Weber Genesis E-325 vs Broil King Baron 520 Pro: Which Grill?

Choose the Weber Genesis E-325 if

• You cook for about four people and grill steaks, burgers, chops and chicken pieces.
• You want a large, hot sear zone rather than many small zones.
• You want to add a griddle, wok or pizza stone through Weber Crafted later.
• You want Weber's parts network and the lower price of the Weber Genesis E-325 Gas Grill (Propane).

Choose the Broil King Baron 520 Pro if

• You regularly cook for six to eight people.
• You roast with indirect heat: whole chickens, pork loins, prime rib or beer-can chicken.
• You want published BTU and cooking area, 45,000 BTU across 570 sq in.
• You like a warming rack with real space, 780 sq in total on the Broil King Baron 520 Pro Gas Grill (Propane).

Indirect cooking means placing food over burners that are off, so hot air cooks it with the lid closed instead of direct flame. On a three-burner grill you light the two outside burners and use the middle strip, which fits a chicken or a few racks of thighs. On a five-burner grill you can light burners 1 and 2, leave 3, 4 and 5 off, and roast across more than half the grate, or light the ends and use three dark zones in the middle. More dark area means bigger roasts and more room to move food from sear to finish.

The trade is fuel and preheat time: more cookbox to heat and more burners to run for a full hot grate. If you rarely cook indirect, the Genesis's single large sear zone is the more useful layout.

At a planning rate of about 80 sq in of primary grate per person for a full meal, the Baron 520's 570 sq in handles about seven people at once. Weber does not publish the Genesis E-325's area, but it positions the grill for grilling an entire meal for a family, and three-burner grills in this class typically suit four to six. For six or more on a Weber, the four-burner Weber Genesis E-435 Gas Grill with Side Burner (Propane) with its expandable second grate is the fairer comparison to the Baron. See grill size for a family of 6 and grill size for a party of 10.

Propane holds 21,548 BTU per pound. The Baron 520 Pro lists 45,000 BTU, so all five burners on high burn about 2.1 lb per hour, roughly $1.75 at $3.50 per gallon, and a 20 lb tank lasts about 9.6 hours. An indirect roast with two burners on medium might burn under a pound an hour. Weber does not publish main burner BTU for the Genesis E-325, so the reliable method is a Flame King Digital Propane Tank Scale: weigh the tank before and after a normal cook. A spare Flame King YSN230 20 lb Propane Tank with Gauge keeps a long roast from stalling. Run the numbers for any grill with the propane tank runtime calculator.

Genesis owners commonly praise even heat front to back, strong searing and sturdy construction, and the most common reservations are the cost of Crafted accessories and a price that climbs quickly through the lineup. Baron owners commonly praise the heat control across five zones and the amount of space for the money; complaints tend to center on assembly time and on finding parts locally compared with Weber. Neither pattern is a defect story; both are the natural trade-offs of the designs. Our Genesis E-325 review and Baron 520 Pro review cover each in more depth.