Looking to take your steak to the next level? Here are the best gas, charcoal, electric and Kamado-style grills on the market so you can upgrade your grilling game.
Updated Jan. 1, 2024 11:00 a.m. PT Electric Fireplace See Through
CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. How we test grills
Whatever the weather, the grilling season is alive and well. There are a lot of great choices for grills out there, and we spent a lot of hours testing them all.
After spending countless hours grilling and smoking, including burning and eating hamburgers, chicken, corn and kebob skewers, we've managed to crown the best grill overall: the Denali smart grill from Monument . It's a gas grill large enough to feed a huge family -- or the entire block if you're having a cookout. It's smart, too, so you can keep an eye on the food even from the kitchen.
We've rounded up some of the best models available to help you find the grill that works for you and your budget. If you're considering what type of grill to get, check out our guide to pellet, charcoal and gas grill variants . There are tons of different grill types to compare, including gas grills, traditional charcoal grills , heat-loving kamado grills , infrared grills, portable grills and more.
While the perfect grill may not exist for everyone, many grills tick a lot of boxes. The right grill for you depends on what type of food you want to grill, so bear that in mind. Here is some guidance:
No matter what type of outdoor grill you choose, you should brush up on how to clean it (keeping that grilling surface clean with a grill brush and grill cleaner is essential) and get the best accessories for grilling . Having the right techniques and tools of the trade will complement your perfect grill, turn you into a grill master extraordinaire and make your cookouts a breeze.
While a giant six-burner grill may not be for everyone, the Monument Denali is the perfect balance of modern thinking, price point and quality. Like any modern smart grill, the Denali has temperature probes to accurately keep watch on your food and uses an app to connect those probes to your phone. You can set the app to alert you when your food reaches the correct temperature or after a certain time limit.
The size of the Denali is impressive, giving you room to easily cook for multiple guests. I especially liked the little slots for hanging your drumsticks so that they cook evenly. All the food I tested was tender, and the probes did a good job pinpointing the right temperature. My medium-rare steaks were perfectly cooked, and burger patties were browned evenly across the entire range. The addition of the burner to the side meant I could cook some delicious barbecue beans at the same time as the meat, and I didn't need to bounce from inside to outside to keep everything cooking.
My only complaint with the Denali 605 is the time it took to build. It comes disassembled for easy shipping, but putting it together was tedious, with a lot of guesswork when the instructions weren't clear. Once it was built, it worked great, but it was a pain to get it together.
When I first moved out to the High Desert in California, I knew I wanted a grill that could handle enough food for a party. I also knew that moving is expensive, so it had to be affordable. I picked up this heavy-duty grill at Walmart and was instantly impressed with how well it was constructed. After putting it all together, there was a heft to all the materials that made me think it would stand the test of time, and it did.
The easily removable ashtray made keeping the grill clean a breeze, and the thermometer on the top is helpful for smoking meats, especially if you don't want to keep lifting the lid and losing the smoke. Little touches like the bottle opener and the hooks under the shelf were also helpful. I used this grill for nearly six years before I moved again. Even when I left, the new owners took it to use with their families.
I have used a lot of really expensive grills, but this budget-friendly, sturdy workhorse is still one of my favorites.
The Ninja Woodfire has all the convenience of an indoor electric grill and air fryer with the addition of a small smoking hopper that lets you burn pellets. These pellets add a distinctive smoky taste to anything you are cooking without the need for an entire smoker to do it.
I've cooked chicken, salmon and beef on the grill setting using just a cup of pellets, saving a lot of time and money compared with a full-size smoker. It even works with the air fryer, so making crispy wings with an applewood smoke taste is easy.
While the Flatrock is pricey for a flat-top griddle, its quality and usefulness can't be overstated. Some foods just can't be cooked on a standard grill, including tacos and smash burgers, but a flat-top griddle makes them a breeze. (By the way, if you've never had a smash burger, you need one in your life. They're amazing.)
The Flatrock uses Traeger's Pop and Lock system for accessories, so if you already have one of the brand's grills, you can mix and match what you need. You will need to cure the Flatrock's surface, but I enjoyed creating just the right surface for my needs. I use the Flatrock more than any other grill right now, and it is my go-to for burgers and tacos.
While the Traeger is a fantastic flat-top grill, it is big and heavy, and sometimes you don't need to cook tacos for 10 people. The Nexgrill griddle is much smaller, perfect for a small family of four, and is collapsable so it can be easily stored under your deck, or even thrown in the back of your truck to take camping.
I did find the instructions a little hard to follow, so make sure you have some time to put it together right.
Like the Ninja Woodsmoke grill above, this outdoor oven uses a small pellet smoker on the side to infuse the food with a smoky flavor. The difference with this oven is that it can cook at very high temperatures to turn out pizzas or make burnt ends, or you can drop the temp and slow cook meat to perfection. If you have a built-in outdoor kitchen, this will look fantastic in that setting.
When space is limited, finding the right grill to give you the taste you want can be hard. This gas grill from Monument is compact on the outside but surprisingly large on the inside. It's big enough to cook a spatchcocked turkey or several large steaks and, because it's a gas grill, it's ready as soon as you want to use it. If you only have a small outdoor space or a little balcony, this would be a great addition to make your grilling dreams come true.
Kamado grilling cookers are distinctively egg-shaped wood-burning grills. They impart a delicious smoky flavor to everything, and this is the best grill in the bunch. They can run low and slow for hours at smoker temperatures and sear at high heat levels that go well beyond the capabilities of gas grills. That's hot enough to create true steakhouse steaks and real wood-fired pizza like a pro griller.
The Kamado Joe Classic III may have a steep price tag, but this high-end grill delivers plenty of cooking power for the money. That means lots of grilling accessories that don't come standard with other grills, including the Big Green Egg. It performs well, too. On our slow-and-low barbecue grill test, we adjust grills to 225 degrees Fahrenheit (107 degrees Celsius) and let go of the controls to see what happens. In this trial, the Joe Classic IIIdemonstrated excellent temperature stability.
We test the main types of grills differently, but for most, we include a high-heat test like searing steak or grilling burgers; a medium, indirect heat test like grilling a whole chicken for more than an hour; and a low-and-slow test with racks of ribs.
To determine what should be the best outdoor barbecue grill, we collect data including total cooking time, temperatures inside the grill and temperature inside separate pieces of meat. All that information helps us find where grills might have hot spots or thermometer inconsistencies.
I use the InfiRay P2 Pro to test how fast the grills heat up and if the heat is even. It only works as the grills heat up because the top temperature is too high, but it gives me a good idea of how well each grill spreads the needed heat.
There's also a fair amount of (read: so much) blind taste testing, lively debate and voting among our editors and families, in addition to the data we gather about grilling temperatures and cooking times. You might think it would be more fun than work to eat delicious food while discussing the merits of a grill, and you'd be right.
Mini Apple Charcoal Grill If you're interested in any particular method of testing, we've got that, plus our recommendations for cooking with kamado grills , portable grills" target="_blank and charcoal grills ready for your perusal. Happy grilling!