The 7 Best Pellet Grills for Smoking, Searing, and More, According to Our Tests

Overall Best Pellet Grill

Weber Smokefire EX4 Pellet Grill

$864 at Amazon $1,099 at Walmart View on Weber.com

Weber's second-generation EX4 aced our grilling, smoking, and baking tests with consistent and even heating. It has excellent heat control and (more importantly) retention, thanks to its porcelain enamel finish. It can burn as hot as 600°F, and its large cooking area can accommodate about 13 burgers or three whole briskets. While the EX4 didn't produce very distinct grill marks in our sear test, it redeemed itself as a smoker, with dark grill marks and a nice char on flank steaks after about an hour and 20 minutes of smoking. A dark, even bark also formed around the pork shoulder we smoked for almost 10 hours.

The EX4 checked the boxes for easy assembly and cleanup; a removable bin for both grease and ash helps with the latter, although you can't see when it needs to be emptied without pulling it all the way out. The grill has an LCD display for controlling settings, and we found its app quite useful. Connected to probes, the app let us monitor and adjust the heat, and it prompted us when the time came to turn the meat. Finally, the EX4 costs about as much as the average pellet grill, which makes it a great value overall. Add this selection to the ever-evolving collection of excellent Weber grills.

Dimensions: 47 x 43 x 33 inches | Grilling Area: 672 square inches | Extra Features: Grease and ash collection system, LCD control panel, smoke boost, app-controlled

Best Splurge Pellet Grill

Traeger Timberline Wood Pellet Grill

$3,000 at Williams-Sonoma View on Walmart View on Abt.com

The most expensive grill on this list, the Traeger Timberline delivers a lot of capabilities. The price is due, in part, to its double-walled construction and convection design, which paid off in the grill's superior heat control and retention. In test after test, the Timberline stood out for the amount of smoke it gave chicken, pizza, flank steaks, and pork shoulder (the juiciest pork shoulder any of the grills produced). We like its large capacity, which can handle up to eight racks of ribs, nine chickens, or six pork butts. Three tiers of stainless steel grates allowed us to move food on and off the grill easily.

With Bluetooth probe thermometers and a touchscreen control panel, this grill monitors its ambient temperature, food temperature, and even low pellet supply in the hopper. It's one of the best set-it-and-forget-it models on the market for grilling and smoking, and its smart features actually made cooking more enjoyable for us. If you're inclined, the app connectivity is compatible with Amazon Alexa or Google Home.

Dimensions: 51 x 59 x 25 inches | Grilling Area: 880 square inches | Extra Features: Stainless steel racks, bamboo cutting board, pellet storage bin, Bluetooth probes

Best Value Pellet Grill

Pit Boss Deluxe Wood Pellet Grill

Orig. $450 $337 at Amazon $329 at Wayfair

The Pit Boss 440 is a stripped-down, no-frills smoker grill. That isn't a bad thing, though. The 440 outperformed some more expensive models in heating time, retention, and temperature recovery. The grill does have some hard-to-avoid hot spots, with the firebox adjacent to the cooking space and a heat shield that doesn't cover the entire grill. We also noted some temperature dips during our long-smoking test, about 50°F below the preset temperature. These fluctuations gave pork shoulder a somewhat astringent taste. Our shorter smoking and grilling sessions, however, left meat with a smoky-clean flavor and nice sear.

A medium-sized grill, the 440 can hold about 19 burgers. If you don't need a large cooking area and can look past a few inconsistencies, the 440 delivers good results at an unbeatable price. While it lacks built-in connectivity, an add-on device is available for purchase.

Dimensions: 40 x 50 x 24 inches | Grilling Area: 518 square inches | Extra Features: None, but Bluetooth connectivity is available as an add-on.

Best Professional-Grade Pellet Grill

Yoder Smokers YS640S Pellet Grill

$2,399 at Atbbq.com View on Thebbqhq.com

The Yoder is a workhorse of a smoker, designed for volume and efficiency. Its 20-pound pellet hopper and large grilling area speak to this: We smoked 10 pounds of chicken wings and baked multiple frozen pizzas with room to spare. This grill weighs in at a hefty 418 pounds, making assembly a two-person job even with its clear and easy-to-follow instructions. This behemoth is mounted on pneumatic wheels, making it surprisingly easy to move, but you have to remove all of the grill's internal parts for a thorough cleaning, which is definitely our biggest complaint.

The time it took the Yoder to reach temperature (less than 12 minutes) and recover heat outpaced most models reviewed here. Its circuit board design responds to abnormal circumstances, such as temperature drops from loading cold meat or opening the door frequently. It may even be too efficient, as we saw temperatures race past the target by 100°F before settling back down.

We found a hot spot over the searing grate, on the top of the firebox, which didn't affect our cooking except when baking pizza. It's a great grill for searing, which only takes moving a lever on the heat diffuser. Of all the grills we tested, only the Yoder model yielded dark grill marks in the sear test. It produced a good amount of smoke in all of our tests, though this almost understates its exceptional performance in our long smoke test. The smokiness it gave the pork shoulder was just right, without any of the astringency that typically indicates over-smoking.

Dimensions: 55 x 61 x 36 inches | Grilling Area: 1,070 square inches | Extra Features: Excellent app connectivity and pneumatic tires

Best Large Pellet Grill

Traeger Pro Series 780 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker

Orig. $1,000 $799 at Amazon $999 at Walmart View on Traeger.com

The Traeger Pro 780 handles a large amount of food without breaking the bank. It can hold six whole chickens, six racks of ribs, 34 burgers, or any combination. One of the more remarkable features of the Pro 780 is the amount of smoke flavor imparted onto foods (with the exception of baked pizza) while maintaining a relatively low amount of smoke leaving the grill. Though food turned out lighter in color than that cooked on other Traeger models, it browned evenly thanks to a lack of hot spots. At higher temperatures, however, the unit dropped as much as 90°F when we opened the lid to place food inside, and it struggled to get back to the target temperature.

We like that the control panel and app integration provide accurate cook temperatures and times for more control. Sure, you could spend less on a different Traeger, but the Pro 780's features and overall performance make it well worth the extra cost. It also gets points for easy setup and cleanup.

Dimensions: 55 x 49 x 27 inches | Grilling Area: 780 square inches | Extra Features: WiFIRE technology, a comprehensive yet easy-to-use control panel, wheels, and meat probe connectors

Best Smart Pellet Grill

Louisiana Grills 1000 Black Label Series Grill

$977 at Amazon $1,100 at Wayfair $1,029 at Walmart

Setup doesn't get much easier than this Louisiana Grills model: It comes fully assembled and ready to cook. It offers a large cooking capacity of 1,028 square inches with two rows of racks for two-zone cooking. It didn't score the highest in our baking tests, but the unit did not drop its temperature at mid-range operation when opening and adding food. Even with an 18-pound pellet capacity, we'd like to see a larger hopper, as it seems outsized by the available cooking area.

A few hot spots revealed themselves during our testing, but none that would preclude the grill from our list. It sears well, as most pellet grills do, but it doesn't produce a hard crust. Bluetooth app connectivity and a feature-rich control panel make this a straightforward unit to operate. The features and performance balance the price, giving it good scores on our value rating.

Dimensions: 46 x 42 x 32 inches | Grilling Area: 1,028 square inches | Extra Features: Foldable shelf, hopper clean-out door for changing pellets, temperature probes, flat shelf, hopper viewing window

Best Portable Pellet Grill

Traeger Tailgater Pellet Grill

$480 at Amazon $480 at Williams-Sonoma View on Walmart

This solid Traeger grill brings most of the functionality of the brand's larger models to a more mobile form. With digital controls and app connectivity, it reaches set points quickly (hitting its maximum temperature of 450°F in less than 14 minutes) and retains heat moderately well. Despite its travel-friendly size, the Tailgater holds 12 burgers, two chickens, or three racks of ribs. While it doesn't need as much fuel as larger grills to maintain its temperature, its 8-pound hopper will need refilling during longer smokes simply due to its smaller capacity. For reference, we added more pellets seven hours into smoking.

While the Tailgater reached its maximum temperature of 450°F in less than 14 minutes and retained heat fairly well, being capped at 450°F made searing difficult. We noticed a slight variation in hot and cool temperature zones as well, though not significant enough to leave it off our list. Overall, it's a great option for grilling and smoking for portability and price.

Dimensions: 36 x 37 x 18 inches | Grilling Area: 300 square inches | Extra Features: Folding legs, temperature probes, digital control panel, app connectivity