Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Small charcoal BBQ buying guide

Updated: 16.10.2026

You are choosing a charcoal barbecue for a patio, a boot, or a pitch, and the stored amazon.co.uk rows in this comparison run from £14.99 to £111.24. A small charcoal BBQ buying guide starts with the shape, because a lidded kettle, a rectangular box, and an open folder cook different meals. The [small charcoal BBQ comparison](/hub/portable-grills/small-charcoal-bbq) holds the twelve-row table. The Products Compared editorial team used those listing fields and the UK review notes stored with them, plus Weber’s UK kettle sizes, GOV.UK smoke-control rules, and the London Fire Brigade’s barbecue advice, for this page on 16 October 2026. This is not a laboratory cook. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing a charcoal barbecue for a patio, a boot, or a pitch, and the stored amazon.co.uk rows in this comparison run from £14.99 to £111.24.

Our top picks

Weber Weber Go-Anywhere

Best overall

Weber Weber Go-Anywhere
9.0/10about £100.79
View offer
Charmline Charmline 34 × 23 cm, black

Preis-Tipp

Charmline Charmline 34 × 23 cm, black
8.2/10about £22.34
View offer
Weber Weber Compact Kettle 47 cm

Alternative

Weber Weber Compact Kettle 47 cm
8.6/10about £49.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three shapes, not one product
  2. 2.Cooking area you can believe
  3. 3.What the price bands buy
  4. 4.Where it is allowed to stand

Three shapes, not one product

This batch is three tools. A kettle is a round bowl with a lid and dampers. The Weber Compact at £49.49 claims 1,548 cm² on a 47 cm grate and weighs 9 kg on wheels. A folding tray has no lid. The black Charmline at £22.34 lists 667 cm² and folds to 34.7 × 23 × 7.6 cm. The third shape is the Go-Anywhere at £100.79, a rectangle with a lid, folding legs, and a highlight area of 42 × 26 cm. Weber’s UK page treats 47 cm as 1,548 cm². The 57 cm size, at 2,342 cm², is outside this set.

Cooking area you can believe

Believe the cooking area in the feature bullets, and treat a contradictory specification block as a catalogue error. The Compact and the Original both bullet 1,548 cm², then the specification block also prints 47 cm², which is not a grate. The Go-Anywhere highlight says 42 × 26 cm, while another field says 56.66 cm². The Minxchen bullet says a 44 × 28 cm grate and the dimension block says 50 × 50 × 50 mm, which cannot be the grill. The Charmline’s 667 cm² is tied to a listing claim of one to three people, not a meal we cooked. If two size fields disagree, buy from the centimetre figure you can sketch. A 47 cm kettle is a garden stand, not a tray under a picnic bench.
Weber Weber Go-Anywhere

Testsieger

Weber Weber Go-Anywhere
9.0/10about £100.79
View offer

What the price bands buy

The money falls into three bands, and each band buys a different limitation. From £14.99 to about £26 you get an open folder. The Kizmyee at £15.99 is 4.1 from 1,715 reviews, with a UK note that the grate bowed after one use. The black Charmline at £22.34 is 4.6 from 781 reviews and has no lid. From £28.99 to £59.98 you can buy the Compact at £49.49. From £84.99 to £111.24 you are paying for a Weber. The Original at £111.24 adds a thermometer and One-Touch cleaning the Compact does not list. Who each grill is for is on the best small charcoal BBQ page. Lid against tray is on the kettle versus folding grill page.

Where it is allowed to stand

A smoke control area does not ban an outdoor charcoal barbecue. GOV.UK’s smoke-control rules allow a barbecue in the open air. A balcony does not become allowed because a bullet says balcony. The London Fire Brigade tells you not to barbecue on a balcony or on decking. The Go-Anywhere listing mentions balconies, and that sentence is a product claim, not a fire-service clearance. A Charmline at about 2.3 kg to 2.5 kg folds into a boot, if the place allows charcoal. Site rules are not national law. That split is the camping page. Buy the shape for the meal and the place, then use the price band to see which limitation you are paying to avoid.

Common questions

Is 47 cm small enough for a patio and big enough for four?
A 47 cm kettle is Weber’s smaller bowl, listed at 1,548 cm², not the 57 cm size at 2,342 cm². “9 burgers” on Weber’s UK page is the manufacturer’s claim. UK comments on the Original describe about four or five people. The Compact weighs 9 kg and suits a patio more than a picnic table.
Do I need a lid?
You need a lid if you want dampers or any chance of indirect heat. The Compact, Smokey Joe, Kansas, HOMION, Original, Go-Anywhere, and CUSIMAX list one. The Charmline, Kizmyee, WixbFyn, and Minxchen do not. On a 667 cm² tray you grill directly over the coals, and an open folder cannot grow a lid later.
What should I ignore in the Amazon specification block?
Ignore a size that cannot be the object in the photo. The Minxchen’s 50 mm cube contradicts a 44 × 28 cm grate. The Go-Anywhere’s 56.66 cm² field contradicts 42 × 26 cm. The 47 cm kettles bullet 1,548 cm² and also print 47 cm². A 230 watt line on the Smokey Joe is not charcoal output.
Is a £15 folder the same job as a £50 kettle?
No. The Kizmyee at £15.99 is an open folder with a report of a grate that bowed on first use. The Compact at £49.49 is a 9 kg lidded kettle with wheels and an ash catcher, at 4.5 from 377 reviews. One is a short direct cook. The other is a repeat garden cook with vents.
Can I use it on a balcony if the bullet says so?
No. The London Fire Brigade says not to barbecue on a balcony or on decking. A Go-Anywhere bullet that names balconies is a product claim, not a fire-service clearance. GOV.UK allows an outdoor barbecue in a smoke control area, which means open air, not a flat above a street.
How many people does 667 cm² actually feed?
The black Charmline lists 667 cm² and says one to three people. That headcount is the listing’s claim. The folded size is 34.7 × 23 × 7.6 cm, a couple of burgers and a few sausages, not a family spread. UK reviews call it a two- or three-person camping grill. There is no lid.

Related pages

When a portable barbecue is too heavy

Small charcoal BBQ

Best small charcoal BBQ: top pick or best value

Small charcoal BBQ for camping: ask the pitch

How to use a small charcoal BBQ, step by step

Kettle BBQ vs folding charcoal grill, lid or tray

Sources

Public UK sources and the stored amazon.co.uk listings, checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the UK figures in the display file.

  1. GOV.UK: Smoke control areas, the rules (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: Smoke control area enforcement (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: Nuisance smoke (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. London Fire Brigade: BBQ safety (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. London Fire Brigade: Carbon monoxide (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Food Standards Agency: Cooking your food (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Forestry England: Picnics and barbecues (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. BSI: BS EN 1860-1:2024 solid-fuel barbecues (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  10. Environmental Protection Act 1990, Part III (retrieved 16 October 2026)