9 Best Portable Grills of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

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Get ready for the warmer weather with a new grill that will ensure you have a delicious meal no matter where you end up.

Updated Jan. 29, 2024 3:00 p.m. PT

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David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen

David lives in Brooklyn where he’s spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he’s toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now, he’s likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or researching the best way to make bacon. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

Expertise Kitchen tools, appliances, food science, subscriptions and meal kits.

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$499 at Amazon

hitchfire forge grill attached to back of truck

Best grill to hitch to your car

Hitchfire Forge 15


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$115 at Walmart

cuisinart-portable-gas-grill-amazon

Best budget portable gas grill

Cuisinart Petit Gourmet Tabletop Grill


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$57 at Weber

screen-shot-2021-04-27-at-1-05-14-pm.png

Best budget portable charcoal grill

Weber Smokey Joe Premium


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$199 at Amazon

gobq

Best charcoal camping grill

GoBQ Charcoal Grill


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What’s the best portable grill for 2024?

weber portable grill
Weber

After testing well over a dozen models, Weber still makes the best portable grill for your money: the compact and sturdy Q1200. But there are other models that may be a better fit depending on your grilling wants and needs. 

If you’re planning a big ol’ backyard barbecue, a full-size grill will keep the masses fed and you in good standing. But if your home or apartment features a small outdoor space, there are small grills made for city dwellers and those who have small balconies. Need one more reason to add a proficient small grill to the arsenal? A portable grill is essential for a tailgate before the next game or concert. 

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A few of the small grills we fired up to find the best in class.

David Watsky/CNET

Whether it’s a small and portable charcoal grill or gas model to take to a tailgate, on hikes, to music festivals and park hangs, we’ve tested over a dozen small grills and portable cookers to find the best available. Below you’ll find the nine best portable grills for camping, tailgating and other outdoor adventures in 2024.

Read more: Best Barbecue Grill Tools and Accessories for 2024

9 best portable grills we tested

A man cooks meat on a grill in the woods

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A man cooks meat on a grill in the woods

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In testing these models, I considered the weight and general portability of each along with the total square inches of grilling capacity they afforded. I also tested how hot each grill gets and how well it maintains that heat using a thermocouple. Convenience and quality are both paramount, so I evaluated the ease of assembly and overall sturdiness of each grill along with the quality of the frame and grill grates. Finally, the ultimate test: I cooked a variety of meatfishmeat substitutes and vegetables on each to see how the portable grills performed in their most critical of duties.

Cooking

To evaluate these grills I assembled each one from scratch and then cooked an array of foods at various temperatures to see how they performed. Foods cooked included steak and burgers, which do best with a hot sear. I also cooked chicken breasts, which appreciate a hot grill to get those outer marks and retain juices but ultimately require a lower and more consistent heat to cook the chicken through without burning the outside. I also tested more delicate foods like fish, mushrooms and Beyond Meat (plant-based) to see how the grills performed at lower temps, but also to see how the different grill plates would handle more delicate foods.

Temperature and control

Temperature control is crucial with any grill. It’s a little-known secret that the built-in thermometers on most grills don’t work well, so I used a thermocouple thermometer to see how hot the surface above the grill became and how well they could hold that heat. Most grills performed about as well as advertised, with some topping out at as much as 100 F hotter than others. The better grills also generally ended up reading out a more consistent temperature throughout cooking. (Temperature consistency is important, especially if you don’t plan to be chained to your grill for the entire cooking process.) I not only measured the temperature of the grill but also its consistency at its holding temperature, both high and low temps, and flagged when there were issues. 

Assembly and sturdiness

I also took into account ease of assembly and how sturdy a grill felt once it was assembled (for those that required assembly). Though the limits of a pesky time-space continuum would not allow me to measure the quality or durability of each grill over time, there were sight and touch tests employed to help determine how hefty and hearty a grill was. I also dug through verified purchase reviews to determine if any had any consistent or glaring wear-and-tear issues to be concerned about. 

grills

Three portable grill subjects assembled and ready for testing.

David Watsky/CNET

PKGO Charcoal Grill This was a very solid charcoal grill and the only reason it dropped off of the main list is because of how heavy it is. Though it’s a manageable size, at 35 pounds it’s a little heavier than a grill I’d personally want to be lugging around. The PKGO it’s solidly built and has a very cool dual function where the lid pops off and flips over into a hibachi so you can actually double your cooking surface and get that close-to-the-coals hibachi seer if you’re looking for it. If you don’t mind a little extra weight on your grill

Everdure Cube Portable Charcoal Grill: I really love this small and stylish charcoal grill with its built-in cutting board and prep container. The only thing keeping it off this list was the steep $200 price … which is a whole lot for a small charcoal grill. That said, it’s well-built and easy to maneuver (under 20 pounds) and if you’ve got the extra coin lying around, I say go for it. 

Magma Firebox Single-Burner: This is another grill I liked, but it’s not portable or affordable. The burner alone weighs 26 pounds and costs $450 but you’ll need to add the grill top accessory, which costs another $450 and weighs another 26 pounds to do any actual grilling. This model was engineered with boaters in mind, so if you’re setting sail, you might give the pricey Magma a closer look.

Giantex tabletop propane grill: I had no major issues with this grill. It worked fine, got hot and cooked evenly. When compared to the Weber Q and NomadiQ I simply like the design of those small gas grills better. The Weber Q is more solid and has those handy built-in shelves while the NomadiQ is simply the most portable gas grill I’ve ever seen. That said, this is a fine grill and worthy of the $170 price.

Char-Broil Portable Gas Grill: This grill is cheap and the product matches the price tag. It was rickety once assembled and didn’t feel like it would last more than a season. But for $33, what more could you really hope for? If you need something to get you through a camping weekend or two, this should do the trick.

Char-Broil: Char-Broil Deluxe Tabletop Grill: While the above Char-Broil might work as a no-nonsense budget grill, this model is way too poorly designed and crafted to waste $90 on. One of the worst bangs for your buck in the small grill category and a definite stay away.

BioLite Grill and Fire Pit: This is a solid option if you covet a fire pit that transforms into a grill for beach hangs and backyard barbecues. This $300 model worked well but we found the build a little chintzy for such a pricey grill.

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