Best Backyard Grills of 2026
Grills, smokers, griddles and pizza ovens our reviews rate for a backyard.
A backyard gives you room to choose. You can go big, add a smoker, or keep it simple.
Start with how you like to cook and how many you feed. The right size follows from that.
These picks come from our grill reviews and cover the main kinds of cooker. That way you can compare like with like.
We tested 160 backyard grills for this guide. Most of them do well on how solidly they are made. Where most fall short is how long they last, so that is where the picks below stand apart.
Our picks
- Best overall
Kamado Joe Classic II The Kontrol Tower holds its air setting through a lid opening, which the $999.99 entry Classic does not offer. $1,499 at Amazon - Best for the money
Weber Genesis E-325 Gas Grill Near $849 with a sear burner, while Weber lists the sear-less E-315 at $899. Check price at Walmart - Best backyard gas grill
Weber Genesis E-330 Gas Grill A dedicated 13,000 BTU sear burner under cast iron, on top of three even mains, which almost nothing under $999 offers. Check price at Walmart - Best backyard charcoal grill
Weber Original Kettle Charcoal Grill 22 Leads Weber's 22 in kettles on price: $149.00 buys the same 363 sq in fire the dearer models sell with extras attached. $149 at Amazon - Best backyard pellet grill
Broil King Regal Pellet 400 Gas-cabinet material on a pellet cooker: 2 mm steel body, cast iron grids, double-wall lid closing on an oven-grade gasket. $825.89 at Amazon - Best backyard smoker
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18 Ten years against rust through on bowl, lid and center ring, so the cover is longest exactly where rust starts. $419 at Amazon - Best backyard griddle
Nexgrill Daytona 4-Burner Flat Top Griddle Sixty thousand published BTU under 756 square inches, split across four burners that each light on their own. $399.77 at Amazon - Best backyard grill under $500
Weber Spirit E-325 Gas Grill Two Boost Burners give one grate two real working heats, at close to 86 BTU per square inch over the primary grate. $499 at Amazon
Prices are what the retailer charged when we last checked. More on each pick below.
Best backyard grill overallKamado Joe Classic II
The Classic II is the same ceramic grill with a much better lid. That lid is also what your hands are on all evening. At $1,499.99 that is a hard sell, and at the street price it stops being one. Register it the day the pallet turns up.
Good to know: At $1,499.99 the extra $500 over the entry Classic buys a hinge and a vent, with nothing new on the grate.
Best for the moneyWeber Genesis E-325 Gas Grill
Weber stopped selling this grill and kept selling the cheaper one without its best feature. At around $849 that is a strange and temporary piece of luck. Buy it for the red knob. Register it the week it lands, and file the specification somewhere findable.
Why it won this award: Near $849 with a sear burner, while Weber lists the sear-less E-315 at $899.
Good to know: The grease tray pulls straight out, but cast iron grates and a fourth burner add to every clean-down.
Best backyard gas grillWeber Genesis E-330 Gas Grill
Buy the E-330 if you already cook in zones. Weber did not make this grill bigger. It made one corner of it disagree with the rest. That disagreement is the only thing here worth paying extra for.
Good to know: The $200 over an E-315 buys one sear burner, no extra square inch, the same cabinet and still no side burner.
Best backyard charcoal grillWeber Original Kettle Charcoal Grill 22
The kettle answers its own question. Weber took out the instruments, not the cooking, and then priced its griddle above the grill. If you will read coals rather than a dial, $149.00 buys plenty of fire.
Good to know: The lid hook and tool hooks help, but no thermometer is listed and refuelling means lifting the whole grate off the coals.
Best backyard pellet grillBroil King Regal Pellet 400
Broil King built a pellet grill its gas customers would recognise. Heavy, gasketed, cast iron, with the rotisserie already in the box. What it did not build is a line saying how hot Grill goes. Buy it for the mass and the upkeep, and treat searing as upside.
Good to know: Heavy steel and rated paint last well, yet auger, fan and controller carry the risk, and no warranty term is published.
Best backyard smokerWeber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18
The 18 is the size most people who want this system should own. Weber scaled up the fire and left the instruments untouched. Add a probe thermometer and the middle size asks nothing extra of you.
Good to know: One built-in reading, taken at the lid, on a cooker whose fire you otherwise cannot see at all.
Best backyard griddleNexgrill Daytona 4-Burner Flat Top Griddle
The Daytona 720-1058 puts a lot of fire under a lot of steel. Four burners that light alone turn the fourth knob into a holding area. That is the only one this griddle has, and it is enough.
Good to know: Nexgrill prints no warranty term on this product page, and the bare plate rusts wherever the seasoning lapses.
Best backyard grill under $500Weber Spirit E-325 Gas Grill
Buy the E-325 if you want two working heats on one grate without banking coals. The Sear Zone is a genuine change in how a Spirit gets cooked on. Just understand what Weber did here. It did not add fire; it gave the fire an address.
Good to know: The grease tray slides out and empties fast, but chipped enamel on cast iron rusts.
Questions people ask
What is the best backyard grill?
Our top pick is the Kamado Joe Classic II. The Classic II is the same ceramic grill with a much better lid. That lid is also what your hands are on all evening.
What is the best value backyard grill?
The Weber Genesis E-325 Gas Grill. Near $849 with a sear burner, while Weber lists the sear-less E-315 at $899.
How much should I spend on a backyard grill?
Most of the backyard grills we tested cost between $310 and $1,000. Our top pick costs about $1,499. Across all our scores, paying more buys a little, and much less than the price tag suggests.
How far should a grill be from the house?
Keep it well away from walls, railings and overhanging eaves. Many fire safety guides suggest about 10 feet. Your grill manual lists its own clearances, and local codes may add more.
Can you put a grill on a wood deck?
Many people do, with care. Use a fireproof grill mat underneath to catch grease and embers. Keep clear of railings and siding, and watch charcoal closely, since hot coals can scorch wood.
What size grill do I need?
Think about the number of people you usually feed, then allow some extra room. A bigger grill lets you keep a cooler zone for resting food. A small family rarely needs a huge cooking area.
Should you cover your grill?
Yes, once it has fully cooled. A good cover keeps out rain, leaves and pests. In damp climates, take it off now and then so moisture underneath can dry out.
How we picked
Every pick comes from our own testing, scored the same way across six things that matter to an owner. The overall pick is the highest Avid Griller Score. Best for the money goes to the top Value score. Every other pick is the top overall scorer of its fuel or kind, or priced under the limit at the retailer we checked. How we score.
Looking for something else? See all our best grill guides.