Best Portable Grills of 2026
Grills and griddles small enough to take camping, tailgating or to the beach.
A portable grill has to earn its place in the car. It should be light, quick to set up and easy to pack.
Even so, it should still cook like a real grill, with enough heat to sear a steak.
Our portable grill reviews check how it carries and what fuel it takes. Do the same before you fall for the looks.
We tested 35 portable grills for this guide. Most of them do well on value for money. Where most fall short is how long they last, so that is where the picks below stand apart.
Our picks
- Best overall
Weber Traveler Compact Portable Gas Grill One lever, one knob, a self-locking lid, and 37 pounds against the larger Traveler's 49, with no assembly published. $349 at Amazon - Best portable grill for the money
Weber Smokey Joe 14 Charcoal Grill At $54.99 the bowl and lid carry the same ten years Weber puts on kettles costing several times more. $54.99 at Amazon - Best portable gas grill
Cuisinart Chef's Style Stainless Tabletop Grill Near 73 BTU per square inch, split across two separately controlled 10,000 BTU burners, which buys a real hot side and cool side. $224.99 at Amazon - Best portable charcoal grill
Kamado Joe Joe Jr with Cast Iron Stand Glazed ceramic body, cast iron top vent and cast iron stand; no plastic carries load anywhere on this grill. $429 at Amazon - Best portable pellet grill
Cuisinart CPG-256 Auto-start, Prime, a NO PELLET alarm and an included probe cover everything a beginner needs; the two-hand carry is the one chore. $319 at Amazon - Best portable grill for tailgating
Nexgrill Fortress 1-Burner Tabletop Grill A 2.55mm die-cast lid, a cast aluminum firebox and 7mm grids, at a price where folded sheet steel is normal. $109.97 at Amazon - Best portable grill under $100
Coleman Fold N Go + Propane Grill Around $89.99 against Coleman's own $141.99 list, for a lidded grill with published spares and three years. $89.99 at Amazon - Best portable grill under $150
Char-Broil Performance 22 Tabletop Griddle Two burners and 24,000 BTU over 350 square inches is a dense fire for a tabletop, though nothing reads it back. $107.99 at Amazon
Prices are what the retailer charged when we last checked. More on each pick below.
Best portable grill overallWeber Traveler Compact Portable Gas Grill
Buy the Compact if the back of your car is what decides the argument. It keeps the bigger Traveler's iron, its lever and its wheels. Nine inches come back for a hundred dollars. What it takes is elbow room on the grate, and there is none to spare.
Good to know: The five-year headline reaches the cookbox and lid only; the lever and hinges doing every trip's work sit in the two-year bracket.
Best portable grill for the moneyWeber Smokey Joe 14 Charcoal Grill
The Smokey Joe is the whole Weber kettle argument, shrunk and priced at $54.99. Two dampers, porcelain enamel, and ten years on the parts that rust. Just settle what the grate is made of before you decide how to look after it.
Why it won this award: At $54.99 the bowl and lid carry the same ten years Weber puts on kettles costing several times more.
Good to know: Porcelain wipes down and the catcher lifts away, but the feature list names no One-Touch sweep to push ash into it.
Best portable gas grillCuisinart Chef's Style Stainless Tabletop Grill
The CGG-306P is a small grill with a full-size appetite for fuel. Buy it for the two knobs and the dense heat. Do not buy it for the word tabletop. It is a tabletop grill whose fuel will never fit on the table.
Good to know: Stainless grates scrub easily, but Cuisinart prices a replacement grate at $56.50, roughly a quarter of what the whole grill costs.
Best portable charcoal grillKamado Joe Joe Jr with Cast Iron Stand
The Joe Jr is a genuine kamado in a small size, deflector included. Portable here means two people and a trunk, not one person and a trail. Bought as a compact patio grill that occasionally travels, it earns its price.
Good to know: Sold as portable at 82.5 lbs, a two-person lift with nowhere to set tools, and the deflector must come out to sear.
Best portable pellet grillCuisinart CPG-256
The CPG-256 gets pellet cooking down to something one person can carry alone. The controller, the sear zone and the probe are more than $319 usually buys. Just decide where it will be plugged in before you decide where it will be parked.
Good to know: Three-year cover is fair, but the $94.75 controller fits this model alone and showed out of stock on Cuisinart's own parts list.
Best portable grill for tailgatingNexgrill Fortress 1-Burner Tabletop Grill
The Fortress 1-Burner put its budget into metal instead of flame. It is patient rather than fierce, and it cooks that way. Light it early and keep the lid shut, and the trade pays. Open it every two minutes and it never will.
Good to know: Piezo lighting is a one-press job, but nothing reads the heat back and there is no surface to put anything down on.
Best portable grill under $100Coleman Fold N Go + Propane Grill
Around $89.99 buys the Coleman that does one thing only. It writes down everything it will not do. You are paying for a lid that comes down over dinner. Read page seven before you pack a frying pan.
Good to know: One 6,000 BTU ring under a lid that closes, but Coleman publishes neither a thermometer nor any wind protection.
Best portable grill under $150Char-Broil Performance 22 Tabletop Griddle
The Performance Series 22 puts a full-size plate and a serious fire on a tabletop. The weak link is neither the steel nor the burners. It is the bottle hanging off the side. Buy the griddle, then buy cylinders in quantity.
Good to know: Two years covers every part equally, and the bare steel plate rusts the moment one wet weekend is forgotten.
Questions people ask
What is the best portable grill?
Our top pick is the Weber Traveler Compact Portable Gas Grill. Buy the Compact if the back of your car is what decides the argument. It keeps the bigger Traveler's iron, its lever and its wheels.
What is the best value portable grill?
The Weber Smokey Joe 14 Charcoal Grill. At $54.99 the bowl and lid carry the same ten years Weber puts on kettles costing several times more.
How much should I spend on a portable grill?
Most of the portable grills we tested cost between $90 and $280. Our top pick costs about $349. Across all our scores, paying more buys a little, and much less than the price tag suggests.
Can you use a portable grill indoors?
No. Never use a portable gas or charcoal grill indoors, in a tent or in a garage. They give off carbon monoxide, which can kill without warning. Only electric grills made for indoor use belong inside.
Can you use a portable grill on a plastic table?
It is risky. The base of a grill gets hot enough to melt or scorch plastic. Set it on metal, stone or bare ground. Follow the clearance advice in the manual.
What fuel do portable grills use?
Most portable gas grills use small 1 lb propane canisters. Many can adapt to a full size tank. Others burn charcoal or plug into an outlet. Check the fuel before a trip and bring a spare.
Can you take a portable grill to the beach or park?
Often yes, but rules vary from place to place. Some beaches and parks ban charcoal or open flames completely. Check the local rules before you go, and never bury hot coals in the sand.
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, and for the money the top Value score. Gas, charcoal and pellet are the top scorer on that fuel, tailgating the top scorer made for a tailgate, and the price picks the top scorer under $100 or $150 at the retailer we checked. How we score.
Looking for something else? See all our best grill guides.