The Best Electric Smokers, According To Reviews

Smoking food is a time-honored tradition and arguably one of the best ways to cook food. You trade the quick cook times of a high-temperature grill for the low and slow approach. The longer cook times help break down the connective tissue's collagen in meat, allowing you to turn cheaper cuts of meat into tender and juicy centerpieces for your next barbecue. There are a variety of smokers out there, including charcoal, electric, propane, wood pellet, and many others. 

For beginners, an electric grill is a great place to start. It's much easier to use than offset or charcoal grills and lets you smoke food for long periods without having to babysit the smoker. So, whether you're smoking a delicious brisket or trying something daring like smoking a pot roast, an electric smoker will get the job done with reasonably good results. There are multiple types of electric smokers. Some use an electric coil to heat wood chips that smoke upwards into a chamber, while others use an auger to move wood pellets onto a burner and release the smoke into the cook box. 

Thus, there are plenty of choices when it comes to electric smokers. People like some more than others, though, so here are the smokers that consumers tend to like best. For this list, we sourced nationwide retailers like Lowe's and Home Depot, along with any other retailer we could find that sells smokers.

The Masterbuilt John McLemore signature series electric smoker is a great place to start if you're looking for an electric smoker. It's a vertical-style electric smoker with an electric heating element at the bottom. Included are a wood tray and a water tray that would get smoke and steam up to the meat on the three chrome-coated racks in the main body of the smoker. It also has portability, with two side handles to let you carry it to and from its storage space with ease. The grease trap tray adds to it being a simple, easy overall smoker to use. 

Users agree that the smoker is easy to use and clean with decently even temperatures for a smoker in its price range. As an entry-level electric smoker, it may not have all the bells and whistles of more expensive smokers, but reviewers agree that it does its job effectively enough to get you into smoking. 

Purchase the Masterbuilt John McLemore signature series at Lowe's for $179.

The original Bradley Smoker is a mid-range smoker with an offset design — simply a separate firebox on the side — and a natural draft system to cook and smoke meats. Essentially, wood burns on an electric heating element in a separate small-sized firebox, and the heat and smoke transfer to the main box to cook and flavor meats. It also utilizes a diffuser system that clears the smoke out of the very top of the box, preventing it from accumulating and raining down dirty moisture on that apple cider smoked pulled pork you're cooking. 

People who purchased the Bradley Smoker praised its auto-feed system that uses the company's proprietary wood bisquettes to generate smoke. The little pucks are fed into the smoker and burned regularly to keep cooking temperatures even and smoke levels high. Many of the reviews we saw were from first-time smoker owners who enjoyed being able to do this on their own without much trouble. 

Purchase the original Bradley Smoker on Amazon for $399.99.

The Masterbuilt digital electric smoker isn't too different from the John McLemore Signature Series variant listed above. It features the same chrome-coated grates and tray system that adds smoke, water, and heat to the cook while also catching grease. This variant boasts an air damper control as well that helps control how much smoke is released into the cook box, giving owners a little more control over their delicious smoke rings. It's a higher tier than the John McLemore variant, and customers noted that its built quality was superior to Masterbuilt's less expensive offerings. 

This is Masterbuilt's most popular model, as evidenced by the many online reviews. People tend to like the large viewing window so they don't have to open the door as often as well as the reasonably even temperature controls. There is also a Wi-Fi version of this digital electric smoker that adds app control for temperature and probe monitoring, which many reviewers appreciated. 

Purchase the Masterbuilt digital electric smoker for $279 at Home Depot.

Traeger is a pioneer in the wood pellet space, creating the first commercially available wood pellet grill in the 1980s. Today, it builds some of the highest-end pellet grills that money can buy, and one of those is the Traeger Ironwood XL. It's a standard wood pellet system that uses an auger to push pellets into the electric burner, thus filling the cook box with tons of delicious smoke. It also has a control panel that lets you adjust the temperature in five-degree increments with myriad design elements to help funnel smoke and heat to your next cut of beef. 

It's one of Traeger's highest-end grills, and customer reviews echo this sentiment. People like how easy the temperature controls are to use and the grill's ability to act as both a grill and a smoker. Customers also like the Wi-Fi controls that let you monitor your cook from a distance, with the two included probes to track meat temperatures as well. 

Purchase the Traeger Ironwood XL at Home Depot for $1,799.

Cold smoking is a technique where you smoke something, usually meat or a cocktail, while it's cold without introducing heat. The benefit is that you can add a smokey flavor to just about anything. In fact, some cocktails call for cold smoking. Arguably, the best example of such a product is the Breville Smoking Gun. It's a gun with a tube on the end. You load some wood chips and light them while the machine draws air through the wood and takes the smoke through the rubber hose. Shoot the smoke into your food of choice covered by plastic wrap or a cloche of some sort, and you're off to the races. 

Breville makes a reliable smoke gun at a reasonable price, and that's why most reviewers like it. The biggest compliment given to Breville is its ability to smoke things in ways that traditional smokers can't, like the aforementioned cocktails or lightly smoking some sushi-grade salmon without cooking it. 

Purchase the Breville Smoking Gun on Amazon for $99.95.

The East Oak Ridgewood smoker is arguably the biggest competitor to the Masterbuilt digital electric smoker. The two look quite similar, with the large viewing windows, side handles for carrying, and various pull-out trays for things like water, wood chips, and the grease trap. Much like the Masterbuilt, the East Oak Ridgewood comes with four racks that are also removable in case you want to smoke something larger, like an entire turkey. 

The smoker's plentiful space provided by the removable racks, relatively even cooking temperatures, and ease of use are what customers like most about the East Oak. The various trays at the bottom are easy to see, fill, and clean. In addition, reviewers note that its compact size makes for easy storage, making it a good electric smoker for apartments or smaller homes, especially with its handles and wheels for transporting. 

Purchase the East Oak Ridgewood smoker on Wayfair for $281.04.

Weber makes a variety of excellent grills, and its wood pellet grill is no exception. The Searwood is an offset-style wood pellet grill with one of the largest control displays of any smoker on the list. Its full temperature range goes from 180 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, making it a good all-in-one grill and smoker if you prefer to get two products for the price of one. The Searwood also lets you cook over direct flame if you want to sear or crisp items before smoking them. 

For the most part, customers praised the grill for its versatility as both a grill and a smoker. As it turns out, people like being able to grill steaks on a Tuesday and smoke some pulled pork over the weekend. Reviewers also like how quickly the grill comes up to temperature along with its myriad attachments, like a rotisserie spit that lets you smoke or grill an entire chicken. 

Purchase the Weber Searwood smoker at Lowe's for $899. 

The Traeger pro series 34 pellet grill is similar to Weber's Searwood. It functions as both a grill and a smoker, although this one tends to lean a little more on the smoker side of things. It has a maximum temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit and a smoke setting that goes lower than 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The offset-style wood pellet grill comes with a simple control panel and a grease trap bucket that is easy to get to and clean. 

Traeger also does a good job with the quality of life features, such as a hopper clean-out that lets you empty and refill the hopper with different wood pellets on the fly and an included meat probe that connects directly to the grill's controls. Owners note that the grill maintains its temperature well, which is important for a smoker, and that they were able to get delicious results with minimal effort. In short, the smoker just works well.

Purchase the Traeger pro series 34 pellet grill at Best Buy for $499.99.

The GE Profile smart indoor smoker is one of the few options for people who want to smoke indoors without setting off every fire alarm in place. This compact smoker is a tad too small for full turkeys or chickens but should smoke most smaller cuts of meat without much hassle. It works by generating smoke the same way as most electric grills and then filtering the smoke before exhausting warm air, keeping your kitchen smoke-free. 

Interestingly, it uses wood pellets like a pellet grill, but since it's smaller, it uses far less of them to produce a smokey flavor on food. It also has smoke control settings and meat-specific settings to take the guesswork out for beginners. Customers enjoy being able to smoke smaller cuts of meat without using a ton of extra fuel and being able to use it indoors during the cold winter months. 

Purchase the GE Profile smart indoor smoker for $699.99 at Target.

The Z Grills 1000D pellet grill is another combo grill that can grill or smoke food. It's one of the few that features a design in a color other than black or stainless steel, giving it a sleek look even if the design isn't winning any originality awards. The hopper doubles as a side table, and it also comes with a second side table on the opposite side, giving you plenty of space to put food or cooking tools. 

Perhaps the most unique feature of the Z Grills 1000D is the pull-out drawer to clean ash. Most pellet grills require a shop vacuum or something similar, whereas the 1000D has a drawer that lets you pull out and dump your ashes. Little quality-of-life improvements like that topped the list of things customers liked about the grill, along with its reasonably stable temperatures and sharp looks. 

Purchase the Z Grills 1000D pellet grill for $559 at Lowe's.

Ninja makes a ton of kitchen appliances, and this nifty Woodfire Pro Connect premium XL smoker is one of them. It's not just built for smoking smaller pieces of meat like chicken breast or steak but also heftier meats like brisket and 10-pound pork shoulder. The Woodfire works by burning wood pellets and using a convection fan to circulate the smoke and heat, effectively air-frying your food while it smokes. With the lid lifted, you can also use it as a grill. 

Despite being a tabletop smoker, this still belongs outdoors. Simply set it on a sturdy surface and let it go to town. It's small enough to take almost anywhere as long as you have an outlet to plug it in. Similarly to the GE indoor smart smoker, reviewers praised the ability to cook smaller food items without using a ton of wood while also enjoying its versatility as a grill, smoker, and outdoor air fryer. Many reviewers note taking it along during road trips or camping trips in their RV as well. 

Purchase the Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect premium XL smoker at Best Buy for $399.99.

The Grilla Silverbac is among the highest-rated smokers that we were able to find online. Not only do customers tend to love it, but we saw this brand recommended on sites like Reddit often enough that the brand is worth a closer look. The Silverbac has features we weren't able to find on other smokers, such as its TempTamer feature that helps reduce heat loss while opening the lid and its storage bin underneath the cook box, which you typically see on propane grills and not wood pellet smokers. 

The thing folks like most about the Silverbac is its longevity and consistency. It holds its temperature exceptionally well, and many reviewers boast of having owned the smoker for five or more years, which means the product lasts a long time. People also like the smart features that let you view the grill temperature, grill settings, and the included temperature probe from your smartphone. In short, it's a solid smoker that seems to do its job without any notable issues. 

Purchase the Grilla Silverbac wood pellet grill on its own website for $899.

The Smokin-It model #2 is certainly the most unique-looking smoker on the list. It looks like a hotbox you'd find in a restaurant kitchen, which is exactly the environment it's made for. Don't let its low-tech appearance fool you, as this was the highest-rated individual smoker that we could find. Most of its features are fairly simple like the double latch door system to keep the door tightly closed and fiberglass insulation to make sure the temperature stays where it's supposed to. There is also a control panel that lets you set the temperature and then forget it. 

When it comes to what customers like about it, it can all be summed up with one word, and that word is consistency — the product works as it should and as one would expect. Its temperature controls go down as low as 100 degrees Fahrenheit for a lukewarm smoke or up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, unlike many products on the list, you won't be using this one as a grill. The brand also makes a larger model #3 that is longer and more suitable for larger cuts of meat like briskets or ribs, whereas the rack is 14½ inches by 14½ inches for this one.

Purchase the Smoke-It model #2 on its own website for $684.99.

For this list, we sourced every product from nationwide chains like Home Depot, Lowe's, and Best Buy and other retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Wayfair. We crosschecked smokers between the various sources to make sure the overall user reviews were positive on each website. Any smoker with a 3.9 rating or lower was immediately omitted. In addition, smokers that scored well but only had a handful of user reviews were also largely removed. After all, scoring a perfect rating after three reviews is easy, but having a high number of ratings over hundreds or thousands of reviews is much harder, especially on a negative review-biased Internet. 

Of course, user reviews have their ups and downs. We dismissed a number of reviews that were "collected as part of a promotion," which means the reviewer might have received an incentive to leave a positive review. So, while every effort was made to choose the best grills based on real customer reviews, there is a warning that even large numbers of user reviews may be faked. Thus, we recommend doing additional research before making a final purchasing decision.