The right BBQ is a ten-year relationship with your backyard, and the gas-versus-charcoal question settles most of it before brands enter the conversation. BBQs are sold through hardware chains and barbecue specialists where seeing the build matters, and the brands below are the shortlist that survives the decision.

The shortlist Australians actually buy from

  • Weber Family Q — the gas benchmark for standard patios: cast-iron grill, roasting-hood shape and a parts network that keeps decade-old units cooking. Sold through Weber specialists and barbecue stores.
  • Ziegler & Brown Turbo — the Australian-designed gas line whose build quality anchors the specialist stores' mid-market.
  • Beefeater — the local stainless stalwart for built-in outdoor kitchens and big-family hoods.
  • Weber Original Kettle — the charcoal icon covered properly on our charcoal BBQ page.
  • Kamado Joe and the ceramic class — charcoal's low-and-slow extreme: 12-hour brisket territory at four-figure prices.

How to choose a BBQ

Gas for weeknights, charcoal for weekends. Gas lights in a minute and feeds a Tuesday; charcoal asks half an hour and pays in flavour. The honest question is which dinner you actually cook, and second-hand marketplaces are full of the wrong answer.

Size by the burner count you'll use. Two burners feed a couple and a visiting pair; four feeds a family with a roast hood; six feeds the street. Oversized hoods waste gas heating steel, which regular users notice on the bottle bill.

The hood turned Australian BBQs into ovens. Roast chooks, pizzas and whole fish live under a closed hood with a temperature gauge. If roasting appeals at all, a hood model is the fork to take, and every brand above builds their range around one.

Buy where parts live. Grills crack and burners rust on any brand eventually; the difference is whether replacements exist. The specialist-store brands above sell every part separately, which is why their decade-old units still front weekend barbecues.

RELATED: The Best Charcoal BBQs and The Best Pressure Washers

FAQs

Natural gas or bottles?

Bottles suit everyone and swap anywhere; natural gas plumbing suits the daily griller with the connection point already close. Conversion kits exist for most models but are a gasfitter's job.

What actually needs cleaning?

The grill after each cook, the fat tray before it becomes wildlife catering, and the burners each season. The full strip-down belongs to spring.