Our readers keep the lights on and my morning glass full of iced black tea. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.8 Best Barbecue Grill Combo | Skip The Second Grill

Check Price on Amazon

Cooks up to 30 burgers at once and still finds room for a side of onions.

The 823 square inches of total cooking space breaks down neatly: 333 square inches for gas, 333 for charcoal, and a 157 square inch warming rack to keep finished food hot while the next round goes on. That is enough room for up to 30 burgers at the same time. Two stainless steel main burners push 12,000 BTU each, and the side burner adds another 10,000 BTU for a 34,000 BTU total, so you can boil a pot of corn while the main grates sear.

The charcoal side is where the thoughtful touches show up. A height-adjustable pan lets you raise the coals for a hard sear or drop them for gentler heat, and a smoke stack plus a side air vent give you control over airflow. Dual lid-mounted thermometers read each side live, so there is no guessing. A piezo ignition starts the gas burners without needing a battery, which is one less thing to replace mid-season. The heavy-duty cover that many pick up alongside it holds up in rain.

The recurring gripe here is assembly. Some owners fly through it in half an hour with no leftover screws, while others hit screw-alignment trouble that turns the afternoon into a slog. Owner consensus on the build itself is warm, and most describe it as extremely sturdy once it is finally standing. Set aside a full afternoon, work on a flat surface, and you will get through it.

Check Price on Amazon

The closed-cabinet cart that hides your propane tank and still cooks 30 burgers.

This one is built to keep your patio tidy. Twin doors on the bottom hide the tank and any supplies, and the cart rolls on two 6-inch wheels plus two 3-inch lockable casters (small swivel wheels you can lock in place), so you can tuck it into a tight patio corner and still pull it out to grill. Total cooking space is 759 square inches, split into 592 square inches of grates and a 167 square inch warming rack — enough to cook up 30 burgers at once.

Cleanup is the strong point. Slide out the ash tray and the charcoal side is done. Remove the large-capacity grease cup and grease tray and the gas side is done. Two side shelves with three hooks on each side hold tools and seasonings within reach, and the tank sits inside rather than hanging off the back, which cuts down on the visual clutter of a small deck.

Assembly takes real time on this one — several owners describe it as an hours-long job, and one noted the charcoal handle worked loose mid-cook, so it pays to tighten everything before the first fire. The cart also reads smaller than the picture suggests, which is ideal for balconies and small patios but tight once a big crowd shows up. Buyers drawn to it mostly cite the appearance and the contained design.

Check Price on Amazon

Three gas burners plus a side burner — sear on one end, simmer down the other.

Three separate gas burners and a side burner put out 37,000 BTU combined, which is the most burner output in this roundup. That matters because you can run one burner wide open for a steak and another at a whisper for sauce without dragging the whole grate up or down. The charcoal side pairs with a height-adjustable pan that you crank to set the distance between the coals and the food, and lid-mounted dampers plus a front air vent let you tune airflow without lifting the lid.

Total cooking space, warming racks included, comes to 685 square inches, and the grates are porcelain-enameled cast iron — a coating that resists rust and handles a hot fire better than bare steel. A grease tray funnels drippings into a removable cup, and an ash tray collects the charcoal debris. Both slide out, so cleanup is a two-part job you can do after the coals die. It shares the same porch-space-saving logic as the Captiva Designs cart: one grill where two would normally fit.

The honest note is that reliability of the gas side has its critics. Some cooks find the high setting only reaches medium, and a couple report hot spots unevenly across the grate. On the plus side, GREEN PARTY’s customer service gets consistent credit for shipping replacement parts quickly when something is wrong.

Check Price on Amazon

A 61-inch counter, three burners, and a griddle surface folded into one cart.

What sets this cart apart is the counter run: a 61-inch long cooking counter gives you working room on both sides of the fire, which is more surface than most combo grills carve out for prepping. The primary grate is 520 square inches of porcelain-enameled cast iron, backed by a 170 square inch stainless steel warming rack for 690 square inches total. The charcoal and gas sides are controlled independently, so you can run one, the other, or both.

The gas side runs on three stainless steel burners rated at 11 KW, and the enameled charcoal tray works alongside them. An adjustable design on the main grates gives you even heat, and the porcelain-enamel coating on both the cast iron and the tray is designed to resist rust and cracking when seasonally cared for. A tilting grease tray drains into a hanging grease box below, and a full-size slide-out ash tray catches the charcoal debris.

The 3-in-1 claim on the review page — gas, charcoal, and griddle — is what pulls people in, and it lives up to the versatility pitch. Where buyers run into trouble is packaging and fit: some report parts arriving dented from transit and a handful of bolt holes that need persuading. The cart is also smaller in person than the photos suggest, which suits a mid-sized family gathering but not a blowout.

Check Price on Amazon

Three burners, a side burner for sauce, and an adjustable charcoal tray for the weekend smoke.

On the gas side, three stainless steel burners push 28,650 BTU, with a separate 8,530 BTU side burner that is genuinely useful for simmering BBQ sauce or sautéing vegetables while the main grates work. The charcoal side has its own adjustable tray and a crank handle, so you can tune heat without re-shoveling coals. Because the two sides run independently, you can hold different temperatures at the same time — that is the real reason to own a combo instead of one grill.

Cooking space totals 690 square inches, made up of 520 square inches of primary porcelain-enameled cast iron grate plus 170 square inches of stainless steel warming rack. The grates are built to resist rust and cracking, and the flame tamer under the gas zone spreads heat so you get fewer hot and cold spots. Cleanup is handled by a full-size removable ash tray for the charcoal side and a slide-out grease tray with a grab cup for the gas side. It runs on a standard 20 lb propane tank, and the hose and regulator are in the box.

The trade-off here is where the gas side spends its heat. Some buyers report the propane burners are slow to bring the grate up, topping out around 500°F and making a heavy sear a challenge. The charcoal side holds its own, and the perforated coal tray keeps a fair amount of ash back, so plan to empty it more often than you would an open tray. Owners who use it for family meals tend to love the even heat and the mobility from the heavy-duty casters.

Check Price on Amazon

A gas grill, a charcoal grill, and a real offset smoker bolted into one 840 square inch rig.

You get 840 square inches of total cooking area, split so each zone does a different job: 568 square inches on the main surface, a 131 square inch warming rack, and a 141 square inch offset smoker (a firebox off to one side that burns coals and wood for real smoke). That main surface fits 30 burgers at once. The smoker is built into the cart rather than sold as a separate appliance, and that is what separates this from the Captiva Designs and Sophia & William cabinet carts, which rely on a side burner instead.

The gas half carries three stainless steel main burners at 30,000 BTU total and heats up quickly with steady temperature. The charcoal half runs a 3-level adjustable pan, so you can raise it for a hard sear or drop it for indirect smoking. The offset firebox works two ways: it smokes low and slow, and its side access door lets you feed charcoal and clear ash without lifting the cooking grate. Pull-out ash and grease trays handle both cleanup jobs without tipping the cart.

Where many offset smokers get awkward is the shuffle of moving coals and chasing temperature swings. Here the level adjustment and the firebox door go a long way toward removing that friction. Owners who have fired it up report food turning out great on the first cook, sturdy construction, and assembly that most managed without drama.

Check Price on Amazon

The largest footprint here — 1,031 square inches of cooking, smoking, and firebox grilling space.

If you want the most cooking area in one cart, this is it: 1,031 square inches total, with a 750 square inch primary surface that smokes up to two pork shoulders or grills up to 12 burgers. On top of that, the offset firebox adds a 281 square inch grate for up to 15 wings or six burgers, so you can smoke a brisket low and slow while the firebox runs as a second grill. A 36,000 BTU three-burner propane side heats quickly and holds even temperatures for weeknight cooking.

Temperature control on the charcoal side is handled by adjustable firebox and smokestack dampers, which manage both heat and smoke flow. The firebox door gives you a way to load fuel and stoke the fire without tearing the whole thing apart. Dual lid-mounted gauges read temps on both the smoker and the grill. The lid and body are painted steel with a high-temp finish meant to resist rust, and the firebox has a removable ash pan.

Two honest notes belong here. The smoker benefits from separately purchased seals and latches to keep smoke sealed tight, and a handful of owners mention paint blistering or rusting on the firebox after heavy use. Those are the exceptions, not the rule — the smoker’s performance is what wins owners over, and assembly is straightforward enough that most manage it in about an hour.