For year round grilling where you also want the option to smoke now and then, the Nexgrill 5-Burner Gas Grill with Side Burner is the pick that fits the most people. Five independent burners let you build hot and cool zones on the same grate, so you can sear steaks over direct heat on one side and hold ribs over low indirect heat on the other, while the side burner frees the main grate for sauces and sides. It is the right call when grilling is your main job and smoking is an occasional bonus. If genuine low and slow smoking matters as much as grilling, skip ahead to the Royal Gourmet gas and charcoal combo with its offset smoker, because no pure gas grill is a real smoker. All three picks below live in our gas grill guides.
Nexgrill 5-Burner Gas Grill with Side Burner
Five independent burners and a side burner give you the most zone control here, so you can sear on one side and hold food over low indirect heat on the other. The best fit when grilling is your main job and smoking is an occasional bonus.
Check price on AmazonThe short answer
A gas grill earns its place because it is fast, predictable, and easy to run in any season. You turn a knob, wait a few minutes, and cook. That convenience is exactly why most people reach for gas when they want to grill all year, including cold evenings when babysitting a charcoal fire is not appealing. Among these three, the Nexgrill five burner is the most flexible for that job. The extra burners are not about raw power so much as control: more burners mean more ways to split the grate into a hot searing zone and a cooler holding zone, which is the single most useful skill on any gas grill. Add a cast iron smoker box filled with wood chips over one low burner and you can layer in a light smoke flavor on chicken, wings, or a small pork shoulder.
That said, be clear eyed about one thing. A gas grill is built to grill, not to smoke. It can do light smoking with indirect heat and a smoker box, but it will never match a dedicated offset or pellet smoker for long, clean, wood driven cooks. If smoking is a core goal rather than a bonus, the Royal Gourmet combo is the honest answer because it includes an actual charcoal firebox and offset smoker alongside its gas burners.
When each pick is the better choice
These grills solve three slightly different problems. Matching the grill to how you actually cook matters more than chasing the biggest number on the box.
Buy the Nexgrill five burner if grilling is the priority. It gives you the most grate space and the most zone control of the three, which is what you want when you cook for a family or a crowd and want steaks, burgers, and vegetables going at once. Light smoking with a smoker box is possible, but treat it as a bonus rather than the headline feature.
Royal Gourmet 2-Burner Gas and Charcoal Combo with Offset Smoker
A two burner gas side for quick weeknight grilling plus a separate charcoal firebox and offset smoker for real low and slow cooks. Choose this when smoking matters as much as grilling and you accept more hands on fire management.
Check price on AmazonBuy the Royal Gourmet combo if you genuinely want to smoke. The gas side handles fast weeknight dinners, while the charcoal firebox and offset smoker let you run real low and slow cooks with wood and lump charcoal. You trade some of the pure gas convenience for hands on fire management, and the total grilling area is smaller than the bigger gas only units, but it is the only pick here that smokes without compromise. If you are weighing this against a pure charcoal rig, our charcoal grill guides cover that route.
Charbroil Performance 4-Burner Gas Grill Cabinet with Side Burner
Four burners, an enclosed cabinet base for storage, and a side burner in a tidy footprint. A sensible middle ground when you want everyday grilling and a little indirect cooking without stepping up to a five burner.
Check price on AmazonBuy the Charbroil four burner if you want a tidy everyday grill. It sits between the other two on size and gives you four burners, a side burner, and an enclosed cabinet base that hides the propane tank and stores tools. It is the practical middle choice when a five burner is more than you need but you still want enough room to run a two zone fire.
What actually matters when you choose
Marketing leans hard on a few numbers that sound important and are not. Here is what to weigh and what to ignore.
Burners and zone control over raw BTU. High BTU figures get top billing, but a grill with high output and poor heat retention can run worse than a lower rated grill that holds heat well. What matters is having enough independent burners to make a hot zone and a cool zone. That two zone setup is how you sear, how you cook thick cuts without burning them, and how you hold food while the rest finishes. More burners, as on the Nexgrill, simply give you finer control.
Cooking area that matches your crowd. Count how many burgers or how much chicken you cook on a normal day, then leave room for a cool zone. A bigger grate is not automatically better if you cook for two, because a half empty grill wastes gas and is harder to zone. The five burner suits larger gatherings, the four burner suits a typical family, and the combo favors variety over sheer capacity.
Build quality and heat retention. Lid weight, grate material, and how solidly the cart is put together affect how evenly a grill cooks and how long it lasts outdoors. Heavier cast iron or thick stainless grates hold and transfer heat better than thin wire. A grill cover is also a cheap way to extend a grill's life through a wet winter.
A side burner is genuinely useful. All three of the gas units here offer one, and it is more than a gimmick. It lets you simmer barbecue sauce, melt butter, or cook a pot of beans without leaving the grill or crowding the main grate.
How well a gas grill can smoke, honestly. With all burners but one turned off, a smoker box of soaked wood chips over the lit burner, and the lid down, a gas grill can hold a low indirect temperature and add mild smoke. It works for a few hours of flavor. It does not replace a smoker for brisket or anything needing a long, steady, heavily smoked cook. The Royal Gourmet is the only pick that crosses that line because it has a true charcoal offset.
What to ignore. Inflated BTU bragging, the exact color of the lid, and the headline total grate number that counts a tiny raised warming rack as prime cooking space. Judge the usable main grate, the burner layout, and the build.
How the three picks compare
Think of it as a line from pure grilling to real smoking. The Nexgrill five burner sits at the grilling end: most space, most zones, lightest touch, with smoking as a bonus you add with a box. The Charbroil four burner sits in the middle: a little less grate, the same convenience, a neat cabinet, and the same light smoking ceiling as any gas grill. The Royal Gourmet combo sits at the smoking end: less gas grate and more fire management, but a genuine offset smoker that the other two cannot match.
On convenience the two pure gas units are equal and both beat the combo, because lighting and running charcoal takes more time and attention. On capacity the Nexgrill leads, the Charbroil follows, and the combo trails. On smoking the order flips entirely, with the Royal Gourmet first and the two gas only grills tied well behind it. None of these is a bad grill. They are aimed at different cooks. If your tank runs on propane and you want the simplest refuel routine, our propane grill guides go deeper on tank and fuel questions.
Can a gas grill really smoke?
Yes and no, and the honest version is worth repeating because it is where buyers get disappointed. A gas grill can smoke lightly. Shut off all but one burner, set that burner low, drop a smoker box of wood chips over it, put your food on the unlit side, and close the lid. You get a gentle smoke and a low, steady indirect temperature that is great for chicken, ribs you do not need to run all day, or adding a hint of wood to otherwise grilled food. What a gas grill cannot do is deliver the deep, consistent smoke of hours spent over burning wood, because the burner is doing the heating and the wood is only a small flavor add. If you are the kind of cook who wants to pull a fourteen hour brisket off the grill, a gas grill alone will frustrate you, and that is exactly the use case where the Royal Gourmet combo or a dedicated smoker earns its keep.
The honest verdict
For the widest range of people who want to grill year round and smoke occasionally, the Nexgrill five burner is the pick. It gives you the most control and space, it runs in any season, and a smoker box covers the light smoking most families actually do. Choose the Charbroil four burner if you want the same easy gas experience in a tidier, cabinet based package and do not need the extra burner. Choose the Royal Gourmet combo only if smoking is a real goal rather than a nice to have, and go in knowing you are trading some gas convenience and grate space for a true charcoal offset. Buy for how you cook most weeks, not for the one big cook you imagine, and you will be happy with any of the three.
