Best Gas Grills of 2024
Whether you're buying your first grill or want to upgrade your grilling setup, we found the best gas grill for every experience level and budget.
Our Experts
- 6 years working professionally in the 3D printing space / 4 years testing consumer electronics for large websites.
- Covered the mobile and smart home tech space for the past five years for multiple large publications.
Our Picks
What is the best gas grill overall?
Whether you love hosting barbecues or grilling solo, a good gas grill is a must. If you feel totally overwhelmed by the options out there, we rounded up our favorite gas grill for every category, whether you want one of the best portable grills or one with three burners. Looking for the best of the best? Go for the Monument Denali 605 6-burner for even heat distribution and smart features.
You must consider several things when choosing the best grill for your needs, including whether you want to explore gas or charcoal grills. Gas grills are easier to use, making them ideal for barbecue newbies. They light quickly and heat up fast. Many of them also come with a roomy grilling surface, which means you can fire up a feast for the whole family. If you have space constraints, you can find a quality compact model that'll fit any tiny space while still being able to fuel your outdoor cooking adventures. Some of the best gas grills on the market today also get a bunch of features, ranging from special sear stations and side burners to built-in lighting for nighttime cooking.
There's a variety of options to get your meat sizzling, from pellet grills and portable grills to standard charcoal grills, but not all are created equal. Traditional gas grills continue to reign supreme. We tested the best gas grills 2024 has to offer to find the finest models to fit your culinary needs.
Best gas grills of 2024
While a giant six-burner grill may not be for everyone, the Monument Denali is the perfect balance of modern thinking, a good price, and quality that I would expect from our top pick. Like any smart modern grill, the Denali has temperature probes to accurately cook 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 an entire party of guests. I especially like the little slots for hanging your drumsticks to let them cook evenly. All the food I tested was tender, and the probes did a good job of pinpointing the right temperature. My medium rare steaks were perfectly cooked, and the burger patties were browned evenly across the entire range. The addition of the burner to the side meant I could cook up some delicious barbecue beans at the same time as the meat, and I didn't need to bounce from inside to out 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.
Best midrange model
Char-Broil Commercial 3-Burner
Char-Broil's three-burner stainless steel model comes in at almost half the price of the Weber model above. At $550, you'll get a liquid propane and natural gas grill that can handle most cooking challenges with ease.
Char-Broil uses what it calls Tru-Infrared, a set of perforated emitter plates that separate food from the flame to distribute heat and reduce flare-ups evenly. There were definitely fewer flare-ups compared with other models in our testing, but you won't be able to see the flame when you're lighting the grill or adjusting the temperature, so keep that in mind.
You'll get less power than the Weber at 25,500 BTUs over 420 square inches of primary cooking area space, and there aren't any smart grilling features for remote monitoring. This Char-Broil model does have a side burner as well as tank storage behind two cabinet doors. Like the Weber, it comes with a 10-year warranty.
The food cooked on our Char-Broil test unit was good, although slightly less crispy and seared than the Weber. If you're looking to stay close to $500, this outdoor grill with stainless steel burner offers the best balance of features and performance among the models we've tested.
Best compact gas grill
Monument Grills Tabletop Propane Gas Grill
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.
I took it camping with my family of six, and it easily kept us fed in burgers and hotdogs. It's lightweight and easy to carry and can be set on any picnic table. The drip tray underneath crosses the entire base, making it great at catching debris, but it can be a pain to clean. I would have liked it to be a funneled drip pan, but that would have added weight and depth so I could understand the compromise.
If you only have a small outdoor space or a little balcony in your condo, this would be a great addition to make your grilling dreams come true. It lists for around $149 at Amazon.
Best equipped model
Weber Genesis EPX-335 Smart Gas Grill
If you're willing to spend a little more on extra features, then the Weber Genesis EPX-335 is what you seek. This propane grill offers a large 787 square inches of cooking space and was redesigned in 2022. It also boasts three main burners rated at 39,000 BTU, a 13,000 BTU sear burner and a 12,000 BTU side burner.
We like how two of the main burners and the sear burner can form a special sear zone on command. Those who tend to cook after dark will appreciate the built-in LED lighting system. It illuminates the cooking area automatically when you pop open the hood.
Thanks to onboard Weber Connect support, this grill has smart abilities too. Linked to your home's Wi-Fi network you can use the Weber Connect app to monitor grill status from your phone. That includes internal grill temperature plus real-time readings from up to two meat probes.
During our testing, the Genesis EPX-335 seared burgers well with just a hint of pinkness at their centers. A whole chicken came out nicely cooked as well: The skin was crispy, and both white and dark meat was left tender and juicy.
The only hiccup we ran into was while cooking pork ribs low and slow. According to the grill's LED screen, heat levels during the cook were parked with a 10-degree range of 225 F. Our own thermocouples though pegged temperatures at grill level at about 45 degrees cooler. As a result, our ribs took longer than expected: 6 hours and 30 minutes to finish.
Other grills we've tested
The CNET editors have been cooking and serving up grill data for a few years now. In addition to the gas barbecue models above, here are the other gas grills we've tested. This list doesn't include the many models we've tested over the years that are no longer available for purchase.
- Char-Broil Signature Series four-burner: We tested this well-built and practical Char-Broil model in 2019. It was middle of the road in our testing and the new model is available for around $490. It comes with plenty of cooking space, a side burner and cabinet doors. If you're a fan of Char-Broil's grills, this model is a safe bet, but there are better grills from other brands for your money.
- KitchenAid 720-0891C (Out of Stock): KitchenAid's style and color options are impressive, but the performance of this $299, two-burner gas grill was underwhelming in all three tests. If you're looking for a two-burner grill, the Weber Spirit II E-210 is a better choice. It's a Propane gas grill but can also be converted to natural gas. This model is also pretty tough to find in stock since it was recently discontinued.
- Napoleon Rogue three-burner: Despite its cool looks and sturdy construction, this Napoleon model was underwhelming in our tests. At $749, it's pricey and the Char-Broil 3-burner we tested delivered better results.
- Dyna-glo five-burner: This reasonably priced five-burner has plenty of power, with 63,000 BTU -- plus a sixth "turbo" burner that offers an additional 12,000 BTU. We like its porcelain cast-iron grate cooking surface for searing. Still, we found the cooking to be uneven.
How we test gas grills
To determine the best gas grill and get a feel for how these grills perform in a variety of cooking scenarios, we perform three tests. Based on different meats, methods and heat settings, these tests show us how efficiently and evenly a grill does (or doesn't) cook.
Ribs
Our first test is ribs. It's an anecdotal round, so there isn't a connected thermometer set or software capturing specific data. We preheat each grill on high for 10 minutes before turning it down to low, indirect heat. Depending on the grill size, that means turning one or two burners off completely.
We remove the outer membrane on a rack of pork back ribs and season it with an all-purpose rub we use for ribs and chicken. Then, the ribs are placed on the grates for at least three hours with the lid closed the entire time.
Rib testing takes three hours on low, indirect heat.
Rib enthusiasts may not agree with this relatively short and smoke-free cooking method, but it allows us to see just how well a regular propane gas grill can cook low and slow. If time allows we continue cooking until the ribs are completely done and make note of the total cook time.
Chicken
To test the grill with a midrange cook time and medium heat settings, we grill a whole chicken. We preheat the grill on high for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium and turn off the burners to create an indirect heat environment.
Once we've trimmed and seasoned the bird, we place it in a roasting pan and insert one temperature probe into each chicken breast, for a total of two probes per chicken (this is an important step even if the grill has a built-in thermometer because undercooked chicken is no good for anyone). To keep our results as fair as possible, all the chickens are as close as possible to 5.5 pounds.
Whole chickens are cooked on indirect, medium heat until both breasts reach 165 degrees F.
Those temperature probes are connected to a data logger and laptop with software that records the internal temperature of each chicken breast every two seconds. Each chicken cooks until the temperature in both breasts reaches a food-safe 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grilled chicken should have a crispy skin and meat that is cooked through fully but not dry. We perform this test in three rounds, giving us a solid average cooking time for each grill.
Burgers
Burgers are our final test for our grill reviews. We measure out 5.3 ounces of 80/20 ground beef and press them into uniform patties. Those patties go into a grill basket and we insert a temperature probe into the center of each patty at a 45-degree angle.
With the grill preheated for 10 minutes on high, the basket goes onto the grill. After six minutes of cooking, we flip the basket and monitor the internal temperature. Once the last burger in the basket reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit, the batch is finished. A good burger in this test is one that has both a nice outside char and a slightly pink center.
Burgers go on the grill over direct, high heat.
Burger testing points out any hot spots across the grill's cooking surface if one burger consistently reaches 145 F before the others in every round.
An average 15- or 20-degree difference across the quickest and slowest patties in a batch was the norm in our testing. Red flags are raised when we begin to see differences in the 30- to 40-degree range.
Factors to consider when buying a gas grill
How much can you or do you want to spend?
While knowing what you want in a gas grill is important, knowing what you can spend is the first step when buying a grill. This is because you may want a six-burner grill, with a hot plate on the side, and a searing deck, but if you've only got $150 to spend, you're going to have to make some compromises. Now, there are still plenty of good gas grills in this price range, but when the spread between entry level and high-end is thousands of dollars, it's best to determine what you can afford first.
What fuel source do you want?
Milk crates make great holders for propane tanks to keep them upright and easier to carry for transportation.
The most common gas grill you'll find when shopping around is propane. These grills are more portable, as you can simply hook them up to a 15- to 20-pound bottle and roll them wherever you need them. Just make sure you properly dispose of or trade in your propane bottle when it is empty.
The other type of gas grill would be one that uses natural gas. For some this isn't an option at all because this utility isn't available at your home, or you prefer to have a more mobile grill. If you have natural gas as a fuel option, the main benefit would be you won't have to worry about running out of fuel and you'll save money in the long run since you won't have to pay for propane bottles or refils.
How much heat do you want?
The heat rating for grills is done in British Thermal Units (BTUs), and while the higher the BTUs generally means more heat, a lower number doesn't make the grill bad. There are many factors that go into determining the best BTUs needed for a particular grill. A grill with 700sqin of cooking space would likely be underserved by only 25,000 BTUs, but a smaller grill would be perfect at that rating. A good rule of thumb to ensure the BTU rating and grill size are optimal for your needs is to divide the total BTUs by the total cooking area. Aim for around 110 BTUs per square inch.
Gas grill FAQs
What type of gas grill is best?
While the vast majority of gas grills use propane as the fuel source, some use natural gas. Many factors can set one grill apart from the next. With different grill sizes, cooking grates, and BTU levels, a difference in performance is expected in each individual outdoor gas grill. Still, some observations need to be made.
One thing our test data highlights is how quickly a grill can cook on its own medium or high setting. That doesn't mean each grill is set to the same preheated temperature. It simply means we turned the knobs to what each grill indicated was medium heat.
We also compared each grill's average cooking time for chicken and burgers over three identical tests. We run the clock until the last burger reaches 145˚F and the lowest chicken breast reaches 165˚F.
Can I cook a large or small meal on a gas grill?
It depends on your cooking style. If you're cooking for large groups frequently, you'll need a grill with a large primary cooking surface, a warming rack, and a side burner. So a grill like this would be great for large or small. But if you don't plan on making large meals, you'll save money and have a better overall cooking experience on a smaller gas grill.
Some of you might also have strong feelings about the cooking grates; you need stainless steel, cast-iron grates, porcelain-coated grates, or even porcelain-coated cast iron. Look carefully at each description to be sure you get what you're looking for. If you plan to use your grill to flip a few burgers occasionally, stick with a less expensive or smaller gas grill model. If you're looking for a portable gas grill or an indoor grill, these won't be right for you.
Are there accessories for gas grills?
Once you've picked out the best gas grill for you, you'll want to look at grill covers and pick up grilling tools like a grill brush, a thermometer to check for food-safe temperatures, and liners for the drip tray. There are loads of great cooking tools that can be used on all types of grills, it just comes down to what works best for you and your cooking style.
When is the best time to buy a gas grill?
Aside from answering when you need one and have the budget for it, the other answer would be considering those factors and looking for sales. Generally, at the end of summer, you'll start seeing grills go on sale to make room for fall and winter seasonal items. You can also find good sales during major holidays, especially summer ones like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and even Father's Day.