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Kettle BBQ vs folding charcoal grill

Updated: 16.10.2026

You are choosing between a round lidded bowl and a flat tray, and both are sold as a small charcoal barbecue. A kettle BBQ vs folding charcoal grill decision is about the lid and the weight. In this stored set the kettle example is the Weber Compact at £49.49 and 9 kg, and the folder is the black Charmline at £22.34 and about 2.3 kg. The [small charcoal BBQ comparison](/hub/portable-grills/small-charcoal-bbq) lists every row. The Products Compared editorial team used those fields and the UK review notes on 16 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Budget bands sit on the [buying guide](/hub/portable-grills/small-charcoal-bbq/sub/small-charcoal-bbq-buying-guide).

You are choosing between a round lidded bowl and a flat tray, and both are sold as a small charcoal barbecue. A kettle BBQ vs folding charcoal grill decision is about the lid and the weight.

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.What the lid actually changes
  2. 2.When the folder is the right tool
  3. 3.The box with a lid
  4. 4.Which to buy if you only need one

What the lid actually changes

A lid and a damper let you feed the fire or starve it, and they let you park food off the hottest coals. The Compact bullets 1,548 cm², wheels, an ash catcher, and a lid, at 4.5 from 377 reviews. It lists no thermometer. The Smokey Joe Premium is the smaller kettle, 37 cm and 1,075.86 cm² at £84.99, with a Tuck-N-Carry lid. Enamel flakes at the handle are a repeated UK theme. A 47 cm bowl has more offset space than 37 cm, and neither is a 57 cm family kettle. Burgers and chicken still have to be cooked through. The probe steps are on the how to use page. A lid does not measure the centre of the meat. The Compact is 9 kg. The black Charmline is about 2.3 kg.

When the folder is the right tool

Choose a folding grill when the boot only has room for a flat tray and the meal is direct heat for one to three people. The black Charmline lists 667 cm², folds to 34.7 × 23 × 7.6 cm, and is £22.34 at 4.6 from 781 reviews. There is no lid, so you cannot close a vent or park a chicken off the coals. The green Charmline is the same shape at £25.34 with the same review text. Look Into’s Charmline price is about £40. Ours is £22.34. Do not swap them. Thin metal is the failure. A UK review says the Kizmyee grate bowed into the coals after one use. A high star line on the Charmline still does not add a lid.
Weber Weber Go-Anywhere

Testsieger

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

The box with a lid

The Weber Go-Anywhere is neither a round kettle nor an open folder. It is a rectangular box at £100.79, 4.7 from 1,645 reviews, with a lid, a damper, and folding legs. The highlight area is 42 × 26 cm. Another field says 56.66 cm², so use 42 × 26 cm. The stored weight is 5.22 kg. BBC Good Food measured 6.78 kg. UK reviews describe a camper van and two people. One review says the latch loosened after a couple of months. You buy it when you want a lid in the boot and you will not carry 9 kg. You skip it when you need the Compact’s 1,548 cm², or when £100.79 is more than the cook is worth. It is not a balcony grill, whatever the bullet says. Site permission is the camping page.

Which to buy if you only need one

Buy the Compact if you cook repeatedly in a small garden, you want a lid and an ash catcher, and 9 kg on wheels is acceptable. Buy the Smokey Joe if two people and a table matter more than 47 cm. Buy the black Charmline for a flat pack and direct grilling for two, if the site allows a raised charcoal grill. Buy the Go-Anywhere if the boot must take a lid and you will pay £100.79 for the strongest review sample here. If the pitch confirmation says gas only, neither side of this page is the right purchase.

Common questions

When is a kettle the right small charcoal BBQ?
A kettle is the right buy when you want a lid, dampers, and repeat cooks. In this set that is the Compact at £49.49, with a claimed 1,548 cm² at 9 kg, or the Smokey Joe Premium at £84.99 if 37 cm and 5.44 kg fit the table. The Original at £111.24 adds a thermometer, with few UK-labelled reviews.
When is a folder enough?
A folder is enough for a direct cook for one to three people, the Charmline’s claim on 667 cm², at about 2.3 kg and 7.6 cm thick. It suits a boot or a pitch that allows charcoal and will not take a 9 kg kettle. It is the wrong tool for indirect heat or a whole chicken.
Where does the Go-Anywhere sit?
Between the two. It has a lid and a damper, like a kettle, and folding legs, like a tray. It is not round and not 47 cm. The highlight area is 42 × 26 cm. At £100.79 and 4.7 from 1,645 reviews it leads on score, which is not a reason to call it a kettle. Take it when you want that lid in the car.
Can I do indirect heat on a folding grill?
Not in a useful way on the open folders here. Indirect heat needs a lid and a gap between food and the hottest coals. The Charmline, Kizmyee, WixbFyn, and Minxchen list no lid. A 47 cm kettle is where offset coals start to make sense, and a whole bird is still tight. The word smoker on the Kizmyee title does not.
Which is better in a car boot?
The Charmline is the easier object, about 2.3 kg and 34.7 × 23 × 7.6 cm folded. The Go-Anywhere at 5.22 kg in the stored file is the boot option that keeps a lid. The Compact at 9 kg is a patio kettle you can transport if the boot is empty and the site allows it. The better boot grill is the one you will unpack.
Is the 47 cm stand still portable?
You can lift 9 kg into a car and wheel it across a patio. You cannot treat it like a folder under a picnic bench. Weber lists 47 cm at 1,548 cm² against 2,342 cm² for 57 cm, so 47 cm is the small stand kettle, not a tabletop. Call the Charmline, the Smokey Joe, and the Go-Anywhere the ones you carry.

Related pages

Gas or charcoal on a UK pitch

Small charcoal BBQ

Best small charcoal BBQ: top pick or best value

Small charcoal BBQ buying guide: kettle or folder

Small charcoal BBQ for camping: ask the pitch

How to use a small charcoal BBQ, step by step

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)