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Gas plancha vs charcoal barbecue

Updated: 16.10.2026

A flat gas plate can look like a charcoal barbecue with less mess. It is a different cooker. This gas plancha vs charcoal barbecue page is about where the food sits and where the smoke comes from. The plate keeps food off the flame. The grate lets fat reach the coals. It does not rank the seven plates on the [gas griddle comparison](/hub/portable-grills/gas-griddle). The Products Compared editorial team wrote this from those listings and from Which?’s grate test, on 15 October 2026. We did not taste these planchas in a lab. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A flat gas plate can look like a charcoal barbecue with less mess. It is a different cooker. This gas plancha vs charcoal barbecue page is about where the food sits and where the smoke comes from.

Our top picks

Campingaz Campingaz Othello 1 CV

Best overall

Campingaz Campingaz Othello 1 CV
8.5/10about £159.99
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ROVSUN ROVSUN G68000167 two-burner griddle

Preis-Tipp

ROVSUN ROVSUN G68000167 two-burner griddle
7.6/10about £74.99
View offer
Onlyfire Onlyfire PGL300 plancha with lid

Alternative

Onlyfire Onlyfire PGL300 plancha with lid
6.7/10about £189.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two different cookers
  2. 2.Smoke, and what Which? actually tested
  3. 3.What the flat plate is for
  4. 4.When to keep the charcoal, and when to buy the gas griddle

Two different cookers

A charcoal barbecue is a grate over coals. Sausages, chicken, and kebabs sit on the bars. Fat hits the coals and comes back as smoke. That is the taste people mean by a barbecue. A gas griddle here is a burner under a flat plate. Every kept product is that plate. None is charcoal. The Othello listing says there is no direct contact with the flame. One United Kingdom review says you do not get a barbecue taste, because it is a hot plate. If you buy the plate to keep a charcoal flavour, that review is the warning. A lid does not turn one into the other. You should not buy it as a smoker.

Smoke, and what Which? actually tested

Which? found charcoal higher for taste and gas higher for convenience, on grate barbecues. The food was sausages, chicken, and kebabs on bars. The mechanism is fat on coals. Those averages are not a score for any plancha here, because a plancha was not in that test, and these seven listings were not either. A knob instead of a chimney starter is the convenience idea that does transfer. The taste result does not. On a plancha the fat stays on the plate, or runs to a drain, instead of falling into the fire. You lose the drip-smoke as you gain a surface that will fry an egg. This is not a health result. You are choosing flavour and menu. If smoke is the point, the charcoal grate is still the cooker that makes it.
Campingaz Campingaz Othello 1 CV

Testsieger

Campingaz Campingaz Othello 1 CV
8.5/10about £159.99
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What the flat plate is for

The plate earns its keep on food a grate drops. Eggs, fish, and sliced onions fall through bars or tear. On a flat plate they stay put. The Othello review is the limit: you can fry, and you do not get the charcoal bark a grate gives sausages. Charcoal leaves ash and burned drip. A gas plate leaves grease on the steel or in a collector, where one is listed. On a weeknight, gas is the knob against a chimney starter. The plate still lives outdoors. Liquid Gas UK’s indoor ban applies to the gas side, including a balcony that is not open air. Charcoal indoors is not the alternative, and there are no coal-lighting steps here. A tabletop around 16 kg is a bad balcony carry. The kilograms are on the camping gas griddle page.

When to keep the charcoal, and when to buy the gas griddle

Keep the charcoal if the meal is sausages and chicken and the smoke is the point. Which? found that tastier on grate food, and fat on coals is what makes the smoke. A plancha will brown the sausages. It will not taste like that test. The Othello review says hot plate, not a barbecue taste. Buy the gas griddle for a flat-plate fry, or when you want it lit without a chimney starter. Eggs, fish, and onions are where the grate is worse. Someone who wants both owns two cookers. A lidded plate does not retire the kettle, because the lid is not a smoker.

Common questions

Which is faster on a weeknight?
Gas is the knob and the bottle. Charcoal is the coals and the wait until they are ready. Which? scored gas higher for convenience on grate barbecues, and these plates were not in that test. Shops claim a short plancha preheat. We did not time one, so there is no minute count. What you skip with gas is the chimney starter.
Can I cook eggs and fish on charcoal the way I can on a plate?
A grate drops eggs and tears fish and onions. That is the job the flat plate does, and it is why you might buy a plancha even if the charcoal stays for sausages. You can balance some foods on bars with care. You cannot treat a charcoal barbecue as a breakfast plate. The plate’s limit is flavour: a fry, not coal smoke.
Is a gas griddle a better choice for health?
No claim of that kind is made here. A plancha keeps food off the flame, which changes the smoke and the menu. It is not a health score. Which?’s result was taste and convenience on grate barbecues. Use the plate for a fry. Use charcoal for smoke. Leave the medical line out of the decision.
Do I still need a charcoal barbecue as well?
If you want the flat-plate fry and the coal smoke, yes. One cooker does not do both well. A lid on a plancha is a cover, not a smoker, and nothing in these listings says otherwise. If you only cook eggs, fish, and onions, the charcoal can go. If you only want sausages for the smoke, skip the plancha.
What if I only have a balcony?
The gas plate is still for the open air. Liquid Gas UK’s indoor ban covers the gas side, and charcoal indoors is not the workaround. A tabletop around 16 kg is a poor carry onto a balcony. Check the kilograms before you treat portable as one hand on the stairs. Smoke still means charcoal, a fry still means the plate, and both still happen outside.

Related pages

Gas griddle buying guide

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How to use a gas griddle

Gas griddle

Camping gas griddle: weight and fuel you can carry

Sources

Public UK sources first, then the seven amazon.co.uk listings. Prices, stars, and review counts were captured on 15 October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK — Regulation 2016/426 and the Gas Appliances (Enforcement) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2018 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK — Product regulations by sector and current approaches to product marking (UKCA and CE) (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. BS EN 484:2019 — outdoor LPG griddles; regulators out of scope (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. BS EN 498:2012 — Outdoor LPG barbecues and contact grills (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Liquid Gas UK — Consumer Guidance Sheet 39 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Liquid Gas UK — Safe use of propane and butane cylinders (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Calor — Gas bottles for BBQs (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings for B0D1X5R7GH, B0CPP8XCJ7, B0FZW5C2RG, B0874WQMNP, B0DFPP1HT9, B0CPPDT656, and B0BQXHJ67M (retrieved 15 October 2026)