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Running-cost calculator

What does cooking on a kamado really cost?

A kamado hurts at checkout and surprises you in use: closed ceramic burns 1-2 kg of charcoal per cook, versus 4-6 kg on an open barbecue. Tune the numbers to your case and see what each cook costs — purchase amortisation included.

Your numbers

What you pay today for the full kamado, cart and side tables included if it has them.

Be realistic: your average over the year, cold months included.

Quality lump charcoal, Big Block style. We use 9.5 kg per bag for the maths.

A closed kamado burns very little: 1-2 kg per cook is normal, and leftovers snuff out for next time.

Ceramics usually carry a lifetime warranty; 15 years is a conservative estimate.

Your real cost

€6.73per cook

Charcoal €5.53Amortisation €1.20

€484 a year, all-in.

“At 6 cooks a month, a €1,299 kamado costs you ~€6.73 per cook all-in (charcoal + amortisation) — versus ~€8.52 for a cheap steel barbecue.”

Versus a cheap steel barbecue

Cheaper per cook

Ceramic kamado

Charcoal
€5.53
Amortisation
€1.20
Total per cook
€6.73
Total per year
€484

Cheap steel barbecue

€150 every 4 years + 4 kg of briquettes (~€2/kg) per cook

Charcoal
€8.00
Amortisation
€0.52
Total per cook
€8.52
Total per year
€614

Cooking on the kamado saves you €129 a year.

Honestly: with your numbers, the kamado starts winning from about 1.7 cooks a month. Below that it doesn't pay off on cost — it pays off (or doesn't) in how it cooks.

Calculation assumptions

  • Charcoal bag of 9.5 kg (9-10 kg bags, taken at the midpoint); you set the price.
  • Steel barbecue: €150 every 4 years — they rust through and get replaced — and 4 kg of cheap briquettes per cook at ~€2/kg, because an open grill doesn't recover leftover charcoal.
  • We don't count firelighters, sauces or smoking wood: they cost the same on both.

These are estimates to frame the decision, not accounting: your charcoal prices and your real usage rule. Edit the fields above with your numbers.

How we calculate it

No magic: cost per cook = the charcoal you burn + the kamado's price spread over every cook of its useful life. Two line items, both in plain sight. The cheap barbecue plays by the same rules: its price spread over the years it lasts before rusting through, plus its briquettes.

Why does ceramic burn so little? Because a kamado works closed: air comes in metered through the vents, and when you finish you shut everything and the leftover charcoal snuffs out without oxygen — you reuse it next time. On an open barbecue that charcoal burns to ash whether you used it or not.

Still choosing your kamado?

If the numbers add up for you, the next step is getting the model and the fuel right.

Find your kamado in 3 stepsKamado charcoal guide