We had a stamped concrete patio in a previous house that looked like flagstone. Perhaps we had a really good company because we had several people say it looked real and didn't know until we told them.

Looks cheap.

stamped concrete is $10-15/sq foot possibly more if you want multiple colors.

Flagstone can be $30+/sq ft.

Our neighbors have stamped concrete and I think it looks great. I also thing that as far as resale goes you need to consider your neighborhood and sale price. you can get away with it in a less expensive are where buyers won't care or be hing up on materials.

OP here-we are trying to find a less expensive alternative than pavers...we are having an addition added to the house, so we don't want to spend anymore than we have to.

If we still used concrete, do you think it's better to just go with a square pad for now (not stamped) until we can afford pavers later (in a couple years)?

Why not lay pavers or bricks?

don't do it. even without cracking, the stamped look (the stone look or whatever you're choosing) will start to flake and peel off.

all stamped concrete pics are of brand new installs. the trick is to try to see one after year 2.

don't do that, it will crack

We will be doing a patio in our backyard and we're thinking of stamped concrete (mostly due to price) and possibly redoing our walkway in stamped concrete as well. I've seen pictures online of stamped concrete to look like flagstone and it looks really nice (at least from the pictures).

Has anyone had this done? Were you happy with it? How long has it lasted? Any cracks? Any tips/suggestions?

If you got estimates on stamped concrete vs flagstone, what was the price difference?