What happens when you ask pro cooks and seasoned grillmasters to recommend the best gas grills? You’ll get a few raised eyebrows from the charcoal purists, but here’s the thing: gas grills are easy to use, quick to heat up, simple to clean, and great for cooking a lot of food fast. Sure, charcoal might offer smokey flavor and a wide temperature range, but sometimes you just want to throw a damn hot dog over a fire without all the work required to get your coals just right.
Char-Broil Performance Series 2-Burner Propane Gas Grill With Amplifire
With a gas grill, you can cook 10 burgers or 20 hot dogs at a time while your buns warm on the top rack. Or you can char veggies on one side while you cook chicken on the other. And while gas grills have a well-earned reputation for not getting hot enough to sear a steak, the best gas grills will give your rib-eye gorgeous grill marks every time. Beyond a large cooking area, many of the freestanding gas models we recommend also come with built-in side tables, which can be a real lifesaver when you’re cooking a lot of food over an open flame.
Gas grills are indeed pricier than charcoal grills of comparable quality and size (you can get a good Weber kettle grill for less than $150), but as you’ll see with one of our top picks below, you can get a really great gas grill for less than $500.
Our experts tested a range of gas grills at different price points to find the models that deliver the best performance, reliability, and value.
The best gas grill: Weber Spirit EP-435
Weber Spirit EP-435 Gas Grill
Pros:
- Sear burners get incredibly hot
- Comes with side burner
- Cleans up easily
- Accommodates various outdoor cooking accessories
Cons:
- Preheating takes longer than on some other grills we tried
Body material: Painted steel
Cooking grates material: Porcelain-enameled cast iron
Number of burners: 4 (plus side burner)
Total BTUs: 35,000 (plus 12,000 side burner)
Cooking area: 533 sq. in (428 sq. in. primary)
Footprint: 46.5 in. x 52 in. x 25.5
Sear burner: Yes
Warming rack: Yes
Additional features: Compatible with Weber Crafted accessories
Warranty: 10-year
If you’d rather hook up to an outdoor gas line than a liquid propane tank, the Spirit line is also available as natural gas grills.
In 2025, Weber released a new version of its entry-level Spirit line; in our testing, it blew every other “entry” level grill we’ve used away. Upgrades from earlier lines include both the cooking area of the grill as well as some new nice-to-have features.
What we love: The first thing to know about this grill is that it gets hot. The new and improved Spirit line includes a sear zone that, on the 435, encompasses half the grill (there are a number of different series within the Spirit line that come at different prices with more or fewer features). You activate it by giving the temperature knobs an extra turn, which means you can choose whether or not you want searing temps or more moderate ones across the entire surface. When we used the sear zone, we were able to get temperatures up above 800°F. Without them, temps topped out just under 500°F, but the cast iron grates still produced excellent grill marks.
Another welcome update to the new Spirit line is its snap-to-start igniters. Instead of the push-button igniters of old, the snap ignition lights by simply clicking each burner on—easy enough that you can do it one-handed.
The Spirit line accommodates Weber’s Crafted accessories, which allow you to replace your grates with items like a wok station or griddle. There are also drop-in accessories like a cutting board or condiment basket that fit into the side shelf.
Finally, the new Spirit cleans up easier than earlier Weber grills. An angled pan below the burners funnels any mess into a removable grease tray.
We chose the 435 model of the Spirit for a few nice-to-have, but not absolutely necessary features. An included battery-operated thermostat with a huge digital display makes it easy to see exactly how hot your grill has gotten from across the yard, and a side burner lets you simultaneously sauté vegetables while grilling proteins. But you can still get the benefits of the sear zones and everything discussed above in the less expensive versions of the Spirit that we think are the best starter grill you can get.
Weber Spirit EP-425 Gas Grill
What we’d leave: Everything in the new Spirit feels very considered, solving almost every typical issue with a gas grill. The one thing to know, though, is that its thicker cast iron grates take a little bit of extra time to heat up.
A compact budget pick: Char-Broil Performance 2-Burner Propane Gas Grill with Amplifire
Char-Broil Performance 2-Burner Propane Gas Grill with Amplifire
Pros
- Infrared burner gets very hot
- Great value
- Compact footprint and fold-down side shelves make it good for smaller patios
Cons
Body material: Stainless steel or painted steel
Cooking grates material: Porcelain-coated steel
Number of burners: 2
Total BTUs: 18,000
Cooking area: 310 sq. inches primary cooking space
Footprint: 44.5 in. x 45 in. x 22.5 in.
Sear burner: Yes
Warming rack: Yes
Additional features: Porcelain-coated grease pan, comes with a nylon grill brush
Warranty: 5-year burner, 2-year lid/firebox, 1-year grate/emitter and other parts
If you like the sound of this grill but need something bigger, there’s also a 4-burner model
What we love: Though it may look like just another two-burner gas grill, I like to think of it like one big sear burner because the whole grill can get so hot. That’s thanks to what the brand calls its Amplifire Cooking System (formerly known as TRU-Infrared). Though it’s not available on all of Char-Broil’s grills, Amplifire is an integrated, proprietary system that relies on an “infrared emitter,” a sheet of wavy, perforated stainless steel meant to concentrate heat and prevent flare-ups. What I noticed when I used it is that the emitter helps this grill to get hot, hot, hot, which many gas grills, particularly those at lower prices that lack a dedicated sear function, don’t. But this little grill performed as well as the high-end grills with sear burners that we’ve tested.
With only two burners, this certainly isn’t the best option for someone who wants a larger grill for bigger projects, but if you’re limited by space or budget, or you’re simply an occasional griller, this is truly the little gas grill that could. And for something with a relatively low price tag, it also has some impressive features, including a stainless steel lid that has a built-in thermometer and is tall enough to fit a rotisserie. It’s easy to store too; when the side tables are folded down, the whole thing takes up less than four square feet, about the footprint of a large countertop oven, and it’s easy to roll around a patio or in and out of a garage.
The Char-Broil Performance 2-Burner Propane Gas Grill with Amplifire (which some retailers still list as TRU-infrared) is a truly great grill at a great price, but buyer beware: A nearly identical version doesn’t have the Amplifire technology, and you definitely want it.
What we’d leave: Because it’s a smaller grill, it has capacity limitations. It also lacks a side burner. But those are the typical compromises you make when picking a budget option.
How we tested the best gas grills
First things first, we unboxed and assembled every grill. If you’ve never assembled a gas grill before, they have a bit of a flatpack furniture situation going on. So, even if a brand offered assembly, we rejected it, so we knew how laborious the process was.
Next, we ran some temperature tests. We used an infrared thermometer to see how hot the grills could get when cranked all the way up.
When it was time to cook, we used chicken breasts and thighs, hot dogs, and thick-cut pork chops. That let us look for the kinds of char and caramelization that we expect out of an effective grill, as well as how well each grill handled indirect cooking.
For grills that performed well during the first set of cooking tests, we continued to use them to regularly prepare dinners over a couple of weeks.
What to consider when buying a gas grill
Gas grills are supposed to make grilling easier, so if yours is still a hassle, you’ve got the wrong one. The control panel knobs should be intuitive, and it should be easy to empty the grease tray and clean the grates.
The best grill, whatever the type, gets hot. Really hot. On a gas grill, that capacity is measured in BTUs (British thermal units), so the higher the BTUs, the better the grilling experience. That said, infrared features—which use metal or ceramic materials to direct heat more efficiently and effectively—can make up for lower BTUs.
Unless you plan to spend a lot of money on a built-in grill with a really long warranty, keep in mind that grills live outside, so even the best gas grill will need to be replaced eventually. If you take really good care of it, you could get 10 or 15 years of use, but it’s smart to bank on a 5-year lifespan for most models, so plan your budget accordingly.
Beyond the grill’s footprint, think about what kind of grilling surface you need. If you’re only cooking outdoors for a few people at a time, you can get away with a smaller grill with two burners. But if your new grill acquisition means you’re now in charge of hosting all of the family or neighborhood cookouts, you’ll want enough room for ten burgers, 20 hot dogs, etc. In that case, you’ll want something in the neighborhood of 500-700 square inches of primary cooking space. That’s different from the measurement of the total cooking space, which usually includes a second rack (sometimes called a warming rack) that can be used for toasting, warming, and cooking foods that require lower or indirect heat. Some grills also have a side burner that you can toss a cast-iron skillet on.
When it comes to something that lives outdoors, durability is key, and a good gas grill is made with quality materials that can stand up to the elements, as well as lots of high-heat cooking. Look for materials like stainless steel and porcelain coatings as signs that your grill will hold up to heavy use.
If you order a gas grill online, you still need to get it home. Many retailers offer free shipping, while others will offer pickup or delivery from a local store. Some even offer assembly, but if the grill is being shipped to you, you’ll need to assemble it yourself. Assembly is rarely complicated—large pieces come pre-assembled, but it will require two people.
Big-name brands aren’t the best option for every purchase, but they’re usually a good bet for gas grills. That’s because if you end up needing to make a repair or replace a part, it’s usually easy to get what you need through the manufacturer or to pick it up at a major retailer like Amazon, Walmart, or Home Depot.
Other gas grills we liked
Weber Genesis E-325s 3-Burner Propane Gas Grill
Weber Genesis E-325s 3-Burner Propane Gas Grill
The previous top pick on this list, Weber’s Genesis is, technically, a step up from the Spirit line. It is an excellent grill, but because of the Spirit’s latest improvements and its more accessible price point, the Genesis lost its top spot. That said, the Genesis line still has plenty to recommend it. First released in 2022, this three-burner Weber grill consistently turned out perfectly cooked meat and veggies. In windy conditions, it outperformed a much pricier Napoleon model. It also has cast-iron grates and an ample 787 square inches of cooking space.
The Weber’s Genesis has the original version of the “Sear Zone,” an additional 13,000-BTU burner that’s built into the main cooking area and can be turned on with the twist of a knob to give the heat a substantial boost for the really hard, fast sears you want on anything you’re cooking rare or medium rare.
The Weber Genesis is compatible with Weber Crafted accessories, so you can also transform the cooking surface into a griddle, a wok, or a baking stone—or you can add a rotisserie attachment.
Those short on space might want to avoid the particular Genesis model we tested here, though. At 61.5 inches wide, including the sturdy side tables, it’s a beast.
Napoleon Rogue XT 425 SIB
Napoleon has a reputation as the luxury gas grill company, and this Rogue series grill is certainly that. We loved the performance of this powerful grill (the wavy grates were a little cheesy, but we got over it), and it had even heat across the cook area, producing gorgeous grill marks. The infrared burner did produce steak house-quality sears, although the Sear Zones on the Webers did as well. Ultimately, it lost out on a top spot because of its higher price point, combined with the fact that it struggled to keep an even flame during some particularly windy days.
Gas grills we don’t recommend
The Char-Broil Cruise is what would happen if a grill and an oven had a baby. It uses a thermostat sensor tied to its two burners to maintain a set temperature. And while we liked the power it got from the Amplifire system, this grill felt too gimmicky to be practical. We also struggled to use it in the wind, although upon further investigation discovered this was a feature, not a bug. The grill includes a safety feature that turns it off automatically if it takes too long to light or if the flame goes out.
The Fuego Element doesn’t look like any other gas grill out there, which is what you’d expect for something drawn up by a former Apple designer. Fuego is known for very expensive, high-end outdoor kitchens and massive grill setups, but the Element is the brand’s more accessible line. It’s not as powerful as grills like the Webers and Char-Broil, so while everything will get cooked, it just takes a little longer. The real issue was that the cast iron grill grate extends all the way to the outer edge of the grill. As a result, we had some hot dogs roll straight off and onto the ground.
The Master Cook is a cheap grill, and it shows. The main cooking grate is relatively thin enamel-coated wire (the sort of material nicer grills use on their upper racks), and the legs and walls felt flimsy.
It did get hot enough to produce a nice char on chicken breasts, but the materials don’t feel substantial enough to survive anywhere that has actual seasons. For about $100 more, you can get the budget Char-Broil, which we think is a more reliable choice.
Wanna know what to do with your new grill? We’ve got thoughts
Looking for more grill recommendations? Check out our reviews of all types of grills, including the best charcoal grills, the best kamado grills, the best portable grills (including portable gas grills), and the best pellet grills at our sister site Epicurious.