Compare the Best BarbecuesNovember 2018

Barbecues and grills are cooking devices meant for both outside and inside cooking. They usually comprise of a metal grill suspended over a fuel source (charcoal, gas or electric). The food (usually meats) are placed onto the grill, where the high temperatures from the fuel cook it quickly and efficiently. Barbeques are the epitome of summer cooking - great for parties and quickly cooking large amounts of meat and vegetables.

The two names can be used interchangably, but here are the main differences between barbeques and grills. It's important to be clear on which type you want when buying, because outdoor barbecues generally can't be used indoors - they generate a lot of smoke, that will make a kitchen very unpleasant very quickly!

Barbeques don't require electricity - prefering to use a fuel source such as charcoal or gas. They can be significantly larger than grills, meant for cooking for families and groups, which also means they can be more expensive. Their fuel sources generate a lot of smoke, meaning the can also be used for hot smoking meat and fish.

Grills are usually smaller than barbeques and can be used inside. They tend towards either electricity or gas as a fuel source, meaning they produce less smoke, but are more costly to run. They are meant more for small families, apartments, or places where setting up a big barbeque and causing lots of smoke would be more of a challenge. This means they can be significantly cheaper: however, since they don't use charcoal or wood as a fuel, you don't get quite the same chargrilled taste as a proper barbeque.

Size

Grills and barbecues come in all different shapes and sizes - from very small one-person grills that can only cook a couple of sausages at a time, to enormous barbeques that can easily cook entire racks of ribs or whole birds at once. The barbeques and grills on our site have a cooking surface measured in centimeters - the larger it is, the more food can be cooked at once. Smaller grills and barbeques may be marked as portable, meaning they are specially designed for picnics or outdoor parties.

Fuel Type

As mentioned above, barbeques and grills can use several different types of fuel sources. Outdoor barbeques tend towards charcoal, wood or gas, while indoor grills tend to use either gas or electricity. It's important that generally speaking one can't be substituted for the other - so make sure you have access to a source of fuel for your chosen barbeque before you buy it.

Lid

Some of our grills and barbeques are marked as having a lid. These are extremely useful for both increasing the heat of the cooking, and limiting the smoke generated by the barbeque. They are also essential for smoking, since it traps the smoke that gives hot-smoked meat and fish their unique taste.

Extras

Grills and barbeques are extremely customisable, and come with a wide variety of extras that can help you cook more effectively. These can include a non-stick coating to the grill rack, detachable legs for larger barbeques or a double-walled 'cool touch' handles to reduce the risk of accidental burning.

Moreover, some of our models are marked as 'easy to clean' - given how messy grilling a large quantity of meat and fish can be, this is a massive boon if you're going to use your grill frequently!

BBQ Prices

In total we found 72 barbecues ranging from $23 to $2,499. The average price of a new grill is $436 and the 80% of BBQs are priced between $50 and $1,000. The cheapest barbecue that we found is the Gibson Baseball at only $24, and the most expensive is the Weber Summit E-670 at $2,499.

BBQ Brands - Price Range

The average price of Everdure BBQs is $1,499 which is the highest average price of all BBQ brands. Everdure BBQs start at $999 and their most expensive BBQ costs $1,999.

Siemens barbecues range in price from $1,307 to $1,307, and the average price of Siemens barbecues is $1,307 which is the second highest average price of all grill brands.

Traeger barbecues range in price from $980 to $1,135, and the third highest average BBQ price out of all brands is Traeger barbecues with an average price of $1,057.

BBQ Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 80 expert reviews and 5,976 user reviews for grills written online and used this data to calculate the average rating for each brand of grill. The top rated BBQ brand is Weber with an average rating of 93%. The second best brand is tepro with 80% and the third best brand is Barbecook with 80%.

Biggest BBQ Retailers

The biggest BBQ retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 67 current BBQ offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Amazon US with 14 offers. That means eBay is over 4 times bigger than Amazon US when it comes to grills. Air n Water is the third biggest retailer with 5 current offers.

When Are Most New Grills Released?

We couldn't see any prominent pattern in the release dates for new grills over the last 3 years. In 2017 most new grills were released in January, with 34 new grills released that month. 70 new barbecues were released in September 2016 making it the biggest month that year for new grill releases. The biggest month in 2015 for new barbecue releases was July, with 94 new barbecues released that month.

How Fast Do Barbecue Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, barbecues drop in price by 14%. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $62 on a typical $436 new barbecue by waiting 6 months before buying.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

The most popular type amongst new barbecues is Grill. We found 232 barbecues that are BBQs that have a Grill Type. The second most popular type amongst new grills is Barbecue. We found 220 grills that are grills that have a Barbecue Type.

Form Factors

Form factor is the case design of the grill/bbq. It can affect everything from the load capacity to what type of fuel is best used.

We found 140 barbecues that are barbecues that have a Tabletop Form factor, which makes Tabletop the most popular form factor amongst new barbecues. Cart is the second most frequently found form factor amongst new BBQs. We found 124 BBQs that are grills that have a Cart Form factor.

Lids

Some barbecues come with a lid which can be closed over the top of grill whilst it is cooking.

The vast majority of the 455 new grills currently listed on Kagoo are BBQs with a lid. 304 grills (67%) are BBQs with a lid.

Heat Sources

The heat source on a barbecue refers to the type of fuel that the barbecue uses (i.e. gas, charcoal, electric etc.).

We found 153 grills that are gas BBQs, which makes this the most popular heat source amongst new grills. We found 146 BBQs that are electric grills, making electric the second most frequently found heat source amongst new BBQs.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Grills?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying BBQs. For each retailer it shows the total number of BBQs where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying BBQs. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 62 of their grill prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Barbecues for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for barbecues by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of BBQ prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's BBQ prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 92.5% of their barbecue prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.