$300 Nexgrill vs. $1080 Weber: Which is the Best Propane Grill?

As summer approaches, everyone’s getting ready to be outdoors, and tons of people are in the market to buy a grill. But what price range should you buy at? Propane grills vary in pricing by a lot. Some will cost you as low at $150, while others could be well over $1000. We wanted to see what the differences were between an affordable grill and a more high end grill.

We scoured the web to find the best options to make our comparison, and came up with these two models:

We bought, assembled, and put these propane grills to the test to help you decide if you should go big with the Weber or go home with the Nexgrill. Watch the video to find out “WhichWon?”

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0:00 Introduction
1:12 Meet Justin(s)
1:29 Setup
3:16 Price
3:46 Features
6:34 Performance
8:35 Which Won?
9:28 Conclusion

••••••••••••••••••

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Created by Austin Nooe and Pete King

[pauldailey]

Performance is measured in consistency. 15+ years with a stainless Weber and still doing perfectly every time. No comparison.

[mackintire]

I have a weber Genesis II E-Series, one model below the S - Series. I've also had 3-4 previous grills at the $300-$350 range, typically those grills burners have dissolved by year #4, and the entire grill is 100% junked by year #5. Some of those grills had decreased performance by year #3. I'm on year #2 with the weber E-Series. By what I am seeing I expect this grill will work beyond 7 years. The first component to go will be the flavor enhancers/flame guards and those are deliberately sold as replaceable components. I've repaired some of these grills in the past. If you call the manufacture they will replace parts under warranty. The manufactures are quite nice about it, but the hardware that bolts most of these grills together is junk, and none of the $300-$350 models will survive beyond 5 years if you move them or use them like I do (2-3 times a week, all year round). Lastly Grills from weber and napoleon are basically almost completely repairable with every part being available for replacement. My final comments are this. If you grill infrequently, clean and cover your grill there are $300-$350 grills out there that are worth it. Some like the nextgrill are excellent at direct grilling, and only ok at indirect grilling. The weber and napoleon models over $600 are built to last and be repaired. Weber and napolean have less expensive models and those give up some of the higher quality stainless steel components for lower quality stainless steel. Those cook better (direct and indirect) than less expensive other brands, but for most people they just aren't worth the money. If you are looking at those more expensive models understand you are not looking at a 5 year product and like most other expensive tools/appliances you'll have a little bit of TLC and maintenance if you want to keep them operating. Assuming you do, the value grows as time goes on. 5 years of a reliable grill that never develops annoying issues or falls apart and can handle any practical or even impractical cooking tasks starts to become a more tangible trait as time progresses. I've baked a pizza and made a cake on my weber grill. I wouldn't endorse trying that on many of the other models, as the hot spots and indirect heat control isn't up to the task. In short...need a grill for burgers and you only grill on occasions, yeah the $300-$350 grill is for you. Want to do it all, and are willing to invest...there's a market for that as well.

[richardstern]

Went through several cheaper grills, including a Nexgrill. The weak points were the burners, which start to degrade quickly and usually fall apart within 2 to 3 years. Cooking consistency becomes a problem right away. Bought a Weber Spirit 200 three years ago, and it cooks as well today as it did the first day I assembled it, and we grill with it far more often than any other grill we've owned (a couple of times a week, on average). It did need new heat tents this year, but that's expected and they are pretty inexpensive to replace. Igniter is still on the original battery, and grill always lights on the first push. A great product. Also, replaced the original grates with GrillGrates, which added tremendously to food flavor and juiciness. Great combo. Plan to use this setup for many years to come.

[zebbie]

You should revisit this review in five years.... The Weber will still be running like a champ. The NexGrill will be on its last leg, if not in the trash.

[slickdeals]

0:00 Introduction
1:12 Meet Justin(s)
1:29 Setup
3:16 Price
3:46 Features
6:34 Performance
8:35 Which Won?
9:28 Conclusion

[I-LOVE-EARTH]

You can cook burgers and hot dogs on a used $50 gas grill, please do another test this time with steaks and searing them, I think you may vote differently.

[Drew-dint]

Cooked on the Nexgrill and it does the job. Taste from a propane grill it’s all the same basically stove cooking but it’s how the meat is seasoned. What’s going to happen to both is a grease mess underneath the grills it’s easy to clean but it’s gonna take some time. Not sure why you need “smart” functions on a grill but I’m from Texas I cook and I’m done when it comes to grilling. I prefer charcoal before propane but if you want to be outside and don’t like waiting for white hot charcoals the Nexgrillwill get it done at a much cheaper price. Don’t be fooled by the “bells and whistles” when it comes to grilling. You need fire, grates and good meat. The bigger the grill the more to clean.

[vociferon-heraldofthewinte]

My last Weber performed perfectly for 24 years. I just replaced it last year, with another Weber, not because of problems but to get more bells and whistles.

[davidchen]

I think the purpose of buying an expansive grill is to hope it will last longer. If you bring in any 2 new or almost new grills from any of those big stores they should be working fine. A weber cost around 1k gives 10 years warranty and a nexgrill only gives 1 year. Weber can last 10-15 years and if you are willing to change some parts it might last 30-40years. a nexgrill maybe last 4-7 years?? I would definitely go for Weber to save money in the long term. Also, Weber spirit 210 only cost around $550 with the same warranty and quility

[davidneuzil]

Thank you for trying to do a fair comparrison. When I saw the one guy trying to flip cheese burgers with a set of tongs I knew then that this was not a serious comparrison however well intentioned. Doing Burgers and hot dogs for comparrison is like boiling water in a $5 pot compared to boiling water in a $100 pot. For backyard burger and dog cooks, any grill (I mean any grill) will work. Thanks again for the effort.

[dw]

So I owned the Nexgrill reviewed on this site for about 3 years. Yes the metal is a little thin on the sides and back, but the grill actually showed very little wear after three years, pre-heated super fast and got super hot. No rust issues and it stayed outside uncovered and I live on the coast which is brutal. The thermometer developed condensation, outside of that no major issues. Having the itch I felt the pressure to upgrade after reading so many rave reviews and decided to buy a Weber Genesis 310 for $899. Let me tell you, I think people are in love with the brand so much they don't see reality: The Weber is a nice grill no doubt, but has many flaws: For one the grill took forever to pre-heat, never got searing hot (400-450 was max), used a lot of propane. The side tables are the exact same ones on the Spirit models which is a flimsy cheap steal. The stainless components get discolored very easily. The flavorizer bars rusted after a single year and I begin having issues with the burners (not all would light, contacted weber and they told me it was a technique / propane issue (I replaced things, problem still persisted). I contacted weber and they told me due to supply chain issues they were unable to replace the burners at the time. Now did I get a dud ? No. I spoke to other folks in my community with Weber's and many have the same issue, but like lots of other people they are SO in love with the brand they dismiss these issues as "normal" and say well Weber will replace things. . Now I am thinking about going back to the Nexgrill. Will it last forever ? Probably not, but what does these days. The Nexgrill is a PIA to put together, but hell you get a side burner and storage for the propane (which looks nicer). To me weber is a no frills company that uses creative marketing to make you think you are actually getting a great product, when it fact you are getting a lot less then other brands for more money. I have a Weber Kettle as well. The legs bent, I had to warp the bowel to fit the lid (and called weber, and they said yes that is common) and then the ash cleaning system broke after six months of use - I aired these seem issues with other Weber Kettle fans and they were like yeah those things happen, still an amazing grill LOL

[lewr]

I have a 20 year old Weber genesis. It looks great since it’s been under my gazebo since I bought. Its still on its original ignition, grates and flavorizer bars. Just this summer I replaced the burners after 20 years-a simple 30 dollars fix.

I just completed assembling the Nexgrill 4-Burner grill and found it very EASY and fun. I will agree that the assembly instructions offer very few words but pretty much ONLY pictures that were very usable for me as I am mechanically inclined. I agree that it is cheaply made with sheet stainless steel but I guess it will do for now... I haven't yet grilled on it as I just finished assembling it...

[dano]

I've had my Weber for more than 20 years. I've only had to replace the flavorizer bars and grill grate. Try finding replacement parts for the cheaper grills in 20 years or even 10 years. The cheaper grills are just disposable, wasteful grills... much like almost everything these days...

[jackedwards]

My nexgrill is 6 yrs old and still going strong, I have turned it into griddle with a q230 grill top griddle

[c.ramiez]

Just bought the Nexgrill Stainless Steel model. You can build it in about 45 minutes if you’re mechanically inclined. I can see how it might be difficult if you’ve never built anything before. Home Depot usually has them prebuilt if you’re nervous to take on the task of building it. While it is a little cheaper built then the Webber, I’ve had a Nexgrill 2 burner stainless steel model for years and its still holding up. Just take care of it by cleaning it every time and covering it after use.

[jackchristensen]

I just bought this exact Weber grill at Home Depot for $580 on sale from $1, 080. What a deal…. It will be delivered & set up for free Friday! I feel like I got an awesome deal for a long lasting great quality Weber grill 👍🏻

[bradw.]

Your review was lagging on the mechanical features of both grills like the spider shields that the Weber has around the burner tubes, or size of the air gap between the back of the grill lid and the base (the Weber is about a half an inch were the Nexgrill is almost two inches). Also the Weber has a drip shield on the back of the grill lid so when it rains, the rain water doesn't roll back into the grill and overflow the drip pan. How did the grills perform when its windy outside? (maybe you should have set up a couple of fans to test). These are the kind of things that are to be Reviewed when comparing products.

Having two separate car manufactures with the vehicles moving at the same speed reaching the same destination at the same time doesn't 'Compare/Review' the two cars!

[zebbie]

One other thing to consider is that Weber has different price points. You should have compared to the Spirit or Genesis.

[AM-kgkb]

My buddy teased me 2 yrs ago for spending so much on my Weber when he got his Nexgrill… fast forward 2 yrs later and he tossed is bbq as it was rusting & falling apart. And yes, he bought a Weber 2 weeks ago after popping over to look at mine again.