Kamado Joe Sizes, To Scale
Kamado Joe's ladder is simpler than Big Green Egg's: the portable 13.5-inch Joe Jr., the 18-inch Classic that most people buy, and the 24-inch Big Joe. Unlike BGE, the Classic and Big Joe ship complete — cart, locking wheels, folding side shelves, heat deflectors, and the multi-level Divide & Conquer rack system are all in the box — so sticker prices are higher but closer to the true out-the-door cost.
Drawn to scale from manufacturer dimensions. Ruler marks 12", 24", and 36".
| Size | Approx. price | Cooking area | $ / sq in | Size (W×H) | Weight | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Jr. Ships with cast iron stand, heat deflector plates, and ash tool (deflectors are a paid extra on comparable BGE sizes). $499.99 MSRP; frequently on sale around $430. Dimensions are on the included cast iron stand. | ~$500 | 149 sq in | $3.36 | 19.75" × 27" | 68 lbs | a spatchcocked chicken, 4 burgers, or a small brisket — flat |
| Classic III Sold complete: steel cart, locking wheels, folding side shelves, 3-Tier Divide & Conquer racks, SloRoller insert, heat deflectors. Secondary figure is the added grate area from the tiered rack system (roughly doubles usable space). Dimensions with cart and shelves deployed (dealer spec; kamadojoe.com lists 43.1 W with shelves folded). Cheaper Classic II remains on sale and is the community value pick. Konnected Joe ($2,000) is the push-button-ignition variant of this size. | ~$2,200 | 250 sq in +254 | $4.37 | 46.5" × 50.5" | 281 lbs | a packer brisket with a tuck, 2 rib racks flat, or a dozen burgers — more with the tiered racks |
| Big Joe III Sold complete with cart, shelves, 3-tier racks, and SloRoller like the Classic III. Manufacturer lists width 51.6 in and height 55.1 in with cart; depth not published (round body on a cart — footprint depth is roughly 34 in per dealer sheets, not manufacturer-confirmed). Over 400 lbs assembled — plan its permanent home before delivery. | ~$3,300 | 450 sq in +424 | $3.78 | 51.6" × 55.1" | 406 lbs | two packer briskets side by side, 6 rib racks with tiers, or 20+ burgers |
Which size, honestly
The Classic is the default Kamado Joe the same way the Large is the default Egg, and r/KamadoJoe treats 'is the Classic big enough?' as mostly settled: for a household of four to six, yes. The 18-inch grate matches the BGE Large's class, and the 3-Tier Divide & Conquer system that ships with the Series III lets you cook on multiple levels at once, which stretches 250 nominal square inches much further than the number suggests. A packer brisket fits with a tuck; two racks of ribs fit flat, more coiled. The real community debate is generational, not dimensional — the Classic III adds the SloRoller smoke-circulating insert and the third rack tier for a hefty premium over the still-sold Classic II, and plenty of owners argue the II at street prices is the value pick of the whole kamado market. If push-button charcoal ignition appeals, the Konnected Joe is the same 18-inch Classic size with an electric fire starter and digital fan control for $2,000.
The Big Joe (Series III, $3,300) is the crowd cooker: a 24-inch grate, 450 square inches on the main level, and room for two packer briskets side by side without touching. Price-per-square-inch it's actually the better deal ($7.33/sq in vs $8.80 for the Classic III, both including the cart and accessories), and the buy-once-cry-once crowd on r/KamadoJoe reliably chimes in that nobody ever complains about extra grate space. The counterargument is just as reliable: at over 400 pounds assembled it's furniture, it eats noticeably more lump charcoal to fill its firebox, and heating that much ceramic for a weeknight chicken feels absurd. Owners who cook for 10+ regularly, or who smoke in bulk and freeze, love it; owners who bought it 'just in case' often admit the Classic would have been fine. Be honest about your actual guest list, not your aspirational one.
The Joe Jr. is the cult favorite — $500 with the cast iron stand, heat deflector plates included (a genuine jab at BGE, whose Mini needs a separately-purchased convEGGtor), and 148.5 square inches that will fit a small brisket flat or a spatchcocked chicken with room to spare. At 68 pounds it's heavy for one person but genuinely car-trunk portable, and r/KamadoJoe is full of people who bought it as a camping rig and ended up using it more than their Classic because it heats fast and sips charcoal. As an only grill it works for one or two people; as a second grill it's arguably the best $500 in ceramic cooking. The consensus path: Classic first, Joe Jr. second when the travel itch hits, Big Joe only when your headcount demands it.
Full reviews of these sizes
Size questions, answered
Is the Kamado Joe Classic big enough?
For up to about six people, yes. The 18-inch grate handles a packer brisket (with a tuck), two rib racks, or a dozen burgers, and the included multi-level Divide & Conquer racks effectively add a second cooking layer. The r/KamadoJoe consensus is that the Classic covers 90% of households — move to the Big Joe only if you routinely cook for 10 or more or smoke multiple large cuts at once.
Kamado Joe Classic vs Big Joe — is the Big Joe worth it?
The Big Joe III costs about $1,100 more and gives you 80% more main-grate area (450 vs 250 sq in) — per square inch it's the better value. It fits two briskets side by side and is the right call for big families and frequent entertainers. The costs: 400+ lbs assembled, a bigger charcoal appetite on every cook, and a footprint over 4 feet wide. Occasional big cooks are better solved with the Classic's expansion racks than by upsizing.
Joe Jr. vs Classic — can the Jr. be an only grill?
For one or two people, genuinely yes. Its 13.5-inch grate (148.5 sq in) takes a spatchcocked chicken, four burgers, or even a small brisket, and it ships with heat deflectors for true indirect cooking. But it can't do a full rib rack flat or feed a dinner party, which is why most of r/KamadoJoe treats it as the ultimate second/travel grill rather than a primary.
What's the difference between the Classic III and the Konnected Joe?
Same 18-inch Classic size and cart format. The Konnected Joe ($2,000) swaps the SloRoller for an electric Automatic Fire Starter and a digital Kontrol Board with app-connected fan control, so it lights with a button and can hold temperature semi-automatically. The Classic III ($2,200) is fully manual but includes the SloRoller insert and the 3-tier rack system. Traditionalists take the III; convenience-first buyers take the Konnected.
Kamado Joe vs Big Green Egg sizes — how do they line up?
Joe Jr. ≈ BGE MiniMax/Small class (13.5 vs 13 in grates), Classic ≈ BGE Large (18 vs 18.25 in), Big Joe ≈ BGE XL (both 24 in). The pricing looks worse for Kamado Joe until you notice the box contents: a $2,200 Classic III includes the cart, shelves, deflectors, and multi-tier racks that would add $400-600 to a $1,200 BGE Large.