What to Buy Grilling & BBQ The Best Gas Grills Under $500, According to Our Tests We tested 23 gas grills to find the best price for performance. By Greg Baker Updated on September 14, 2023 In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews Our Favorite The Tests Factors to Consider FAQ Other Gas Grills Under $500 We Tested Our Expertise We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore One of the oldest and most effective cooking techniques, grilling connects us to our forebears. More than that, it entices us with the distinct flavor and crispiness it gives food. For those who live in an apartment and can’t have live flames, or those who would prefer an appliance that heats up in 10 minutes or less, gas grills emulate the open-fire experience. While the food cooked on a gas grill lacks the taste of burning wood or charcoal, it benefits from the grease that splatters as it hits the diffusers between the grates and burners. With higher costs on most grills, it takes considerable research to find those that provide performance and consistency at an affordable price. To sort through gas grills that offer quality and value, we sought the help of chef Maxcel Hardy, owner of COOP and Jeds in Detroit, and chef Brandon Rice, owner of Ernest in San Francisco, to use their insights and expertise on the qualities to look for in a good gas grill. On top of that, we put 23 gas grills through a comprehensive series of tests to arrive at those that provide quality, consistency, and value at a price that won’t hurt your wallet. Our Top Picks Best Large: Monument Grills 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill at Amazon Jump to Review Best Compact: Dyna-Glo Premier 2-Burner Propane Gas Grill at Amazon Jump to Review Best Portable Standing: Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill at Amazon Jump to Review Best Portable Tabletop: Weber Portable Gas Grill at Amazon Jump to Review Best Large Monument Grills Stainless 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill Amazon View On Amazon View On Target View On Wayfair Pros The Monument is an easy-to-use grill for a beginner or experienced griller and provides a large amount of cooking space for the price. Cons There’s some unevenness in cooking, with hot spots towards the back and cool spots at the front. The Monument was simple to assemble for a large grill, with surprisingly clear and precise directions. Easy movement is the next plus, with four large locking wheels and solid construction that doesn’t shift or jiggle when using the side tables for handles when rolling it. The enamel-coated cast iron grates get remarkably hot, topping 700°F when allowed to run full bore. The grill also responds quickly to temperature changes from the sizeable control knobs. The monument has a few downsides, the first being some uneven heating. Our tests showed significant variations in temperature between the front and back of the grates, with respectable grill marks on food cooked towards the back and faint caramelization towards the front. We also saw some flare-ups when placing burgers or oiled or buttered food on the grill, particularly after flipping the burgers, but the flames died down quickly and didn’t present a danger of adversely affecting the food. Price at time of publish: $379 Cooking Area: 513 square inches | Dimensions: 55 x 19 x 46 inches | Weight: 101 pounds | Number of Burners: Four, plus two side burners Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Best Compact Dyna-Glo Premier 2-Burner Propane Gas Grill Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart View On Globalindustrial.com Pros The Dyna-Glo is a good grill for beginners. It holds heat and responds to temperature changes quickly. Cons Assembly is time-consuming, and sharp edges present safety issues. Beginners will find the Dyna-Glo easy to use, with click-to-light ignition and responsive heat controls. Despite some hot spots towards the left edge and the middle of the grill, we didn’t find any special cool zones. Food cooked towards the sides and front of the grill didn’t develop as much caramelization as items cooked in other areas but did develop well-defined grill marks. There were some issues with sticking, but not significant enough to take the grill out of the running, and the grates have wide spaces between them, which led to losing some onions when flipping or trying to remove them. Assembly took a little more than an hour to complete, and we found it tedious. The grill wasn’t complicated to assemble, but every element required assembly, and the process called for multiple screwdriver heads. The initial impression of the assembly and construction led to performance doubts, but when put through its paces, the Dyna-Glo performed much better than expected. Price at time of publish: $299 Cooking Area: 319 square inches | Dimensions: 50 x 23 x 45 inches | Weight: 90 pounds | Number of Burners: Two Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Best Portable Standing Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill Amazon View On Amazon View On Target View On Walmart Pros It’s intuitive to use, with even, accurate heating. Cons For a portable grill, it’s on the heavy side. The Traveler delivers remarkably good performance for a portable grill. Its pop-up cart design is intuitive to use and approachable for all cooks. Assembly took about 15 minutes for one person with no issues interpreting the instructions (though a second look at them before starting never hurts). The Traveler has enameled cast iron grates, presenting no notable sticking problems during our tests. It has a single, circular burner that provides even heating across the grill, and we noted no hot or cool spots. The single control knob was easy and intuitive to use. Also, with a smaller dome-shaped lid, this grill presented one of the most accurate readings of grill temperatures from the built-in thermometer of all the models tested. Cleaning was a simple task, and bracing the stand with your foot should minimize any grate movement when brushing. Price at time of publish: $449 Cooking Area: 320 square inches | Dimensions: 23 x 44 x 37 | Weight: 68 pounds | Number of Burners: One Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Best Portable Tabletop Weber Q 1200 Portable Gas Grill Amazon View On Amazon View On Target View On Wayfair Pros It’s easy to set up and use and has excellent heat control and retention. Cons It’s heavy for a portable grill, with a smaller cooking area than others we tested. The Q 1200 keeps appearing at the top of our testing results. Although its size and shape don’t immediately inspire awe in the average person, once taken for a test drive, that opinion quickly changes. A single burner over cast-iron grates with a comparatively low BTU rating doesn’t give high hopes for the grill, but it heats quickly and evenly, and like the Weber Traveler, it had no discernable hot spots. The gates account for much of the grill’s overall weight, but they also yielded minimal sticking throughout testing. There were a few flare-ups during the tests, mostly when introducing oil or fat, but they settled quickly without adverse effects on the food. This grill is excellent for camping, picnics, or home use, especially for people with limited space who want a grill that performs well. The only real drawbacks are its weight and size for a portable grill, but the value and performance make those an almost non-issue. Price at time of publish: $259 Cooking Area: 189 square inches | Dimensions: 17 x 41 x 16 inches | Weight: 31 pounds | Number of Burners: One Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Our Favorite Weighing two grills of comparable price but with significantly different cooking capacities, the Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill barely edged out the Monument Grills 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill. The Weber was slightly more responsive to temperature adjustment, had no sticking or flare-up issues, and had one of the most accurate built-in dome thermometers of the models we tested. The Tests We put 23 gas grills through tests that replicate what the average consumer would do after purchasing a grill. For this list, we selected the top-performing grills under $500. Starting with assembly, we rated the difficulty of assembly and the clarity of the instructions on a scale of one to five. We then judged the sturdiness, evenness of heat distribution, and overall subjective impression on the same scale. After that, we grilled 12 thick onion slices, 12 burgers, and 12 accompanying buns per grill. We cooked each for a prescribed amount of time at a specified temperature setting and observed how the grill behaved, noting any variations of doneness on varying spots of the grill, flare-ups, or sticking. Again, we rated these on a scale of one to five. Finally, we judged the grills on how easy they were to clean up after cooking. The grills with the highest scores moved on to our next round of testing. We cooked skin-on center-cut fish filets, a delicate protein, to assess the grill’s nonstick properties. We then cooked strip steaks to assess how each model handled indirect heat grilling and searing at high heat. As with our previous tests, we looked for sticking and flare ups, as well as how well easily we could regulate the temperature of the grills and clean them after cooking. We totaled the category scores and averaged them. Finally, we tested the portable grills for portability, including how easily the grills could collapse for storage and return to their grilling position. We rolled or carried the grills from storage to our outdoor lab area, as we noted any difficulties that we experienced moving and lifting the grill, while factoring in whether someone might need assistance moving a grill in and out of a vehicle, for example. Factors to Consider Size When it comes to size, consider where you are going to use the grill and where you will store it, if someplace different. Large grills and small balconies or patios can be both bothersome and dangerous. With a large grill in a small space, maneuvering around the grill can be difficult and increase the risk of burns from the hot exterior of the grill. Cooking Area If you have a large family or intend to cook for a large group of friends, consider buying a grill with a large cook area. On the other hand, if you are routinely grilling for one or two people, that expanded cooking area can be wasted, along with the extra dollars for the larger space. Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore BTUs A BTU is the measure of energy necessary to raise 1 pound of water (essentially 1 pint) by 1°F. Think of the BTU rating as the potential for heat. It doesn’t necessarily mean that heat will be used, but it can be. A higher BTU rating can be good, but the more important measure is how that heat is distributed and retained. Features What features do you need and will reasonably use on a gas grill? If most of your cooking will be hot dogs and burgers, you likely won’t need a side burner. A rotisserie is nice, but if roasting chickens or large pieces of meat isn’t your thing, you can easily forgo it. Push-button ignition is a handy feature included on most of these grills, but it’s particularly irritating to Hardy, who claims that it will be the first thing to fail on the grill. Frequently Asked Questions How do you smoke on a gas grill? Hardy recommends using a commercially available firebox or building your own version with double layers of aluminum foil with chips soaked in bourbon. You first need to put the chips over high heat to get them to ignite; then, you can turn the burner down for more ambient heat to slow cook your food and allow them to bathe in the smoke. How do you clean a gas grill? Both Hardy and Rice prefer a little help from cleaning products to keep grills neat and shiny. Hardy prefers using oven cleaner and a grill brush while it is hot to remove food particles before they can build up. Rice likes to scrub and soak the burners in degreaser when they get clogged to restore them to good working order. Following either method and a good rinse, heating the grill after reassembly is crucial to preventing rust from forming on the wet parts.The most overlooked piece and the first to corrode is the grease tray. A grease tray is an excellent place for fires to start under the burners, so regularly cleaning it increases the overall life of your grill and decreases the likelihood of unwanted flare-ups and grease fires. How long do gas grills usually last? Rice and Hardy expect a grill to last two to three years when left outside. Longevity can improve by covering the grill when not in use or storing it under cover to shield it from the elements and regularly cleaning the parts of the grill to remove any buildup. Most manufacturers offer a limited-time warranty on frequently replaced parts, such as grates, so don’t forget to look into those before throwing away your purchase information. Other Gas Grills Under $500 We Tested Strong Contenders Nexgrill 4-Burner Propane Gas Grill with Side Burner ($199 at Home Depot) The Nexgrill scored well in our testing for gas grills under $300, but when facing higher-priced models, it fell down the list a bit. Its drawbacks lie in the quality of materials and temperature variation throughout the cooking area, with multiple flare-ups in our testing. Char-Broil Performance Series 2-Burner Gas Grill ($250 at Target) The Char-Broil had multiple hot and cool spots, and the construction left the entire thing feeling shaky. Still, it’s a good starter model for a beginner or someone with limited means. Cuisinart CGG-750 Venture Gas Grill ($156 at Amazon) The only real drawback to the Venture is the heat consistency. It has cool spots in the center with hotter edges, which, unfortunately, take up a notable percentage of the cooking area of this otherwise easy-to-use grill. Coleman RoadTrip 225 Portable Tabletop Propane Grill ($194 at Amazon) The RoadTrip also suffers from hot and cool spots, with very noticeable temperature variations. Still, it rates above average in our test population and isn’t a poor-performing grill by any means. What Didn't Make the List The Char-Broil Performance Series 4-Burner Gas Grill ($199 at Lowe's) is a moderately-performing grill, good for small batch, lower stakes cooking, meaning hamburgers, hot dogs, and the like. Sticking issues and hot spots bumped it off the list. The Char-Griller E3001 Grillin’ Pro 40,800-BTU Gas Grill ($344 at Amazon) performed well in most areas, except heat control. The grill runs very hot, even on the lowest setting, and requires an experienced griller to regulate the heat and not overcook the food. Finally, the NOMADIQ Portable Propane Gas Grill ($400 at Amazon), although easy to put together and very portable, also suffers from temperature variations. Our tests showed as much as 150°F difference in multiple spots of the small 226-square-inch cooking area. Our Expertise Greg Baker is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer with decades of experience in the food industry. For this piece, he interviewed pitmasters Maxcel Hardy and Brandon Rice to find out what the pros look for in a gas grill. He then used their insights and his own expertise and market research to curate this list. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit