Best Smokers of 2026
Vertical, cabinet, barrel and offset smokers, on charcoal, pellets or electric power.
Low and slow barbecue is about steady heat and clean smoke for hours at a time. Our smoker reviews judge each cooker on that.
The right smoker keeps that heat without you hovering over it, so you can enjoy the day.
Charcoal gives the most flavor, pellets the least effort, and electric the easiest start.
We tested 24 smokers for this guide. Most of them do well on value for money. Where most fall short is how long they last, so that is where the picks below stand apart.
Our picks
- Best overall
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18 Ten years against rust through on bowl, lid and center ring, so the cover is longest exactly where rust starts. $419 at Amazon - Best smoker for the money
Char-Griller Smokin' Pro Grill and Smoker At $299.99 against the Competition Pro's $449.99, the cheaper grill carries the better grate material. $299.99 at Amazon - Best smoker for beginners
Weber Smoque XL Pellet Smoker Both meat probes, the LCD controller and Wi-Fi arrive in the carton, so a first cook needs no extra purchase. $899 at Amazon - Best pellet smoker
Weber Smoque Pellet Smoker Two probes, two ports, an LCD controller and app control ship in the box with nothing else to buy. $699 at Amazon - Best charcoal smoker
Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 14 Ten years against rust through on bowl and lid, with aluminium at the door, so cover is longest where a smoker dies. $289 at Amazon - Best electric smoker
Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital Smoker with Window Roof panel at standing height, side chip loading and a door you rarely open make this about as easy as smoking gets. $399.99 at Amazon - Best smoker under $300
Cuisinart COS-118 The latched coal door lets you refuel and top up water without breaking the cook open at the lid. $209.99 at Amazon - Best smoker under $500
Cuisinart CPG-256 Auto-start, Prime, a NO PELLET alarm and an included probe cover everything a beginner needs; the two-hand carry is the one chore. $319 at Amazon
Prices are what the retailer charged when we last checked. More on each pick below.
Best smoker overallWeber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18
The 18 is the size most people who want this system should own. Weber scaled up the fire and left the instruments untouched. Add a probe thermometer and the middle size asks nothing extra of you.
Good to know: One built-in reading, taken at the lid, on a cooker whose fire you otherwise cannot see at all.
Best smoker for the moneyChar-Griller Smokin' Pro Grill and Smoker
Buy the Smokin' Pro for the 580 square inches and the cast iron on them. Treat the 1,130 as storage. The fire box is something you tend rather than load. Char-Griller fitted its best grate material to the offset it rates the coolest.
Why it won this award: At $299.99 against the Competition Pro's $449.99, the cheaper grill carries the better grate material.
Good to know: Cast iron sits under the lowest published ceiling in the family, and 3.1 lbs of fuel serves 1,130 square inches.
Best smoker for beginnersWeber Smoque XL Pellet Smoker
The Smoque XL is the Weber pellet argument scaled up rather than sharpened. More grate, the same 500 ceiling, and two probes already in the carton. Just read the three-year list before the five-year headline, because that list is the machine.
Why it won this award: Both meat probes, the LCD controller and Wi-Fi arrive in the carton, so a first cook needs no extra purchase.
Good to know: Three years covers the burn pot, pellet slide, baffle, grates and electrics. Only the box gets five.
Best pellet smokerWeber Smoque Pellet Smoker
The 500 ceiling is not a limit Weber ran into. It is the product. Buy it if you already own something that sears, or if bark is the point. It does that job with unusually little fuss.
Good to know: The cook box carries 5 years while the burn pot, pellet slide, heat baffle, grates and electronics carry 3.
Best charcoal smokerWeber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 14
Buy the Smokey Mountain 14 if the space is small and the cooking is patient. Weber shrank the barrel and kept the system. The only thing small really costs here is attention.
Good to know: The thermometer and removable fuel door help, yet a small charcoal chamber means the cook checks in more often.
Best electric smokerMasterbuilt 40-Inch Digital Smoker with Window
The extra $150 over the 30 inch buys roomier racks for big cuts. It does not buy a hotter smoker. The legs are the best part of the $70 premium, because they spare your back. The window is a pleasant extra that fades as the smoke builds.
Good to know: One year of cover on a cabinet whose electronics live on the roof, exposed to rain and sun, is a short promise for this money.
Best smoker under $300Cuisinart COS-118
The COS-118 does not hand you a big cooking surface. It hands you the same surface twice, in a column, for around $207.
Good to know: Cuisinart spends porcelain enamel on the water bowl and chrome on the grates, which is the wrong way round.
Best smoker under $500Cuisinart CPG-256
The CPG-256 gets pellet cooking down to something one person can carry alone. The controller, the sear zone and the probe are more than $319 usually buys. Just decide where it will be plugged in before you decide where it will be parked.
Good to know: Three-year cover is fair, but the $94.75 controller fits this model alone and showed out of stock on Cuisinart's own parts list.
Questions people ask
What is the best smoker?
Our top pick is the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18. The 18 is the size most people who want this system should own. Weber scaled up the fire and left the instruments untouched.
What is the best value smoker?
The Char-Griller Smokin' Pro Grill and Smoker. At $299.99 against the Competition Pro's $449.99, the cheaper grill carries the better grate material.
How much should I spend on a smoker?
Most of the smokers we tested cost between $250 and $550. Our top pick costs about $419. Across all our scores, paying more buys a little, and much less than the price tag suggests.
Which brand makes the best smokers?
Of the brands we tested at least twice here, Weber did best across its 5 models, ahead of Cuisinart. A single great model matters more than the badge, so judge each smoker on its own.
Do you need a smoker to make brisket?
No. Any grill with a lid and a way to cook indirectly can do it. A smoker just makes holding low, steady heat for many hours much easier. That ease is the real reason people buy one.
What is the best wood for smoking?
It depends on the meat. Oak and hickory are strong and suit beef and pork. Apple and cherry are milder and suit chicken, pork and fish. Use dry, seasoned wood and keep the smoke thin and blue.
How do you keep a smoker at a steady temperature?
Make small vent changes and wait several minutes before changing again. Keep the lid shut as much as you can. A good thermometer at grate level matters more than the dial on the lid.
What is the stall when smoking meat?
The stall is when the meat stops rising in temperature for hours. Moisture evaporating from the surface cools it. Be patient, or wrap the meat in foil or butcher paper to push through.
How we picked
Every pick comes from our own testing, scored the same way across six things that matter to an owner. The overall pick is the highest Avid Griller Score. For the money and for beginners go to the top Value and Ease of Use scores. Pellet, charcoal and electric are the top scorer on that fuel, and the price picks the top scorer under $300 or $500 at the retailer we checked. How we score.
Looking for something else? See all our best grill guides.