Compare the Best BarbecuesAugust 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!

Grill Prices

In total we found 144 BBQs ranging from £16 to £3,054. The average price of a new BBQ is £265 and 80% of BBQs are priced between £43 and £599. The cheapest BBQ that we found is the KAMADO Joe at only £17, and the most expensive is the Broil King IMPERIAL XLS at £3,054.

Grill Brands - Price Range

OFYR BBQs range in price from £1,695 to £1,695, and the average price of OFYR BBQs is £1,695 which is the highest average price of all barbecue brands.

Traeger barbecues range in price from £1,259 to £1,259, and the second highest average grill price out of all brands is Traeger barbecues with an average price of £1,259.

The average price of Broil King BBQs is £1,242 which is the third highest average price of all BBQ brands. Broil King BBQs range in price from £297 to £3,054.

Barbecue Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 56 expert reviews and 2,903 user reviews for grills and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of BBQ. The top rated BBQ brand is Weber with an average rating of 94%. The second best brand is Campingaz with 84% and the third best brand is tepro with 77%.

Biggest Grill Retailers

The biggest BBQ retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 82 current BBQ offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is John Lewis with 19 offers. That means eBay is over 4 times bigger than John Lewis when it comes to grills. Amazon UK is the third biggest retailer with 17 current offers.

When Are Most New Barbecues Released?

We looked at the release dates for new barbecues over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any prominent pattern. In January 2018, 39 new grills were released making it the biggest month that year for new barbecue releases. 33 new BBQs were released in January 2017 making it the biggest month that year as well for new BBQ releases. In 2016 most new barbecues were released in September, with 68 new barbecues released that month.

How Fast Do BBQ Prices Drop After Release?

New BBQs drop in price by an average of 15% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

A typical new BBQ costs on average £265. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £39.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

The most popular type amongst new barbecues is grill. We found 281 barbecues that are barbecues that have a grill Type. We found 242 grills that are grills that have a barbecue Type, making this the second most popular 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.

We found 176 BBQs that are BBQs that have a tabletop Form factor, which makes tabletop the most frequently found form factor amongst new BBQs. The second most frequently found form factor amongst new barbecues is cart. We found 139 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.

Most new BBQs are barbecues with a lid. 343 out of 526 on Kagoo 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 184 BBQs that are electric barbecues, which makes this the most frequently found heat source amongst new BBQs. We found 174 barbecues that are gas BBQs, making this the second most popular heat source amongst new barbecues.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Grills?

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. 70 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. 85.4% of their barbecue prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.