5 Best Pellet Smokers and Grills of 2023

May 17, 2023

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Pellet grills have been around for decades, but they've hit the outdoor culinary world in a big way recently with new adaptations like wifi compatibility. They're easy to light, clean-burning, and hands-off, allowing you to tend your station from the comfort of your couch. As far as grills go, they are pretty dynamic, allowing for various forms of direct and indirect heat.

Do pellet grills, also known as pellet smokers, compare with the best barbecue smokers favored by pitmasters or even the best charcoal grills? We asked Steven Raichlen, one of our favorite grillmasters, and he came back with a resounding "No." However, he did say that pellet smokers are great for the layperson who wants wood-smoke flavor without the associated sweat equity. The takeaway is that you will get something that is miraculously close without hardly any work or thought at all, and therein lies the beauty of the best pellet grills and smokers.

Best overall: Traeger Pro 575 – See at Ace HardwareTraeger's Pro series offers thicker metal, more exact temperature control, and a better seal than any other pellet grill in the price range.

Best budget: Z Grills Pioneer 450B – See at AmazonZ Grills' Pioneer 450B does its job and keeps impressively steady temperatures compared with other entry-level pellet smokers.

Best upgrade: Traeger Timberline Pellet Grill – See at TraegerIf you want hands-off barbecuing with immaculate Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, it doesn't get any better than the Traeger Timberline series.

Best charcoal: Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 – See at AmazonMasterbuilt's Gravity Series is actually a self-feeding charcoal grill that is just as easy to use as a pellet grill and provides a smokier flavor.

Best multi-use: Camp Chef Woodwind 24 – See at Camp ChefAs an adaptable outdoor kitchen, the Camp Chef Woodwind series grills have a accessories and modularity that reach far beyond any other brand.

Pros: Great temperature control, thicker steel than average, large wheels

Cons: WiFi connectivity could be better, LCD interface not as intuitive as others, not modular

If you want a hassle-free grill that can dazzle guests every bit as much as yourself, the Traeger Pro 575 pellet grill is an appliance made for the ages, and the heaviest-duty pellet grill we've found under a thousand dollars.

Heat retention and moderation are the most important things when it comes to the function of a grill. While the Traeger doesn't have the quarter-inch steel we like to see on a grill, it's far thicker and seals much better than anything else we've tried in this price range. We've kept temperatures steady within five degrees of our target temps in all kinds of weather, something even an experienced griller would have a devil of a time doing with charcoal or wood.

The Pro's temps range from 180 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just right for low-and-slow cooking, up to 500, which won't get a sear, but will effectively braise. This is where the Traeger Pro series might fall short against more modular grills, including Traeger's Timberline series, which comes with an induction side burner, or Camp Chef's Woodwind series, which we recommend for a more versatile option.

But for the price, the Traeger Pro series grills hold heat best and are built for the long haul, so if you're working with a moderate budget and primarily want to use the grill for barbecuing (or as an oven) you needn't look further.

Read our full review of the Traeger 575 Pro pellet grill here .

Pros: Good build quality for price, steady temperature, "smoke" setting allows for slightly lower temperature than rating (170 degrees), comes with a cover

Cons: Some backdraft and auger burn can happen (but corrects itself), leaks some smoke, no WiFi

We've been testing budget pellet grills for more than two years, and while the shortcomings of others were quick to show, the Z Grill 450B didn't have the same trouble regulating temperature that we found elsewhere. This grill was also easier to assemble than many other options within this price range and beyond. Temperatures range from 180 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, but the "smoke" setting lets you cheat temperatures down to 170, which we love for extra low-and-slow cooking.

Some people might wish for the WiFi in Traeger and Camp Chef grills, but if you're keeping with a budget, you really don't need the extra electronics on your pellet smoker. Careful positioning of the grill near enough to read an LCD screen or run a Bluetooth- or WiFi-enabled temperature probe can stand in for built-in electronics.

The real downside of this grill is that it's not very well sealed, so smoke seeps out. The quick fix for that is to add your own gaskets (a good solution for most grills, frankly), and Lavalock is a great option. We checked with grilling experts on the matter who said that the smoke leak can happen, but the fire won't burn its way past the auger.

If you're looking to barbecue for a small group of eight people and don't want to spend too much or fuss with gadgetry or accessories, the Z Grills 450B is a great, simple, and affordable solution.

Pros: Extremely strong wifi connectivity, impeccably even cooking, great gasket and seal, induction side burner, storage, built-in compatibility

Cons: For the price, we wish the steel was thicker, accessorizing gets expensive, small casters

If you want the most flawless barbecue with the least amount of effort, the Traeger Timberline series (go for the XL if you have the space) is as good as it gets. It goes without saying that you'll pay dearly for it, but purchasing a cover and taking cursory care will keep this grill going for many years to come.

However, be forewarned that the Timberline is exceptionally heavy at over 250 pounds. To that point, this is a true outdoor cooking station, minus a sink — it's not something you're going to want to cart around your backyard, but rather leave in place on a solid surface. Where a heavy-duty offset smoker with wagon wheels is your rough-and-ready all-terrain utility Jeep, the Timberline is more like a Cadillac.

Veteran grillers will find it hard to wrap their heads around spending more than $3000 on a pellet grill, especially one with relatively thin metal. This grill simply isn't for them, but it is for anyone who wants as hands-off and foolproof of an experience as possible.

While the grill does a good job of keeping steady temperature and cooking evenly, the metal on the firebox is surprisingly thin, especially compared with the quarter-inch-thick stuff you'll find on charcoal or stick-burning pit grills around the same price. Accessorizing, starting with the $200 purchase of a grill cover, is almost prohibitively expensive.

Still, this is the best of nearly a dozen pellet smokers and grills I've tried, and it's built to last better than any other, too.

Read our full review of the Traeger Timberline series here.

Pros: Large cooking area for firebox size, charcoal imparts more flavor than wood pellets

Cons: Difficult to assemble, thin metal, only a 1-year warranty

Tending a charcoal fire is much easier said than done, and in almost every case of disappointing or failed grilling attempts, it is the cause of the downfall. Masterbuilt's towering Gravity Series is an imposing appliance with a large hopper and feeder that, with the help of WiFi connectivity, works just like a pellet smoker, but for charcoal.

Why go with charcoal over wood pellets? Many cooks argue that charcoal offers more flavor, but it's also a simple fact that charcoal burns much, much hotter than wood pellets. The Gravity Series ranges from about 150 degrees Fahrenheit (a great temperature for low-and-slow smoking) all the way up to about 700 degrees, which is ideal for searing — something pellet grills can't generally do.

Ultimately, it's a grill, griddle, and a (higher-temp) smoker all in one. It also has two-sided cast-iron grates, with one thinner side dedicated to smoking and the thicker one for searing.

Monitoring the temperature with WiFi and Bluetooth was easy, and connectivity is about as steady as most grills we've tested — we couldn't go around the corner to the store, but we stayed connected around the house, adjusting temperature and even turning the grill off (though we recommend doing that in person).

The Masterbuilt Gravity Series grill has a few downsides like any other. Firstly, it's made of relatively lightweight metal, which isn't good for heat retention or longevity, and secondly, it took more than two hours to build. Expectedly, temperatures tend to fluctuate more than they do in a wood-pellet smoker, but that's charcoal for you (briquettes will burn more evenly than hardwood lump).

Pros: Highly modular, the brand offers many relatively affordable accessories

Cons: Thin metal, can have a hard time keeping steady temperature in a stiff breeze or cold temps

Camp Chef was one of the first pellet-grill brands on the market. While we find other options more suitable for the aspiring griller, the list of accessories and modularity of the Woodwind series reaches far beyond any other brand.

The Woodwind grill operates basically and efficiently, and the interface is easy to navigate and has a strong WiFi connection. It's the accessories, starting with the Blanket and up to the 28,000-btu, cast-aluminum Sidekick side burner, Flat Top, Sear box, and Pizza Oven (available with a single and double burner) that win us over. With this setup, there's little you can't do with this grill in your backyard — all at a reasonable price.

We have found that with a stiff breeze or in sub-zero weather, this grill is hard to keep steady, though you'll do just fine in mild weather or a subtropical climate. Even so, the Blanket helps solve for that impressively well, which is a great alternative to spending hundreds or even thousands more on a grill with thicker steel and a more robust seal.

Based on our testing and research over the past few years, if you want a one-stop grilling station in your backyard that you can customize for all intents and purposes but you don't want to break out thousands of dollars to do it, Camp Chef is your ticket.

Read our full review of the Camp Chef Woodwind series here.

What you want in a pellet grill and smoker will vary depending on how you'll use it and where you'll keep it. Below are the main considerations:

Interface: An increasing number of grills offer state-of-the-art Wifi or Bluetooth connectivity that allow you to monitor your brisket anywhere from your deck to miles away. However, there are some that use simpler controls and don't require you to add another application to your phone. Tech gadgetry doesn't always correspond to better performance, so it's about your preference and cooking style.

Accessories: Many of the grills we tested don't offer a ton of extras, or require you to purchase them separately. If you are looking for a one-stop outdoor kitchen (minus the sink), be prepared to spend more for a side burner and extra shelves. The Traeger Timberline and the Camp Chef Woodwind series have the most extra features of the grills we tested.

Size: Grills are best measured in cooking surface area, usually in square inches of space. Smaller models in the 450 to 575-square-inch range offer plenty of space for four to six people, and larger ones, above 800 square inches, can cook for roughly a dozen people or more. It all depends on what you're cooking. Brands show diagrams of their grill layouts, depicting how many pork shoulders, chicken wings, briskets, and/or hamburger patties they'll hold.

We spent more than two years building and testing pellet grills and smokers, speaking with experts like veteran TV host and author Steven Raichlen, Hey Grill Hey! founder Susie Bulloch, and Chef Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen to find out what makes a good pellet grill and for whom they're made. Considering our own experience and their recommendations, we evaluated grills by cooking chicken drumsticks and pork shoulders "low and slow" and grilling zucchini at a higher heat:

Temperature control: We found that the best grills ranged only about five degrees on either side of our target temperature, while some, especially those with thinner lids and fireboxes, varied as much as 30 degrees. Almost invariably, the quality of heat retention went up with the price of the grill. That said, installing quality gaskets on your own is a cheap and easy way to upgrade any grill.

Build quality: We considered the quality of materials as we built each grill, noting when metal was flimsier or more prone to denting. We also left each model out in the elements — some for more than two years on end. None of the grills or the electronics we've tested have failed.

Smokiness: We were told by our experts to look for a smoke ring on bigger cuts of meat, like pork shoulders, which we smoked for up to nine hours (roughly one hour per pound), or until an internal temperature of 203 degrees F. While pellet grills impart nowhere near as much smokiness as charcoal or hardwood fires, grills with better seals produced deep, red rings, whereas others were more akin to oven cooking and gave almost no smoke flavor.

Ease of use: From building and connectivity to operating and cleaning, we looked at the process of owning and maintaining these grills. Cleaning grills can be a pain, but a great workaround for almost all of them is a disposable aluminum tray, or lining the grill's catch pan with tin foil. This keeps grease off the grill, makes cleanup a breeze, and helps prolong the life of the firebox.

Value: Many of the grills we tested came with limited accessories, some of them essential. While the budget-friendly pick on our list does come with a cover (that's survived two years outside), every other grill we tested required a cover be purchased separately. Add on shelves, hooks, and/or brackets that really should be included, and it gets expensive quickly. Still, build quality and warranty balanced out these pricier picks.

Pellet grills have a hopper that feeds an auger, which grinds compressed hardwood pellets into smaller chunks that fall into and ignite in a firebox, creating smoke.

Pellet grill and pellet smoker can be used interchangeably. Grills tend to work with direct heat, while smokers often use indirect heat. Modern pellet grills strike a balance between grills and smokers because they range between low-and-slow cooking temperatures (160-225 degrees Fahrenheit or so) and about 500 degrees, which is your average gas grill's highest heat.

The pellet-grill brand you buy will likely direct you to its own line of pellets, but the most important thing to consider is the term "additive-free" pellets. Lower grade pellets, especially those without this distinction, can encompass a lot of impurities (down to even plastics and industrial scraps) because pellets are often forged from sawdust in commercial spaces.

The type of wood you buy is something to give thought to as well, but becomes highly subjective. Brands tend to recommend different blends or species of wood for different foods, though.

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