As soon as the weather gets warm enough that I can comfortably be outside, I am cooking outside. Why in the world would I coop myself up in a kitchen when I can enjoy the sunshine from my grill? Come summer, I’m lighting that bad boy up any chance I get, throwing on some dogs, and cracking open a cold beer.
The trade-off of being such a passionate griller means that cleaning my grill grates is nonnegotiable. Burger juices, fatty chicken thighs, greasy meats—it adds up quick, and if left to gunk up, it’ll ruin the flavor of your next grill sesh. That’s why a quality grill brush is so important. How else are you going to get those grates squeaky clean?
Our top picks
- Best grill brush overall: GrillFighter Chainmail Grill Brush
- Best for steam cleaning: Scrub Daddy BBQ Daddy
- A great tool for a deep clean: Grill Floss Cleaning Tool
- Best nylon brush for pellet grills: Oklahoma Joe's Blacksmith Combo Grill Brush
The challenge is choosing one that works. To find out, we grilled over 20 pounds of saucy chicken thighs, burger patties, baked potatoes, and a whole flank steak to see which grill brushes could handle the muck. I even enlisted my dad (who is arguably even more of a passionate griller) to test which tools were the most effective and easy to use. A dozen brushes and a zillion seared meats later, and we found the only ones worth keeping by your grill this summer.
- Best grill brush overall: GrillFighter Grill Brush
- For steam cleaning: Scrub Daddy BBQ Daddy
- For a deep clean: Grill Floss Grill Scraper
- Best nylon brush: Oklahoma Joe’s Blacksmith Combo Grill Brush
- How we tested grill brushes
- What makes a good grill brush
- Other grill brushes we like
- Grill brushes we don’t recommend
New in this update: We tested six new grill brushes, three of which earned our recommendations.
Best grill brush overall: GrillFighter Grill Brush
Pros and cons
Pros
- Long, sturdy handle
- Chainmail-covered silicone head can be used with or without steam
- Built-in scraper
- Built-in pincer claw for hard-to-reach places
- Dishwasher safe
Cons
- Works better with steam
- Doesn’t use replacement heads, which could result in needing an entirely new brush over time
Specs
Material: Stainless steel, food-grade silicone
Length: 17.7”
Best for: Folks who want the option of chainmail or steam (or both)
What we love: The Grill Fighter’s whole medieval schtick is kinda fun and leads me to believe that if King Arthur had a barbecue back in the Dark Ages, he definitely would have reached for this tool. Instead of bristles or a standard scrubber, it uses a chainmail-wrapped silicone head that can tackle grime dry or with a little water for steam-assisted cleaning. That flexibility is a big win: you can go in for a quick scrape or a deeper, more aggressive clean depending on what your grill is looking like. The chainmail loosens up stuck-on bits without feeling flimsy, and it holds up well over time.
Design-wise, the Grill Fighter is a seriously well-built accessory. The long handle gives you plenty of reach, and the whole thing has a sturdy, premium weight that makes it feel durable. There’s a serrated scraper for extra stubborn spots, plus a pincer-style claw hook that can be used to lift grill grates or scrape around them for a 360-degree clean. The whole tool is dishwasher-safe (always a plus), and you can buy it as part of a combo set with extras like a dip “cauldron” and armor-printed apron if you want to fully commit to the bit. It’s genuinely effective and enjoyable to use, which you want for something as tedious as cleaning your grill.
What we’d leave: It was the heaviest grill brush we tested by far, which might be a negative for folks who have mobility issues. I found it worked better when dipped in water for steam assistance. But if you’re quickly sloughing away gunk and don’t feel like lugging out a bucket of water, the chainmail alone will do the job (just don’t expect it to get as deep a clean as if it had water). Lastly, there is no replaceable head. While it will certainly last a very long time, it won’t last forever and will require a full replacement rather than just one part.
Best for steam cleaning: Scrub Daddy BBQ Daddy
Pros and cons
Pros
- Flexible, replaceable steel wool head
- Dishwasher-safe head
- Ergonomic curved handle with adjustable leverage knob
- Built-in scraper
- Built-in grate lift
Cons
- Bulky
Specs
Material: Plastic, steel wool
Length: 18.12”
Best for: Grills that have been neglected for so long, you’re not even sure what’s under all that carbon
What we love: The scrubbing prowess! The double-gripped handle! The features! I could wax poetic about Scrub Daddy’s BBQ Daddy for how easy (and fun) it makes cleaning the grill. In fact, it was the only grill brush that I unboxed and let out an audible “Oooooh” for, based on looks alone.
This thing is an absolute unit in the best way. The steel wool head gets activated with cool water to create steam as you scrub, which helps loosen up stubborn, baked-on gunk without feeling like you’re chiseling away at your grates. The steel-wool is flexible and contours nicely to the grates, so you’re not just hitting the surface—you’re actually getting in between bars for a deeper clean. But what really stands out is how thoughtfully designed the whole thing is. The long, curved handle gives you serious leverage with two hands while protecting you from slipping or bumping your wrists on hot grates. Then there are all the extras: a built-in scraper for tougher spots, a grate lifter for maneuvering hot grates, and even a bottle opener tucked into the base.
Best of all, the head is removable and replaceable after a season of grilling, per the brand. It’s attached securely via a pin that you slide in and out of the head. I found it to be extremely stable, no wobbling or shifting around mid scrape. When you’re done cleaning and it’s cooled, the head can be popped off and tossed in the dishwasher or hand-washed. Replacement heads are sold separately for $13.
By far, this is the best steam-powered grill brush your money can buy. But be warned—my father commandeered my BBQ Daddy for himself after testing it. It’s so good, people will want to steal it from you.
What we’d leave: It’s definitely clunkier than most other grill brushes on the market. The head alone is a beast, but add in the long, curved handle, and it definitely takes up space. Not a dealbreaker, just something to consider when you’re outfitting your barbecue.
A great tool for a deep clean: Grill Floss Grill Scraper
Pros and cons
Pros
- Extra-long, grippy handle
- Extremely lightweight
- Movable pincer-style hook for a 360-degree clean
- 2 double-sided removable heads to adapt to grate sizes
Cons
- Tedious for everyday use
Specs
Material: Stainless steel, rubber
Length: 20”
Best for: Scrubbing the hard-to-reach, in-between places on your grill
What we love: If I’m being honest, I muttered “What the heck is this thing going to do?” to myself when I opened up my Grill Floss. I didn’t have high hopes for it—the head just looked too small. But its tiny size is what gives this device its serious cleaning power, and it ended up being one of my favorite brushes of the bunch.
The pincer-style claw can slip into those narrow, hard-to-reach spaces between grill grates with a level of precision that bulkier tools can’t match. Instead of scrubbing the surface, it hugs the side of grates to “floss” them clean, getting right into the in-between areas where grease and char like to hide. Combined with the extra-long, grippy handle, it gives you enough control to really target problem spots without feeling awkward or flimsy.
While I didn’t have to use them, it also comes with a set of removable heads to adapt to different grate sizes. It’s extremely lightweight, which makes it easy to maneuver, and once you get the rhythm down, it’s oddly satisfying to use.
What we’d leave: It’s a bit tedious for everyday use and, IMO, is best used for deep cleans. My advice? Get one of the brushes above as your daily driver, and get the Grill Floss as an extra to have handy when you grill something extra messy and need backup.
Best nylon brush for pellet grills: Oklahoma Joe’s Blacksmith Combo Grill Brush
Pros and cons
Pros
- Nylon bristles won’t scratch or damage grill grates or break off into food
- Steel wool side complements the nylon brush
- Removable heads
- Hanging loop for storage
Cons
- Steel wool breaks down more quickly than the nylon part of the brush head
- Thin, metal handle is uncomfortable with two-handed scrubbing
Specs
Material: Nylon, Stainless steel
Length: 17.52"
Best for: Hot or cold grills
The Oklahoma Joe's Blacksmith Combo Grill Brush solves the cool-grate-only problem of nylon bristles by adding a second steel wool head for hot grates.
What we liked: This was the only grill brush we tested with a dual-head design, featuring a nylon bristle side for scrubbing and a steel wool side that can be used on hot grates. Grill brushes can only do so much on their own, but the addition of steel wool takes cleaning to another level. This side of the brush left our grates smooth and shiny, even on the upper racks where smoke residue tends to build up. It made those grates look practically new. The nylon bristles were tough on burned-on food, and we appreciated the thoughtful design of the metal scraper, which has divots on both edges to better fit between grates.
What we’d leave: After some aggressive scrubbing, parts of the steel wool began to loosen. It didn’t fall off completely, but sections became dislodged with repeated use. The upside is that Oklahoma Joe sells replacement heads for both the nylon bristle and steel wool sides, so you can swap them out as needed. The bigger issue was the handle. While the metal bar is sturdy and the thick end feels solid in your grip, it’s hard to get extra leverage unless you place your other hand closer to the head. That’s where things get uncomfortable—the metal is thin and has sharp edges that dig into your hand. The straight-on head design also doesn’t offer angled leverage, making it slightly harder to apply pressure where you need it. Lastly, the biggest issue with all nylon bristle brushes is that the nylon side can only be used on cool grates, otherwise it will melt.
How we tested grill brushes
To put each brush to the test, we grilled over 20 pounds of skin-on, BBQ sauce-lathered chicken thighs, burger patties, baked potatoes, and a whole flank steak, letting the sugary barbecue sauce and rendered chicken fat get good and crusty on the grates before cleaning.
After a full season of grilling, we've updated our top picks, as some brushes that performed well initially became harder to use over time. We'll keep testing our top picks alongside a few additional contenders and update this article with our long-term findings as we go.
What makes a good grill brush
- It gets the gunk off. This is really jobs one, two, and three of a grill brush. You want one that can scrub your grill grates, from gas grill to charcoal grill, clean so they can be debris-free for your next grilling session. We looked for brushes that could remove food both on top of and underneath the grates, and we especially liked models with an added scraper for tougher spots.
- It’s comfortable to hold and use. To reach those hard-to-get patches of food, sometimes you really have to dig in. And that takes some leverage. The best grill brushes had ergonomic handles that let us apply pressure comfortably. Longer handles helped, and some brushes included a second knob closer to the head so we could use both hands to scrub more effectively.
- It doesn’t have wire bristles. Wire bristles may be effective, but they aren’t worth the risk. A 2022 review of 57 studies confirmed what many grillers already suspected: metal bristles can break off during cleaning, end up in food, and cause serious throat injuries. For that reason, we didn’t test any brushes with wire bristles, and we don’t recommend using them. The good news is that there are plenty of safer alternatives. Nylon bristles, chainmail scrubbers, steam-cleaning cloths, and wooden paddles all get the job done without the hazard. These are the types of brushes we focused on for this review.
Other grill brushes we like
Meker Bristle-Free Grill Brush
If the BBQ Daddy is a tank, this is a sports car: light, sleek, and a lot more agile around the grill. It features a similar steel wool head that steams up nicely to get off gunk and grease, only this one is attached via a strong Velcro that’s way easier to get on and off than the BBQ Daddy’s head. But it’s still just as powerful; it hugs like grates nicely and glides over them evenly, no seriously pressing or scrubbing required.
Design-wise, it nails that balance between functional and low-fuss. The minimalist curved handle is lightweight and comfortable to maneuver, making it a great option if you want something effective but less bulky than other brushes. It still comes with a built-in scraper for tougher bits, plus thoughtful extras like a hanging loop for storage. And unlike most options, it includes five replacement heads right out of the box, along with a collapsible water bucket, which makes the whole steam-cleaning setup feel a lot more turnkey.
Overall, the Meker brush is very impressive. And for the same price as the BBQ Daddy, you get extra heads and a dip bucket.
It doesn’t quite have the same heavy-duty “oomph” as the BBQ Daddy, especially when tackling seriously neglected grills. If you’re dealing with lots of buildup, you might find yourself wishing for a bit more scrubbing power. But as a daily driver, it works just as well.
Cuisinart Grill Renew Steam Cleaner Brush
The Cuisinart Grill Renew Cleaner Brush is one of the more comfortable steam-style options we tested, thanks to a thoughtfully shaped handle with a gentle curve and an extra leverage knob near the head. That added grip point actually makes a difference when you’re applying pressure, especially during longer scrubbing sessions. The detachable head is also a plus—it pops off easily and is dishwasher-safe, which helps keep things hygienic and extends the tool’s lifespan. In practice, it does a nice job lifting off surface-level messes and wiping away greasy residue and blackened drippings, especially right after cooking when buildup hasn’t fully set in.
That said, it worked best as a finishing tool rather than a deep-clean solution. The cloth pad itself is fairly stiff, which helps with scrubbing pressure but limits how much water it can hold, meaning we often needed a few extra passes to get the job done.
GRILLART Steam Wizard Grill Brush
The Grillart Steam Wizard stood out for its overall cleaning power and sturdy, straightforward design that feels built to handle serious grill grime. I liked the steel wool heads and built-in scraper on the back for cracking hardened carbon and other crud. When it worked, it really worked, lifting stuck-on residue quickly and efficiently with steam. That said, the Velcro attachment system felt noticeably flimsy, and I had issues keeping the head securely in place during use.
Grillart Steam Wizard with Upgraded Head
The upgraded version of the Grillart Steam Wizard steps things up in terms of performance, delivering even more aggressive cleaning power that made quick work of built-up gunk. It swaps the steel wool sponge for a foam head that makes cleaning a breeze, and that is dishwasher safe. However, the removable head mechanism takes some getting used to and isn’t the easiest to get back onto the tool (you have to really line it up and push). It’s expensive too, ringing in at almost $60.
GRILLART Bristle-Free Grill Brush and Scraper
We were looking forward to trying a bristle-free wire grill brush, but ultimately found that this cleaned just okay. It’s comfortable to hold, and has a plastic handle that screws together in two pieces, which could make storage and cleaning easier; however, it requires many more passes than a nylon or wire brush to clean, as well as scrubbing it vertically or using the scraper to reach under the grates. Because the coiled helix was fairly tight, it might be harder to get between cast-iron grates that are closer together. We liked the hook-shaped scraper, which dug under grates to knock off hard-to-reach drippings.
Grill brushes we don’t recommend
This brush is nearly identical to the GRILLART Bristle-Free Grill Brush and Scraper, but it has a wooden handle, so it isn't dishwasher safe. It cleaned the grates okay, but again, it took more passes to get the grates fully clean.
OXO products are always well-made and thoughtfully designed—the chainmail brush head can be removed from the handle for easy cleaning—but this one just didn’t leave the grates as debris-free as the other brushes we tested. It was able to knock off big chunks, but not much more. The scraper on top didn’t have deep enough divots to reach drippings under the grates. OXO touts the brush’s “flexible silicone” core that rests under the chainmail, but we found that the head’s curve meant only the highest point made contact with the grill. The top and tail didn’t hit at all, which felt like wasted surface area.
While the Grill Rescue functioned similarly to the Cuisinart model, two design choices landed it on our “do-not-recommend” list. There’s no hole in the handle for hanging, so we had to rest it (soaking wet) on the side of the grill when we were done, which made for extra cleanup. It also didn’t have a secondary knob to provide leverage while scrubbing, a feature we really liked on the Cuisinart.
This brush has the same helix structure as the other two we tested, but it lacked a top scraper, so we couldn’t reach the drippings stuck beneath the grates.
If you’ve ever used a wooden scraper, you know they’re good at exactly one thing—and barely that: knocking off big pieces of burnt-on food. This one couldn’t reach any drippings hanging from the bottom of the grates.
The only redeeming quality of this scraper is its built-in bottle opener, but even that was hard to use thanks to its placement in the middle of an oversized, awkward piece of wood. The wood felt cheap and barely knocked off large pieces of food.
