Compare the Best BarbecuesJanuary 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!

BBQ Prices

We currently list 66 BBQs ranging from $37 to $2,499. On average, a new grill costs $521 and 80% of barbecues are priced between $129 and $1,100. The Weber Performer is the cheapest grill at only $38, and Weber Summit E-670 is the most expensive at $2,499.

BBQ Brands - Price Range

The highest average BBQ price out of all brands is Everdure barbecues with an average price of $1,499. Everdure barbecues range in price from $999 to $1,999.

The second highest average grill price out of all brands is Siemens BBQs with an average price of $1,175. Siemens BBQs range in price from $1,175 to $1,175.

The third highest average barbecue price out of all brands is Traeger barbecues with an average price of $1,054. Traeger barbecues start at $900 and their most expensive barbecue costs $1,209.

Grill Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 61 expert reviews and 4,528 user reviews for BBQs and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of barbecue. The top three grill brands are Weber, tepro and Barbecook. Weber has an average rating of 59%, tepro has an average rating of 53% and Barbecook has an average rating of 14%.

Biggest Grill Retailers

We found 68 current offers for BBQs from eBay making it the biggest grill retailer. That is over 11 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 Barbecues Released?

We looked at the release dates for new BBQs over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any evident pattern. 39 new BBQs were released in January 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new BBQ releases. January was also the biggest month in 2017 for new barbecues, with 35 new barbecues released that month. The biggest month in 2016 for new BBQ releases was September, with 70 new BBQs released that month.

How Fast Do Grill Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, barbecues drop in price by 13%. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $68 on a typical $521 new BBQ by waiting 6 months before buying.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

We found 246 grills that are BBQs that have a Grill Type, which makes this the most frequently found type amongst new grills. We found 222 BBQs that are BBQs that have a Barbecue Type, making Barbecue the second most frequently found type amongst new BBQs.

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.

Amongst new barbecues, the most popular form factor is Tabletop. We found 150 barbecues that are barbecues that have a Tabletop Form factor. We found 123 BBQs that are BBQs that have a Cart Form factor, making Cart the second most popular form factor amongst new BBQs.

Lids

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

Most new barbecues are BBQs with a lid. 309 out of 471 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.).

We found 157 BBQs that are electric grills, which makes electric the most common heat source amongst new BBQs. The second most popular heat source amongst new barbecues is gas. We found 156 barbecues that are gas BBQs.

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. 67 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 BBQs 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. 98.5% of their barbecue prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.