The quick answer#
Most homeowners pay $8 to $25 per square foot for a paver patio installed in 2026. Concrete pavers sit at the bottom of that range, brick in the middle, and natural stone at the top, with high-end flagstone reaching $50 per square foot.
Paver patio, installed
$8–$25per sq ftConcrete pavers, installed
$6–$17per sq ftBrick pavers, installed
$12–$20per sq ftNatural stone, installed
$15–$30per sq ftHomeAdvisor and Bob Vila both put the typical project at $2,400 to $7,000, with HomeAdvisor's average of $3,800 for a 280 square foot patio. Those totals are for a complete patio: excavation, a compacted gravel base, a sand setting bed, the pavers, edge restraint and joint sand. The paver calculator counts the pavers for your size and joint, and the gravel and sand underneath them.
Before you price anything
Count the pavers, gravel and sand for your patio
Enter the patio size and paver dimensions to get the paver count with waste, plus the base and setting bed in cubic yards and tons.
Cost by paver material#
The paver itself is a smaller share of the price than most people expect, because the base and the labor are the same whatever goes on top. Material still moves the total, mostly at the stone end.
| Material | Pavers only | Installed | What you are buying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete pavers | $4–$6 | $6–$17 | The most common choice. Any color, many shapes, easy to replace one. |
| Interlocking pavers | $3–$6 | — | Concrete shapes that key into each other and resist shifting. |
| Brick | $4–$8 | $12–$20 | Clay brick. Holds its color for good; slower to lay. |
| Flagstone | $13–$30 | $16–$30 | Irregular natural slabs fitted like a puzzle, which is the labor cost. |
| Bluestone | — | $18–$30 | Dense cut stone in large rectangles. Heavy to move and set. |
Installed prices are Bob Vila's by material. Paver-only prices are Lawn Love's, not including installation. HomeAdvisor's own material table runs higher for the same names, at $8 to $15 for concrete pavers and $10 to $20 for brick, which shows how much product grade moves the price. Bob Vila gives interlocking pavers as $3 to $6 for materials only.
Pavers or concrete?
A plain broom-finish concrete slab is usually the cheaper hard surface, because it goes in as one pour rather than piece by piece. Once concrete is stamped or stained the two land close, Bob Vila puts stamped concrete at $15 to $30 per square foot, and the choice comes down to looks and repairability. Pavers can be lifted and reset; concrete cannot. The concrete patio cost guide prices the slab side.
Cost by patio size#
Total cost scales with area, but small patios cost more per square foot because the mobilization, the equipment and the edge work are spread over less paving. The paver column is the paver calculator's count for a 4 by 8 inch paver at a 1/8 inch joint with 10 percent waste.
| Patio | Area | 4x8 pavers | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 x 10 | 100 sq ft | 473 | $800–$2,500 |
| 12 x 12 | 144 sq ft | 681 | $850–$4,300 |
| 12 x 16 | 192 sq ft | 908 | $1,200–$5,800 |
| 16 x 16 | 256 sq ft | 1,210 | $1,500–$7,700 |
| 16 x 20 | 320 sq ft | 1,513 | $1,900–$9,600 |
| 18 x 24 | 432 sq ft | 2,042 | $2,600–$13,000 |
Installed totals are HomeAdvisor's by patio size. Lawn Love's figures run close: $800 to $2,400 for 100 square feet and $2,400 to $7,200 for 300.
What moves the price#
Digging and the base#
A patio is three layers, a compacted gravel base, a 1 inch sand bed and the pavers, and the ground has to be dug out to fit all three. On a 12 by 16 patio with a 6 inch base and standard 2 3/8 inch pavers, that is about 5.6 cubic yards of soil coming out and roughly 5 tons of gravel going in. HomeAdvisor puts the base materials alone at around $1 per square foot. The excavation calculator gives the dig in loose yards and truckloads, and the gravel calculator converts the base to tons.
Grading and drainage#
A patio needs a slight fall away from the house, and a yard that slopes the wrong way has to be regraded first. HomeAdvisor puts leveling or regrading at $1,000 to $3,250, and Lawn Love at $770 to $3,000 depending on the area.
Pattern#
A simple running bond goes down fastest. Herringbone and other angled patterns need more cuts along every edge, and HomeAdvisor notes that intricate designs raise labor cost. Curves add cutting too.
Labor rates#
Installers charge $50 to $80 an hour, or $4 to $11 per square foot, on HomeAdvisor's and Bob Vila's figures, and Lawn Love puts per square foot pricing at $5 to $15. HomeAdvisor estimates a 300 square foot patio at 35 to 40 hours of work. Stone takes longer than concrete pavers because each piece is a different shape or weight.
Extras#
Built-in features are where a patio budget doubles. Bob Vila puts a seating wall at $40 to $60 per linear foot and a fire pit at $300 to $1,400. HomeAdvisor puts outdoor electrical at $600 to $2,300 and a gas line at $15 to $25 per linear foot. Running conduit or a gas line under the patio before the base goes in is far cheaper than afterward.
Materials by component#
Here is the DIY material list for a 12 by 16 foot patio, 192 square feet, in concrete pavers. Quantities are the paver calculator's with a 6 inch base, a 1 inch sand bed and 10 percent waste on the pavers.
| Component | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete pavers, 4x8 | 908 pavers, 211 sq ft | $844–$1,266 |
| Gravel base and sand bed | 3.56 yd³ base, 0.59 yd³ sand | $192 |
| Edge restraint | 56 ft | $50 |
| Sod cutter rental | 1 day | $65 |
| Wet masonry saw rental | 1 day | $60 |
| Total | 192 sq ft | $1,211–$1,633 |
Pavers are Lawn Love's $4 to $6 per square foot for concrete pavers, applied to the 211 square feet that 908 pavers cover. Base and sand are HomeAdvisor's roughly $1 per square foot; edging, the sod cutter and the saw are HomeAdvisor's DIY figures. Polymeric joint sand, which Lawn Love lists at $22 a bag, and a plate compactor rental are on top.
That is $6 to $9 per square foot in materials and rentals, against $1,200 to $5,800 for the same patio installed. Most of the difference is the digging and compacting, which is heavy, slow work. The base is where a DIY patio succeeds or fails: compact the gravel in lifts of a few inches at a time, and do not use the sand bed to correct an uneven base.
Ordering the base
Tons of gravel for the area and depth
Enter the patio size and base depth to get cubic yards and tons of crushed stone to order.
DIY versus contractor#
Labor runs $4 to $11 per square foot on HomeAdvisor's and Bob Vila's figures. On a paver patio that is often more than the pavers themselves, and it is the number you are deciding about.
| Approach | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| DIY, materials and rentals | $1,211–$1,633 | 2 to 3 weekends |
| Contractor, installed | $1,200–$5,800 | 2 to 4 days |
| Labor inside the installed price | $768–$2,112 | — |
Installed is HomeAdvisor's figure for a 12 by 16 patio. Labor is $4 to $11 per square foot on 192 square feet.
A paver patio is one of the more DIY-friendly hardscape jobs, because the work is forgiving until the last layer: a high spot in the base can be dug and recompacted before a single paver goes down. What it asks for is muscle. The soil out and the gravel in on a 12 by 16 patio come to more than 10 tons of material moved by wheelbarrow, and the compaction has to be done with a rented plate compactor, not by hand.
Call 811 before you dig
Even a patio dig goes deep enough to reach shallow utility lines. Call 811 a few days before excavating so the utilities can mark their lines, and plan the patio so it does not sit over a line you may need to reach later.
Planning the dig
Cubic yards out and truckloads to haul
Enter the patio size and total dig depth to get yards in the ground, loose yards in the truck, and how many loads.
Checking a quote in two minutes#
Work out the area, then hold the quote against the per square foot range for your material.
Take the 12 by 16 patio in concrete pavers, 192 square feet. At $8 to $25 per square foot that is $1,536 to $4,800, and HomeAdvisor's own range for that size is $1,200 to $5,800. A quote of $3,500 is mid-range. A quote of $7,000 is over $36 per square foot, so ask for it itemized: regrading, a seating wall, natural stone or a complex pattern would each explain part of it. Run the size through the paver calculator and check the paver count is in the right range.
The same test runs the other way. A quote near the price of the pavers alone usually means a thin base, no compaction in lifts, or no edge restraint, and that patio will heave and spread within a few winters. Ask every bidder for the base depth, how it is compacted, and what holds the edges, and the cheap quotes tend to explain themselves.
Save the paver patio cost chart#
Pavers and installed cost for six common patio sizes. Save it and you can hold a hardscape bid against your own patio size.
Save to PinterestOpens Pinterest with the chart and link ready to go.
Common questions#
How much does a 12x12 paver patio cost?#
HomeAdvisor puts a 12 by 12 foot paver patio, 144 square feet, at $850 to $4,300 installed. Doing it yourself, the pavers alone for that size are about 681 concrete pavers at a 4 by 8 inch size, plus the gravel base, bedding sand and edging.
Is a concrete patio cheaper than pavers?#
A plain broom-finish concrete slab is usually the cheapest hard surface, because it goes in as one continuous pour rather than piece by piece. Once concrete is stamped or stained, concrete and pavers land close enough that the decision comes down to looks and repairability. Pavers can be lifted and reset. Concrete cannot.
How much does a paver patio cost per square foot?#
$8 to $25 per square foot installed in 2026 on HomeAdvisor's and Bob Vila's figures, with high-end natural stone such as flagstone reaching $50. Concrete pavers run $6 to $17 installed, brick $12 to $20, and natural stone $15 to $30.
Can I build a paver patio myself?#
Yes, and it is one of the more forgiving hardscape jobs. Labor is $4 to $11 per square foot of the installed price, so on a 12 by 16 patio doing it yourself keeps $768 to $2,112. The hard part is the base: dig deep enough, compact the gravel in thin lifts with a plate compactor, and set firm edge restraint.