On a hot summer weekend the grill is almost a national institution. But between those who swear by charcoal and those who have gone for the convenience of an electric griddle, there is a difference that usually goes unnoticed: the real cost of each barbecue. When you actually run the numbers, an electric griddle costs pennies a meal, while a charcoal barbecue is a good deal heavier on your wallet.

What an electric griddle uses

A 2,000 watt electric griddle run for about half an hour gets through roughly 1 kWh. At the current Ofgem cap of around 26p per kWh, that works out at about 26p a barbecue. In practice, cooking for the whole family costs less than a pint. You can size up the running cost of any appliance at a glance once you know its wattage and what a unit of electricity costs.

What a charcoal barbecue costs

A traditional barbecue works out very differently. A single cookout needs 1 to 2 kg of charcoal, and a bag typically costs several pounds. That pushes the cost per barbecue up to a few pounds, before you add firelighters and the charcoal that often goes to waste between one weekend and the next.

The comparison across a summer

It is over the season that the gap really shows. Assuming around twenty summer barbecues, an electric griddle stays in the region of a few pounds in total, while charcoal can climb to £40 or more. Across the whole summer the electric griddle costs a fraction of the charcoal barbecue, a gap you can put in perspective with our guide to what a kWh actually is.

Not just money: taste, time and safety

Money is not everything. Charcoal keeps one undeniable advantage: that smoky flavour a griddle cannot quite match. The electric griddle, though, wins on speed, ready in minutes rather than half an hour, and above all on safety. In a summer marked by extreme heat and drought, with fire risk high and open fires discouraged or banned in many areas, a flame-free griddle is often the only sensible option.

Keeping an eye on running costs

Anyone who wants certainty can work out the real cost from their own tariff and the griddle's wattage, using the same logic set out in our guide on how to save electricity. The financial verdict is clear-cut, but the final choice still comes down to taste and habit. Whatever you fire up, enjoy the barbecue.