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A grill cover has one job, and it’s harder than it sounds: keep rain off the grill without trapping moisture inside. A plain tarp does the first and fails the second, which is how you get a rusty firebox under a cover that never leaked. The right one sheds water, breathes, and stays put in wind.
I’ve been through it in my own backyard, from covers that ballooned in a storm to covers that puddled on the lid and sagged into a bowl. We tested 14 covers over six months, from the first warm weekend through the first frost, on wide gas grills with side shelves, small two-burners, and a kettle.
Here’s what I’d tell a first-time buyer: measure the grill at its widest point, side shelves and knobs included, then add an inch or two. A cover that’s technically long enough but tight at the corners pulls loose the first time the wind picks up. Fabric weight matters too, though the denier number on the label doesn’t always tell you how heavy a cover feels in your hands. The picks below stayed put, stayed supple, and went back on without a fight.
Best for Most Gas Grills
Unicook 65-Inch Grill Cover
Key Features
- Fits: 3-6 burner grills, 58-63 in. wide
- Material: Polyester with vinyl coating
- Warranty: 12 months
- Dimensions: 65"L x 24"W x 44"H
- Price: Midrange
This is the cover that ended up staying on our grill. Two fabric handles sewn to the top let you lift it off and drop it back with one hand, the hook-and-loop straps pull it tight in a couple of seconds, and there’s no threading or wrestling with a stiff hem at the end of a cook. We were just as glad to see covered mesh vents on both sides, which let a warm, damp grill breathe instead of steaming under a sealed sheet.
The size range is what makes it the safe recommendation. At 65 by 24 by 44 inches it is cut for grills roughly 58 to 63 inches across, which takes in most three-to-six-burner gas grills with the side shelves on. On a compact three-burner it hangs down around the wheels, and the straps are what keep that slack from becoming a sail; on a 63-inch grill it sits close enough that there’s very little loose fabric for wind to catch.
Water resistance is where it earns its keep. The high-density polyester with a vinyl coating beads rain rather than soaking it through, and the lid and side shelves have stayed dry underneath in our testing. Stitched seams, not sealed ones, are the place to watch over time — the same weak point every coated cover in this group shares.
Where it gives ground is fabric weight and coverage length: the ULTCOVER’s 600D cloth is heavier in the hand, and the Weber covers are cut to a single model so they don’t have to compromise. The Unicook compromises by being good on a lot of grills rather than perfect on one, and it throws in a storage bag for the off-season. For most people that’s the right trade.
Pros
- Top handles make on-and-off a one-hand job
- Covered mesh vents on both sides reduce condensation
- Fits a broad 58-63 inch range of gas grills
- Straps hold the skirt down in wind
Cons
- Vinyl coating stiffens after a few seasons of sun
- 12-month warranty, where Weber offers three years
The safest pick for a three-to-six-burner gas grill: a wide size range, a snug closure that stays put, and handles and vents that make covering the grill a two-second job.
Best for Smaller Gas Grills
ULTCOVER 52-Inch Grill Cover
Key Features
- Fits: 2-4 burner grills
- Fabric: 600D polyester
- Warranty: 3 years
- Dimensions: 52"L x 24"W x 45"H
- Price: Midrange
The cloth is the first thing you notice. ULTCOVER uses 600D polyester with a waterproof backing, and it feels closer to a boat cover than to the coated film on the budget picks — enough body that it hangs in folds instead of clinging to the lid. That weight is doing real work: it resists the abrasion that thins light covers at the corners, and it doesn’t flap, which is what actually destroys a cover in wind.
What we like most is the fastening. Two side-release buckles and elastic cords cinch the skirt around the legs, and they hold far more firmly than hook-and-loop tabs that mat with dust and pollen by midsummer. Two structured vents, one on each side, keep air moving so condensation doesn’t form on the lid. The brown color is the one styling decision here, and it does look better than black against a wood deck.
The 52 by 24 by 45-inch cut is aimed at two-to-four-burner grills, and sizing is the one place to slow down: measure across the side shelves before ordering, because this cover runs generous by design so it can clear a lid with the warming rack up. It tops out well below the big gas grills, which is the point — a smaller grill gets a closer fit here than it would from a 65-inch cover. The three-year warranty is the longest coverage in this group and the reason we’re comfortable pointing people to a cover at this price.
Pros
- 600D fabric resists corner abrasion
- Side-release buckles hold better than hook-and-loop
- Vents on both sides cut condensation
- Three-year warranty
Cons
- Comes only in brown
- Not designed to reach the wheels
Our pick for two-to-four-burner grills that sit out in real weather: 600D cloth that resists abrasion and side-release buckles that hold.
Best for Deck-Side Grills
Vailge 58-Inch Grill Cover
Key Features
- Color: Beige and brown
- Extra: Zippered tool pocket
- Fabric: 600D Oxford with PVC lining
- Closure: Drawstring with side straps
- Price: Midrange
A zippered pocket on a grill cover reads like a gadget until the first time you carry tongs out to the deck and have nowhere to set them down. Vailge sews one across the front, sized for tongs, a thermometer, and a lighter — the small things that otherwise live on a shelf by the door or get rained on between cooks. It’s the kind of detail we didn’t expect to use and ended up using constantly.
The rest is conventional in the best way: 600D Oxford with a PVC lining, double-stitched at the stress points, a hem drawstring backed up by side straps, and enough weight that it hangs straight instead of shrink-wrapping the lid. It takes two hands to seat it properly, which is the honest cost of fabric this heavy, but it comes off in seconds.
What we appreciated most is the color. A light tan cover stays cooler to the touch in July and doesn’t show the dust and pollen that turn black covers gray by June. Fit is the other strength: it’s cut for grills up to about five burners, and pulled tight with the side straps it stays where you put it in a crosswind. If you want buckles or a brand-name fit, look at the ULTCOVER or a Weber cover; for a deck where the grill is always in view, this is the one that looks like it belongs there.
Pros
- Zippered front pocket keeps tools with the grill
- 600D Oxford with double-stitched seams
- Light tan fabric stays cooler and hides dust
- Drawstring plus side straps hold a snug fit
Cons
- Drawstring and side straps instead of buckles
- Beige and brown only, no black option
Heavy 600D fabric, a zippered pocket that actually holds tongs, and a tan finish that doesn’t scorch in the sun — the one for a grill you look at every day.
Best for Spirit 300/400 Grills
Weber Spirit Premium Grill Cover
Key Features
- Fits: Spirit 300 and 400 series
- Closure: Hook-and-loop straps
- Material: Polyester
- Warranty: 3-year limited
- Price: Premium
This is the most expensive cover in this group, and for one set of buyers it’s the only sensible choice: anyone with a Weber Spirit 300 or 400 series. The cover is cut to that grill — it follows the side shelves, clears the lid, and sits with almost no slack anywhere. That’s the whole argument. A universal cover on a Spirit tends to hang in folds and pool at the wheels, and every one of those folds is fabric that can catch a gust.
The material is water-resistant polyester with UV inhibitors, and Weber builds it to breathe rather than to seal. That sounds like a downgrade next to the coated covers here, but it’s the right call for a gas grill: a cover that traps heat and moisture is how burners start pitting. In a long, driving rain you may find the fabric damp through at the seams — the grill underneath has stayed dry for us.
Whether the premium pays off comes down to how long you keep the grill. The three-year limited warranty is among the longest coverage here, and a cover cut to the grill is the one thing a universal cover cannot imitate. Buy it for a Spirit and it’s money well spent; buy it hoping to stretch it over some other brand and you’ve paid for a fit you won’t get.
Pros
- Cut specifically for Spirit 300 and 400 series
- Breathable water-resistant fabric resists trapping moisture
- Three-year limited warranty
Cons
- Priciest cover in this group
- Hook-and-loop straps need firm cinching in wind
The only cover here cut to a specific grill, and the right buy if you own a Spirit 300 or 400 — nothing universal fits as closely.
Best for 22-Inch Kettles
Weber 22-Inch Charcoal Grill Cover
Key Features
- Fits: 22 in. kettles, no side table
- Weight: 16 oz
- Material: Recycled PET
- Warranty: 3 years
- Price: Midrange
A kettle isn’t a box, and this cover isn’t either. Weber cuts it to the dome of a 22-inch kettle, so it drops over the lid and hangs to the legs without the tent-like slack a rectangular cover leaves behind. If you’ve ever watched a square cover fill with rainwater in the dip above a kettle lid, you already know why the shape matters more than another ounce of coating.
The shell is recycled PET with UV inhibitors, water-resistant rather than waterproof, and it breathes — which is what you want over a charcoal grill that stays warm for hours after the coals die. At 16 ounces it’s light enough to lift off one-handed and small enough to fold onto a shelf when the mood strikes.
It also looks right: black on black, shaped to the dome, none of the billowing slack that makes a cheap cover read as a tarp on the patio. On a deck where the grill is visible from the kitchen window, that counts for more than most spec sheets admit.
What we keep coming back to is how little ceremony there is. No buckles to thread, no vents to line up, no wrestling a stiff hem over the lid — you drop it over the dome, press the strap, and you’re done, whether it’s July or the middle of a sleet storm. For a grill you uncover every weekend, that beats another layer of waterproofing.
Pros
- Shaped to the 22-inch kettle dome
- Breathable, water-resistant recycled PET
- UV inhibitors resist fading
- Three-year warranty
Cons
- Single strap lets it lift in a hard blow
- Will not fit a Smokey Mountain Cooker
Shaped for the 22-inch kettle dome, with a breathable recycled-PET shell and a three-year warranty — the cover that looks like part of the grill.
Best for Large Gas Grills
GuardKove 70-Inch Grill Cover
Key Features
- Fits: 5-6 burner grills up to 70 in.
- Fabric: 1000D Oxford
- Closure: Dual side buckles
- Dimensions: 70"L x 25"W x 44"H
- Price: Midrange
Seventy inches is the number that decides this one. Most covers in this group top out around 65, and a five- or six-burner grill with both side shelves up needs every inch of the 70 by 25 by 44 cut GuardKove sells. The fabric is the heaviest claimed here as well: 1000D Oxford, built in three layers with a PVC membrane in the middle and a UPF 50+ face.
That adds up to a cover that feels like a tarp in the good sense — stiff, dense, and reluctant to flap. The dual side buckles are the practical half of it: two adjustable straps pull the skirt in around the legs on both sides, which is exactly where wind gets its grip. The three-year no-fade claim is the part we can’t confirm from our own use, since UV damage is the thing that shows up late rather than early.
What tips it for us is the pairing of the biggest cut here with the heaviest cloth in it. Too many oversized covers are thin, as if a big grill must be a cheap one; this one isn’t, and the buckles mean you can actually tension it instead of draping it. On a three-burner, all that fabric is a liability rather than an asset.
Pros
- 70-inch span reaches large five- and six-burner grills
- 1000D Oxford with a triple-layer waterproof build
- Dual side buckles cinch the skirt around the legs
- Durability reads strong in the feedback
Cons
- More cover than a three-burner grill needs
For five- and six-burner grills that other covers can’t reach: 70 inches of 1000D fabric with buckles that pull the skirt in tight.
Best for Tight Budgets
i COVER 58-Inch Grill Cover
Key Features
- Fits: 3-5 burner grills up to 58 in.
- Closure: Drawstring
- Material: Oxford polyester, PVC coating
- Dimensions: 58"L x 24"W x 45"H
- Price: Budget
Buy this one knowing what it is: a lightweight Oxford shell with a PVC coating, cut 58 by 24 by 45 inches for three-to-five-burner grills. It slides on without a fight, the drawstring pulls the hem in, and it keeps rain, pollen, and leaves off the grill. Nothing about the material feels substantial, but nothing about it is fussy either.
There’s a real case for a cover at this end of the market — a rental, a grill you’re about to replace, a first season before you know what you want — and this is the one we point to for it. Just don’t expect it to be the last cover you buy. Size it to the grill rather than going up a size for slack, cinch the drawstring hard, and check the corners when you peel it off in spring, because that’s where a light coating goes first.
Pros
- Least expensive cover in this group
- Fits three-to-five-burner grills up to 58 inches
- Drawstring hem keeps the skirt tucked in
Cons
- Thin fabric that flaps in a stiff breeze
- Short service life against heavier covers
The cheapest cover here, and the one we suggest when the grill is a rental, a hand-me-down, or on its way out — buy it for a season, not a decade.
How We Tested Grill Covers
We started with every cover that listed a real measurement rather than a vague range, then weeded out the ones whose stated footprint wouldn’t fit the grills people actually own — three-burner gas models with the side shelves up, small two-burners, and 22-inch kettles. Fourteen covers made the cut, and we ran them from early spring into the first frost, about six months.
Fit came first. I measured each grill at its widest point, shelves and knobs included, then watched how each cover hung: whether it cleared the wheels, whether the sides pulled taut at the corners, whether there was a gap for rain to find. Water resistance got a direct test — a few minutes under a hose, then paper towels laid on the grates and side tables and checked hours later. The morning after mattered just as much, since a cover that beads water perfectly can still leave the lid damp underneath; we opened each one on the first sunny day after a wet stretch and looked for condensation.
Wind separated them fast. We noted which covers lifted like a sail in an afternoon gust and which sat flat, and whether the straps and Velcro still gripped after a month of being pulled on and off. We handled every cover wet and dry, folding corners to feel seams and stitching, and watched for fading and chalky patches as the season wore on. Then we timed the boring part: one person, one hand, a hot grill, a cover that had just been rained on.
Value was the last filter — whether the extra straps, vents, and heavier fabric added up to something worth choosing over the simpler covers in the field.
How to Choose a Grill Cover
The right BBQ cover is the one that fits the grill you actually own and stays on it through a storm — everything else is detail.
Measure the grill, not the old cover
Start with the width across the side shelves, then the depth with the lid closed, then the height from the floor to the top of the lid. A cover sold as 58 inches is 58 inches wide, not a fit for a 58-inch grill, and two inches either way decides whether it hangs like a sack or fights you every time you pull it on. Height matters just as much: a cover that stops above the wheels leaves the frame and the legs exposed.
If your grill falls between the two nearest sizes, take the smaller one and confirm you can return it. Extra fabric flaps, flapping abrades seams, and a skirt that pools on the patio wicks water and grit up into the lining.
Fabric weight is the number that predicts lifespan
The covers here run from around 210D Oxford up to 600D and 1000D, and that number is not marketing: a heavier yarn takes more abrasion before it thins at the corners and lets go at the seams. The trade-off is handling — a 1000D cover is a two-handed job on a cold morning, and a 210D one goes on like a jacket.
For a grill that sits in sun and wind all year, we put fabric weight ahead of feature count. A plain heavy cover outlasts a light one with pockets and vents. Coating matters too: vinyl or PVC backing is what actually sheds the rain.
Waterproof and breathable are not the same thing
A cover that seals completely also traps the moisture that comes off a grill after a cook, and trapped moisture is what pits burners and rusts flavorizer bars. Look for mesh vents, usually on both sides, or a fabric that breathes instead of a plastic sheet that doesn’t. A breathable cover can let a driving rain soak through at the seams; vents on a coated cover get you most of the drying without that trade.
Whichever you buy, brush snow and standing water off the top rather than letting it sit. A cover holding a puddle is a cover working against you.
Fit and fastening decide whether it stays on
Wind destroys covers, and it gets under a loose skirt. Side-release buckles that pull the hem in around the legs hold best on an exposed patio, followed by a drawstring combined with side straps, then hook-and-loop tabs on their own. None of them substitutes for the right size, though — cinching a baggy cover just gathers the slack into a sail.
Custom-fit versus universal, and what the warranty is worth
A cover cut for one model, like the Weber covers here, clears the side shelves and the lid without slack, which is precisely why it survives wind. You pay for that fit, and it’s only worth paying if you own the grill it was cut for. Universal covers span a range of grills and cost less; the good ones do the job if you buy the size that matches.
Warranty is the quiet tiebreaker. Three years of coverage on a cover that costs several times a budget one can still be the cheaper habit if it means buying once instead of three times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I clean a grill cover?
Hose it down or wipe it with a damp cloth, then let it dry in the sun before it goes back on the grill. Skip the washing machine and the dryer — the agitation and heat break down the water-repellent coating, and the care notes on these covers say so directly.
For bird droppings or grease, a little dish soap in warm water is enough. Store it dry and loosely folded rather than balled up in a bucket, or it comes out next spring smelling like a pond.
Can I put the cover on while the grill is still hot?
No. Let it cool completely first. Trapping heat under coated fabric drives condensation onto the lid and burners and can warp the cover itself. Give a gas grill a good half hour after you shut the burners, and charcoal much longer, since the ash pan stays warm for hours. Covering at night after a late cook is the usual way people get this wrong.
Do I need a different cover for a charcoal grill?
Match the shape, not just the width. A kettle is a dome, and a rectangular cover leaves slack that fills with rainwater above the lid; a shaped cover drops over the dome and hangs to the legs. Measure the widest point and check the model fit — a cover built for a 22-inch kettle will not go over a Smokey Mountain Cooker or a kettle with a side table.
Is a cover worth it if the grill sits under a porch?
Yes, though for different reasons. A roof stops rain but not sun, pollen, leaf litter, or birds, and UV is what fades and cracks a lid’s finish over a few seasons. A porch grill mostly needs a breathable cover that keeps debris off and lets moisture escape, so vents matter more than a heavy coating.
Final Verdict
For most gas grills, the Unicook 65-inch is the cover we point people to. It spans the widest range of three-to-six-burner grills of anything here, and the handles, vents, and snug closure are what turn covering the grill back into a two-second habit instead of a chore you skip.
Two situations change the answer. If your grill is small and takes real weather, the ULTCOVER’s 600D cloth and side-release buckles are worth the step up. And if you own a Weber Spirit, buy the Weber cover — the fit is the entire point, and no universal cover imitates it.