The Best Patio Heaters of 2023

The Amazon Basics propane patio heater is one of the best-selling heaters online, with a simple design that’s easy to use and throws a ton of heat. It can be assembled with just simple hand tools in less than an hour, uses standard 20-pound propane tanks (like your grill), and has a shutoff safety feature valve for if it tilts too far in any direction.

Reviewers were particularly impressed with how sturdy the unit was, given its reasonable price. It’s mostly made of metal, so you won’t want to toss it around, but it has small wheels to help you move it into place and can toss heat for about 8 to 10 feet in any direction. The only other note we saw was people being surprised at how tall it is in person. It’s a full 89 inches tall (so just over seven feet), but if you have the space for it, it’s a great outdoor heater to choose.

The Sunjoy Avanti is a 47,000 BTU propane heater. Like the other mushroom-style propane heaters, it’s a relatively simple design that uses standard 20-pound propane tanks. It’s easy to assemble, weighs less than 30 pounds, and you can have it ignited and pumping out heat in no time at all. It also features an automatic shutoff for if it tilts, and the igniter is positioned near the top so that shorter children can’t play with it.

Reviewers praised the Sunjoy’s heat output, with most saying it comfortably threw heat at least six to nine feet and would last for 6 to 10 hours on a single tank. If you have an outdoor space you want to use well into fall and winter, this will get the job done as long as you don’t mind the cost of propane tanks.

The Hiland Pyramid patio propane heater is designed as a pyramid-style heater that hooks up to a standard 20-pound propane tank. It produces heat via a flame that runs up a quartz glass tube, which looks amazing, providing a real centerpiece for your patio area. It’s as much a design statement as a functional heater.

Reviewers did comment consistently that this threw out less heat than the more prosaic mushroom heaters, since it lacks the dome-shaped top to direct heat back down. That meant its heating radius was a bit smaller, and you’re trading some efficiency for looks here. Otherwise, people found it to be relatively easy to assemble, very easy to use, and sturdily made. It’s a bit heavier than the other patio heaters we’ve looked at, but still under 75 pounds, so simple enough to get into position.

The Bromic Tungsten Electric Infrared heater is a 6000W radiant heater that uses electricity to produce warmth in your outdoor space. As you’d expect from an electric heater, it’ll require a corded power source—in this case a high-voltage 220/240V supply, similar to the kind you would run for an electric dryer.

If you can accommodate that, or have an electrician run one, this is a heater worth considering. Though it’s more expensive than the simple propane heaters, it’s wall-mountable and doesn’t require any kind of gas or swapping tanks. Reviewers praised its 6,000 watts of heat output, especially since it can be installed to focus it in one area instead of all around you. If that’s more than you need, you can buy smaller units (down to 2,000 watts), though those will toss less heat.

Overall, if you don’t like the idea of using propane tanks to provide heat, this is an excellent alternative for the right setup.

The Muskoka SunWave Commercial Ultra Quartz is another electric radiant heater model that’s perfect for your patio, garage, or deck space. Like the other electric heaters we looked at, this unit will require a 220/240V hookup, but it can toss heat extremely efficiently and be wall-mounted so it doesn’t take up any of your outdoor space.

The unit itself is relatively small at just over three feet wide, but reviewers praised how well it functioned. If you have a space that needs heat consistently and you don’t want to deal with the hassle of swapping propane tanks, this could be an excellent gas-free alternative.