Pit Boss vs Blackstone Griddle – Which Should You Buy?

Trying to decide which outdoor griddle to spend your hard-earned cash on? I’ve been cooking on two popular models from Pit Boss and Blackstone over the last few months.

Each grill has its pros and cons. So, keep reading and see them in action in my video below to determine which griddle works best for you.

Pit Boss vs Blackstone Griddle

Pit Boss Ultimate Lift-Off Griddle

We reviewed a Pit Boss griddle back in 2020, but they’ve upgraded since then. The newest design includes 3 burners and lift-off technology. The 2-in-1 system means you can enjoy it as an outdoor griddle at home, detach it in seconds, and use it as a portable tabletop griddle to take camping, tailgating, or grilling with friends.

Pit Boss Ultimate Lift-Off Griddle specifications:

Cooking surface	536 sq. in.
Weight	76 lbs
Burners	3 stainless steel gas burners
Cooktop material	Proprietary non-stick armored ceramic
Price	Check Latest Price

What we like:

• Easy assembly and start-up: I can’t fault the Pit Boss’s initial assembly, start-up, and seasoning.
• Easy clean-up: The Pit Boss’s cooking area has a non-stick ceramic coating, making initial seasoning and clean-up a breeze. Plus, I like the grease management system in the front.
• Detachable grill: The Pit Boss’s crowning glory is that the flat top grill’s surface is easily detachable. Weighing in at 76 lbs, it takes seconds to remove it to take it camping.

What we don’t like:

• The wheel situation: It has 2 rotating locking casters and 2 (what I like to call) skateboard wheels. Personally, I’d prefer it to have 4 rotating locking caster wheels for much easier movability.

Blackstone 28” Griddle

The Blackstone 28” Griddle With Air Fryer is one of the most sought-after griddles today because it’s made for multi-taskers with its built-in air fryer and warmer.

Blackstone 28” Griddle W/Air Fryer specifications:

Cooking surface	524 sq. in.
Weight	147 lbs
Burners	2
Cooktop material	Carbon steel
Price	Check Latest Price

What we like:

• Easy movability: With 4 rotating and locking casters, the Blackstone is much easier to move around.
• Rolled steel surface: This surface has its own pros and cons. But I like that I can use metal tools on it. There are also hooks and a magnetic toolbar to store them easily.
• Air fryer and warmer: It’s hard to see a built-in fryer as anything but a bonus.

What we don’t like:

• Start-up issues: I had more than one issue trying to get both the grill and air fryer to start initially. 

Pit Boss vs Blackstone Griddle: Head-to-head

Build quality

For me, the Pit Boss griddle won this round for several reasons.

When it came to assembly, the Pit Boss was a little easier to put together than the Blackstone. This is mainly because the Blackstone has more to put together—we’re looking at you, air fryer.

Then, when it came to initially firing them up, the Pit Boss started on the first try. But, I had a significant issue with the Blackstone. So much so that I had to take it apart and tweak my left burner a bit to make it finally ignite.

I also had to fiddle with the air fryer’s fan. The bearing seized up for some reason, and I had to free it. Not ideal for a brand-new product.

The Pit Boss also uses a strong hinge mechanism for its lid, making it feel sturdier than the Blackstone’s one simple nut and bolt holding it together.

The Blackstone has 4 rotating and locking casters, while the Pit Boss has 2 locking and rotating casters and 2 wheels. This is one thing I’d like Pit Boss to change because the Blackstone is a lot easier to move around.

Ease of use

Blackstone’s surface is rolled steel, so you must season it up. It’s a simple process of smearing a light coat of flaxseed oil across the warm surface and letting it burn off 5 or 6 times.

The Pit Boss grill wins because it has a non-stick and pre-coated armored ceramic cooking surface. This means it requires no seasoning. Just turn those burners up to high and let it burn off for about an hour. After it’s cooled down, wipe it with a wet paper towel.

As a bonus, the ceramic coating protects the surface from scratches and rust. So your Pit Boss looks brand new for longer and doesn’t require ongoing care like the Blackstone.

Cooking

Blackstone’s cooking surface is 29 x 18 and 524 square inches, while Pit Boss is 29.5 x 18 and 536 square inches. So they’re basically the same size.

The Blackstone is a 2-burner gas griddle, and they’re shaped kind of like an H. The Pit Boss is a 3-burner. 2 are single lines, while the 3rd is shaped like a rectangle.

Both include battery-operated igniters. But you’ll need power to run the Blackstone’s air fryer.

As for cooking performance, they’re very similar. The Blackstone’s rolled steel surface might have a little bit more searing capabilities.

But we did smash onion burgers on them to test it out, and both gave us a beautiful char, so you can’t go wrong with either.

Accessories

First things first—cooking accessories. You can use metal spatulas and tools on Blackstone’s rolled steel surface. You must use plastic on Pit Boss because metal will remove the coating.

Both griddles have 6 tool hooks, but the Blackstone has an additional magnetic strip on its side shelf to hold the metal tools. My personal preference is cooking with metal.

Both griddles also have foldable side shelves, a large bottom storage shelf, a paper towel holder, and a trash bag holder.

The Pit Boss shelves are a little lower. You also can’t drop down the right-hand side because the gas bottle sits underneath. Therefore, Blackstone wins this round for me.

Cleaning

The Blackstone’s rear grease catchment system is a smaller aluminum tray. Meanwhile, the Pit Boss has a pull-out grease tray at the front.

If you check out the video, you’ll see just how little grease is inside compared to the Blackstone, when I’d used the Pit Boss more.

Scrubbing the Blackstone’s rolled steel surface requires a little water and another oil application. The Pit Boss is very straightforward – just water and a paper towel to dry it off.

The Pit Boss wins for me and my lazy boys. It takes about a third of the time to clean after cooking compared to the Blackstone.

Price

Both griddle grills are priced very similarly. Currently, you’re looking at roughly $699 for the Blackstone and $649 for the Pit Boss.

But I recommend shopping around because I’ve occasionally seen them drop down to as low as $450.

Pit Boss vs Blackstone: Standout features

Both flat-top grills have a standout feature that separates them from competitors.

Pit Boss Ultimate Griddle

Lift-off feature

Unlike the Blackstone, you can detach and lift off the Pit Boss from its stand. All you have to do is unhook the gas bottle and a couple of hinges, and it’s a portable flat-top grill. This is great if you want to take it camping or tailgating.

Blackstone Griddle

Built-in air fryer and warmer

The Blackstone comes with built-in air fryer and warmer drawers. So you can cook a batch of wings, pop them in the warmer, and then cook the next batch. All while grilling burgers on top.

Besides trying some wings in the air fryer, I didn’t actually use it that often when putting the Blackstone to the test because I prefer to grill. But I can see a lot of people liking this feature.

Pit Boss vs Blackstone brand overview

Pit Boss

Pit Boss is a Canadian company established in 1999. Founder Dan Thiessen set out to create a wood pellet grill that could withstand harsh climates and be used year-round.

While the wood pellet grill is the brand’s flagship product, they soon branched out to other “Bigger, Hotter, Heavier” outdoor cooking equipment, including griddles.

They have an extensive range of griddle grills available:

• Ultimate Lift-Off Griddles: 2,3,4 and 5-burner (I’m using the 3-burner for this comparison)
• Tabletop Griddles: 1,2 nd 3-burner
• Sportsman Portable Tabletop 2-Burner Griddle (with and without folding legs)

One of the best things about Pit Boss’s flat-top grill collection is its affordability. While the 2-in-1 Lift-Off griddle we’re comparing today is around the $649 mark, tabletop options start at just $149.

Blackstone

Established in 2005 and specializing exclusively in griddles, Blackstone is the most recognizable griddle grill brand in the States. While Pit Boss began with the pellet grill, Blackstone’s cornerstone product is the 36” griddle.

Thanks to some key marketing, Blackstone’s boom actually happened during the pandemic, with people stuck at home with nothing to do but perfect their grilling skills. The hashtags #blackstone and #blackstonegriddle have over 1.2 billion views on TikTok.

I’m using the Blackstone 28” Griddle W/Air Fryer in this comparison. But other flat-top grills you can find at Blackstone include:

• 17” and 22” Electric Tabletop Griddle
• 17” Original Tabletop Griddle
• 22” Griddle (With Flexfold Legs and without)
• 28” Original Griddle
• 28” XL Griddle (With Rangetop and without)
• 36” Original Griddle
• 36” Griddle With Air Fryer and Cabinets

Like Pit Boss, the Blackstone range costs between $129 for the tabletop grill and $1299 for the 36” with air fryer and cabinets. The 28” griddle we’re comparing today sits pretty much in the middle at $699.

Final thoughts

It’s clear the Pit Boss Ultimate and Blackstone Griddle are evenly matched. So, it comes down to personal preference.

Choose the Pit Boss Ultimate Griddle if:

• You want that lift-off feature.
• You want easier assembly and start-up.
• You want easier clean-up.

Check out the Pit Boss Griddle today.

Choose the Blackstone 28” Griddle With Air Fryer if:

• You want that air fryer.
• You want to use metal tools.
• You want to be able to move it around easily.

Ready to hit buy now on the Blackstone Griddle?