jurisdictions. Ask each bidder for the per-square-foot rate at your size, the base depth in writing, and whether old-patio removal and haul-away are included.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 20x20 patio cost?
HomeGuide prices a 20x20 ft (400 sq ft) patio at $2,000–$14,000 depending on material — poured concrete fills the $2,000–$6,000 end at its $5–$15 per sq ft, pavers sit in the middle at $10–$17, and natural stone tops the range. Angi’s large-patio band for 400+ sq ft runs $2,000–$20,000.
What is the cheapest patio to install?
Gravel, at $0.85–$2.80 per sq ft installed for pea gravel in HomeGuide, then plain poured concrete: $4–$9 per sq ft in Lawn Love and $5–$15 in HomeGuide. Gravel is cheapest to build but needs re-raking and top-ups; concrete is the cheapest surface that behaves like a floor.
Are pavers or concrete cheaper for a patio?
Concrete is cheaper per square foot: $5–$15 installed in HomeGuide against $10–$17 for concrete and brick pavers, and Angi’s material-only figures show the same gap ($3–$8 for concrete against $8–$25 for brick pavers). Pavers cost more upfront but a single damaged paver can be lifted and replaced, where cracked concrete is patched or re-poured.
How much does it cost to remove an old patio?
Budget $2–$6 per sq ft on top of the new patio — Angi and Lawn Love publish the same range. Thick, reinforced or difficult-access slabs price at the top of it, and disposal is sometimes billed separately, so get removal and haul-away named in the quote.
Do I need a permit for a patio?
Often, depending on size, height and how close it sits to the house and lot lines — and the fee itself is small either way: $50–$200 in Angi and $200–$300 in HomeGuide. Raised patios, patios with roofs or covers, and work in drainage easements are the cases most likely to need approval before you build.
