Compare the Best BarbecuesJune 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!

Grill Prices

Grills range in price from £16 to £2,765 and in total we found prices for 270 grills. A new BBQ costs on average £252 and 80% of grills are priced between £38 and £626. The cheapest barbecue that we found is the George Foreman 18471 at only £17, and the most expensive is the Gaggenau VR414110 at £2,764.

Grill Brands - Price Range

The average price of Gaggenau BBQs is £2,764 which is the highest average price of all barbecue brands. Gaggenau BBQs range in price from £2,764 to £2,764.

The second highest average barbecue price out of all brands is OFYR barbecues with an average price of £1,995. OFYR barbecues start at £1,695 and their most expensive barbecue costs £2,495.

The third highest average barbecue price out of all brands is Bartscher barbecues with an average price of £1,668. Bartscher barbecues start at £1,668 and their most expensive barbecue costs £1,668.

Grill Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 57 expert reviews and 4,373 user reviews for grills from across the internet and used this information to determine the average rating for each brand of grill. The top rated grill brand is Weber with an average rating of 93%. The second best brand is tepro with 82% and the third best brand is Barbecook with 70%.

Biggest Barbecue Retailers

We found 142 current offers for grills from eBay making it the biggest BBQ retailer. That is slightly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Amazon UK for whom we found 127 current offers for grills. The third biggest retailer is John Lewis with 35 current BBQ offers.

When Are Most New Barbecues Released?

The most common period for new grills to be released in is between July and September. For the latest grill features you may be best waiting until July 2018. Also the price of the current BBQs may drop off just before the latest models are released in July. 38 new BBQs were released in September 2017 making it the biggest month that year for new BBQ releases. September was also the biggest month in 2016 for new grills, with 77 new grills released that month. In 2015 most new grills were released in July, with 101 new grills released that month.

How Fast Do BBQ Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, grills drop in price by 9% on average. On a typical new BBQ costing £252, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £22.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

The most frequently found type amongst new grills is Grill. We found 311 grills that are barbecues that have a Grill Type. Barbecue is the second most common type amongst new grills. We found 209 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.

The most popular form factor amongst new grills is Tabletop. We found 211 grills that are BBQs that have a Tabletop Form factor. The second most popular form factor amongst new barbecues is Cart. We found 121 barbecues that are barbecues 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.

Of the 523 new BBQs currently listed on Kagoo, the vast majority are barbecues with a lid. 355 BBQs (68%) are barbecues 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 214 BBQs that are electric BBQs, which makes this the most popular heat source amongst new BBQs. Gas is the second most frequently found heat source amongst new barbecues. We found 157 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 grills. For each retailer it shows the total number of grills 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. 95 of their grill prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Grills 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. 66.9% of their barbecue prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.