Top 5 Outdoor Grills & Flat Grills (2026)

Large external A baking tray can change the look of summer. The best flat grills can make dinner look like an event to be proud of. What’s more satisfying than the slap of a spoon on chopped onions and a rib eye meant for a perfect cheesesteak? Blister cornflakes cooked in the fat left by badly burned carne asada? Smashing a burger at a backyard barbecue? Is the blessed evenness of pancakes cooked on a well-seasoned griddle plate?

The outdoor gas griddle is the essential backyard counterpart to the satisfying direct heat of a high-performance charcoal or wood-burning grill – adding all the versatility of your favorite diner to your sunny-day arsenal. I spent months cooking dozens of burgers, pulled pork, tacos, and pancakes to find the best outdoor griddle for every type of backyard cookout. Now, I find myself using the grill more than the classic grill.

My top-rated Traeger Flatrock ($1,000) delivers the most even and reliable heat of any I’ve tested, and feels like a Cadillac idling in the yard. Meanwhile, the 36-inch Weber Stainless Steel Four-Burner Slate ($1,049) offers a spacious cooking surface, easier seasoning, and the best set of features for building a flattop grill into a true workstation. For those keeping to a lower budget, my best recommendation is to just downsize your Weber. The 28-inch Weber Compact Slate is the best value at $798, beating lower-cost brands whose durability is less guaranteed.

For more outdoor cooking action, check out WIRED’s guide to the best pizza ovens, best smokeless fire pits, and best cast iron skillets.

Updated May 2026: Added a 28-inch Weber Slate, a Solo Stove Stainless Grill, and a 22-inch Weber Slate Portable Grill. I moved the LoCo 36-inch baking pan to honorable mentions. I’ve also added context and updates on how the network is performing over time and made sure links and prices are up to date.

Featured in this article

Best grill overall

Traeger Flatrock 33-inch tray with three zones

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Best grill for value and features

Weber Slate Stainless Tray

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Best portable grill

Solo Steel Fire Stove, Portable Stainless Steel Grill

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Best grill with air fryer

Blackstone 36-Inch Cast Iron Air Fryer Set

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Best grill overall

I grew up in Oregon, where Treasure was also born. Even after I sold the company and moved to Utah, my Traeger grill or backyard smoker remained a source of aspiration and pride for those who raised me — a sign that you’re living right and doing well. The sturdily designed, three-zone Flatrock tray provides the same feel.

The perpetual enemy of stovetop grills is uneven heat, a byproduct of the amount of thermal energy required to heat thick steel or iron plates. The Traeger, like every flattop grill I’ve tried, is designed to provide impressively even heat distribution despite the thickness of its burner. The secret is the three U-shaped burners that essentially double the heat sources under the thick, thermally conductive carbon steel. Flatrock also gives tight temperature control between zones and a wind shield above and below the burners. In my year of cooking, I have never had a fire. There’s barely a hotspot, with less than a 20-degree difference across the main cooking space. This means easy seasoning on the grill for beautifully browned patties; Burgers that are cooked the same way over the entire surface; And easy to regulate the temperature between vegetables, meat, cakes and tortillas.

The Flatrock is large, solidly built, and doesn’t shake or wobble unless you try to roll its tiny wheels across a deep crack in the pavement. Wheels mounted on all four wheels to keep it in place while cooking. If you keep it plugged in, there is a useful additional feature that allows you to check the filling status of your propane tank. It doesn’t get very hot (it registers below 600°F), which isn’t ideal if you’re trying to get super-fast grilling on a smashburger, but the temperature remains beautifully stable for a more dignified grilling of fish or steak.