Best Pellet Smokers (2026)
Bon Appétit tested pellet smokers across smoking, grilling, and high-heat tasks to find the best options for easy wood-fired cooking at home.
Best at the top, worst at the bottom. Drag a card to reorder.Tap ↑↓ to reorder, or hold to drag.
Weber Searwood 600
Named best pellet smoker overall for its excellent temperature stability, rich smoky output, manual feed settings enabling open-top grilling up to 600°F, and compatibility with Weber Crafted accessories. The centrally located burn pot produced the most even heat distribution of all grills tested.
Bon Appétit #1
1Traeger Ironwood XL
The overall top pick with 924 square inches of cooking space, five-degree temperature increments, and a Super Smoke setting. Pork shoulder and chicken wings emerged succulent and seriously smoky.
Serious Eats #1
2Recteq X-Fire 825
Named most versatile pellet smoker for its extreme temperature range (225°F–1250°F), dual burn pots, and adaptive sear controller that enables true open-fire searing far beyond typical pellet grill capability. Built from heavy stainless steel throughout.
3Pit Boss PB440D2 Pellet Grill
Best value pick whose searing panel got blisteringly hot, yielding nice browning and well-defined smoke flavor that fell just behind pricier offerings from Traeger and Yoder.
4Traeger Westwood
Named best budget pellet smoker for delivering excellent rib and chicken results, efficient pellet usage, Wi-Fi connectivity, and access to Traeger's PAL rail accessory system at the most affordable price point in the Traeger lineup.
5Traeger Woodridge Pro Pellet Grill
Features a massive 970 square inch cooking surface and only varied 10 degrees from its set temperature, making it great for smoking. App connectivity was reliable and seamless every time.
6Pit Boss 850 FB2
A well-built sub-$600 pellet grill with easy-to-use controls adjusting in 5-degree increments, fast preheat, and succulent results on ribs and chicken. Lacks a front shelf and accessory ecosystem compared to Traeger.
7Traeger Westwood XL Pellet Grill & Smoker
A newer Traeger offering with 823 square inches of cooking space that delivers delicious wings and includes digital display and app compatibility, though it is best suited for smoking rather than high-heat grilling.
8Traeger Woodridge
An entry-level Traeger with the friendliest control panel tested and a great app experience, producing excellent ribs, chicken, and pork shoulder. Priced between the budget Westwood and the top-pick Weber, it's recommended for low-and-slow cooking.
9Weber Searwood 600 Pellet Grill
An excellent beginner-friendly pellet grill with a wide temperature range up to 600°F for both low-and-slow smoking and high-heat searing, plus a SmokeBoost setting and simple operation.
10Traeger Ironwood 885
A well-insulated Traeger model that produced food as good as the top-pick Weber Searwood thanks to its smoky cooking environment. Receives an enthusiastic recommendation but misses a top spot due to its high price.
11Recteq X-Fire Pro 825 Pellet Grill & Smoker
With a temperature range up to 1250°F and a dedicated grill mode, this grill delivers charcoal-rivaling sear crust on steak while still functioning as an easy-to-use pellet smoker.
12Oklahoma Joe's Rider 900 DLX
Offers a wide temperature range up to 700°F with a dedicated center sear zone, a jam-resistant auger, and a convenient pellet clean-out system for easy wood type switching. Runs slightly hot but still produces tender, smoky results.
13Traeger Timberline Pellet Grill
A high-tech, luxurious pellet grill with wireless thermometers, internal lights, an induction side burner, and wood shelving that delivered consistent temperatures and robust smoky flavor.
14Yoder Smokers YS640S Pellet Grill
Built with 10-gauge steel for exceptional heat retention and reliability through 18-hour cooking sessions, with a higher temperature range and impressive smoke volume suited for competition-style barbecue.
15Traeger Tailgater Pellet Grill
A compact, semi-portable pellet grill with foldable legs that can still fit up to a dozen burgers at once, ideal for beginners, small backyards, or tailgating.
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