Buying a gas grill is no longer a luxury. Today, everyone wants to enjoy their outdoor cooking experience. If you want to get the best value for your money, then you could even pick up a high-quality gas grill for under $300.
Gas grills are great because they allow you to cook food without having to light a fire or heat up charcoal. They also provide a convenient way to prepare meals outside.
However, choosing the right gas grill isn’t always easy. There are many brands out there, each offering different features. Some models are better suited for beginners, while others are designed for experienced cooks.
In this guide, we will help you select the best gas grill for your needs and budget. We have selected five of the most popular options that range from $100 to $300.
Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the internet's favorite gas grills!
The American Gourmet Char-broil Classic 360 is one of the best gas grills available on the market today. It has an impressive list of features including a large cooking surface, three burners, and a rotisserie burner.
In fact, the grill even gets the '360' in the title from the amount of space on its cooking surface. American Gourmet boasts 360 square inches of cooking space on this grill, which is way more than you'd find on most grills at this price point.
It comes with two stainless steel shelves, so you can store all your utensils easily. The side shelf can be used as a serving tray if needed.
The porcelain-coated swing-a-way racks that also come attached to this grill are perfect for keeping cooked food warm while waiting for your guests to come and get a plate.
Not to mention, this model also comes with a removable drip pan which makes cleanup so much easier.
This gas grill also offers a pretty good warranty system, too. The burners are covered for up to 5 years under warranty, while the firebox is covered for 2 years and the other parts for 1 year.
Because it's such a sturdy and durable grill, it's unlikely that you'll have many issues with components wearing down or breaking, but it's still nice to know that you're covered by a warranty if you're shipped some faulty parts.
Overall, this seems like just about the best grill you could get for this price and, while that might be true, it's certainly not flawless.
Customer reviews have highlighted how the flame shields for this grill don't fit properly and leave the user vulnerable to flames coming out through the gaps. For one customer, this ended up melting the plastic on one of the adjustment knobs on the front of the grill, leaving it useless.
Indeed, others have also found issues with parts wearing away over time and the coating peeling off of some components.
If you want a grill that will last for decades, then the Cuisinart CGG-306 may be worth looking into. This is because it's built to withstand the elements and keep working well for years to come.
For starters, it's made from heavy-duty stainless steel, making it extremely durable.
It also comes with a 3-year warranty which means that if anything goes wrong with this grill, you won't have to worry about paying for repairs.
This grill has been designed to make grilling easy and convenient. One of the first things you'll notice when using this grill is how intuitive it is.
There are only a couple of knobs to fiddle around with and, even though there's no remote control, the instructions included in the box do a great job of showing you how to use everything correctly.
It also has an integrated thermometer which does a great job of giving you full control over how you cook all of your ingredients on every part of the grilling surface.
As well as this, the CGG-306 is very easy to connect up to a gas canister, thanks to the 3.5-foot hose, and is just as easy to clean up after using, thanks to the removable drip tray.
The convenience doesn't end there either. This grill only weighs around 22 pounds, has a locking cover, and a carry handle, all of which make it very easy to travel with and carry around.
You might think that because it's so small and portable, it won't be as powerful as most other grills, but you'd be wrong!
It uses two burners that provide 10,000 BTUs each, which is plenty of power to cook even the larger cuts of meat, as well as some vegetables and other sides simultaneously.
The only real downside to this grill is how flimsy some of its components can be. The stainless steel material is great for protecting it against the elements, but you may find after a few months that the knobs stop working as well and some metal panels come loose.
However, if you take good care of this grill, cleaning it regularly and treating it gently, there's no reason it can't last several years for you!
In terms of the overall structure and design of this grill, you'll probably notice a lot of similarities to the Cuisinart one we've just looked at. This means that the Bit Boss grill also utilizes those same portable and convenient features as the last one.
This one weighs around 27 pounds, which is a little heavier than the Cuisinart but is certainly still light enough to carry around with ease. It also has the same handle on the hood which makes it even easier to carry around and stops you from burning yourself while cooking.
Another similarity between these two grills is that they both use two 10,000 BTU burners to provide the cooking power. Again, this is definitely enough energy to cook a thick steak with enough space on the grilling surface to grill some veggies too.
The Pit Boss grill also scores well when it comes to customer reviews. Many buyers have highlighted the fact that this grill doesn't create hotspots like many others and instead disperses the heat evenly across the cooking surface.
It's also worth mentioning that this is one of the most budget-friendly options on our list and is even sold at a slightly lower price than the very similar Cuisinart grill.
Of course, for such a low cost, durability will also be an issue and if you don't take good care of this grill, it could easily pack up on you after only a few weeks or months.
However, if you're only looking for something to take on camping trips or for tailgating, you won't find a much more affordable and effective grill than this!
The first thing you'll probably notice about this grill is that it isn't just a dedicated gas-powered grill, but can switch between gas power and charcoal.
If you're only interested in using gas power for your grilling purposes, you can feel free to ignore the charcoal capabilities of this grill with no problems. However, it's a really neat feature to have both power sources available for if you run out of gas and can't get your hands on anymore.
You'll also notice immediately how much bigger this grill is that some of the other options we've looked at. Instead of simply sitting on a countertop or camping table, this grill has its own stand with wheels that are great for traveling around with your grilling setup.
This larger overall size also equates to a larger cooking surface and there are even two separate grill faces that you can use to keep different ingredients apart from one another.
One of the best things about this grill is that despite being so big, it still only weighs around 100 pounds, making it fairly easy to move around with the wheels attached to its legs.
There aren't many negatives to mention here as the build quality is excellent, and the design looks fantastic. It's also pretty easy to clean, which is always important when buying a barbecue.
The main issue we've found with this grill is that it requires some pretty technical assembly. There are so many crucial, tiny components that need to be attached and assembled properly for it to work.
There is an option on Amazon to pay for expert assembly, which would save you all the hassle and risk of doing it yourself.
However, this is quite an expensive option and the assembly itself costs more than some entire grills on this list!
The only other problem is with the seller of this grill on Amazon. According to customer reviews, the seller is not very good at dealing with returns and warranties, meaning you might end up left with charges for repairs that you'll have to foot.
Still, as long as you're confident in your grilling abilities and are handy enough to fix any potential problems yourself, this is one of the better options out there.
Char-Broil's Classic series of outdoor cookers are known for their high quality construction and durability.
In general, this is probably one of the most versatile gas grills on our list, and it doesn't even cost as much as most!
It's another grill that comes with its own set of legs which makes it so much easier to set up wherever you are. You won't have to find a camping table or stone wall to prop your grill precariously on, this option has you covered!
The '280' in the title refers to the 280 square inches of grilling surface available. This isn't as much as some of the others we've looked at but is still plenty to cook an entire meal on for a few people.
The grates and lid of this grill are also coated in porcelain, meaning they'll withstand the test of time and won't wear out too easily from being exposed to the heat of the grill.
The Char-Broil grill also features a folding side shelf which isn't exactly something we haven't seen before but is still a pretty neat feature to have. You can use this shelf for holding cooked food, utensils, or even a beer bottle/can for the chef!
However, what we haven't seen on any of the other grills is what comes on the opposite shelf of this one. This shelf features an 8,000 BTU burner of its own for secondary cooking purposes.
This can be used for cooking sauces, sides, keeping food warm, or any manner of extra cooking needs. That's something that very few grills at this price point can boast about.
Overall, this is also a surprisingly light grill, weighing only 37.5 pounds. This isn't really light enough to carry around comfortably but makes things much easier for you when taking it out of your car and setting it up.
Just like the last grill we looked at, this one requires some pretty technical assembly and there's also an option to pay for expert assembly. However, this option is, again, pretty expensive and unnecessary if you have some tools and an extra pair of hands to help you out.
Those are our picks for the top 5 gas grills you can get online for less than $300. But which is the best for your needs?
This grill was one of the cheapest options on our list, meaning most people would expect it to be a little shoddy.
However, this grill surprised us with the number of different useful features it offered.
This includes things like the secondary burner, the leg support with wheels, and even just the general size of the whole setup.
If you're on a tight budget but still want an adequate grill, this one is a pretty great option.
At the other end of the price scale is this option which is definitely a little costlier than any of the others on our list.
However, for that larger price tag, you do get the benefit of some great features.
As well as the dual-fuel system and generally large size of this grill, it offers some of the best cooking power and largest cooking surface available at this price.
As long as you're happy spending any amount under $300, this is pretty much the best grill you could get.
The lightest and most compact gas grill on our list, the Cuisinart CGG-306 is easily the best for traveling grillers.
You can very easily store this grill away in your car or a large backpack and take it with you from one camping destination to another.
Because it doesn't weigh too much, you'll find it much easier to carry around than any other option on our list.
Surprisingly, for such a small machine, it's also pretty powerful, boasting 20,000 BTUs across two burners!
If you're still not convinced by any of the grills we've mentioned on our list, don't worry. There are still plenty of options out there, all with their own unique characteristics and advantages.
These are some of the things we think you should be looking out for on any gas grill:
You will have seen us mentioning BTUs as a unit of measurement in some product reviews so far.
It stands for British Thermal Units and measures how hot the grill gets. The higher the number, the hotter the grill gets.
It's also worth bearing in mind that a grill with more BTUs will get up to cooking temperature quicker, meaning less time standing around waiting.
We recommend choosing a model based on the amount of BTUs it offers per square inch, rather than just choosing the one with the highest BTU.
A good benchmark to set for your standards is around 80-100 BTUs per square inch of cooking surface.
This figure should ensure that your cooking surface will stay evenly heated and will get up to temperature nice and quickly.
Let's look at the American Gourmet Classic 360 to see how this works.
This grill has 360 square inches of grilling surface and provides 30,000 BTUs in the form of three separate burners.
If we divide 30,000 by 360, we find our BTUs per square inch, which is roughly 83.
This falls into the window of 80-100 BTUs per square inch so we can determine that this grill has a sufficient level of power.
The material of the grill is important too. The vast majority of the grills we've looked at today used stainless steel.
Stainless steel is great because it doesn't rust, it's easy to clean, and it looks fantastic.
Another great characteristic of stainless steel is that it's more resistant to weather than some of the other metals that are used for grills.
In general, stainless steel is undoubtedly the best way to go for an outdoor grill so don't even bother considering ones made from other metals.
They'll either be overly expensive or will wear out after a few months.
Ok, we know this is a review of gas grills, but it doesn't hurt to have some other sources of energy available for your grill, too.
For example, only one of the options on our list can be powered by gas and charcoal, giving it greater versatility overall.
If you're reading this article, there's a good chance you're only interested in using gas power but if you can find two ideal grills and one has compatibility with other fuels, there's no harm in going with that one.
The assembly of your grill won't affect how well it works to cook your food, but it is something you should probably consider.
Some models come preassembled while others require you to assemble them yourself.
If you want to save money, you might want to choose a model that you need to assemble yourself
However, if you don't want to spend as much time setting everything up, you should look for options with minimal assembly required or that have price options that include expert assembly.
There are certain safety features that you need to make sure your grill has.
These include a shut-off valve and a spark arrestor plate.
The shut-off valve prevents fuel from leaking when the grill isn't being used.
It also helps prevent fires from starting accidentally.
The spark arrestor plate is essential for preventing sparks from igniting nearby flammable materials.
You should always check these things before buying a new grill.
One thing that most people overlook when they think about buying a grill is the size of their cooking surface.
While it's true that bigger is better, it is possible to get a larger grill without paying a premium.
We've seen grills that offer over 350 square feet of cooking space for less than $300 on this list.
So, what do you really need?
Well, you obviously want enough room to cook all of your favorite foods.
But you also want to avoid burning yourself when you flip burgers or sear steaks.
That means you want a large cooking surface, but you don't necessarily need a huge one.
Overall, you should be thinking about where you're going to be grilling.
If you'll only use it in your backyard, go for a larger grilling surface because you'll have greater control over the surrounding environment.
However, if you want to take your grill on camping trips frequently, it might be better to go for a smaller grilling surface.
Gas grills last anywhere between 10-20 years depending on the quality of construction. However, most of the ones that we've looked at for under $300 are unlikely to last this long. Cheaper grills like these will rarely last more than 5 years.
Most gas grills take roughly 30 minutes to reach full temperature. This figure will change based on the number of BTUs per square inches of cooking surface that the grill has. The higher this number is, the more quickly it will heat up.
Typically, you can use your tank once every 12 hours. It's a good idea to turn the gas off when you're not cooking on your grill to extend the longevity of each gas tank.
Yes, it is perfectly safe to leave your grill unattended. However, if there are young children in the area around your grill, you should make sure they stay well away from it and that the lid remains closed over the hot cooking surface.
When choosing a gas grill, you want to consider how often you plan on using it, how big your cooking surface is, and whether you want an easy setup or something that requires some expertise.
For those looking for a budget option, any of the options we've reviewed in this article will fulfill all of your grilling needs without breaking the bank.
However, if you still want to go out and do your own shopping, make sure you follow our buyer's guide to know just what to look out for.
Happy grilling!
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