From a purely economic point of view, the barbecue grill is one of the strangest objects you can own. It costs anywhere from €100 to over €1,000, takes up half your balcony or a whole corner of the garage, and in most households it gets fired up between 5 and 10 times a year. The rest of the time it sits under a cover, waiting for the next cookout.
Meanwhile, right now, someone a few kilometres from you is looking for exactly that grill: a family organising a garden birthday party, travellers who booked a holiday home without one, someone hosting twenty people in mid-August with nothing but a camping stove. For all of them, buying a grill makes no sense. Renting one from a private owner does.
This guide covers how much you can realistically earn renting out your barbecue peer-to-peer, which types of grill are most in demand, how to set your daily rate, and the "grill kit" strategy that can double the value of every booking.
Why the BBQ grill is perfect for peer-to-peer rental
Three things make an item ideal for peer-to-peer rental: occasional use by the owner, concentrated and predictable demand, and a purchase price high enough to put off anyone who only needs it once. The barbecue ticks all three boxes.
Demand, in particular, is highly seasonal and tied to specific dates: weekends from May to September, public holidays, and every kind of private occasion — birthdays, graduations, farewell parties, rooftop dinners. People searching for a grill rental need it for a specific date, usually at short notice. That translates into low price sensitivity and high urgency to book.
There's another factor working in the lender's favour: grills are bulky. Apartment dwellers have nowhere to store one, which is exactly why they'll never buy one — but once or twice a summer they're happy to pay well to have one for a weekend.
BBQ rental rates: what to charge
Rates vary with the type of grill, its size and the accessories included. Here are the reference ranges we see for peer-to-peer rentals in urban areas:
| Type of grill | New value | Rate/day | Weekend (2 days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compact charcoal grill (kettle style) | €80–200 | €10–15 | €18–26 |
| Large charcoal grill with cart | €200–450 | €15–22 | €26–38 |
| Gas grill, 2–3 burners | €300–600 | €20–30 | €35–52 |
| Gas grill, 4+ burners | €600–1,200 | €28–45 | €50–78 |
| Portable gas griddle / plancha | €120–300 | €12–18 | €20–32 |
| Smoker | €250–800 | €25–40 | €45–70 |
Two things stand out in the numbers. First, gas grills earn more than charcoal: they're easier to use, quicker to clean, and nobody renting for an event wants to spend an hour coaxing charcoal to light in front of their guests. Second, smokers are a fast-growing niche — the number of barbecue enthusiasts who want to try low-and-slow cooking before dropping €500 on their own smoker is bigger than you'd think.
How much you can earn in a season
Let's run a realistic scenario. You own a 3-burner gas grill you paid €450 for two years ago. You list it at €25/day with a €42 weekend rate. The useful season runs from early May to late September: roughly 22 weekends, plus public holidays.
- Conservative — rented 2 weekends a month: €84/month, around €420 per season
- Average — 3 weekends a month plus the odd weekday: €150/month, around €750 per season
- High — nearly every weekend plus holidays: €230+/month, over €1,100 per season
In the average scenario, a single summer earns back more than one and a half times your grill's current resale value. And in the weeks you want it yourself — because of course you'll keep using it — you simply block those dates on your calendar.
💡 The golden dates of grill rental: national holidays, long weekends and virtually every Saturday in July. For those dates you can comfortably charge 30–50% more — demand always outstrips supply.
The "grill kit" strategy
The single tip that moves the needle most: don't rent out just the grill — rent out the whole experience. Someone planning a cookout doesn't just need the grill; they need tools, accessories and everything around it. Offer it all in one listing and you raise the value of every booking while becoming the obvious choice over a bare-grill listing.
A well-built grill kit includes:
- The grill, spotless, with a full gas bottle (or a bag of charcoal included)
- A tool set: long tongs, spatula, fork, grill brush
- A meat thermometer — the accessory that separates a barbecue from a perfect barbecue
- Optional extras: folding table, gazebo, cooler box, extra grates or griddle plates
A gas grill on its own rents for €25/day. The same grill with a tool set, thermometer and cooler easily reaches €38–45/day. If you also own party equipment like gazebos, tables and chairs, you can offer a complete "cookout for 20" package and clear €70–80 per weekend from a single booking.
💚 Practical tip: always state in your listing whether the gas bottle is included and how full it is. It's the first question you'll get in chat — answering it upfront saves time and signals professionalism. For charcoal grills, include a bag of charcoal and a chimney starter: they cost €10 and justify an extra €5 a day.
Cleaning, gas and safety: the three things to get right
1. Cleanliness is your calling card
Nobody wants to cook on someone else's grease. Always hand over the grill with clean grates and an empty drip tray, and ask in the listing that it comes back "ash emptied and brushed down" — don't demand a deep clean; do that yourself between rentals. A spotless grill at handover earns five-star reviews, and reviews are what fill your calendar.
2. The gas bottle
If you rent out a gas grill, you have two options: include the bottle (more convenient for the borrower, higher price) or rent the grill alone with a standard connector. If you include the bottle, check the hose and seal after every return and keep an eye on the regulator's expiry date. Thirty seconds of checking protects both you and your borrower.
3. Handover and return photos
As with any item on Lendmates, take photos at handover and at return. With a grill it's especially important to document the state of the grates and the lid — they're the parts that get damaged most easily, and the deposit only protects you if you can prove the previous condition.
"My gas grill sat idle from September to June. I listed it at the start of summer: four bookings in the first month, all for birthday parties. What surprised me most is that nobody haggled on the price."
Mistakes to avoid
Pricing too low. Grills are almost always rented for 1–2 days, not weeks. A low "teaser" price doesn't increase your rented days — it just shrinks your margin on the same bookings. Start from the market range and adjust based on demand: if you get more requests than you can handle, your price is too low. For a deeper dive, read our guide to pricing your rental items.
Ignoring weekdays. Weekends fill themselves, but summer also brings weekday dinners, end-of-school parties and informal work events. A slightly discounted weekday rate (say €20 instead of €25) captures demand you'd otherwise never see.
Photos of a dirty or covered grill. It sounds obvious, yet a huge share of grill listings lead with a blackened grate or a grill wearing its rain cover. Clean grates, natural light, maybe one "in action" shot with the coals glowing: your click-through rate changes completely.
Closing the listing too early. September and October are underrated: harvest festivals, the last cookouts of the season, outdoor sports events. Don't switch off your listing on August 31st.
How to get started
If you have a grill sitting idle in the garden or garage, the launch checklist is short: deep-clean it, photograph it in natural light, and write a description covering the type, cooking surface size, what's included and how handover works. Set your price within the market range and block the dates you want it for yourself.
The best time to list is right now: we're in peak season, the mid-August holidays are approaching and demand is at its highest. Every weekend your grill spends under its cover is a weekend of earnings lost.
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