We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. What to Buy Hosting & Dining Outdoor & Patio The 7 Best Fire Pits, Including a Few of Our Tested Favorites We tested dozens of smokeless fire pits and asked a hospitality expert for recommendations. By Greg Baker Greg Baker Greg Baker is a chef, restaurant consultant, and writer with almost 40 years of experience in the industry. As an expert in outdoor cooking, Greg has written more than 30 articles on grilling and barbecuing for Food & Wine across categories including kamado grills, pizza ovens, and meat thermometers. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 13, 2024 In This Article View All In This Article Our Top Picks Reviews Our Favorite Fire Pit Factors to Consider How We Tested Fire Pits FAQ Our Expertise Photo: Food & Wine / Katie Rousso A fire pit's warm, welcoming glow draws people together for post-dinner s'mores, stories, and schmoozing. It's no coincidence that hotels and resorts design seating areas around them—recognizing people's natural attraction to fire, according to Marcus Latner of the Valencia Hotel Group. At home, the best fire pits fill a similar role, anchoring patio furniture or making backyard grilling and entertaining more cozy and intimate. If you shop around for the best fire pit, you'll soon realize how many options are on the market. And options mean decisions. Fire pits run on different kinds of fuel and come in various sizes. Smaller fire pits tend to be portable; some are designed for cooking or can even be converted into an outdoor pizza oven. We drew on our experience testing smokeless fire pits as well as input from Latner to find seven worth bringing home. Our Top Picks Best Fire Pit Overall: SALE Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 at Amazon $249 $200 Jump to Review Best Smokeless Fire Pit Upgrade: Breeo X Series 24 Smokeless Fire Pit at Amazon $599 Jump to Review Best Value Fire Pit: Hampton Bay Piedmont Steel Fire Pit at Amazon $226 Jump to Review Best Smokeless Fire Pit: SALE Blue Sky Outdoor Living The Peak Smokeless Fire Pit at Amazon $380 $255 Jump to Review Best Fire Table: Yardbird Rectangular Fire Pit Table at Yardbird.com Jump to Review Best Fire Pit for Cooking: Cowboy Cauldron The Dude Fire Pit at Cowboycauldron.com Jump to Review Best Gas Fire Pit: SALE Outland Living 24" Mega Fire Pit at Amazon $215 $140 Jump to Review Best Fire Pit Overall Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 PHOTO: Amazon $249 $200 at Amazon $230 at Target $325 at Williams Sonoma Pros It's easy to set up and use, and it's nearly smoke-free. Cons It's a little low to the ground without purchasing the optional stand. Also, it may be too efficient, as it burns wood quickly. The Bonfire 2.0 is a sleek, straightforward fire pit. But don't let that description fool you; it effectively burns clean and hot. As a smokeless pit, it still produced a small amount of smoke, as expected, but it burned clean, white, and odorless. During our tests, we didn't have to move our seats when the wind changed. The airflow design allows wood and charcoal to burn almost entirely. Burning four split logs for about 45 minutes, we were left with clean, white ash and only a bit of unburnt charcoal. Cleaning it was easy thanks to its removable base plate and ash pan. We've used this model for over a year on a wood deck and it's held up beautifully, still burning as efficiently as the day we ignited it the first time (no marks on the deck, either). The Bonfire ships with a carry bag, and that's about it. Any add-ons, such as a stand, lid, or cooking surfaces, are available separately. The Solo Stove Pi Fire Pizza Oven attachment conveniently turns your pit into a pizza oven, which adds to this fire pit's overall versatility (pictured below). Solo Stove has also released helpful accessories like a fire pit surround to protect pets and children from the hot exterior, a heat deflector to enhance the warmth in chilly seasons, and a pellet adapter if you'd rather not keep logs on hand. If you want a do-everything wood-burning fire pit that works as a backyard feature with portable potential, this is the best fire pit you can buy. Size: 20 x 14 inches | Weight: 23 pounds | Material: Stainless steel | Fuel: Wood Megan Passaro / Food & Wine Best Smokeless Fire Pit Upgrade Breeo X Series 24 Smokeless Fire Pit PHOTO: Amazon $599 at Amazon $599 at Home Depot View on Bbqguys.com Pros The smokeless design provides a more intense heat source, and you can buy accessories for live fire cooking. Cons It has no built-in ash management system. The cost of accessories adds up. This Breeo fire pit has a weathered steel finish that will develop a natural patina over time. It burns hot and gives off almost no smoke. Yet, it's the live-fire aspect of the Breeo that separates it from the rest of our choices. If you're ready to splurge, the brand's many accessories (sold separately) make this fire pit an excellent choice for live fire-cooking enthusiasts. We recommend combining Breeo's pole-mounted grill with a searing plate and cast-iron kettle for direct or offset cooking. The pole mount allows positioning the accessories vertically and swinging them horizontally to control the heat. Size: 28 x 15 inches | Weight: 62 pounds | Material: Corten and stainless steel | Fuel: Wood | Warranty: Lifetime Best Value Fire Pit Hampton Bay Piedmont Steel Fire Pit PHOTO: Amazon $226 at Amazon $149 at Home Depot Pros This well-priced unit is solidly constructed and aesthetically pleasing. Cons It's prone to rust with weather and requires dumping the whole pit when emptying ashes. The Piedmont fire pit is a good place to start for those who prefer an old-school aesthetic or for whom cost is a barrier to entry. Its mesh and steel design ensures good airflow to the fire while allowing 360º viewing of the fire and sharing in the heat. High heat-resistant paint on the 12-inch bowl keeps the unit looking good, but prone to rust quickly when left in the elements. The spark shield does an adequate job of containing most pops and crackles. It comes with a grill grate that can function directly over the coals or be mounted on the included pole, which you can then raise, lower, or swing away to grill vegetables and other foods with indirect heat. Size: 30 x 23 inches | Weight: 22 pounds | Material: Steel | Fuel: Wood | Warranty: 1 year Best Smokeless Fire Pit Blue Sky Outdoor Living The Peak Smokeless Fire Pit PHOTO: Amazon $380 $255 at Amazon $208 at Wayfair $255 at Walmart Pros This fire pit is lightweight and substantially built, and it gave off barely any smoke in our tests. Cons It requires pellets or smaller pieces of wood (up to 10 inches long) to operate as a smokeless pit. While smokeless fire pits are not truly smokeless, the lack of smoke and odor gives them an advantage over traditional fire pits. We burned wood and pellets to test the Peak, noticing that it burned cleaner and cleaner as the fire grew. It produced more heat than most smokeless fire pits we tested, and the wide mouth of the firebox let us add fuel comfortably. Its two-piece design includes an ash collector, which nests with the firebox for storage. Made of heavy-duty steel and coated with high-grade, heat-resistant paint, it can withstand temperatures of 1,200°F. The grate contains extra welds to facilitate flexing that occurs at such temperatures. The Peak comes with a storage and carrying bag. You could also use it with a swing-away grill to cook burgers or hot dogs. Finally, if you're a big football fan, you can purchase a pit with the logo of one of eight NFL teams. Size: 22 x 16 inches | Weight: 35 pounds | Material: Steel | Fuel: Pellets or wood | Warranty: 3 year PHOTO: Food & Wine / Katie Rousso PHOTO: Food & Wine / Katie Rousso Best Fire Table Yardbird Rectangular Fire Pit Table PHOTO: Yardbird View on Yardbird.com Pros The table is stylish and can serve as a regular table when not in use. Cons The battery-operated ignitor can be troublesome, and some might want more fire glass than is shipped with the unit. Veering from the pit design of our other picks, the Yardbird is both furniture and fire pit. It features a 55,000 BTU burner that is adjustable to your liking and comes in a brown aluminum finish with an enclosed propane tank storage underneath the tabletop. The unit can also be attached to your house's natural gas, similar to a gas grill setup. The rectangular model can comfortably seat six to eight people and has a wide rail around the firebox for resting food, drinks, and the like. When the firebox is not in use, the cover protects its inner workings and allows the unit to function as a standard table for cocktails and snacks. The manufacturer prefers a vertical fire from the burner purely for aesthetics. A more dispersed flame is accomplished by adding more fire glass, should that be your preference. Size: 61 x 32 x 25 inches | Weight: 61 pounds | Material: Aluminum, brushed stainless steel | Fuel: Propane or natural gas | Warranty: 3 year Best Fire Pit for Cooking Cowboy Cauldron The Dude Fire Pit PHOTO: Orvis View on Cowboycauldron.com View on Orvis.com Pros A large group can sit around this fire pit. The plate steel construction has a long life span. Cons It's heavy and expensive. With a 42-inch diameter, the Cowboy Cauldron Ranch Boss is big and bold. Its straightforward design nods to the past; a tripod holds a large basin from a chain. Smaller basins include one with a modest 24-inch diameter, which has a comfortable seating suggestion of three to four people. As the largest model, the Ranch Boss claims to accommodate "everyone." Latner says the Valencia group uses the Cowboy Cauldron at its properties, most of which are in Texas, because of its unique aesthetic. People find them so attractive and unique that his company frequently receives requests for information on where to purchase them. In addition to the tripod, basin, and chain assembly, the Ranch Boss ships with a rain cover, charcoal grate, and cooking grill. It can be cooked in or cooked on for those who want to use their Cauldron beyond a fire pit. One can build a fire under the basin and live out their Bugs Bunny fantasies while stewing or frying large projects, or the cooking grill can be used for both grilling and as a cooking surface for cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens. Size: 60 x 70 inches total, 24-inch diameter basin | Weight: 35 pound basin | Material: Solid-plate steel | Fuel: Wood or charcoal | Warranty: Not listed Best Gas Fire Pit Outland Living 24" Mega Fire Pit PHOTO: Amazon $215 $140 at Amazon View on Basspro.com View on Cabelas.com Pros It heats up quickly, and it's as smoke-free as fire pits come. It's also easy to set up. Cons It has a more utilitarian design than other fire pits on our list. Given its small footprint, this Outland Living fire pit has a respectable heat output (58,000 BTU). It performed the best of the gas fire pits we tested with noticeable warmth (we felt it about 4 feet from the pit) and almost no smoke. It connects to a standard 20-pound propane tank via a 10-foot hose, which comes attached to the pit. While we'll admit that we prefer gas fire pits that conceal the propane tank, the length of this hose allows you to keep the tank at a distance. During our tests, we set it up in just five minutes, pouring in lava rocks and connecting the gas line. We also like the control that the dial provides. Size: 24 x 13 inches | Weight: 34 pounds | Material: Powder-coated steel | Fuel: LP gas | Warranty: 1 year limited PHOTO: Food & Wine / Cathy Fallone PHOTO: Food & Wine / Cathy Fallone Our Favorite Fire Pit The Solo Stove is a true fire pit innovation for convenience, versatility, and portability. If you're looking for a larger, more permanent addition to your outdoor space, the Yardbird Rectangular Fire Pit Table checks the boxes for design, durable materials, and heat output. Factors to Consider Size The first considerations for selecting a fire pit size are what space you have to work with and how many people you expect to gather around it. Don't just consider the space you have available for sizing your fire pit. You'll need to allow an extra two feet or more on all sides of the pit to allow space for people to walk safely, arrange chairs (Adirondack chairs are a favorite), access the pit, add wood, and the like. Also for safety reasons, you'll need to place the fire pit between 10 and 25 feet from houses, fences, and other structures to prevent accidental fires. While your outdoor space may allow for a larger fire pit on paper, add these factors to your equation when considering how large or small a pit you can fit safely into the design. If space is tight, a patio heater might be a better fit. Outdoor Surface Most manufacturers recommend a fire-resistant surface for your fire pit. Sand, gravel, rocks, and concrete blocks are all suitable surfaces to place your pit. Be cautious of grass or uneven surfaces, as they can result in the fire being exactly where you don't want it. When placing your pit on wood decks, table tops, finished concrete, or even unfinished concrete slabs, heat-resistant pads made for this purpose reduce the dangers of fire marring your surface. It's also imperative to never place a wood-burning pit under a roof or under trees where errant sparks can cause accidental fires. Fuel Type Before deciding on wood versus gas, ensure that you can have a ready supply of either. After that, the two main factors to consider when deciding what type of fuel you want are the space you have to work with and how much effort you want to put into starting your pit. A wood-burning pit requires more room to operate safely. A gas pit has more predictable flames and doesn't require as many fire-prevention measures. Most gas pits – provided your propane tank is full or you have it connected to your home natural gas line – are a matter of turning a knob and pushing an ignition switch. Many wood-burning pits list the time between lighting and having a full fire in their advertisements, most around the 15-minute mark. A third but important consideration: gas may be a safer choice in high-drought and fire-prone areas to help mitigate risks. How We Tested Fire Pits We based this list of the best fire pits on our smokeless fire pit tests, though not all of the smokeless fire pits on this list were part of the tests. We also consulted an industry expert to get his thoughts on what makes a great fire pit, based on his experience with fire pits at hotels and resorts. We included his top recommendation on our list. Setup: Our testing began with removing parts from the packaging, reading the instructions, and assembling pits that required it. Next, we lit a fire using wood, pellets, or gas, as recommended by the manufacturer. If a pit used both, we tested with each fuel.Heating performance and smoke: We burned each pit three times, taking notes on heating performance and how far the heat radiated. We observed the quantity and quality of the smoke. For any smokeless models, we also took this into account.Design: We evaluated how easy it was to add fuel, how much ash it produced, and how easy it was to move the pit if it was considered portable. Durability and value: We assessed the durability of each fire pit by testing it outdoors and exposing it to elements like wind and rain. After testing, we evaluated how each fire pit performed for the price. We rated each of these categories on a scale of one to five and then averaged them to arrive at our final score. Frequently Asked Questions How far from the house should a fire pit be? As sparks or flames can start a larger fire, a fire pit should be 10 to 25 feet from buildings, trees, and accessory buildings, like sheds, according to manufacturers and insurance companies. This means it isn't safe to use a fire pit under a covered patio. Likewise, garages and other enclosed spaces are not safe locations for fire pits. What is a smokeless fire pit? By nature, a gas fire pit is smokeless. So that's one version. Recent innovations in wood-burning pits result in significantly reduced smoke – hence, smokeless. Airflow design creates convection, drawing cool air in from the bottom, which is heated as it rises through the device. As the hot air reaches and escapes the top of the fire pit, it ignites the small, unburned particles that compose smoke. This process results in higher temperatures in the fire pit and more thorough combustion of the wood inside. Can you cook with a fire pit? Depending on the design, yes, you can cook with a fire pit. Some pits, like the Cowboy Cauldron, are designed with cooking in mind. Others reviewed here have available add-on components to facilitate cooking. Cooking creates char, water vapor, and grease, so the resulting mess can require special cleaning or affect the performance of the pit, especially in cases such as a fire table. Check with the manufacturer's recommendations before cooking on your pit. Otherwise, you could consider something like a rotisserie grill if your outdoor cooking needs are more elaborate. Can you put wood on a gas fire pit? Although you can sometimes purchase a gas log lighter for a fire pit, most manufacturers draw a strict line on their pits; they are gas or wood-fired, but not both. Latner explains that accumulated ash can clog the burner jets from burning wood in a gas grill. These clogs can affect performance and lead to pressure buildups in the burner, which may yield catastrophic results. Additionally, the direct heat of coals and the weight of wood logs on a gas burner can warp or bend the burner element, again leading to decreased performance and dangerous circumstances. What type of fire pit gives off the most heat? Wood fire pits give off more heat than propane pits, as wood burns at a higher temperature. Using dry, dense wood will make the fire hotter. If you prefer a propane pit, such as a smokeless fire pit, look for a dual-flow design without heavy insulation, which will give off more radiant heat. Our Expertise Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with decades of experience in the food industry. For this piece, he interviewed Marcus Latner, Corporate Director of Operations for Valencia Hotel Group, Courts Division, to find out what the pros look for when selecting fire pits. He then used their insights and his expertise combined with market research to curate this list. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit