Alfresco vs Artisan Grills: Same Factory, What’s Different?
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Time to read 12 min
Alfresco and Artisan grills come out of the same factory in Industry, California, from the same 304, 18-8 stainless steel and the same engineers. Artisan is Alfresco's sister brand: a de-featured version of its big brother that keeps the construction and the ceramic briquette heat system, drops the smoker, the included Sear Zone and the lifetime warranty, and costs about half as much. We sell both and build outdoor kitchens around both, so this comparison is based on the spec sheets, factory training and what our customers choose once they have seen the two side by side.
The short version: Alfresco is the grill you buy when the budget allows and you want every cooking method built in. Artisan is the grill you buy when you want the same steel and the same even heat for $2,000 to $4,000. The rest of this page is the detail behind that.
On this pageQuick answer · Who makes Artisan · Side by side · Build · Burners & heat · Features · Lineups & prices · Beyond the grill · vs other luxury brands · Which to choose · FAQ
Quick answer
Same Factory, Two Price Tiers
Alfresco is the best tier, Artisan Professional is better, Artisan American Eagle is good. That is how the factory ranks its own grills, and after years of selling them, we agree.
Alfresco
Luxury tier · built-in from $5,169
Artisan
Affordable luxury · built-in from $2,105
Who Makes Artisan Grills?
Alfresco does. Artisan started in 2011 with a single grill, built for the customer who told dealers "I love Alfresco, but it is not in my budget." Both brands share a parent company, SES Commercial Products, a Southern California manufacturer that also builds commercial kitchen equipment, and both come off the same line in the City of Industry.
That shared parent explains why the two grills feel so alike. The hoods are double-walled with a hidden spring assist, the grates are round electro-polished stainless rod, the briquettes are the same five-sided ceramic tiles, and the control panels on the Artisan Professional use the same SafeTouch air-cooling design as the Alfresco. Where they differ is what the factory left out of Artisan to reach its price, and that is what the next sections cover.
Inside the factory where both brands are built.
Alfresco vs Artisan: Side by Side
Specs are for the built-in ALXE and the Artisan Professional, which is the closest match. The Artisan Series and American Eagle remove features from the Professional; the tiers are covered below.
Prices are October 2026 and the product pages are always current.
Alfresco and Artisan, side by side.
Build Quality and Materials
This is where the two brands are closest. Both use 304-grade, 18-8 stainless steel, mostly 16 gauge, where many grills in Artisan's price range use thinner 201 or 430 stainless that pits near salt air or pool chemicals. Both are built with the same mix of precision automation and hand craftsmanship, both hoods are double-walled, both have polished edges, and both use a hidden spring to make a heavy stainless lid lift with one finger.
Alfresco adds the finish work: nickel-plated knobs and bezels, cushion hood bumpers, a rotating handle and the choice of 12 standard colors or 206 custom RAL colors on the grill, companions and accessories, at a $220 to $3,024 upcharge. Artisan comes in brushed stainless, with the Marine Armour ceramic coating available on either brand for coastal installs. If you want the island color-matched, that alone decides it for Alfresco.
Both brands require an insulated jacket in a combustible island and a wind guard where wind can blow into the back of the grill. The factory is clear that heat damage from a missing wind guard is not covered under either warranty, so plan for one on open patios and rooftops.
Burners, Briquettes and Cooking Performance
The burners are the biggest performance difference. Alfresco's AcuFire burners are made from SR18 stainless and titanium, rated 27,500 BTU each, and the factory rates them at over 900°F at the grate. Artisan's 304 stainless U-burners are rated 20,000 BTU each with dual rows of double-lanced ports on three sides. On a three-burner grill that is 82,500 BTU against 60,000, which shows up as a faster preheat and more headroom when the hood is open on a windy day.
Above the burners, the two grills are identical. Both use five-sided ceramic briquettes locked into a stainless tray. The briquettes soak up heat, radiate it evenly across the whole grate, and vaporize drippings into flavor instead of flare-ups. The Artisan trainers describe it as "cooking with heat, not flames," and that applies to both. Figure about 15 minutes to preheat either grill, and flip the briquettes and run the grill on high for 30 minutes to clean them.
For searing, Alfresco includes the Sear Zone at no extra charge on every ALXE size: a 1,500°F ceramic infrared burner in the left position with its own V-shaped grate, ready in four minutes. Artisan offers the same idea as an add-on, the ART-ISB infrared sear burner at $429, which swaps into any burner position on any Artisan model, with the V grate sold separately. Through 2026 the factory is including a free griddle or sear burner with any Artisan Series or Professional grill, which closes that gap for now.
Rotisserie, Smoker, Lights: What Alfresco Builds In
The factory's own description of Artisan is "Alfresco, de-featured," and the features list is where you see it.
Rotisserie
Every Alfresco ALXE includes the Mega-Drive rotisserie: a chain-driven internal motor with 120 lb-ft of torque, a 50 lb food capacity, a 12-inch clearance and an 18,500 BTU infrared rear burner. The Artisan Professional includes a rotisserie too, with a 50 lb-torque motor, a 25 lb capacity, a 10-inch clearance and a 15,000 BTU rear burner. That handles chickens and most roasts; the Alfresco handles a whole pig. The Artisan Series and American Eagle have no rear burner, and the American Eagle takes an optional rotisserie kit.
Smoker
Only Alfresco has the Signature Taste smoking system: a sealed drawer below the control panel with its own 5,000 BTU burner that holds nine cups of wood chips and can cold-smoke with the main burners off. Artisan owners use a smoker box on the grates, which works, but it is not the same as a dedicated burner feeding smoke across the whole firebox.
Lights and controls
Both the Alfresco and the Artisan Professional have two halogen interior lights with a shut-off trigger when the hood closes, lit knobs (amber on Alfresco, blue on Artisan) and the SafeTouch air-cooled control panel that keeps the front of the grill comfortable at full heat. The Artisan Series keeps the interior lights but drops the panel lighting; the American Eagle has no lights and uses a 9V battery igniter, which is the reason it needs no electrical run to the island.
Cooking inserts
Alfresco sells four drop-in inserts for the ALXE firebox: a griddle, a steam-boil-fry pod, a solid-fuel insert for charcoal or wood, and an indirect roasting pod. With the Sear Zone and smoker, the factory counts 15 ways to cook on one grill. Artisan has the griddle and the sear burner.
Lineups and Prices
Alfresco builds two grill lines; Artisan builds three tiers of one grill. Our Alfresco grill review and Artisan grills review cover each in depth. Every model is ordered in natural gas or propane, as a built-in head or on a cart, and either can be converted later with a factory kit.
Alfresco
Artisan
Built-in prices, October 2026
Cart versions add about $900 to $1,100 on Artisan and $900 to $2,800 on Alfresco, where the 42″ and 56″ carts can be ordered with a refrigerated base. Marine Armour adds roughly 12 to 15 percent on either brand.
Beyond the Grill: The Rest of Each Lineup
Most of our customers for either brand are building full outdoor kitchens or BBQ islands, and this is where Alfresco pulls ahead. Both brands make the basics in matching 304 stainless: double and single access doors, drawer stacks, door-and-drawer combos, trash and recycling centers, paper towel holders, LP tank drawers, prep and waste chutes, insulated jackets and wind guards. Artisan's versions cost 25 to 40 percent less.
Alfresco goes further: a 30″ dual-zone thermostatic griddle, the 24″ Versa Power burner (400 to 65,000 BTU, with wok, teppanyaki and pot-filler accessories), the Pizza Oven Plus in built-in, countertop and cart versions, 14″ Versa side and sear burners, 42″ under-grill refrigeration, new 24″ and 28″ under-counter refrigerators and drawer fridges, sealed dry-storage pantries, a warming drawer, 14″ to 30″ sink and bar centers, and a plating-and-garnish station. See the Alfresco outdoor kitchen storage collection for the full set.
Artisan covers the pieces most kitchens need: an 18″ power burner (up to 55,000 BTU, $2,089), a 29″ pizza oven with a burner under the deck ($5,695), single and double side burners, a 24″ refrigerator, a drop-in ice bin and the door and drawer line. The Artisan outdoor kitchen collection has all of it. The two brands do not mix visually, so pick one and stay with it across the island.
Where Each Sits Against Other Luxury Brands
The factory prices Alfresco against the top of the market. Its best seller, the ALXE-42 with Sear Zone at $7,885, lands 13 percent under a Lynx Professional 42, 26 percent under a Twin Eagles 42, 43 percent under a Hestan 42 and about half of a Kalamazoo. In that company Alfresco is the one with the smoker, the included Sear Zone and the color program, which is why it leads our best high-end grills of 2026 list.
Artisan is priced against the entry-luxury tier. The ARTP-36 at $3,735 sits 6 percent under a Lynx Sedona 36, 20 to 26 percent under a Delta Heat, 50 percent under a DCS 7 Series and 66 to 69 percent under a Hestan Aspire. Against imported value brands like Blaze, Coyote and Bull, Artisan costs about the same and is the one built in the USA from 18-8 steel. The whole luxury grill tier is on one page if you want to see them together.
Which Should You Choose?
Here is how we steer customers who come in undecided.
Alfresco is the right call when
✓The budget is $7,000 or more for the grill head
✓Smoking and searing matter and you want them built in, not bolted on
✓The kitchen is 10 feet or longer and a 42″ or 56″ grill fits the scale
✓You want the grill, doors, fridge and pizza oven in one matching color
✓You want to buy once with a lifetime warranty on the parts that fail
Artisan is the right call when
✓The grill budget is $2,000 to $4,500
✓You are replacing a Blaze, Bull or Lion and want US-made steel at the same cost
✓The island has no electrical: the American Eagle runs on a battery
✓A 36″ three-burner is all the space you need
✓You would rather spend the difference on refrigeration and storage
Still deciding? We design it for free.
Send us the island dimensions and we will lay out both versions, Alfresco and Artisan, with pricing for each. Call Matt, the owner, at 888-678-3530 or start a free design online.
Alfresco vs Artisan FAQ
Who makes Artisan grills?
Alfresco makes Artisan grills. Artisan is Alfresco's sister brand, launched in 2011 for buyers who wanted Alfresco construction at a lower cost, and both are built in the same factory in Industry, California. Our Artisan grills review covers the three Artisan series in detail.
Are Artisan grills made by Alfresco?
Yes. Artisan is designed and built by Alfresco, part of SES Commercial Products. It uses the same 304, 18-8 stainless steel and the same ceramic briquette heat system as Alfresco, with fewer built-in features and lower-output burners to hit a lower price.
Are Alfresco grills good?
Yes. Alfresco grills are among the best-built gas grills sold, with hand-welded 304 stainless bodies, 27,500 BTU AcuFire burners, a 1,500°F Sear Zone and a built-in smoker, backed by a lifetime warranty on the stainless, burners and grates. The trade-off is cost: built-in heads start at $5,169. See our Alfresco grill review for the full breakdown.
What is the difference between Alfresco and Artisan grills?
Alfresco has more powerful burners (27,500 vs 20,000 BTU each), a 1,500°F Sear Zone at no extra charge, the Signature Taste smoker box, a 120 lb-ft Mega-Drive rotisserie, 30″ to 56″ sizes, 218 color options and a lifetime warranty. Artisan keeps the same stainless, briquettes and round grates, in 26″ to 42″ sizes, with a 15-year burner warranty, at roughly half the cost.
Are Alfresco and Artisan grills made in the USA?
Yes, both. Every Alfresco and Artisan grill is fabricated in Industry, California, from 304 stainless steel. The doors, drawers, refrigeration and cooking companions for both brands come from the same plant.
Which is cheaper, Artisan or Alfresco?
Artisan. A built-in Artisan grill runs $2,105 (American Eagle 26″) to $4,139 (Professional 42″). A built-in Alfresco ALXE runs $5,169 (30″) to $10,969 (56″). Compare the full lineups in the Artisan and Alfresco gas grill collections.
Do Artisan and Alfresco use the same burners?
No. Alfresco uses AcuFire burners made from SR18 stainless and titanium, rated 27,500 BTU each and backed for life. Artisan uses 304 stainless U-burners with dual rows of ports, rated 20,000 BTU each and covered for 15 years. Both sit under the same five-sided ceramic briquettes.
How do the Alfresco and Artisan warranties compare?
Alfresco covers the stainless body, burners and cooking grates for the life of the original owner. Artisan covers the burners for 15 years, stainless components for 10, ceramic briquette trays for 3 and ignition, rotisserie motor and thermometer for 1. Labor is not included on either, and wind damage on an unguarded grill is not covered.
Two brands, one factory, one dealer.
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