Finding the best grill is HARD. 2020 may come to be known as the “Golden Age of Grilling”, but for the novice griller, that means just one thing: too many damn choices.
So, we did what we always do when we get lazy and overwhelmed by all the options out there: we asked the experts.
In the post below, you’ll find the answers from 26 of the top food bloggers to the question:
What is the best grill on the market?
They all shared their favorite grills with us and explained why they liked them so much. The top three grills are:
WEBER (DIFFERENT MODELS) – 6 VOTES
CHAR-BROIL TRU-INFRARED – 2 VOTES
NINJA FOODI 5-IN-1 4-QT – 2 VOTES
All the other grills that were mentioned received only one vote each. Keep reading to see what grill resonates with you the most.
Bintu Hardy – Recipes From A Pantry
I consider the Cuisinart CGG-306 Tabletop Grill the best grill on the market because it is versatile – it is lightweight and portable so you can grill at home or take it to someone else or an outdoor gathering, great if you’re always grilling!
I love that it requires no assembly to put together and you can start grilling in a matter of minutes and that it has heat controls and automatic ignition which means you never need to use matches.
As a busy mum, I want my grilling to be quick and easy and not require too much setup or too much cleaning up. I want my food to cook evenly and this does this, thanks to the two-burner system.
It is smaller on other grills on the market but its portability also makes it absolutely perfect for camping when all you are craving is some perfectly grilled food. Delicious grilled food at your fingertips, what could be better?
Melissa Eboli – Chef Via Melissa
I have cooked on many grills as a professional chef. I’ve done cooking demos for a few high-end grill manufacturers including Lynx, Wolf, and DCS.
I’ve also cooked on numerous grills for clients from Weber to Hestan.
Having had a wide variety of experience, I would say my favorite grill to this day is DCS.
Compared to other grills, DCS’s grates are slightly sloped, which means the grease will not drip onto the burner and in turn, reduces smoking and flare-ups when cooking.
This is a problem with many other brands when the grease lands on a burner, and it then increases your change of charring your food.
Another benefit as to why I prefer DCS is because their grates are reversible. They have a smooth side for grilling foods such as fish and veggies, then a more grooved side for searing and cooking meat-based dishes for beautiful burn/sear marks.
Alex Johnson – Med Munch
Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 4-qt. Air Fryer, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate Indoor Electric Grill
If you’re looking for an indoor grill that can do a bit of everything, the Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 is perfect.
It has 5 cooking functions available including grill, air crisp, roast, bake and dehydrate. With a temperature range of 105 to 500 degrees, it has all the functionality you need, from grilling steaks with grill marks and char flavor to simply just warming your food up.
Cleaning up afterward is a breeze with the Ninja grill as well. The interior pieces like the splatter screen, grill plate, fryer basket, and cooking pot are all dishwasher safe.
The grease collector at the back of the device is extremely easy to clean too. All cooking stays fully contained and the lift lid gives easy access to clean the element screen.
Although it is on the bulkier side, it is lightweight, weighing around 14.5 lbs. You will likely need to make sound space on your kitchen counter, but the results more than make up for it.
Ultimately if you’re looking for a versatile cooker that cooks fast and clean, this grill is for you.
Emily Wilson – This Healthy Table
For my purposes, the best grill on the market is the Napoleon Rogue 425 Gas Grill.
It’s got a smaller footprint, so it fits well on patios and balconies (great for city living!) and its gas, so you’re ready to cook in just a few minutes.
We have a Weber charcoal grill as well, and while we love the flavor, you can’t beat the ease and speed of a gas grill.
The Napoleon Rogue 425 is a three-burner grill that gets hot fast, has a good built-in thermometer, and is at a very reasonable price point. I’m also a fan of the folding side shelves.
I love being able to prep my food and have extra space while I’m using the grill, but I can reduce the size and storage space of the grill when I’m done using it.
I use my gas grill year-round and cook almost everything on it – salmon, chicken, steak, burgers, asparagus, and corn on the cob. I’ve been impressed by how well it consistently cooks everything I’ve put on it. I’d highly recommend this grill for people who have limited space.
Sonila Zarate – Mediterranean Latin Love Affair
My husband and I did a small remodeling the past few months of our backyard and deck area.
We love grilling outdoors and having friends & family over. So we decided to upgrade our grill too. We have always owned a charcoal grill, cart style.
My husband is the one that usually does the outdoor grilling and I usually do the marinades. We love our newest Green Egg L. It’s so easy to grill or smoke on it, you can even roast or bake casseroles over it!
I have to admit, I was a little hesitant first because of the price and the shape of the grill. We love it so much now that we are looking into adding accessories to it.
We are looking forward to using this grill all summer and trying new recipes as well as old favorites.
I read you can even cook a 20lbs turkey in it, so maybe this year I can hand over the turkey for Thanksgiving to be cooked in the Green Egg and I can cook everything else in the oven for our dinner.
The quality of this grill is even better than we had hoped for or read reviews about. There’s a little learning curve in the beginning but if you’re not new to grilling, you just breeze through that part.
My husband’s favorite foods to grill are Argentinian style churrasco, chorizo, and veggie skewers.
One of my favorite things about this grill is the community around it. There’s a forum with people who use this grill and recipes specifically cooked in it.
Hoping to contribute some of my own recipes to this group soon! There are even cooking shows and podcasts around this grill. Who would have thought?
My husband is over the moon with this purchase and is sharing tips and tricks with other people who like to grill like him.
We still have to use the smoker, but I have plans for it this upcoming weekend. I’m making ribs!
Jim Mumford – Jim Cooks Food Good
Heat: What do we need from a grill? In short, you want the food to be heated and cooked, right?
Therefore, a grill should be able to get hot, quickly. More heat (represented by BTU) means faster preheating, tougher meat, the ability to cook when it’s colder, etc.
Let’s compare: Jim’s Grill, a Nexgrill has 55,000 BTU’s. Fancy Grill, 48800 BTU. Which one would you choose?
Space: The more space on the grill, the better. Not only does it have more cooking space, but it means less crowding, ensuring you get a sear as opposed to slow baking.
Construction: A grill should be well made of quality material. Unless you plan to sandblast the grill inside after each use, look for a grill made of stainless steel. For grates, I prefer a coated iron (think of a Dutch cast iron oven) to steel; Cast iron retains and emits heat much better than steel.
Optional: As far as I’m concerned, if a grill gets hot and has plenty of room, that’s all I need. All the features a grill really needs are a top rack (everyone has it), a side burner (everyone has it), a lighter (everyone has it), and a greased pan (everyone has it).
Some additional features (rotisseries, ceramic back wall burners, smoker boxes, lighted control knobs, etc.) are just that; extra. Sure they look great, but you’re rarely using them!
So in conclusion, for larger gas grills cost does not mean better. Find a high BTU grill with a large grill surface and heavily coated iron grates. Forget luxury accessories for a working grill that is 1/10 of the cost with full capacity.
Derek Wolf – Over the Fire Cooking
Cooking over a real wood fire is one of the universally “human” endeavors. You can find amazing wood-fire grilling traditions all over the world, but one of my favorites is the asado style practiced by the beef-wrangling gauchos of Argentina.
To bring a backyard refinement to their primal grilling traditions and beef-forward flavors, I fire up the Ñuke Delta. The grill has a dedicated firebox where you start your wood and let it burn down to coals before you sweep them under the grill grate to cook.
It’s lined with heat refractory bricks so the heat from the coals gets focused on the food, and an external adjustment arm allows the grill grates to be raised and lowered to control the heat.
If you toss some well-salted picanha and skirt steak on there alongside some chorizo, it’s like you were transported to South America.
In Argentina, a barbecue is an all-day affair with several courses and its customary for the guests to applaud their hard-working asador (or the pitmaster) after the meal.
If you want to cook over a real fire, Ñuke Delta will give you the tools you need to hear those applause.
Jessica Randhawa – The Forked Spoon
At The Forked Spoon, we love our Blaze Professional Built-In Gas Grill With Rear Infrared Burner.
We have had this Blaze Grill now for about nine months, and have used it regularly on both a personal and professional level for our business.
We honestly couldn’t be happier with this investment.
The division of heat between the burners from the dividers allows us to get the perfect temperature when we are regularly grilling multiple foods at the same time in different zones.
Unlike our previous grill, it’s engineered so that we never see flames flaring up, which used to cause charing on pricy cuts of meats from our local butcher.
The built-in lights are great for the darker months of the year to see how everything is coming along. The rotisserie spit is always an eye-catching favorite of the little ones – just make sure to have a pan underneath for easy cleanup!
Overall, Blaze’s Professional Grills are extremely well-engineered products with a lifetime warranty – which is why we own it and truly believe it’s the best grill on the market.
Beth Nydick – Blue Barn Kitchen
My favorite grill is the Traeger Elite Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker.
The grill is easy to use but it’s selling point is the temperature controls.
You can grill, smoke, bake or BBQ, and prepare anything from short ribs to salmon and veggies.
Trying to feed two teen athletes isn’t easy but with this grill, it’s become a little bit easier.
CC – Asian Cooking Mom
The Kingsford 18″ Charcoal Kettle Grill: Black is the best grill in my opinion.
It’s not only very low priced (you can often get it for $25 on sale) but also works perfectly as a basic grill.
Well, the grill is easy to clean, lightweight, and serves as a great starter grill. It doesn’t have fancy features like a thermometer but you really can’t beat the price.
At $25, I’ve heard of people buying it as a “disposable” grill for a year and end up keeping it for much longer! In other words, it’s durable as well.
In my opinion, the best grilling doesn’t necessarily result from an expensive grill, but rather how you use the grill.
Alexandra Cook – It’s Not Complicated Recipes
My favourite grill is the Ninja Foodi Grill. Living in an apartment means I don’t have the benefits of an outdoor grill, but I can still achieve that grill flavour using this appliance.
Even if you do have an outdoor area, this grill is fantastic to use when the weather isn’t great, and you’d prefer to be indoors.
And do not worry about using it indoors – this grill is virtually smoke-free!
I love preparing anything from a juicy steak, to corn on the cob, to my favourite grilled prawns. This grill has a temperature sensing plate that allows for smart cooking and perfectly cooked produce.
The grill is compact and easy to clean – the grill plate is even dishwasher friendly! It also comes with the added features of being able to air fry and dehydrate food.
I could not do without this fabulous appliance! It really is the only grill I ever need.
Don Baiocchi – Paleo Gluten Free Guy
When it came time to commit to buying a grill, I went with the Weber Spirit II E-310 gas grill. It’s the perfect size for my urban patio but it also comes in larger sizes. When I want to grill up a small feast –which is often – the Spirit II makes it so easy.
Turning it on is basically like turning on your stovetop burners. With two burners, you have the option of using both direct and indirect heat. The porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates create the perfect sear marks on meat, veggies, and more.
The suspended rack is helpful when you want to cook something longer but don’t want it to burn on the grates. The hooks, open shelving, and two trays (one which folds down) keep everything nearby.
If you think you’ll miss the smoky flavor from a charcoal grill, you can add a covered tray of wood chips beneath the grates.
And it’s compatible with their iGrill system, a Bluetooth-enabled device that delivers temperature and data to your smartphone, so you can walk away and get alerts when your meat, is ready.
Sturdy but not too heavy, the grill is easy to move around. Plus it’s easy to clean, including a removable grease tray beneath the burners.
I’ve used it for just about everything: steaks, burgers, salmon, pork, sausage, vegetables, even fruit (if you haven’t had grilled peaches or pineapple, what are you waiting for?). The Spirit II makes it all simple and delicious.
Nathan Aguilera – Foodie Flashpacker
While certainly not the fanciest or most expensive grill on the market I’ve had great success with my Weber propane grill.
It’s a great base model for beginners and they have grills designed for more experienced cooks as well.
I love the versatility of mine and being able to add wood chips to a propane grill for added flavor is a great bonus.
Sarah Cull- Life In Full Flavour
I love our trusty Landmann Rexon PTS 4.1 gas barbecue. It’s perfect for cooking small portions just for our family or going bigger for friends and large gatherings.
It’s robust, strong, and well-priced, so it’s perfect for those who enjoy barbecues but aren’t enthusiasts.
The side burner is great for sauces or accompaniments, while the handy compartment underneath is ideal for storing your bbq paraphernalia.
The integrated thermometer in the hood aids perfect cooking, and the 4 burners give you much more control over your grilling.
The double-walled hood also ensures the temperature remains steady for both direct and indirect cooking. It’s super easy to keep clean too, and it doesn’t require a huge amount of maintenance.
We look forward to using ours every summer (and occasionally during the colder seasons too).
The lockable caster wheels make it easy to move around and put into storage when not in use, or you can buy a relatively inexpensive Landmann cover if you want to leave it outside.
Joel Flynn – Gentleman Zone
The type of grill you choose depends on how and where you plan to use it. I am a fan of Kamado cookers for their compact size, functionality, amazing results, and great looks, I must admit.
When you’re out to buy a good grill you should focus on results instead of looking at price tags alone.
What I’d personally recommend is the Kamado Joe grill for it has this amazing feature called “slow roller”, which is basically a specially-shaped metal cover you put right above the fire to both deflect heat and help with convection as it prevents heat hitting food on the grill directly, which is how other grills dry your food instead of cooking it, which is the one thing I don’t want when cooking meat.
The slow roller also helps smoke circulate better thus adds the juicy smoky flavor to everything I cook.
I am the kind of guy that likes to cook slow and low, with a steady temperature with little fluctuation over the course of a few hours and thus get the best out of my food.
At first, the price tag might seem like it matters but what matters is what I want to get, which is why I bought the best grill I could find.
Jessica Formicola – Savory Experiments
Grills can get pretty sophisticated and pricy and while we have charcoal and also the option to do things like rotisserie, we also need to make dinner fast and easy.
This is our second Char-Broil Advantage 4-Burner Gas Grill. We replaced the first one after 7 years of use (similar model) and bought this one when we moved.
It is easy to clean, reliable with even cooking and temperature control, and also not giant.
Perfect for the casual griller or someone who enjoys grilled food, but also leads a busy life.
Ligia Lugo – The Daring Kitchen
In my opinion, the best grill you can get right now is undoubtedly the Weber Genesis II E-335.
The brand has always had a great reputation and this model makes no exception from the Weber quality. It comes with a 10-year guarantee on all parts that combined with the quality build will give you confidence like no other grill on the market.
It has all the features that you can think of or need to make your next barbecue a hit – sear station that quickly adds professional sear marks on the meat, a premium grilling engine, and a side burner to simmer barbecue sauce.
It also has stainless steel side tables, tool hooks, and a grill cabinet so you won’t make a mess and keep everything organized and neat.
Once you assemble it and light it up you will be impressed as I first was with the even heat distribution, easy controls, and perfectly seared and juicy meat. It is extremely easy to operate and clean so even if you are just starting out with grilling you will have no trouble.
The appearance of the grill is also impressive – it will dress up any backyard with it’s high-end stainless steel look.
Carole Jones – My Kitchen Escapades
Over the past 20 years, I have purchased and discarded six different gas grills that were on the less expensive side in an attempt to save some money. Each of them resulted in a completely frustrating level of uneven heating and cooking.
Three years ago, I finally broke open the change purse and purchased a Weber Summit grill and have never looked back.
Not only has it provided the hottest grilling temperatures for an amazing sear, but the heat distribution is also completely even across the large cooking surface.
The six different heat controls truly allows for differing temperature zones, which is crucial if you are grilling more than just hot dogs.
This grill can also be used with natural gas so we had a gas line run to our patio so now I never have to worry about running out of propane. If you are into rotisserie grilling, this particular line from Weber includes one that works so well.
And as an extra bonus, the side burner is powerful enough to actually use to quickly and properly cook side dishes.
If I could go back, I would save myself the thousands of dollars I spent on the less expensive grills and bought the real deal instead.
Maria Liberati
The best grill on the market is a wood pellet model, as it is extremely versatile, allowing users to sear, grill, and smoke.
This type of grill is also great to make grilled pizza with, a recipe perfect for the summer season.
Wood pellet grills have special attachments, making them especially easy to use.
They are also extremely fuel-efficient and allow users to experiment with cooking methods that go past simply grilling.
Linda Chester – The Health Hour
In my opinion, the best grill out there especially if you want to eat healthily is the Optigrill+ XL grill. This is available online on Amazon so it is fairly easy to get your hands on one of these.
This is a certified health grill with its ridges slightly tilting downwards to rid your food of a significant amount of excess fat. It is the grill I use for my cooking.
This alone is already pretty great but what I like the most about this grill is that you won’t have to sacrifice the flavor of your food in order to get the healthy benefits.
Using this grill, you can even have a burger every now and then because of how much fat it takes off of your food.
Another amazing feature of this grill is its cooking sensor which determines the heat output and cooking time needed depending on the thickness of the food you want to grill.
You can grill red meats like beef, veal, and pork, fish and other seafood, veggies, as well as white meat like chicken and turkey.
One thing I noticed about it though is that when you are grilling meat, it is better to stick to the manual setting instead of using the automatic cooking sensor. Cooking meat using the automatic setting can make it pretty dry.
Hannah and Joel Lewis – The Beard and The Baker
We have a RecTec Pellet Grill, the RT-590, and use it as often as we can! It’s great for a busy family like ours to easily smoke meat, vegetables, and even desserts.
We’ve made pulled pork, brisket, beef sticks, grilled potatoes and asparagus, and a delightful apple crumble!
The RecTec is super easy to use for both novice and experienced grillers. We love that their app gives you a constant update on the temperature inside your grill so you don’t have to stay put right next to it while grilling.
From a design perspective, it’s a good looking grill that fits nicely even on our small condo patio. The stainless steel design isn’t gimmicky or designed to be flashy, it’s just a great grill that looks good and gets the job done.
The RecTec pellet grill helps us make delicious food that our entire family enjoys and it’s always a win when the whole family approves of a meal.
Kate Shungu – Gift of Hospitality
As a city dweller, a space-saving grill is important. I love the STOK Quattro. It’s large enough that we can grill enough food for get-togethers, but it’s small enough that it doesn’t take up a lot of room on our patio.
There are side shelves that can be mounted to the grill or left off (great for saving space) and the cabinet underneath is helpful for storing grill brushes and other tools. It also has removable grate inserts that make it easy to clean.
But the single best feature? It cooks food evenly. I can place food anywhere on the grill and get the same result. That’s particularly helpful when I’m loading it up for guests, or batch-cooking on the weekends for the week ahead.
My next project will be grilling pizza on a pizza stone. I’m thinking that I’ll use a store-bought pizza dough and then top it with lots of spicy Italian sausage. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Elizabeth Capozzoli – OwlbBaking
The Kamado Joe Classic II is my absolute favorite because it has so many more features than your average grill.
Because this charcoal grill holds heat so effectively with its fully insulated ceramic shell, you can easily maintain an accurate temperature for grilling and smoking.
There’s even an attachment to turn your grill into a rotisserie. The Kamado Joe Classic II is made for versatile cooking, so I find myself making a lot more than just meat or vegetables.
Use a cast-iron Dutch oven for stews & chili, use a skillet to bake up cornbread and summer fruit cobblers. Not in the mood for slow cooking?
Turn the heat up to a max of 750° and use the fitted pizza stone to create a personal outdoor pizza oven (high heat is the secret to the amazing crust!)
The Classic II is one of Kamado Joe’s best-selling models. It is built tough and made to last; you can see and feel the craftsmanship of this one of a kind grill.
The recipe ideas are endless with a Kamado Joe and you’ll find yourself using this grill all year long!
Anastasia Papapetros – Salads with Anastasia
Weber Baby Q Premium
My Weber barbecue is my best friend during the summer! I much prefer to be cooking dinner out on my balcony hoping to catch a cool breeze rather than being locked in a hot kitchen sweating no matter how high I have the air-con switched on.
What do I love about my Weber so much?
It is compact, making it ideal for balconies – everyone can enjoy the benefits of an outdoor bbq, even those in small apartments so long as you have a balcony. To be honest, I find our big barbecue a bit intimidating with its vast size and big gas burners, kind of like facing a dragon.
Just as easy to use as a stovetop – no bells and whistles, easy and straightforward, use it as you would your stove.
Doubles as an outdoor oven – this model of the Weber barbecue doubles as an oven which makes it an absolute lifesaver when you have large crowds to entertain.
The handy gauge on the front lets you know when it has reached the temperature that you need. Our Christmas ham has never tasted better than it does when cooked in the Weber.
Easy to clean – I don’t know about you, but I just hate cleaning, and again Weber makes this process a breeze as all you have to do is pop-out the grill and wash it in your sink and then give the barbecue wipe over.
Uses gas bottles – which makes it a no-fuss alternative to charcoal barbecues and economical to boot.
Michael Murdy – Robust Kitchen
After thoroughly researching grills for the last few months, I can confidently tell you the most consistently high reviewed grill on the market is the gas-powered Weber 44010001 Spirit II E-210.
The ease of transport, ease of use, and the unprecedented power of the GS4 grill system makes this weber model one of a kind.
It has over 900 reviews on Amazon and has astoundingly sustained a 4.6 / 5 stars review average. Knowing the high standards of the grilling community, this is no small feat.
The Weber Spirit II also has a 10-year warranty, comes in black or mocha, and provides models that use natural gas or liquid propane.
All BBQ reviewers will agree with me that this model has consistently outcompeted its opposition in terms of quality, warranty, and overall price.
Thank you so much to all the bloggers that contributed to this expert roundup! Now that you know what are the best grills on the market it’s time for a steak.
If you have any questions let us know in the comments below.
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