Best grills 2024: the best smoker, charcoal, and gas grills – tested by experts

You can't have a family cookout without a good grill. But while they're a home entertaining essential, it can be hard to find the best grills. Grills come with a lot of unhelpful marketing jargon, so it's easy to get lost if you don't know your smokers from your side burners. They can also be very expensive, and if you're not sure what to look for, it can be daunting to take the plunge.

That's why I'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, I put them through their paces to find the very best. I've tested grills and other garden and kitchen products for my entire career, so I know exactly what makes the best grill.

I've covered charcoal grills for that unmistakable smoky flavor, 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.

The Quick List

Best grills 2024

Best gas grill

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This is the grill I recommend to most people. It has 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 in our last round of testing. Best of all, it's relatively cheap.

What I love most about this grill is that it's unfussy and straightforward. Where lots of grills are marketed to 'pit bosses' and need hours of training to make a simple meal, the Spirit II is fast and easy. You hardly need to think while you're cooking - Ignite it and you'll have burgers and sausages ready to go in minutes.

These burgers were delicious - the whole team agreed that they were the best on the 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. What's more, the cooking area is huge for a relatively compact grill. If you're smart about it, you could cook dozens of burgers without much effort.

The downsides are relatively minor. The side rack for propane is small, so it might be hard to hide a 30- or 40-lb tank. The grills are also 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.

There's more detail in our full Weber Spirit II E-310 review.

Best budget grill

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This is unlike most of the other entries in this list, because it is entirely free of bonus features. There's no thermometer, no probe, no side burners; not even a side table. However, if you just want a simple charcoal grill, this is the best one you can get. I've tested a lot of cheap charcoal grills over the years and none are remotely as good as this. Unlike other grills at this price point it's incredbly high-quality.

It makes some of the best-tasting food of any grill I've tested, and that;s because it's very heat-efficient. Unlike other charcoal grills, this makes it easy to light, and it heats up realtively quickly, sometiems taking around 20 minutes where other grills need at least half an hour. This heat effciency also means it has a searing hot spot in the center of the grill that's perfect for meat like burgers. However, the design of the grill means that there's gentler indirect heat at the sides, which is great for warming sides and vegetables. Altogether, it makes for an exceptional grill. The spatchcock chicken I made with this was excellent. Where other grills dried it out, this grill is excellent at retaining moisture, resulting in a crisp, juicy, perfect chicken.

Perhaps I'm just clumsy, but I've always found that there's a finesse to using the lid hook. When you're in the rush of grilling it's a little frustrating to try and hook the lid onto the hook as you cook. However, my biggest warning with this grill is that the tool hooks aren't useful. There are only two of them on either side of the handle. If you like to have a range of spatulas, tongs, forks, and brushes on hand, you'll find this limiting.

Best large grill

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This is 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 to everyone. It's more than double the size of some of the other grills on the 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, 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 heat burger buns or keep hot dogs warm when they're done cooking, so you can prep your foods with different cooking times but the same serving time.

However, 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 electric grill

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You might be surprised to see a portable grill so far up the list, but the Ninja Woodfire passed our tests with flying colors. We're confident that this is as good as some full-sized smokers. This portable electric grill has seven different functions, including 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 a delicious, smoky flavor. 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 thought it was the best tenderloin they'd ever had.

It offers incredibly quick cooking. We 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 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 details.

Best pellet smoker

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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 great capacity. Its 650 square inch volume means you can fit eight whole chickens, six pork butts, or five racks of ribs at a time. That's more than enough to feed even the biggest families.

The technological features of the Traeger Ironwood 650 are also 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.

The smart tech in this grill means you need electric power to use it. That could be inconvenient if you don't have an outlet in your yard. The huge capacity is great, but means it'll take up a lot of space in your yard.

Best Kamado grill

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Kamado grills are high-end charcoal barbecues with ceramic plates. These heat-efficient plates make 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 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 an 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 opening on the lid.

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.

How we test

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.

First, we take the grills out of the box and assess how easy they are to assemble. Thankfully, this is a task most people only have to do once, but it helps to know if there are any potential issues if you have a disability that limits your strength or fine motor skills.

Once the grills are assembled, we test them on a wide range of different foods. The first and most important test is burgers - if a grill can't handle burgers, there's no point in buying it. At the same time, we also grill hot dogs, as both the most common dishes at cookouts. Not only can we see how well the grill can cook these meats, but it also gives us a sense of how many burgers you can cook on the grill at once since marketing materials often overexaggerate.

After burgers and hot dogs, we test slices of vegetables. These are great because pale zucchini slices help us to see how well the grill creates sear lines, and if it's easy to adjust the heat to keep the vegetables moist. We grill other vegetables like peppers indirectly, to see how the grill stands up to gentler cooking. To test this, we also toast burger and hot dog buns. For the sake of time, we also tend to test the warming rack at this point to see if it can keep corn on the cob at an appetizing temperature.

The final test is to grill an entire spatchcock chicken. This is a great assessment of whether or not a grill is nonstick, as the seasoning we use can catch on the grill lines, and it also lets us see how if the grill is good at maintaining temperature and retaining moisture, for a juicy roasted chicken.

These are just the standard tests. Our other tests depend on the grill's bonus features. We test smokers on a huge range of different meats, like brisket, ribs, and shwarma, and we always test extra features like side burners on steaks or on crispy onions for burgers. In one test, the grill's assembly manual claimed it could bake, so we've even tried cinnamon rolls.

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

Alex David

As Head of eCommerce, Alex oversees all our reviews content to make sure our readers find the right information to help them make the best purchase. After graduating from Cambridge University, Alex got his start in reviewing at the iconic Good Housekeeping Institute, testing a wide range of household products and appliances. He then moved to BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, assessing gardening tools, machinery, and wildlife products, so has experience of reviewing products across the entire home and garden, with several years' experience reviewing grills.

Millie Fender

Millie Fender was Head of Reviews at Homes & Gardens. Formerly our head of all things cooking, she has tested a wide range of pizza ovens, grills, and even fire pits.

Alex Temblador

Alex Temblador is an 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.

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 it's 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 with charcoal boxes to collect the ash require some time for 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 maintenance.

Cons: Most 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 grills require electricity to function, so you’ll need a good outdoor outlet.

Which type of grill is easiest to clean?

All grills need regular care and maintenance to work at their best, so learning how to clean a grill and how to clean grill grates is essential.

Stainless steel and gas grills are usually the easiest to clean. Charcoal grills are a lot dirtier, and you must remove and dispose of the old ashes, which makes them trickier to clean.

The best tools to use when cleaning a grill are a wire brush with tough stainless steel bristles for the grill's grates, a sponge or cloth for the other grill areas – and some have even learned how to use an onion to clean a grill.

For optimal food safety, the 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?

Gas grills are easier to use than charcoal grills but taste worse. 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 and simpler, and while it doesn't taste quite as good, the difference isn't big enough to bother with charcoal.

Are smokers better than gas grills?

For the average user, yes. For gourmands, no. 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, hot dogs, and chicken to test gas grills. To truly put a smoker through its paces, we 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 extra gas burners that are great for cooking with a skillet. I've found that they're especially useful for steak, and are just the thing for caramelizing 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 sides like 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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