What is the Best Grill for the Money

There are four factors to consider when deciding which BBQ grill is the most cost-effective. Let’s take a quick look at these to help you decide which one is best for you.

The Four Cost Factors to Consider When Buying a Grill:

1. Initial Purchase Cost
2. Initial Fuel
3. Repairs/Parts Replacement
4. Fuel Grill Replacement

Initial Purchase

This is the factor that most customers look at first, and many forget to move past it. Although you certainly have to consider how much it’s going to cost to bring your grill home, don’t forget about the rest of the items on this list.

If the initial cost gives you a kind of “sticker shock” but you know you’ve found the best grill for your needs, we recommend looking for simple ways to save money and getting what you want.

Purchasing a grill you don’t like or won’t use will only cost you more in the end!

Fuel

Electric grills run on electricity. Charcoal grills require charcoal, among other things. The cost will vary depending on how often you grill and where you get your fuel, but you have to think about how you’ll be running your grill.

After all, if a charcoal grill is going to cost 10 times as much to run as an electric one, you may find you’ll save money in the long run by going with the electric model.

Gas and propane also vary in price depending on where you live due to it’s availability.  If you have a gas hookup at your home and have the option to run a fuel line directly into your gas grill that will likely be the most cost effective choice between gas and propane.

Repairs/Part Replacement

Sooner or later, you’re going to need to replace something on your grill. Typically, with a higher quality grill, the parts will last longer, so you can save money on repairs.

Replacement cost vary by type of grill too!  We recommend doing research on what the replacement cost for at least the heat plates and grates of your grill type.  

Full Grill Replacement

This works similarly to the previous point. By getting a high-quality grill in the first place, you can keep your grill for many more years.

Consider a $100 grill versus a $300 grill. Although it sounds like the first one is a better deal, it may only last one season. Now imagine the $300 grill lasts 10 seasons.

At the end of that time, you would have spent $1,000 replacing the cheaper one. For that reason, we only recommended high-quality grills on this list.

When considering the best grill for the money you need to take all of these into account.  Think of it like total cost of ownership of a vehicle.  You have the initial cost of the car, plus insurance, plus fuel cost and then maintenance costs. 

The most expensive cars, especially foreign cars (due to shipping and availability of parts) typically have higher maintenance costs.  They might be fuel efficient but in the long run you’ll end up paying for more.  

Buying a new grill and getting the most out of your money is no different.  Some grills, like propane and gas grills, burn hotter too.  This will cause you to need to replace the heating plates more quickly whereas with a charcoal grill you won’t have that maintenance item.