Compare the Best BarbecuesDecember 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

We currently list 141 BBQs ranging from £19 to £1,695. A new barbecue costs on average £272 and 80% of grills are priced between £50 and £629. The OFYR Classic 100-100 Firepit / BBQ is the most expensive BBQ that we found at £1,695, and the tepro Crystal is the cheapest at only £20.

BBQ Brands - Price Range

The highest average BBQ price out of all brands is OFYR barbecues with an average price of £1,695. OFYR barbecues range in price from £1,695 to £1,695.

Traeger barbecues start at £1,259 and their most expensive BBQ costs £1,259. The second highest average BBQ price out of all brands is Traeger barbecues with an average price of £1,259.

The average price of Big Green Egg barbecues is £990 which is the third highest average price of all barbecue brands. Big Green Egg barbecues start at £96 and their most expensive barbecue costs £1,620.

BBQ Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 61 expert reviews and 4,464 user reviews for barbecues and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of BBQ. Weber is the top rated grill brand with an average rating of 54%. tepro is the second best brand with 53% and Barbecook is the third best brand with 14%.

Biggest BBQ Retailers

The biggest grill retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 117 current grill offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is John Lewis with 18 offers. That means eBay is over 6 times bigger than John Lewis when it comes to barbecues. Wellindal is the third biggest retailer with 13 current offers.

When Are Most New Barbecues Released?

We couldn't see any clear pattern in the release dates for new BBQs over the last 3 years. In January 2017 36 new grills were released making it the biggest month that year for new BBQ releases. 69 new grills were released in September 2016 making it the biggest month that year for new BBQ releases. The biggest month in 2015 for new BBQ releases was July, with 94 new grills released that month.

How Fast Do BBQ Prices Drop After Release?

New barbecues drop in price by an average of 15% in the first 6 months after they wer first released. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of £40 on a typical £272 new BBQ by waiting 6 months before buying.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

We found 239 barbecues that are BBQs that have a Grill Type, which makes this the most popular type amongst new barbecues. The second most frequently found type amongst new BBQs is Barbecue. We found 220 BBQs that are BBQs 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 145 grills that are BBQs that have a Tabletop Form factor, which makes this the most popular form factor amongst new grills. The second most common form factor amongst new grills is Cart. We found 125 grills 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.

Most new grills are grills with a lid. 305 grills (66%) on Kagoo are grills 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 grills, which makes this the most common heat source amongst new grills. We found 152 BBQs that are electric grills, making this the second most common heat source amongst new BBQs.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for BBQs?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying barbecues. For each retailer it shows the total number of barbecues where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying grills. 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. 106 of their BBQ 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 grills 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. 90.6% of their BBQ prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.