Compare the Best BarbecuesMay 2019

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!

Barbecue Prices

In total we found 68 BBQs ranging from $23 to $2,749. The average price of a new BBQ is $602 and the 80% of BBQs are priced between $129 and $1,618. The Weber Summit E-670 is the most expensive BBQ that we found at $2,749, and the Weber Smokey Joe is the cheapest at only $23.

BBQ Brands - Price Range

The highest average grill price out of all brands is Everdure barbecues with an average price of $1,499. Everdure barbecues start at $999 and their most expensive grill costs $1,999.

The average price of Traeger barbecues is $1,094 which is the second highest average price of all BBQ brands. Traeger barbecues start at $980 and their most expensive BBQ costs $1,209.

Broil King barbecues start at $99 and their most expensive BBQ costs $2,499. The average price of Broil King barbecues is $963 which is the third highest average price of all BBQ brands.

Grill Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 47 expert reviews and 4,722 user reviews for grills and used this data to calculate the average rating for each brand of barbecue. Weber is the top rated grill brand with an average rating of 94%. tepro is the second best brand with 88% and LANDMANN is the third best brand with 81%.

Biggest Barbecue Retailers

We found 74 current offers for BBQs from eBay making it the biggest grill retailer. That is over 12 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Air n Water for whom we found 6 current offers for BBQs. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 3 current grill offers.

When Are Most New Grills Released?

We couldn't see any clear pattern in the release dates for new BBQs over the last 3 years. 39 new grills were released in January 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new grill releases. January was also the biggest month in 2017 for new barbecues, with 33 new barbecues released that month. In September 2016, 68 new barbecues were released making it the biggest month that year for new BBQ releases.

How Fast Do BBQ Prices Drop After Release?

On average barbecues drop in price by 8% in the first 6 months after release. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $47 on a typical $602 new BBQ by waiting 6 months before buying.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

Amongst new grills, the most common type is grill. We found 267 grills that are BBQs that have a grill Type. We found 233 grills that are BBQs that have a barbecue Type, making barbecue the second most common type amongst new grills.

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.

Tabletop is the most frequently found form factor amongst new BBQs. We found 166 BBQs that are BBQs that have a tabletop Form factor. We found 132 grills that are BBQs that have a cart Form factor, making cart the second most frequently found form factor amongst new grills.

Lids

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

Most new BBQs are BBQs with a lid. 65% of BBQs on Kagoo 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.).

Amongst new barbecues, the most common heat source is electric. We found 176 barbecues that are electric grills. We found 164 barbecues that are gas BBQs, making gas the second most popular heat source amongst new barbecues.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Barbecues?

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. 72 of their grill prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of BBQs 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. 97.3% of their grill prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.