Best Time to Buy a Grill in 2026: Buy Now or Wait?

Updated: September 9, 2026

Updated and fact-checked: September 8, 2026 Best time to buy a grill is late August through October, when stores clear leftover summer stock after Labor Day and prices usually drop more than they do in spring. Memorial Day and the Fourth of July have more selection. September and October have the cheaper leftovers.

Quick Answer: When Is the Best Time to Buy a Grill?

Late August through October is the best window for most backyard buyers. Labor Day starts the advertised markdowns. Selection thins after that, but leftover floor models and outgoing SKUs often keep falling into October. Buy now if you will cook this fall. Wait only if you need a specific new model that is not on the floor yet.

Key Points

• The cheapest stretch of the year for most gas, charcoal, and pellet grills is late August through October, not Memorial Day.
• Home Depot’s advertised 2026 Labor Day Savings Event was reported as running August 27 through September 9. After that, leftover clearance still matters more than the holiday banner.
• Typical advertised holiday cuts in 2026 were often $50 to $160 off current models, not a storewide half-off sale on every grill.
• Floor models and open-box units can be a good buy if the firebox, lid seal, cart, wheels, and controller still work. A deep scratch is cheaper than a missing part.
• Pellet and popular mid-size gas grills sell down faster than basic kettles. If you need a specific hopper size or burner layout, shop earlier in the window.
• A September grill is still useful. Fall smoking, football weekends, and Thanksgiving turkey are the reason to buy now instead of waiting for spring full price.

When Is the Best Time to Buy a Grill in 2026?

Shop from late August through October if the goal is a lower price on a grill you will actually use. Retailers treat outdoor cooking as a summer category. After Labor Day they start making room for fall and holiday freight, and bulky floor grills are expensive to store all winter. That pattern showed up again in 2026. Deal coverage placed Home Depot’s Labor Day Savings Event from August 27 through September 9, with advertised cuts on current Weber, Traeger, Oklahoma Joe’s, Masterbuilt, and Kamado Joe models. Those event prices are not a promise they will still be there when you walk in. They are proof that the calendar, not a secret coupon code, is doing most of the work. Last verified for that sale window: September 8, 2026.

Treat the table as a retail calendar, not a coupon. A store can keep a popular Weber or Traeger at a small advertised cut while slashing an orphaned cart grill by a third. Compare the exact model number, not the aisle sign that says “grill sale.”

Is Labor Day Better Than Memorial Day or the Fourth of July?

Yes for price. No for selection. Memorial Day and the Fourth of July are when the full current lineup is on the floor. Labor Day is when the store would rather sell that floor unit than warehouse it until March. In 2026 deal roundups, advertised Labor Day cuts on current models were often in the $50 to $160 range: examples included $50 off common Weber Spirit sizes, about $100 off some Genesis and Woodridge listings, and about $160 off a Traeger Pro 22 at Home Depot. Those are reported advertised prices from late August and early September 2026, not a promise of what you will see today. Memorial Day still wins if you need a precise configuration: natural gas instead of propane, a 26-inch kettle instead of a 22, or a pellet grill with a hopper large enough for overnight pork shoulder. By mid-September those exact setups are the first to disappear.

Should You Wait for Black Friday to Buy a Grill?

Usually no, if you want a full-size gas, charcoal, or pellet grill from a store aisle. Black Friday is better at small appliances, gadgets, and leftover online SKUs than at 4-burner carts that have been taking patio space since May. Waiting from September to late November also costs you the cooking season you just paid for. A grill bought in early fall can smoke a turkey, hold a football-weekend pork shoulder, and still be ready next April. A grill bought on Thanksgiving weekend sits in the box while you cook indoors. Wait for November only when all three of these are true: the exact model is still listed, the November price is verified lower than the fall clearance tag, and you do not need the cooker before then.

Which Grills Go on Sale First?

Basic charcoal kettles and leftover gas carts usually get cut first. Popular mid-size pellet grills and current Weber gas models get advertised holiday prices, then the odd sizes and floor units keep falling. Premium built-in and natural-gas SKUs move slower because fewer stores stock them and fewer buyers can use them.

If you are still choosing fuel type, settle that before you chase a tag. A cheap gas grill is the wrong prize if what you wanted was charcoal smoke. Compare gas versus charcoal and pellet versus charcoal first, then shop the window.

Is a Floor-Model Grill Worth Buying?

Yes, when the discount pays for cosmetic wear and the working parts are complete. A scratched side shelf does not change how the fire behaves. A cracked lid, missing grease cup, dead igniter with no replacement path, or a pellet controller that will not power on does. Floor models get assembled, bumped, and left in sun and sprinkler overspray. That is why they are cheap. It is also why you inspect them in the store instead of taking the tag’s word for “like new.” Open-box online listings are a different bet. You cannot bounce the lid, sight the firebox seams, or confirm the regulator is in the box. Use those only when the seller’s return window is long enough to assemble the grill and check it cold.

What Should You Inspect Before You Buy a Clearance Grill?

Check the cooker the way you would check a used truck: structure first, cosmetics last. Do this in the store, with the lid open, before anyone rings it up.

1. Match the exact model number on the rating plate or carton to the model you researched. Close cousins share a family name and not the same grates, burners, or warranty.
2. Open and close the lid. Look for a warp that leaves a daylight gap, a bent hinge, or a handle that twists.
3. Sight the firebox, bowl, or cook chamber for dents, rust-through, cracked welds, and ceramic chips on a kamado.
4. Confirm the parts that disappear first: regulator and hose on gas, drip bucket, cooking grates, warming rack, grease tray, pellet hopper lid, power cord, meat probe, and ash tool.
5. On gas, inspect the hose for cracks and make sure the control knobs turn and stop cleanly. Do not try to light a floor model in the aisle.
6. On pellet grills, ask whether the display unit has been powered. A controller that never leaves the demo screen, or a missing hopper safety switch, is not a bargain.
7. Roll it. Locked casters, bent axles, and a rack that racks sideways will annoy you every time you move the grill to clean it.
8. Ask what warranty remains on a display unit and whether the carton, manual, and original accessories are included. A store can sell the grill and not the cover that was hanging on it.

If any of those fail, walk. Another markdown in two weeks is cheaper than hunting a discontinued grate next spring.

What Is Not a Deal, Even at 40 Percent Off?

A discontinued grill with no replacement parts is not a deal. Neither is a dual-fuel unit you will only use as a gas grill, a pellet grill whose app generation is already abandoned, or a thin warehouse cart whose lid will not stay shut in wind. Watch for these specific traps in September and October:

• Orphaned house brands. The price looks heroic until you need a burner tube and the listing is gone.
• Natural-gas conversion leftovers. A natural-gas floor model is useless if your house has no gas line and the conversion kit is not in the box.
• Missing safety parts. No regulator, no grease path, no hopper cutoff, or a damaged power cord ends the conversation.
• Last-gen Wi-Fi that the brand has already replaced. The steel box may be fine. The reason that unit is still on the floor may be the controller.
• A cooker that does not match how you cook. A 2-burner patio grill will not give you an easy two-zone steak setup. A small pellet grill will not hold a Thanksgiving turkey and a pan of sides at the same time.

For a simple charcoal buy, start with a known 22-inch kettle rather than an oversized no-name cart. That case is covered in the best charcoal kettle grill under $300 guide. Budget gas and compact pellet shopping belong on the existing gas grills under $500 and pellet grills under $300 pages, with the same warning: confirm the model is still sold before you treat those lists as current inventory.

Should You Buy a Grill in September if You Will Not Use It Until Spring?

Yes, if you can store it clean, dry, and covered, and you are not paying extra to warehouse a problem. The savings from fall clearance usually beat waiting for April full price on the same leftover model. The ownership cost then becomes storage, not cooking. A gas grill needs the grease out and the cylinder stored upright outdoors, valve closed. A pellet grill needs the hopper emptied so pellets do not draw moisture and swell in the auger. A charcoal grill needs cold ash removed so it does not sit wet against steel all winter. The step-by-step version is in how to winterize a grill. Fuel that will sit until spring belongs in sealed, dry containers, not in a factory bag on a garage floor; that is covered in how to store wood pellets and charcoal. If you have no covered spot and no way to keep a pellet hopper dry, buy a simpler kettle or wait. A rusted firebox wipes out the markdown.

When Should You Wait Instead of Buying Now?

Wait when the grill you need is not in the leftover pile, or when the leftover pile is the wrong tool. A clearance tag does not fix a small grate, a dead product line, or a fuel type you will fight all year. Wait in these cases:

• You need a brand-new model that has been announced but is not on shelves yet, and you care more about that controller or burner layout than about this year’s price.
• The only unit left is natural gas, portable, or a size that will not feed the people you cook for.
• Parts, warranty support, or the manufacturer’s product page already treat the model as replaced.
• You are buying a pellet grill only because it is cheap, and what you actually wanted was a charcoal kettle you would use three nights a week.
• Assembly, a missing part, or a long shipping delay would push the first cook past the weekend you bought it for.

If the plan is fall cooking, do not wait. A turkey, a cheap pork shoulder, or a two-zone steak dinner will teach you more about the new cooker than another month of price-watching. For the holiday cook, use how to smoke a turkey once the grill is seasoned and stable.

Frank’s Take

I would rather buy a sound leftover grill in September than pay spring money for the same box in April. I have been buying cookers since the 1970s. The calendar has not changed much. Stores stock fire in April, sell it hard through July, and start looking at that cart like warehouse freight after Labor Day. What has changed is the number of look-alike models. A “4-burner stainless grill” on a clearance endcap can be a decent cart or a thin box with a one-year parts chase. I look at lid fit, grate thickness, grease path, and whether the brand will still sell a burner next year. I do not buy a bargain I cannot keep running. I also do not wait for the mythical perfect price if I have cooking to do. Fall is good barbecue weather. The bugs thin out, the cooker runs steadier than it does at noon in July, and a pork shoulder or turkey is a better first cook than a tray of mid-summer burgers you are rushing before the sun goes down.

Final Verdict: Should You Buy a Grill Now?

Buy now through October if you will accept a current or leftover model and you have a dry place to keep it. Late August through Labor Day is the advertised sale. September and October are when floor models and outgoing SKUs get cheaper while selection shrinks. Memorial Day is for shoppers who need a specific new configuration more than they need a lower tag. Skip the purchase when the leftover unit is the wrong fuel, the wrong size, or a dead parts line. A 30 percent discount on the wrong grill is still the wrong grill.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is September really cheaper than Memorial Day for grills?

Usually yes, if you can live with leftover inventory. Memorial Day has the full current lineup and smaller holiday cuts. September adds clearance pressure because stores do not want to store bulky patio freight all winter. Compare the same model number at both moments when you can. Do not compare a leftover floor model in October with a brand-new flagship in May and call that a 40 percent deal.

Do pellet grills go on sale at the same time as gas grills?

Yes on the calendar, with a thinner leftover pile. Pellet grills follow the same late-summer event and fall clearance cycle. The difference is inventory. A store may carry six gas carts and two pellet models. When those two sell, the pellet “sale” is over even if gas floor models keep falling. If you need a specific hopper size or Wi-Fi controller, shop the front of the window.

Is a floor-model Weber or Traeger safer than a no-name clearance grill?

Usually, because replacement parts and manuals are easier to find. A scratched Weber kettle or a display Traeger can still be a sound cooker if the lid, firebox, and controller check out. A no-name cart at a giant discount can be fine for a season and then leave you without a grate or regulator. Brand name is not magic. Completeness and parts support are the test.

Should I buy a cover, extra grates, or a new tank on the same trip?

Buy the parts that keep the grill usable, not the bundle that was hanging on the display. A fitted cover is worth it if the grill will sit outside. A full propane cylinder belongs outdoors, upright, with the valve closed. Extra grates and a chimney starter can wait until you know the cooker. Do not let a bundle talk you into accessories you will not use.

Can I negotiate the price on a scratched floor model?

Sometimes, especially in September and October when that unit is the last one. Stores differ. A manager can often move a damaged display unit farther than a boxed current SKU. Ask once, with the scratch or missing part in view. If the answer is no, the posted clearance tag is still the comparison point against waiting until spring.

Related Reading

• Gas vs charcoal grill
• Pellet grill vs charcoal grill
• Best charcoal kettle grill under $300
• Gas grills under $500
• How to winterize a grill
• How to smoke a turkey