Weber Summit Kamado E6 vs S6
The same 452 sq in cooker twice. The S6 adds a cart, a stainless worktop and a gas starter for $1,000. What the furniture is actually worth.
We pick the Weber Summit Kamado E6 Charcoal Grill
Buy the E6 unless you want the furniture badly enough to pay $1,000 for it. The cooking is identical: 452 sq in on one 24-inch grate, a dual-wall insulated steel body, and a fuel grate with high and low positions. The S6 wraps that same cooker in a cart with a brushed stainless worktop, a slide-out basket, three hooks and a gas burner that lights charcoal in 15 minutes. It costs $1,000 over the E6 list price of $1,399.
What actually differs
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Not one extra square inch of cooking
Same grate diameter, same area, same insulation, same two-position fuel grate. Our reviews put them 0.1 apart, and that gap is entirely about what the money buys.
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Push-button charcoal is the one real upgrade
The gas starter brings the fire up in 15 minutes with no chimney and no paper. If you cook on charcoal mid-week rather than at weekends, that changes how often you bother.
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The burner is a new failure point on a two-year tier
Ten years covers the enamelled shell on both. The S6 gas burner gets two, so the headline feature is the least protected part. The worktop and cart are what you are mostly paying for.
How they score, category by category
The Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores higher in 3 categories, the Weber Summit Kamado S6 in one. 2 are level.
Level overall: within a tenth of each other.
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Heat Performance
Counts for 25% of the scoreWeber Summit Kamado E6 9.2Weber Summit Kamado S6 9.2Level: within a tenth of each other.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores 9.2Dual-wall insulation plus a fuel grate that moves, so searing and all-day smoking come out of one setup.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado S6 scores 9.2Dual-wall body, a fuel grate with two heights, and a gas burner that lights charcoal in 15 min without a chimney.
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Long-term Reliability
Counts for 20% of the scoreWeber Summit Kamado E6 9.3 Better by 1.0Weber Summit Kamado S6 8.3Why the Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores 9.3Ten years against rust through on an enamelled steel shell that cannot crack, though hinge and gasket get two.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado S6 scores 8.3
Ten years on the enamelled shell, but the gas burner is a new failure point covered for only 2 years.
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Build Quality
Counts for 18% of the scoreWeber Summit Kamado E6 9.1Weber Summit Kamado S6 9.1Level: within a tenth of each other.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores 9.1Porcelain enamel, stainless grates and a rigid tripod stand, but Weber publishes no steel gauge anywhere.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado S6 scores 9.1Brushed stainless worktop and porcelain enamel over steel, though Weber publishes no gauge for any panel on the grill.
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Ease of Use
Counts for 15% of the scoreWeber Summit Kamado E6 8.0Weber Summit Kamado S6 9.3 Better by 1.3Why the Weber Summit Kamado S6 scores 9.3Push-button charcoal, a full worktop, a slide-out basket and three hooks, against an assembly job Weber refuses to book.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores 8.0
Three casters roll it anywhere, yet Weber excludes Summit grills from the $99 assembly booking it sells.
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Value
Counts for 12% of the scoreWeber Summit Kamado E6 7.7 Better by 0.7Weber Summit Kamado S6 7.0Why the Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores 7.7At $1,399.00 the cover is a separate $84.99 and the built-in fan port arrives without a fan.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado S6 scores 7.0
The same 452 square inches as the $1,399.00 E6, for $1,000 more and a dearer cover.
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Maintenance
Counts for 10% of the scoreWeber Summit Kamado E6 9.7 Better by 0.2Weber Summit Kamado S6 9.5Why the Weber Summit Kamado E6 scores 9.7A three-blade stainless sweep and a lift-out ash pan replace the scoop a ceramic firebox needs.
Why the Weber Summit Kamado S6 scores 9.5
A three-blade sweep and a lift-out ash pan, with a stainless worktop to land the pan on.
See all six scores in one table
| Category | Weber Summit Kamado E6 | Weber Summit Kamado S6 |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Performance (25%) | 9.2 | 9.2 |
| Long-term Reliability (20%) | 9.3 Better | 8.3 |
| Build Quality (18%) | 9.1 | 9.1 |
| Ease of Use (15%) | 8.0 | 9.3 Better |
| Value (12%) | 7.7 Better | 7.0 |
| Maintenance (10%) | 9.7 Better | 9.5 |
| Avid Griller Score | 8.9 | 8.8 |
Both reviews are scored on the same six weighted categories, on the same 0 to 10 scale, and each reason is the one that review gave. A category is marked better only where the two differ by a tenth or more. How we score →
Which one is for you
You want the cooker and already own a table, or would rather spend $1,000 on something else.
Check price →You want push-button charcoal and a stainless worktop built around the kamado, and the premium is affordable.
Check price →Every score and figure on this page comes from our own reviews of these two products, linked above. We have not tested them side by side in one place; the comparison is between two full reviews, each built from the maker's published specifications and documentation. Prices move, and the ones quoted are the ones each review checked on its own date.