The Kamado Joe Big Joe III and Classic III are the same ceramic grill in two sizes: the Big Joe III runs a 24-inch cooking surface, while the Classic III uses an 18-inch diameter that expands past 500 square inches with the Divide & Conquer system.
Both share the identical platform, temperature range of 225°F to over 750°F, and up-to-12-hour heat retention on one load of charcoal, so the real decision comes down to capacity, weight, and space, not features. The common mistake is buying the Big Joe III "just in case" and then paying more, burning more charcoal to heat the larger chamber, and giving up patio real estate for capacity you rarely use.
Our pick: Kamado Joe Classic III 18" Ceramic BBQ Grill with Cart at 282 pounds on a rolling cart, it handles a couple of pork butts, several racks of ribs, or a family cookout with room to spare, and it's the right grill for most backyard cooks.
Runner-up: Kamado Joe Big Joe III Ceramic BBQ Grill with Cart choose this if you routinely feed a big table with multiple briskets or a holiday bird plus sides, and you have a permanent spot for a nearly 500-pound grill.
If a built-in island is in your plans, pick the no-cart version of either grill and let our in-house design team help you plan it.
If you've been eyeing a Kamado Joe ceramic grill and keep hitting the same fork in the road the 24-inch Big Joe III or the 18-inch Classic III this guide is for you. By the end, you'll know exactly which one fits your cooking style, your crowd size, and your space, because the honest truth is that the "bigger is better" instinct leads plenty of good cooks to the wrong grill.
What to look for at each price tier
Ceramic kamado grills all share the same core magic: a thick, insulated shell that holds heat like a brick oven and burns lump charcoal clean and efficient. But once you get past that shared DNA, a few real differences separate one model and price tier from the next. Here's what actually matters.
Cooking diameter and total surface area. This is the headline number, and it's the biggest reason to spend more or less. The Kamado Joe Classic III 18" model offers an 18-inch cooking diameter, expandable to over 500 square inches of total cooking area with the multi-level Divide & Conquer system. The Big Joe III steps up to a spacious 24" cooking surface with ample grill area to support grilling, smoking, roasting, and baking across large meals and gatherings. That six-inch jump in diameter is a much bigger deal than it sounds — round cooking surfaces gain area fast as they widen, so the Big Joe III swallows more racks of ribs, more butts, and a bigger turkey without you playing Tetris with your food.
The cooking system and how you configure it. Both grills use the same clever platform. The Classic III ships with a Divide & Conquer cooking system with multi-position stainless steel rack, two half-moon 304 stainless steel cooking grates, and two ceramic half-moon heat deflectors. The Big Joe III includes that same three-tier, multi-zone approach, just scaled up to the 24-inch footprint. The lesson here: you're not buying "more features" when you size up, you're buying more room to run those features.
Weight, footprint, and where it will live. This is the criterion buyers skip and later regret. The Classic III weighs 282 lbs. The Big Joe III is a genuinely heavy piece of equipment at 487 lbs, measuring 58.4" x 53.7" x 35.8". If you plan to move your grill even occasionally, or you're working with a tight patio, that difference changes everything about the decision.
Cart or no cart — and whether you're building it in. Both models come two ways. There's a cart version for freestanding backyard cooks, and a no-cart version built for a custom outdoor kitchen. The Big Joe III without cart is designed for integration into built-in outdoor kitchen setups while retaining all the advanced functionality, and its 24" surface supports grilling, smoking, roasting, and baking across large meals. If a permanent island is in your future, the no-cart route is the smart buy.
Our picks
Here's how the Kamado Joe lineup we carry sorts out by who you are and how you cook.
For the everyday backyard cook and smaller families — the Kamado Joe Classic III 18" Ceramic BBQ Grill with Cart. This is plenty of grill for most people and it's the one most people should buy. The 18-inch surface handles a couple of pork butts, a brisket flat, several racks of ribs, or a weeknight cookout for the family with room to spare. It grills, smokes, bakes, and roasts across a range of 225°F to over 750°F, holds low-and-slow temperatures for up to 12 hours on a single load of charcoal, and is ready to cook in about 15 minutes. At 282 pounds it's substantial but manageable on its rolling cart, and it truly earns the "a grill, smoker, and oven in one" description because ceramic insulation lets it swing from a low-and-slow brisket to a screaming-hot sear.
For the built-in outdoor kitchen and space-conscious cook — the Kamado Joe Classic III 18" Ceramic BBQ Grill with No Cart. Same 18-inch performance, no cart, engineered to drop into an island. It comes with ceramic feet to securely rest the cooker on a variety of surfaces and arrives partially assembled, which makes it a natural centerpiece if you're designing a compact outdoor kitchen and want ceramic charcoal flavor built right in.
For the crowd-feeder, the entertainer, and the pitmaster who wants maximum capacity — the Kamado Joe Big Joe III Ceramic BBQ Grill with Cart. If you're cooking for a big table at least a few times per year — think multiple briskets, a full spread of ribs, or a holiday bird alongside the sides — the 24-inch surface is what you want. Its thick ceramic shell provides outstanding heat retention and even distribution for precise temperature control from 225ºF to over 750ºF, and it's ready to cook in 15 minutes using natural lump charcoal, adaptable for low-and-slow smoking with real wood or high-heat searing with minimal setup changes. Just remember that at 487 pounds, this is a grill you don't often move.
For the big-capacity built-in — the Kamado Joe Big Joe III 24" Ceramic BBQ Grill with No Cart. This is the choice when you want serious ceramic capacity anchored into a custom island. You still get the full package — the grill, SlōRoller, rack system, heat deflectors, stainless charcoal basket, grill gripper, and ash tool, with no add-ons needed, plus fuel versatility running on 100% natural lump charcoal or wood.
A few worthy add-ons round out any of these picks. If wood-fired pizza is a goal, the Kamado Joe DoJoe Cast Aluminum Pizza Oven Add-On turns your kamado into a functional pizza oven — it includes a cast aluminum ring and a ceramic pizza stone and maintains temperatures between 400 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods, and it's offered in both Classic Joe and Big Joe versions to match your grill. For steakhouse sear marks, the GrillGrate Panel for Kamado Joe is a proven crowd favorite; crafted from anodized aluminum, with temperatures exceeding 650 degrees Fahrenheit it creates the environment for those sought-after grill marks.
What most guides get wrong
The most common mistake I see is treating this as a pure size-and-price ladder — "get the biggest one you can afford." That's backwards for ceramic grills. The Big Joe III's extra capacity is genuinely useful if you're feeding a crowd, but it comes with real trade-offs the spec sheet buries: at 487 pounds it's roughly 200 pounds heavier than the Classic III, it burns more charcoal to bring that larger chamber up to temperature, and its footprint eats up patio real estate you might want for a searing station or a gas grill.
For a huge share of backyard cooks, the 18-inch Classic III is not the "compromise" grill — it's the right grill. It runs the identical temperature range, the same Divide & Conquer flexibility, and the same up-to-12-hour heat retention on one load of charcoal. Buying the Big Joe III "just in case" often means you paid more, fed more fuel, and gave up more space for capacity you rarely use. Match the grill to how you actually cook, not to the biggest number on the page.
The recommendation
If you cook for a family, host the occasional weekend crowd, and want one ceramic grill that grills, smokes, bakes, and roasts without dominating your patio, buy the Kamado Joe Classic III 18" Ceramic BBQ Grill with Cart — and choose the no-cart version if it's going into an island. If you regularly feed a big table, run multiple briskets and racks at once, and have a dedicated spot where a nearly 500-pound grill can live permanently, the Kamado Joe Big Joe III Ceramic BBQ Grill with Cart is your grill, with the no-cart Big Joe III for built-in installs.
Not sure how a kamado should fit alongside the rest of your setup? That's exactly the kind of question our in-house design team lives for. At All Things Barbecue we offer free, professional outdoor kitchen design consultations with real, experienced designers — actual people who cook at home themselves, not an impersonal DIY tool — and we handle the full range, from a simple single-grill island to a sprawling custom build with searing stations and a pizza oven. Our custom-fabricated frames are cut to fit your exact appliances, which means faster installation, minimal shimming, and a tighter, more durable result than a contractor building a frame from scratch on site. When you're ready, start with our outdoor kitchen design form and we'll help you build something you'll gather around for years. And with thousands of five-star reviews across our site from cooks of every experience level, you can buy with confidence knowing we're here before, during, and after the sale.
