Compare the Best BarbecuesFebruary 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!

Barbecue Prices

Barbecues range in price from £17 to £1,695 and in total we found prices for 155 barbecues. A new BBQ costs on average £260 and 80% of barbecues are priced between £46 and £679. The cheapest grill that we found is the Clatronic RG 3592 at only £17, and the most expensive is the OFYR Classic 100-100 Firepit / BBQ at £1,695.

BBQ Brands - Price Range

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

Big Green Egg grills start at £1,255 and their most expensive grill costs £1,620. The second highest average grill price out of all brands is Big Green Egg grills with an average price of £1,438.

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

Grill Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 61 expert reviews and 4,533 user reviews for BBQs and used these reviews to evaluate the average rating for each brand of barbecue. The top three barbecue brands are Weber, tepro and Barbecook. Weber has an average rating of 93%, tepro has an average rating of 88% and Barbecook has an average rating of 66%.

Biggest Barbecue Retailers

We found 118 current offers for grills from eBay making it the biggest BBQ retailer. That is over 4 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, John Lewis for whom we found 26 current offers for grills. The third biggest retailer is Robert Dyas with 13 current BBQ offers.

When Are Most New BBQs Released?

We looked at the release dates for new barbecues over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any evident trend. January was the biggest month last year for new BBQs, with 38 new BBQs released that month. In January 2017, 34 new barbecues were released making it the biggest month that year as well for new BBQ releases. In 2016 most new grills were released in September, with 70 new grills released that month.

How Fast Do Grill Prices Drop After Release?

On average grills drop in price by 15% in the first 6 months after release. On a typical new grill costing £260, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £39.

Types

The heating system used by the bbq/grill.

We found 248 barbecues that are grills that have a Grill Type, which makes Grill the most common type amongst new barbecues. We found 226 BBQs that are grills that have a Barbecue Type, making this the second most common 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.

We found 153 barbecues that are BBQs that have a Tabletop Form factor, which makes Tabletop the most frequently found form factor amongst new barbecues. We found 126 grills that are BBQs that have a Cart Form factor, making this the second most popular form factor amongst new grills.

Lids

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

Most new BBQs are grills with a lid. 312 BBQs out of 477 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.).

Electric is the most common heat source amongst new barbecues. We found 160 barbecues that are electric grills. We found 156 barbecues that are gas grills, making gas 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 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 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. 110 of their barbecue 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 grills 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 eBay. 93.2% of their BBQ prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.