When buying a propane grill, Weber and Broil King are two of the biggest names on the market.

There’s no doubt Weber has the strongest reputation for producing excellent quality grills, but Broil King is definitely worth a look.

So, if you’re looking to get a new propane grill and don’t know which of these brands is the best choice, we’ve pitted Broil King vs Weber head-to-head to see which comes out on top.

The Brands

Before we get into the specifics of the grills we’ve chosen to compare, let’s take a closer look at the two brands in question.

Weber

Weber is the most popular gas grill brand and has been around since the early 1950s.

Since then, Weber has expanded from simple grills to a vast range of grilling equipment. This includes a foray into electric pellet grills with the SmokeFire, cookbooks, sauces, and even a range of their own restaurants.

Broil King

If Weber is the established grilling champion, then Broil King is the feisty newcomer making a name for themselves. Founded in 1986, one of Broil King’s central tenets is making all their grills in Canada and the United States using local workers and materials. 

In 1999, Cadco, a large manufacturer of high-quality food service equipment, purchased the Broil King brand, which allowed them to expand their grill range.

The Grills

Both Broil King and Weber have a massive range of products. So, to make things as even as possible, we’ve chosen two comparatively similar grills. In the Weber corner is the Genesis E-435, while the Baron S 490 PRO will be representing Broil King.

Weber Genesis E-435 Propane Gas Grill

The Weber Genesis E-435 was upgraded in 2022 and has many improvements, making it an all-in-one outdoor kitchen. You get excellent heat distribution and minimal flare-ups.

We have reviewed the slightly higher-spec Genesis SPX-435 Smart Gas Grill if you want to learn more about the new Genesis range.

The details

• Dimensions: W68.5″ x H48.5″ x D27″
• Weight: 220 lbs
• Main burners/BTUs: 4 burners producing a total of 48,000 BTUs
• Total cooking surface: 994 square inches

Broil King Baron S 490 PRO Propane Gas Grill

Broil King grills are known for being reliable and well-made, and the Baron S 490 PRO is no different. The cooking grids on this model are an excellent example of this. Made of heavy gauge 8mm stainless steel, they are hugely durable and provide superior heat retention.

The details

• Dimensions: W57″ x H46.5″ x D24″
• Weight: 153 lbs
• Main burners/BTUs: 4 burners producing a total of 40,000 BTUs
• Total cooking surface: 630 square inches

Broil King vs Weber: head-to-head

Rather than a vague overview of both models, we’ll get granular and break them down into their most significant features before comparing them head-to-head.

Burners/BTU output

We’ve spoken before about how BTU output isn’t as important as you might think. But it does give us a general idea of how fast each grill will heat up and how hot it can get.

The Weber Genesis uses four high-performance stainless steel burners on its primary cooking surface that produce 48,000 BTUs of power combined. It also has a shelf-mounted side burner that puts out 12,000 BTUs and a 12,000 BTU searing station. This comes to 72,000 BTUs in total.

The main Weber burners are triangular in shape, narrowing towards the back of the grill. This produces a more consistent heat across the cooking surface but does cut down on the main burner’s output.

In comparison, the Broil King Baron S 490 PRO uses stainless steel dual-tube burners producing 40,000 BTUs.

This combines with a 10,000-BTU ceramic infrared side burner (serving as the searing station) and a 15,000-BTU rear rotisserie burner for a total BTU output of 78,000 BTUs, a touch more than the Weber.

While BTUs aren’t everything, the Broil King’s dual tube design, coupled with the high output of these burners, produces a well-distributed and consistently high heat. You can also upgrade to a 5-burner for just $200 more.

So, in this instance, we’re going with the Broil King. It tends to heat up faster, equaling faster cooking sessions.

Warranty

Both Weber and Broil King trade on their grills’s reliability. So it isn’t surprising that both models have a pretty comprehensive warranty. 

The Genesis E-435 includes Weber’s standard ten-year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, excluding wear and tear.

Broil King offers a slightly more granular and less encompassing warranty. There’s a ten-year warranty on the cook box, three years on the burners, and a two-year warranty on all remaining parts and the paint.

While the Broil King guarantee is pretty comprehensive and is pretty standard for a high-end grill, you just can’t beat Weber’s full ten-year warranty on all the individual components of their gas grills.

Cooking surface

The Broil King grill doesn’t come close to Weber‘s total cooking space: 630 vs. 994 square inches.

The Broil King’s main cook box is 460 square inches, while the secondary grilling area is 170 square inches.

In contrast, the Genesis E-435 has a primary cooking surface of 646 square inches and adds 348 square inches for its extendable top grate for a total of 994 square inches. 

Both gas grills have a two-tiered cooking area and a side burner. These side burners are great when you need to sauté, boil water, heat sides, or warm sauces.

While the Broil King has a smaller cooking area, you get the bonus of a rotisserie kit included in the price. You can still fit 15 burgers across its cooking space as well, so it’s not exactly small.

Cooking system

Both the Genesis E-435 and the Baron S 490 PRO have proprietary cooking systems that put them on par with each other.

For the Genesis, it’s the tried and tested Weber Cooking System. This uses a combination of stainless steel flavorizer bars and flame tamers that aid in heat distribution, minimize flare-ups, divert drippings away from the burner itself, and vaporize them to add to the flavor.

In the Broil King grill, you’ll find the stainless steel Flav-R-Wave cooking system. Like the Weber Cooking System, it stops food drippings from falling directly into the burners, diverging them instead onto stainless steel bars that vaporize them.

Standout features

When it comes down to it, both grills are excellent choices for the amount you pay. They’re well-built, well-designed, and include various features to make any pitmaster’s life easier.

The Genesis E-435 stands out thanks to the Weber CRAFTED system, allowing you to swap out different grilling surfaces, including a searing grate, pizza stone, and grilling basket. It also comes equipped with Weber’s largest and hottest sear zone. So, you can grill, bake, and even stir-fry.

Nearly all of the Genesis is made of solid stainless steel, and the ten-year Weber warranty on all parts backs up the quality of construction. The Genesis really is a top-quality grill.

However, this Broil King gas grill is equally well-built and has just a few more bells and whistles than the Genesis.

The stainless steel dual-tube burners are great for heat distribution and flare-up control. The stainless steel Flav-R-Wave flame tamers are also every bit as good as the Weber Cooking System. Plus, you get that included rotisserie kit.

Added to this are the little touches, like the fact that, while both grills come with fold-down side shelves, the Baron’s infrared burner on the side also folds down for easy storage. It also comes with side shelf bins and tool hooks for additional storage space.

The Baron’s control knobs are also backlit. Like I said, it’s a little touch, but it makes a big difference when cooking at night.

While there isn’t much to choose between these grills, and we really love the Genesis E-435, the Baron S 490 PRO does everything it can, plus just a little bit more.

Other grills to consider

Of course, both Weber and Broil King have huge ranges to choose from. So, if neither the Genesis E-435 nor the Baron S 490 PRO excites you, there are some other entry-level options to consider.

For more details, check out our Weber Spirit vs Genesis guide, which has a breakdown of all the major models.

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The Weber Spirit E-330 might be an entry-level propane grill, but it still has that iconic Weber commitment to quality. Most entry-level grills don’t have a ten-year warranty on all parts or porcelain-coated cooking grids and flavorizer bars to increase flavor and prevent flare-ups.

Like the Genesis, the Spirit E-330 doesn’t put up the highest numbers when it comes to pure BTU output, with 32,000 BTUs across three stainless steel burners. But it does distribute that heat effectively to ensure even cooking.

The Spirit also comes with a 7,500-BTU sear station, an independent electronic ignition for searing steaks, and a folding side table for extra storage.

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If you’re looking to get into smoking food, and you definitely should be, the Broil King 28″ Vertical Smoker is an excellent starting point.

Constructed entirely of stainless steel, this smoker has a 15,000-BTU burner ignited by a Sure-Lite electronic ignition system. Airflow is controlled by corrosion-resistant cast aluminum Roto-Draft dampers for precise control of the cooking chamber’s temperature. 

There are 770 square inches of cooking space inside the main chamber, and the smoker comes with a multi-purpose chrome-coated roast/rib rack and 16 stainless steel meat hooks. So you’ve got everything you need to start smoking immediately.

While you might be tempted to upgrade to the Broil King Smoke XL 32-inch Offset Charcoal Smoker, we’d actually advise against it.

While some great offset smokers are on the market, the Broil King Smoke XL suffers from some fairly significant design issues that make the 28″ Vertical Smoker the better choice.

Wrapping it up

The Genesis E-435 and the Baron S 490 PRO are excellent entry-level grills, and both would be a fantastic starting point for any aspiring pitmaster.

However, having put them head-to-head, we think the extra features on the Broil King just edge out the Weber grill. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that you get these additional features, and the Broil King still comes out slightly cheaper than the Weber.

Have you used either of the grills we’ve reviewed and think we’ve missed something? Do you have an entry-level grill you believe to be just as good as the Weber or the Broil King? We’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.