Grill ratings
We score every grill on the same six categories, at the same six weights. So far that is 222 grills and 1332 category judgements, each with a written reason. The top score belongs to the Kamado Joe Classic II at 8.9 out of 10.
That covers 222 of 251 published grill reviews. The other 29 are older reviews carrying a headline Avid Griller Score but no category breakdown, so they appear in the review index and not in the ratings table.
The six categories
The Avid Griller Score is these six categories, weighted as shown. It is arithmetic, not an opinion with a decimal point on it. Maintenance carries 10%, so even a zero there costs only 1 of the 10 points on offer. The same weakness in Heat Performance costs 2.5× as much. That is why a grill can rank well with a visible flaw, and why a grill that does not cook well cannot recover on fit and finish.
- Heat Performance 25% of the score
- 8.1 Average across 222 grills. Lowest 6.0, highest 9.5.
- Long-term Reliability 20% of the score
- 7.4 Average across 222 grills. Lowest 5.5, highest 9.5.
- Build Quality 18% of the score
- 8.2 Average across 222 grills. Lowest 6.5, highest 9.6.
- Ease of Use 15% of the score
- 8.2 Average across 222 grills. Lowest 6.3, highest 9.5.
- Value 12% of the score
- 7.9 Average across 222 grills. Lowest 6.0, highest 9.7.
- Maintenance 10% of the score
- 7.9 Average across 222 grills. Lowest 5.8, highest 9.7.
The lowest average is Long-term Reliability at 7.4. It is also the second-heaviest weight, at 20%. So the category where grills most often lose points is one of the ones that counts most. The highest average is Build Quality at 8.2. Read these as relative, not absolute. Every grill is scored against the ones a buyer would cross-shop it with, so an average shows where cookers fall short within their own tier, not against the whole catalogue. How we score sets that out in full.