Best Cigar Ashtrays

A good cigar ashtray has wide, deep cigar rests and enough weight to stay put. Cigars have a much larger ring gauge than cigarettes, so a narrow cigarette notch will not hold them. The rest needs to cradle the cigar without it rolling off or tipping in.

Four features separate a real cigar ashtray from a generic one:

• Wide, deep rests. A cigar rest should hold a 50-plus ring gauge cigar securely.
• Weight and stability. A heavy base resists tipping when you set a cigar down.
• A deep bowl. Cigars produce a long, fragile ash that needs room to land.
• Heat resistance. The material has to take a lit cigar without scorching or cracking.

Get those four right and the rest is style. A ceramic ashtray usually checks every box.

A deep bowl matters because cigars produce a long, heavy ash that a shallow tray cannot hold. A fine cigar ash can grow over an inch before it drops. A flat or shallow dish lets that ash spill over the edge or scatter with a breeze.

A deep bowl does three things:

• Catches the full ash without overflow.
• Hides spent stubs so the tray looks clean.
• Blocks light wind that would otherwise blow ash around.

Look for a bowl with real depth, not a decorative saucer. For more on technique, including ashing, see how to smoke a cigar.

The best material depends on whether you value looks, weight, or portability. Ceramic and crystal win on weight and style for the home. Metal and melamine win for travel and the outdoors. Each trades something.

Here is how the main materials compare:

Material	Strengths	Best for
Ceramic	Heavy, stable, heat-safe, classic look	Everyday home use
Crystal / glass	Premium look, great weight	Gifts and display
Metal	Tough, light, hard to break	Travel and outdoor use
Melamine / resin	Cheap, unbreakable, very light	Patios, golf, travel
Marble	Striking look, very heavy, stays cool	Display pieces, indoor bars
Stone (soapstone, granite)	Extremely heavy, natural variation, heat-safe	Outdoor tables, windy patios
Porcelain	Fine, glossy finish, heat-safe	Gifts and display
Wood (with metal liner)	Warm look, needs a liner to be heat-safe	Lounge furniture, ashtray stands
Brass	Durable, develops a patina with age, adds weight	Vintage-style and lounge pieces

A few notes on each:

• Ceramic is the all-around favorite. It is dense, takes heat well, and wipes clean.
• Crystal or glass looks the part on a desk or bar but can chip if dropped.
• Metal trays shrug off knocks, which makes them good for the road.
• Melamine or resin trays are light and nearly indestructible, ideal where breakage is a risk.
• Marble and stone (soapstone, granite) are the heaviest options on this list — great for wind resistance, harder to move around.
• Porcelain is a finer-finished cousin of ceramic; it takes heat the same way but chips a little more easily.
• Wood looks warmest in a lounge setting but needs a metal insert liner to be heat-safe against a lit cigar.
• Brass is durable and ages with a patina, which suits a vintage or lounge look.

Size and shape vary independently of material. Round single- or two-rest trays suit a desk or side table, rectangular trays suit a bar or console, and XL multi-rest trays (four rests and up) suit groups — pick the shape for where the tray will sit, then the material for how it will be used.

A single-rest ashtray suits a solo smoker, while a multi-rest tray fits group sessions. The number of rests should match how you smoke. There is no benefit to four rests if you always smoke alone.

• Single rest: Compact and personal. Great for a desk or a quiet evening cigar.
• Two rests: A flexible middle ground for you and a guest.
• Four rests: Built for groups, lounges, and outdoor gatherings.

Multi-rest trays also tend to be larger and heavier, which adds stability. If you host often, the extra rests earn their place.

A lidded ashtray keeps ash and spent butts contained between sessions instead of left exposed on a table or shelf. The lid also cuts down on stale-cigar odor when the tray sits out for hours between smokes.

Three features worth knowing:

• Lids. A hinged or slide lid seals in ash and lingering smoke when the tray isn't in use — useful for a tray that lives on a coffee table or bar cart rather than a dedicated smoking area.
• Fans. Battery- or USB-powered ashtrays built around a small fan pull smoke downward and filter it, cutting the smell in a closed room. They add bulk and need power, so they suit a den or office more than a patio.
• Metal insert liners. A removable metal liner drops into a ceramic, wood, or stone base so cleanup means dumping the liner instead of scrubbing the whole tray. Liners also protect a porous material like wood or stone from scorch marks.

A lid or insert adds convenience, not capacity — the rest and bowl still need to be sized for a cigar, not a cigarette.

The best outdoor cigar ashtray is heavy, deep, and wind-resistant so ash stays put. Indoor trays can prioritize looks because there is no breeze to fight. Outdoor trays have to handle wind and the occasional bump.

For outdoor or patio use, look for:

• A deep, narrow bowl that shields ash from gusts.
• Real weight so the tray will not blow or slide off a table.
• A durable material like metal or melamine that survives a drop.

Indoors, a heavy ceramic or crystal tray is hard to beat. Pair it with a good drink for the full ritual — see our cigar and whiskey pairing guide.

A good cigar ashtray does not have to be expensive — melamine and resin trays in the $10–15 range (see the price tiers below) still hit all four core requirements: wide rests, real weight relative to their size, a deep bowl, and heat resistance. What you give up at the budget end is mostly looks and longevity, not function. A basic melamine two-rest tray handles a backyard cigar or a travel bag just as well as a $60 crystal piece; it just won't look as good doing it or survive being dropped as many times.

If you want ceramic's weight and heat performance without the display-piece price, look for unbranded or house-branded ceramic trays from general retailers rather than named cigar-brand or luxury pieces — the material and construction are usually comparable, and you're not paying for a licensed logo or a maker's name. Skip anything advertised as decorative-only; a shallow decorative dish is the one shortcut that actually costs you function, not just style.

A cup-holder-style ashtray is the right call for a car, golf cart, or boat because it wedges into the vehicle's existing cup holder instead of sliding around on a seat or console. Standard ceramic doesn't work in this setting for a simple reason: it's built to sit still on a flat, stationary surface, and a moving vehicle offers neither.

Three reasons a regular ceramic ashtray fails in a vehicle:

• No fit. A flat-bottomed tray doesn't lock into a round cup holder and slides under braking or turning.
• Breakage risk. Ceramic and crystal crack or shatter if they tip onto a hard floor or dash.
• No ash containment in motion. Without a lid or deep, tapered walls, ash spills the moment the vehicle moves.

Look for one of two things in a car, golf cart, or boat ashtray: a tapered, cup-holder-matched base that seats snugly instead of rattling, or — for a fixed dash or table mount — real weight in the base so it won't slide. Metal and silicone builds hold up better than ceramic against vibration and heat, and a lid earns its keep on a golf cart or boat where wind is constant.

A vintage wooden ashtray stand turns a tray into floor-standing furniture for a lounge or man cave. Stands raise the ashtray to armrest height, so you reach it without leaning. They suit recliners, reading chairs, and home bars.

A few options worth knowing:

• Vintage wooden ashtray stand: A classic floor stand, often with a heavy base and a removable tray.
• Custom ashtrays: Personalized or hand-painted trays that work well as a gift.
• Cool ashtrays: Novelty and themed designs, from skulls to barrel shapes, for personality.

A personalized tray also makes a great present — see more ideas in our best cigar gifts guide. Want the full accessory lineup? Browse our accessories hub.

A brand-logo ashtray carries a cigar maker's own crest, and it sells as much as a gift or collector's piece as a working tray. Cohiba, Padrón, Arturo Fuente, Montecristo, and My Father all have licensed ceramic ashtrays in circulation, usually sold through cigar retailers rather than the brands themselves.

Retailer-branded ashtrays are a related but separate category. JR Cigars and Cigars International both sell house-branded ceramic ashtrays, often as loyalty perks or bundled with a box order rather than as a standalone purchase.

A logo on the tray doesn't guarantee cigar-grade dimensions. Check the rest width and bowl depth against the four features above before buying on brand appeal alone — a branded piece with a shallow bowl is still a shallow bowl.

Novelty and themed ashtrays turn the tray into a personality statement rather than a purely functional accessory, and they're a real, standing gift category, not a niche one. The mentions above of skull and barrel shapes are one slice of it; the broader category splits into three styles:

• Sports-team designs. Trays cast or printed with a team's crest and colors, sold as fan merchandise as much as smoking gear.
• Luxury-fashion-brand styling. Pieces that borrow the look of marques like Harley-Davidson, Versace, Hermès, or Tommy Bahama. Most of these are third-party novelty items that reference a brand's aesthetic rather than official merchandise from the fashion house itself, so treat "authentic" claims skeptically.
• Pop-culture designs. Trays styled after classic film and TV motifs — mafia-movie tributes, mid-century lounge styling, and similar themes aimed at a home bar or man cave.

These sit alongside the vintage wooden stand and custom pieces above as gift-first purchases: buyers pick them for the look first and still expect the ceramic or resin build underneath to handle a real cigar.

A combo set pairs an ashtray with a cutter and lighter in one box, which is the simplest way to buy a complete accessory gift in a single purchase. These sets typically match the ashtray's finish — metal, ceramic, or leather-wrapped travel case — to the cutter and lighter so the pieces look like they belong together. That convenience and matched finish is the trade-off worth knowing before buying one: a combo set is rarely the best individual ashtray, cutter, or lighter at that price compared to buying good pieces separately, the same logic that applies to cutter-and-lighter combo sets.

Personalization is the other half of this category. Monogrammed and engraved ashtrays — a name, initials, or a short message etched into the base or rim — turn a generic tray into a keepsake for a groomsman gift, retirement present, or milestone birthday. Engraving holds up best on metal, brass, or glazed ceramic; porous stone and unglazed wood take an engraving poorly.

See more matched sets and personalization ideas in our best cigar gifts guide.

Cigar ashtrays are sold everywhere from general big-box retailers to dedicated cigar shops, and price tracks material far more than brand. Amazon, Walmart, and The Home Depot all carry basic ceramic and metal trays alongside general housewares, while JR Cigars and Cigars International (linked above) stock cigar-specific and branded pieces alongside their tobacco inventory.

Rough price tiers by material:

• $10–15: Melamine or resin — the cheapest tier, built for patios and travel rather than looks.
• $20–40: Standard ceramic — the everyday-home tier, and where most buyers land.
• $40–80: Crystal, glass, and porcelain — the gift-and-display tier.
• $100+: Stone, marble, and premium crystal or brass pieces — the display-and-collector tier, where craftsmanship and material scarcity drive the price more than function.

Outside the US, availability skews toward general housewares and duty-free shops rather than dedicated cigar retailers, and imported stone or crystal pieces carry a real shipping and import-duty premium over buying domestically.

Any bowl will hold ash. But a proper cigar ashtray is designed for a specific job that a cigarette ashtray does poorly — holding a lit cigar off the surface so it burns evenly, catching the long ash that a well-made cigar produces, and being wide enough to accommodate the ring gauge of a modern smoke.

Three features separate a real cigar ashtray from a repurposed drinking-glass coaster:

• Deep, wide notches that hold a 50+ ring gauge cigar. Cigarette-only ashtrays have shallow slots that force a big cigar to sit at an angle, which uneven-burns the wrapper.
• Weight and stability. A good cigar ashtray weighs a pound or more. Ceramic, glass, and stone are the classics — heavy enough that the cigar can rest against the notch without tipping the whole tray.
• A bowl deep enough for two to four inches of ash. A well-made cigar with the right humidity produces a long, tight ash that's part of the experience. A shallow bowl forces you to tap early and often, which is bad for the burn.

Beyond function, cigar ashtrays span from utilitarian ceramic pieces to custom, crystal, and vintage wooden-stand designs. A ceramic ashtray is the safest starting point — heavy, easy to clean, hard to break. Crystal ashtrays are the classic gift; stone (soapstone, marble) is beautiful but heavy to move.

A ceramic ashtray remains the smart default for most cigar smokers because it pairs the weight, deep bowl, and wide rests that a cigar demands. Match the material to where you smoke: ceramic or crystal at home, metal or melamine outdoors, and a vintage wooden ashtray stand for the lounge. Whichever you pick, prioritize a deep bowl and wide rests over looks alone. Ready to round out your kit? Explore our full accessories guide for cutters, lighters, and travel cases that pair with your new tray.