Pellet smokers are a great way to get the best of both worlds for those who don’t feel like spending $2,000 on a separate smoker and grill. Whether you think of it as a sideways smoker or an unusual grill, they produce the same tasty food.
As someone who had dealt with unresponsive customer service when my pellet grill decided to adjust itself to 350°F without asking, I understand how frustrating it is to deal with poor-quality products.
You don’t want an unresponsive customer service group to tell you to shove it after two hours on hold.
So to help you avoid wasting time, I’ve created a list of some of the best pellet smokers. Check out my recommendation below.
9 Best Pellet Smokers Comparison Table
| Picture | Pellet Smoker | What Makes It Great | Rating (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Camp Chef SmokePro Slide Smoker | Best overall | 4.6 |
  | Z Grills Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker | Best budget | 4.4 |
  | Green Mountain Davy Crockett Wood Pellet Grill | Best mobile | 4.4 |
  | Traeger Pro Series 575 | Best with Amazon Alexa | 4.7 |
  | Oklahoma Joe’s Rider Deluxe Pellet Grill | Best high capacity smoker | 4.4 |
  | Pit Boss 700FB Wood Pellet Grill | Best for searing meat | 4.4 |
  | Weber SmokeFire Wood Fired Pellet Grill | Best with premium features | 3.6 |
  | Ozark Grills Razorback Wood Pellet Grill | Best of budget and functionality | 4.1 |
  | Grilla Grills Chimp Tailgater Bundle | Best unique design | 4.5 |
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Best Overall
Camp Chef PG24MZG SmokePro Slide Smoker
✔ Consistent temperature control for well-cooked meats
✔ Easy ash cleanout system
✔ Pellet hopper system that can handle bulk loads
✔ Half the cost and double the quality of most other pellet smokers
✔ An awesome customer service group
At 811 inches of cooking surface, the Camp Chef PG24MZG SmokePro Slide Smoker has more than enough cooking space to cook various meat. The thoughtful design allows for multiple cooking space levels and a front-facing shelf, which allows you to easily store your food and cook the line of food.
The hopper system allows you to load several pounds of wood pellets in minutes. It also is pretty easy to clean out, given that you can detach it and hose it out as needed. Overall, it is straightforward to use.
Its most impressive feature for me is its ten different smoke levels. It also has a direct flame mode that allows you to sear your stakes easily. That makes it an incredibly effective grill and pellet smoker combo.
Given its versatility and effective work as a good happy middle, the Camp Chef is the best overall.
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Best Budget
Z GRILLS ZPG-450A 2020 Upgrade Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker
✔ The least expensive wood pellet grill on this list
✔ Includes smoking and grilling in the same package
✔ Incredibly simple to assemble, making this great for beginners
✔ A significant upgrade in the 2020 model
✔ 15-pound hopper capacity
At the time of this review, the Z GRILLS ZPG-450A 2020 Upgrade Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker is the most cost-effective grill in the world. While you sacrifice half of the cooking area from my favorite option, it still manages to be more than enough to cook for most families and small gatherings.
Also, the Z Grills is one of my favorite options for beginners with wood-pellet grills. The grill is incredibly easy to assemble and is made of porcelain-coated cast iron, giving it impressive longevity.
While it lacks some of the bells and whistles of our more advanced grills, the Z Grills beats everyone in a cost-effective competition.
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Best Portable
Green Mountain Davy Crockett WiFi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill
✔ An amazing grill for any tailgating or camping tricks
✔ Includes a meat probe for easy scanning
✔ The lid is peaked so you can cook ribs
✔ Has Wi-Fi functionality
✔ Incredibly easy to move to different locations
The Green Mountain Davy Crockett WiFi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill is the ultimate wood pellet grill for your tailgating projects. So if you need to grill delicious meat on the fly or smoke something over time, this is the ultimate grill you can easily move from point A to B.
No other pellet smoker can boast this, but it doesn’t lack features, as you can control this using an application on your phone. It also has a meat thermometer that effortlessly tracks your meat’s internal temperature.
Overall, this mouthful of a grill can create some awesome cooked meats.
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Best with Alexa
Traeger TFB57GLEO Pro Series 575
✔ Precise temperature control using the application
✔ Ability to smoke, bake, and roast on the same grill
✔ Porcelain coating makes cleaning incredibly easy
✔ 575 square inches of grilling space
✔ Amazon Alexa enabled
Have you ever asked your grill to cook for you?
Well, the Traeger TFB57GLEO Pro Series 575 will likely be the first grill you own to have it. As a premium feature, you can easily preheat your smoker with limited effort. It is one of the only options to integrate into your smartphone.
If you don’t like voice activation, the smoker works well to give you various cooking options. It has a wide amount of grilling space that can fit 24 burgers on the same grill. With consistently effective heating, this offers what you could easily call a premium grilling experience.
Another unique feature that this has above the others is an auger that drives pellets to the firepot. That means the system recognizes the loading frequency needed to keep your heat consistent.
You need to worry about keeping it clean. The temperature setting takes care of the rest.
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Best Capacity
Oklahoma Joe’s Rider Deluxe Pellet Grill
✔ Has 578 square inches bottom racks and two adjustable 328 square inches upper racks
✔ Can cook up to 650 degrees Fahrenheit
✔ Made of cast iron and coated with porcelain, making sturdy and easy to clean
✔ Has a timer mode and an included meat probe
✔ 20-pound capacity hopper
At over 1200 square inches total cooking capacity, the Oklahoma Joe’s Rider Deluxe Pellet Grill is the largest cooking capacity amount that doesn’t sacrifice quality. The “tall boy” system creates multiple layers of cooking that can handle everything from a whole brisket to the biggest ribs.
There’s nothing that this grill cannot handle.
The grill is also thoughtfully designed with hooks for tools and an included side shelf. At 224 pounds, this thing isn’t easy to move around. Once you assemble it, you will need to disassemble it to move it around. But that’s only natural, given that the entire thing is cast iron.
Oklahoma Joe’s Rider would be happy to show you its chops if you are looking for a beast of the pellet grill world. Just be sure you have a party that can handle it.
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Best for Searing Meat
Pit Boss 700FB Wood Pellet Grill
✔ Great at searing your meat
✔ Stainless steel construction
✔ 700 square inches of cooking surface
✔ Cooking ranges from 170 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit
The Pit Boss 700FB Wood Pellet Grill always impresses me because of its incredibly cool smokestacks. With the ability to cook over 20 burgers in a single go, you can cook for many people comfortably.
It also has a huge cooking variance from 170 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The digital controls give you complete control of your grilling. Also, it is price competitive with the Z Grill that I reviewed earlier. It also follows suit with the porcelain-covered stainless steel, giving it good longevity.
Overall, the Pit Boss manages to capture our minds among low-cost wood pellet grills. It also has an easy-to-read thermometer.
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Best Features
Weber 22510201 SmokeFire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill
✔ Temperature from 200 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit
✔ Almost 700 square inches of dual-level grilling space
✔ Include smart-connect features
✔ Includes two meat probes and has support for up to four probes
✔ Has an easy-to-clean ash & grease drawer
The Weber 22510201 SmokeFire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill may be a bit pricier than all of the other pellet grills on this list, but the Weber makes up for it with an advanced tracking system that you can access from your phone.
You can control your temperature, shut down your grill, and give yourself an extra boost of smoke for more wood flavor.
At this price, you have the highest expectations on every front. While the two meat probes and engine that are good at preventing auger jams are in that area, the available capacity isn’t up to snuff. Regardless, it is still premium at 672 square inches.
Weber makes some of the most advanced technology in the world. Provided that you are willing to put in a high upfront investment, this exceeds the Camp Chef in several ways. But the cost is a consideration on my list.
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Best Budget
Ozark Grills Razorback Wood Pellet Grill
✔ Has an 11-pound hopper
✔ Has a combination of black and bronze coloring with a long-lasting cast iron material
✔ Allows you to maintain temperatures at accuracies within 20 degrees Fahrenheit, making for a high-quality cook
✔ Has support for both charcoal and wood pellet grills
✔ A fair amount of cooking space, just around 305 square inches
Ozark Grills Razorback Wood Pellet Grill is not as well known as some other grills I mentioned. But regardless, they have put together an amazing grill with a beautiful finish. The Ozark Grills Razorback has a pretty good appearance.
Overall, it is on par with some of the low-cost items. That being said, it does manage to sacrifice a bit of size for this. However, it does have an appeal that works better for classic fans of smokers.
It has no smartphone applications or Wi-Fi control that you would expect from other models. For some people, this is a positive thing. If you are looking for a classic low-cost pellet smoker for your small family, this is an awesome selection for your family.
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Best Unique Design
Grilla Grills Chimp Tailgater Bundle
✔ 460 square inches of cooking space
✔ 15-pound hopper
✔ Powdered coated external body with stainless steel
✔ Has a foldable frame to improve portability
✔ Has a picture of a gorilla on the front
Grilla Grils has one of the unique brand names among smokers. With this name, you can expect they will go for a logo that sticks out. In this case, the logo is simply a gorilla.
Where they win in brand, the Grilla Grills Chimp Tailgater Bundle also wins in a positive customer experience. With 460 square inches of cooking space in a foldable frame, it beats out the Davy Crocket grill in size.
However, the size of the stainless steel figure means it’s still pretty heavy.
However, the happy middle design makes it great for more uses. Also, the 15-pound hopper and auger make it incredibly useful for multiple applications. While some may not think it goes far enough, this unique pellet grill is great for many applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Wood Pellet Grills Flare Up?
The firepot of wood pellet grills is not in contact with the food and grease tray. As a result, there is no chance of flames shooting out of the grill.
How Do You Prevent Clogs In Your Wood Pellet Hopper?
If your hopper is stuck, you can stick a long stick into it to stir the wood pellets around. If that doesn’t work, some hoppers allow you to remove the cover for the auger so you can locate the clog.
Do Pellet Grills Use Electricity?
Yes, wood pellet grills use electricity. However, the electricity is limited to providing a limited amount of heat to the grill. As a result, you shouldn’t expect to use much electricity.
Are Pellet Smokers Better Than Gas And Electric Smokers?
Electric or gas is great for long-term usage, resulting in fewer shavings and cleaning. However, wood provides an excellent opportunity for flavors. Most electric or gas smokers have several wood chips in a side container.
Are Horizontal Or Vertical Pellet Smokers Better?
Vertical pellet smokers are designed solely for smoking. Horizontal pellet smokers are more flexible and better if you plan on grilling, baking, and searing meat. All of our favorite smokers are horizontal options.
Conclusion
Once again, my vote for the best overall pellet smoker is the Camp Chef PG24MZG SmokePro Slide Smoker. If you are looking for a grill that hits a happy middle among all options while maintaining a high-quality digital focus, Camp Chef can help you through this.
While my suggestion may be the best overall, and grill on this list fits various needs. I have featured grills that focus on quality, grills that focus on portability, and those with WiFi functionality.
All of these grills are 100% used of wood pellets fed through an auger to a firepot. So if you want to find a wood pellet smoker, seek out those with a built-in hopper and auger.
All of the options on this list feature that, but they each have strengths. Don’t pick a smoker that works for me; pick something that works for you.
