No summer gathering is complete without a good grill sizzling away in the background. But while they're a summer essential, it can be hard to find the best grills. There's lot of unhelpful marketing jargon, so if you don't know your smokers from your side burners it's easy to get lost. Grills can cost a lot, too, so if you aren't sure what you're looking for it can be daunting to take the plunge.
That's why we've tried and tested the best grills on the market. After tracking down the top grills from market leaders like Weber, Traeger, and Kamado Joe, we spent days ranking the very best. Our expert consumer journalists - with backgrounds covering interiors, gardens, and kitchen appliances - weighed in to find the very best.
We've covered charcoal grills for that unmistakable smoky flavour, smokers for succulent slow-cooked joints of meat, and gas grills for speed and ease of use. The best grills will let you cook almost anything, look great in your garden, and be simple to operate. They should also be affordable, easy to store and quick to assemble. Our favorite, and the best example of all of these qualities, is the Weber Spirit II E-310.We assessed all of this and more in our examination of the best grills on the market, so that you can get to grilling.
Best grills 2023
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Best grill you can buy
Why you should buy it
This is the best grill on the market.
Why we love it
This grill is everything you need for a family barbecue. It has a large cooking area, is easy to set up and use, and most importantly, it produced the tastiest food on test. It does all this and more at a very reasonable price.
What I love most about this grill is that it it's unfussy and straightforward. Where lots of grills are marketed to 'pit bosses' and need hours of training to make the a simple meal, the Spirit II is fast and simple. It has handy side tables with hooks for your utensils, and a responsive thermometer. It's easy to move around your backyard thanks to big, sturdy wheels. You hardly need to think while you're cooking on this grill. Ignite it and you'll have burgers and sausages ready to go in minutes. It's as simple as that.
These burgers were delicious - the whole team agreed that they were the best on test. They were perfectly seared and picked up a delicious char, but were still juicy on the inside. It was a similar story when we grilled vegetables. We also made an unbelievable spatchcock chicken. Smothered in barbecue sauce, this chicken had delicious crispy skin with succulent, juicy flesh grilled to perfection. It was easily the best chicken we made in the latest round of testing. What's more, the cooking area is huge for a relatively compact grill. If you're smart about it, you could turn out dozens of burgers without much effort.
Good to know
The side rack for holding propane is quite small, so if you're cooking off a 30 or 40lb tank it might be hard to hide. The grills are also quite wide - we found that thin slices of vegetables like zucchini easily slip through the gaps. We also felt that the plastic knobs feel a little cheap, but these are minor quibbles rather than serious problems.
Best premium grill
Why you should buy it
A professional grill loaded with bonus features
Why we love it
If you're looking to step up your grilling game, Weber's Genesis II E-335 is a good place to start. It won't be for everyone, but it's a mighty grill that's up to just about any task you could throw its way. This high-tech grill can be paired with your smartphone for remote monitoring. We were able to pair the probe with our smartphone, and set it to monitor for a specific type of meat and preference in cooking.
This means incredibly performance when cooking backyard staples like burgers or chicken. We also used it with the side burner on this grill, making a delicious steak. That's because the smart tech in the grill us when the meat was at the perfect temperature for juicy, medium-rare steak, taking away all the guesswork.
Good to know
At nearly 190lbs, there is no denying that this is a hefty grill. If you've got a small garden it could dominate your space. Assembly took a while too, but once we had everything set up and ready to go, it was more than worth the trouble it took to assemble. You can monitor the grill from your phone but you cannot change the temperature or control it, so keep this in mind when slow cooking your meat. While we love all the functionality, bear in mind that this grill is $1000 more expensive than our #1 pick.
Best portable grill
Why you should buy it
A portable grill that's as good as a full-sized smoker
Why we love it
You might be surprised to see a portable grill so far up the list, but the Ninja Woodfire passed our tests with flying colors. This portable electric grill has seven different functions, offering grilling, roasting, smoking, frying, baking, dehydrating, and broiling. While it can't match the cooking area of a full-sized smoker, this grill is perfect for small families and camping trips, offering fast, simple, and delicious smoked foods.
The standout feature, however is the smoker. The Woodfire uses a box of wood pellets to infuse your dishes with delicious, smoky flavour. While the flavor's not the same as the smokers on bigger grills, it's still as good. Our tester Alex used it to make an incredible smoked pork tenderloin in just 45 minutes, and a neighbour she shared it with though it was the best tenderloin they'd ever had.
Good to know
It offers incredibly quick cooking. Alex had a joint of salmon ready in only 7 minutes, and if anything, it was almost too quick. The handy smart display will tell you when it's time to flip your food, but we recommend keeping an eye on it anyway, as this grill is so efficient that it will cook faster than the given recipe times.
Alex's full Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill review has all the detail.
Best large grill
Why you should buy it
The best grill for big gatherings
Why we love it
This is really straightforward: the Weber Genesis SPX-435 Smart Gas Grill is huge. We found that it has nearly a thousand square inches of grilling area, not including the side burner. If you've got a big, hungry family, this will cater for everyone. It's more than double the size of some of the other grills on test. It fits forty burgers. That's enough to feed an entire football team, let alone a family.
That's before you get into the extras. We're big fans of the sear station, which is designed to leave those classic charred lines in your steaks and burgers for maximum flavor by creating an intense heat zone. There's also a side burner that can be used to prep side dishes or cook off smaller items that can't go on the main grill.
There's also a foldable warming rack that can be used to heat up burger buns or keep hot dogs warm when they're done cooking, which will allow you to prep your meals at different timings, but with the same serving time. All of this can be monitored by an app.
Good to know
Unlike the Weber SmokeFire below, you can't adjust the temperature of this grill via an app. You'll need to run it off an outlet, and it's the most expensive grill on test.
Best wood pellet grill
Why we love it
A wood pellet grill with unbelievable capacity.
Why you should buy it
Traeger revolutionized the grilling game when they introduced the world to wood pellet grills over 30 years ago. Rather than the searing heat of charcoal or gas grills, pellet grills cook at a much cooler 450°F. This imbues your food with a fantastic smoky flavor, and the Ironwood 650 takes this to extremes, with a Super Smoke mode that ensures your food is cooked 100% hardwood smoke.
We found that this grill has a jaw-dropping capacity. Its 650 square inch volume means you can fit eight whole chickens, six pork butts, or five rib racks at a time. That's more than enough to feed even the biggest families.
The technological features of this Traeger Ironwood 650 are also truly impressive. For instance, once you've set the temperature, the grill maintains that temperature for you, saving you all the hassle. It's also outfitted with WiFi and a built-in meat probe, so you can monitor the internal temperature of the food and the grill all on your phone.
Good to know
The smart tech in this grill means that you have to have electric power as you use it. That could be an inconvenience if you don't have an outlet in your yard. The huge capacity is great, but it means it'll take up a lot of space in your yard.
Best smoker grill
Why you should buy it
A smart smoker that's great for slow-cooked meat.
Why we love it
Another pellet grill, our tests found that Weber SmokeFire EPX6 STEALTH Edition Grill is an excellent smoker that excels with large cuts of meat.
The smart dial can be turned from 200-600°F degrees, allowing you to cook at high heat but also smoke and roast at lower temperatures. It will also keep itself running for hours with little-to-no maintenance, and you can control it remotely using the Weber CONNECT app, which also allows you to check the probe and adjust the temperature for easy pre-heating. Unlike the Traeger Ironwood above, you can adjust the temperature in the app.
Under the hood, you'll find enough space to cook quantities of food for a large family. Our expert tester Millie Fender used it to make a succulent shawarma shoulder of lamb and barbecue ribs, as well as 8 steaks and chicken kebabs.
Good to know
Just like the Traeger above, it needs to be connected to electricity to work, so ensure to place it somewhere with easy access. You're also at the mercy of the software - Millie's grill shut itself down for a software update in the middle of grilling when she had some guests due to arrive any minute. Admittedly, this was just after the launch of the grill, so there were some bugs to work out, but it demonstrates a wider weakness of WiFi-enabled grills. It also has a smaller capacity than the Traeger Ironwood, with 432 square inches to the Traeger's 650.
Best charcoal grill
Why you should buy it
The best charcoal grill you can buy
Why we love it
Kamado grills are high-end charcoal barbecues with ceramic plates. These heat-efficient plates makes them versatile, handling simple grilling, roasting, smoking, and slow cooking all in one grill.
The Joe II is incredibly capacious. We tested it on a single chicken but you could easily grill two at once. It's great for catering to big family parties. The ceramic plates make it incredibly efficient, reaching a blistering 750°F, so it's a good choice for quick cooking too. While we love a good gas grill, there's something about the smoky flavor of cooking on charcoal that gas simply cannot recreate. The burgers we made on this outperformed all of their gas competitors.
We also loved the design of the Joe II. It will look incredible in almost any garden, a large, modern appliance with a eye on tradition. The bright but sophisticated glazed red shell makes it a great focus point for a social area or kitchen garden. We also love the small touches that elevate it from a basic kettle or drum grill, such as the soft-open on the lid.
Good to know
This grill is a great choice for dedicated grilling enthusiasts, but that means it takes a lot of getting used to. Because it's so efficient, it's easy to overcook your food. We're also concerned about the heat at the base of this grill. It's low-slung so it's not the safest grill if you've got small kids or pets around. It's also very pricey for a charcoal grill.
Best looking grill
Why you should buy it
The best looking grill you can buy
Why we love it
Even our favorite grills are pretty ugly. If you're proud of your garden, it can be heart-breaking to have perfected your patio only to ruin the design with an ugly metal grill that looks completely out of place. Not so with the Everdure Force. This beautiful grill looks at home in any backyard, and every detail on this grill feels high-quality. Even the control knobs are sleek, polished chrome, and the bright, modern lid comes in several striking colors. We might be appliance nerds who get a little overexcited at new products, but there were gasps when we had this bright orange grill fully assembled. After a couple of days of looking at the same boring gray and black grills, this was a breath of fresh air.
That said, it's not just a pretty face. Co-signed by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, the Everdure performed well in our cooking tests, making excellent burgers and a good whole chicken. The clever diagonal patterns on this grill mean that it's hard to drop food between the gaps, which is a great feature.
Good to know
Cleaning this grill is a little frustrating. Because the body is so shallow, any grease that drips from meat dishes doesn't run down to the grease tray, instead sitting under the grill. That makes for a surprisingly gross clean-up compared to other grills on test. It's also pretty basic, lacking a warming rack or a side burner.
There's more detail in our full Everdure Force review.
Best camping grill
Why you should buy it
A good choice for grilling on the go
Why we love it
If you want to grill in the great outdoors, Weber's Q3200 is a safe bet. It can convert from the stand on its base to a table-top or portable grill, so it's great for communal cooking on a garden table or for grilling out in the wild (allowing for local fire safety warnings).
It delivered solid results on our taste tests, cooking good vegetables and burgers, and did a surprisingly good job with a whole chicken despite the smaller grill size. That's because you can control the interior and exterior burners independently. This makes easy to create direct and indirect heat, which can be tricky on a gas grill, and impressive for a grill of this size and price point.
Speaking of which, this is also one of the cheaper grills we've tested, a full $1500 cheaper than some of the other grills on test.
Good to know
We think this grill is a smart choice, but it's simply not as good as other grills we've tested. While it's relatively cheap, it's only about $100 cheaper than our #1 pick.
There's more detail in our full Weber Q3200 review.
Best side burner grill
Why you should buy it
This grill is packed with accessory features that elevate it from a simple gas grill.
Why we love it
The Phantom Rogue is a great choice for cooking an entire meal in one go. You can grill burgers, chicken, and sausages on the grill, cook corn on the cob on the warming rack — which has its own dedicated burner, a unique feature in this guide — as well as a side burner for searing steaks. That's great functionality, as it means the cook isn't missing out on the party. You can prep the whole meal at once and get it to the table in one go.
This infrared side burner is exceptional, reaching blistering temperatures that are great for searing. You'll have to watch it, as you could very quickly overcook your food, but it's just right for flash cooking vegetables. On lower temperatures, it's handy for sides like caramelised onions, which is perfect for hot dogs. This grill performed well on test, making good burgers and a good whole chicken.
Good to know
This grill is terrible to assemble. It took me three hours, as there's lots of steps, poor instructions, and fiddly wiring. For most people it'll be three boring hours that you'll quickly forget about once you're up and running. If you have mobility issues like arthritis, however, it will be a significant challenge. We also aren't convinced by the aesthetics. One of my colleagues remarked that it looks like a sports car. If that's the look you're after, then perfect; if not, the hyper-masculine all-matte black looks like someone parked a convertible in the middle of the garden. We also found that the light-up control knobs are a gimmick that don't offer much illumination.
There's more detail in our full Napoleon Phantom Rogue SE 425 RSIB review.
Best electric charcoal grill
Why you should buy it
Charcoal grilling without the fuss
Why we love it
A stylish, modern design that fuses together the timeless qualities of cooking on a charcoal fire with innovative, modern technology and the speed of gas, the Everdure FUSION Grill by Heston Blumenthal embodies a truly versatile design. It cooks on charcoal, but a powerful electric fan feeds oxygen to the flames, meaning that this grill reaches temperature in mere minutes, instead of the half-an-hour of a usual charcoal grill.
The grill's fast flame ignition means that the FUSION can be set-up and ready for cooking in less than ten minutes. Featuring a grill-plate as well as a rotisserie function, the design allows for you to cook all manner of meals. Relatively simple and easy to use, the grill has a detachable pedestal and can be adapted into a handy portable design, ideal for use away from home.
Good to know
This grill has a small grilling area, so it might not work for big families. The rotisserie function is a great addition, but it feels flimsy.
There's more detail in our full Everdure FUSION Grill review.
What is the best grill in 2023?
Our top pick of the best grills is the Weber Genesis II E-335. It has everything we love from Weber, including a smart sear station to ensure your steaks and burgers get those classic char-marks. We think the three burners are a good size for most families and would serve well at small-to-medium-sized gatherings.
If you want to step away from gas cooking, the Traeger Grills Ironwood 650 is also a top pick. It runs on wood pellets and has an in-built meat probe to make cooking easier.
How we test
My test of the Napoleon Phantom Rogue
We get hands-on experience with the products featured in our guides and grills are no exception. It's our mission to test as many of these grills in our backyards as possible. Our expert panel combines close-and-personal experience with customer reviews to get the lowdown on these grills' strengths and weaknesses. We've cooked dozens of meals on these grills, and every step of the process we assess factors such as the ease of set-up and use, cleaning, maintenance and storage and ultimately, how well each grill cooks. Not every grill we test makes the cut.
For further information about how we conduct our reviews and for our product-testing process explained, explore how we test on Homes & Gardens. There's even more information specific to our grill testing process in how we test grills.
Our testers
Millie Fender is Head of Reviews at Homes & Gardens. Formerly our head of all things cooking, she has tested pizza ovens, grills, and even fire pits.
Millie recently finished her Weber SmokeFire EPX6 Wood Fired Pellet Grill STEALTH Edition review, which almost converted her away from the ease of gas grilling.
Alex Temblador is a award-winning author and freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas. With an expansive outdoor space for thorough testing, she has tested everything from hot tubs to grills for Homes & Gardens and our sister brand, Gardeningetc.
Alex tested the Weber Genesis SPX-435 Smart Gas Grill, assembling it with the help of her cousin for three hours straight. Once assembled, she was wowed by the quality cooking she was able to achieve with this large and impressive gas grill.
FAQs
Which type of grill is best?
The most conventional type of grill is a charcoal grill, which will slow-cook all manner of dishes for smoked meat or chargrilled vegetables. Gas grills are loved for their convenience. They are easy to ignite and you can work the burners independently, whether that is at different temperatures or for smaller servings without wasting gas.
More popular in recent years is the smoker grill. Powered by pellets, they often feature intelligent temperature probes and auto-dosing burners to keep your grill cooking for hours on end, even when unattended.
Charcoal grills
Pros: Charcoal grills provide a phenomenal smoky flavor to food, which is especially tasty in meats.
Cons: They take longer to heat up and the temperature can be somewhat harder to control. Even grills that have charcoal boxes that keep the ash contained require some time toward cleaning.
Gas grills or liquid propane grills
Pros: Gas grills are quick to heat, easy to adjust the temperature, and don’t require a lot of prep or clean-up time. Gas grills are best for those who are new to grilling.
Cons: They may offer great sear and grill lines and have the capabilities to keep your meats juicy and tender, but unless the grill is outfitted with a built-in or separate wood box, you can’t achieve the same delicious smoky flavor that's provided with charcoal or wood pellet grills.
Electric grills
Pros: Some electric grills can be used indoors and others must be used outdoors. They heat quickly and don't require a lot of post-grilling maintenance.
Cons: Indoor electric grills are small. If you have an outdoor grill that needs electricity, like a wood pellet grill, you’ll need an outdoor outlet, which may not be placed in the most ideal (or safe) grilling location.
Wood pellet grills
Pros: Meats come out juicy, tender, smoky, and fully-flavored with a wood pellet grill. Once you set the temperature on a wood pellet grill, the grill maintains that temperature for you, so your attention can be elsewhere. If you like cooking with wood, you'll love the best pizza ovens.
Cons: These types of grills require electricity to function, so you’ll need a good outlet in a safe location outdoors.
Which type of grill is easiest to clean?
All grills need regular care and maintenance in order for them to be working at their best, so learning how to clean a grill and how to clean grill grates is essential.
When it comes to looking at which type of grill is easiest to clean, stainless steel and gas grills often come out on top. Charcoal grills can get dirty very quickly, and require you to remove and dispose of the old ashes – always wait until they are completely cool.
The best tools to use when cleaning a grill include: a wire brush with tough stainless steel bristles for the grills grates, a sponge or cloth for the other grill areas – and some have even learnt how to use an onion to clean a grill.
For optimal food safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you ‘wash work surfaces, utensils, and the grill before and after cooking.’
Are gas grills better than charcoal?
They're better for ease of use, worse for flavor. Gas grills are incredibly simple and safe to use. Once you're hooked up to your propane, it's as easy as cooking on a gas range. However, that means there's little difference in flavor between a gas grill and a gas range. When you compare gas grills to charcoal grills, they're missing out on that classic smoky flavor.
However, charcoal grills are much trickier to use. You need to learn the difference between direct and indirect heat and work out the precise window when the grill is at temperature for your ingredients. That can turn grilling from a tasty treat on a lazy afternoon into a tedious chore.
If you aren't a hobbyist, I'd opt for gas. It's faster, simpler, and while it doesn't taste quite as good, the difference isn't big enough to bother with charcoal.
Are gas grills better than pellet grills?
For the average user, yes. For gourmands, absolutely not. Gas grills are smaller, simpler, and cheaper than pellet grills. There's nothing new to learn or extra equipment to buy. Most of us need a grill for a few burgers in the sun a couple of weekends a year. Gas grills do the job without breaking the bank.
However, if cooking is your hobby, it's well worth considering a pellet grill. Unlike gas grills, pellet grills make it easy to smoke meat, and their capacity is much bigger than the average gas grill. For example, I made grilled vegetables, burgers, sausages, and chicken to test gas grills. To really put a smoker through its paces, our Head of Reviews and exceptionally good cook (trust me, I know first-hand) Millie Fender made a shoulder of lamb, ribs, steaks, chicken kebabs and flatbreads, all smoked, and some at the same time. However, there's a bit of a learning curve, and you need an outdoor outlet. If that doesn't sound like fun then a gas grill is the way to go.
What can I make on a grill?
You can make pretty much anything on a grill. You're only limited by your skill and imagination. Using only examples of what we've assessed in our tests, you can make burgers, sausages, grilled chicken, ribs, salmon, steak, vegetable skewers, whole shoulders of lamb, shawarma meat, and in one incredibly inventive move in our Ninja Woodfire grill review, cinnamon rolls. If you cook it with heat, you can cook it on a grill.
What's a side burner?
Side burners are an extra gas burner that's great for cooking with a skillet. I've found that they're especially great for steak, and are just the thing for caramelising onions for burgers and hot dogs.
What's a warming rack?
Warming racks - unsurprisingly - keep your food warm. They sit high above the grill, so they keep food warm rather than cook it. If you're cooking for a big gathering, you can keep the first round of burgers or sausages ready while you make the next. In my experience, they're the perfect place for heating up sides like through corn on the cob.
Which grills are American-made?
Most grills on the market are made abroad. If this is important to you, watch out for 'Made in the USA' claims, as these may be shorthand for 'made in the USA with globally sourced parts', which is not wholly American made. Weber, for instance, assembles a lot of its grills in the States but the parts are manufactured in China. American Made Grills is your best bet.
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