Compare the Best BarbecuesSeptember 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

BBQs range in price from £15 to £2,495 and in total we found prices for 215 BBQs. The average price of a new barbecue is £275 and 80% of barbecues are priced between £44 and £653. The cheapest barbecue that we found is the Weber Smokey Joe at only £15, and the most expensive is the OFYR Island & Firepit / BBQ 100-100 at £2,495.

BBQ Brands - Price Range

The average price of OFYR grills is £1,995 which is the highest average price of all barbecue brands. OFYR grills start at £1,695 and their most expensive barbecue costs £2,495.

The second highest average barbecue price out of all brands is Bartscher BBQs with an average price of £1,696. Bartscher BBQs start at £1,696 and their most expensive barbecue costs £1,696.

Traeger barbecues range in price from £1,259 to £1,259, and the average price of Traeger barbecues is £1,259 which is the third highest average price of all barbecue brands.

BBQ Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 78 expert reviews and 5,976 user reviews for grills available online and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of grill. Weber is the top rated BBQ brand with an average rating of 93%. tepro is the second best brand with 80% and Barbecook is the third best brand with 80%.

Biggest Grill Retailers

We found 126 current offers for barbecues from Amazon UK making it the biggest barbecue retailer. That is slightly bigger than the second biggest retailer, eBay for whom we found 120 current offers for barbecues. The third biggest retailer is John Lewis with 23 current barbecue offers.

When Are Most New Barbecues Released?

We looked at the release dates for new grills over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any clear trend. In January 2017 34 new grills were released making it the biggest month that year for new BBQ releases. In 2016 most new grills were released in September, with 70 new grills released that month. July was the biggest month in 2015 for new BBQs, with 94 new BBQs released that month.

How Fast Do Barbecue Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, grills drop in price by 15% on average. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of £40 on a typical £275 new BBQ by waiting 6 months before buying.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

Amongst new grills, the most popular type is Grill. We found 235 grills that are grills that have a Grill Type. We found 211 grills that are barbecues that have a Barbecue Type, making Barbecue the second most frequently found 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.

Amongst new BBQs, the most common form factor is Tabletop. We found 146 BBQs that are barbecues that have a Tabletop Form factor. We found 119 barbecues that are BBQs that have a Cart Form factor, making this the second most frequently found form factor amongst new barbecues.

Lids

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

The vast majority of the 449 new BBQs currently listed on Kagoo are grills with a lid. 70% of BBQs 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.).

Gas is the most frequently found heat source amongst new barbecues. We found 180 barbecues that are gas grills. We found 168 barbecues that are electric barbecues, making this the second most common 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 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 barbecues. 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 Amazon UK. 92 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 barbecues by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of barbecue prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's barbecue prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was Amazon UK. 73% of their barbecue prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.