Electric vs Pellet Smoker
A pellet smoker feeds itself, tastes a little smokier and grills chicken at 450°F. An electric costs half as much and only cooks low and slow. For most yards, I'd buy the pellet.
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Buy the pellet smoker, and the one I'd start with is the 7002B at about $489. You fill the hopper, set 225°F and it feeds the fire by itself for a whole pork butt, then it'll do chicken thighs at 450°F on a weeknight. An electric smoker like the Masterbuilt costs about half as much and is just as easy to start, but it only cooks low and slow, and you'll be adding wood chips all afternoon.
Electric smoker vs pellet grill: the comparison chart
An electric smoker is an insulated box with a heating element at the bottom and a small tray of wood chips that smolder over it. A pellet smoker (most get sold as pellet grills) burns compressed hardwood pellets that an auger feeds from a hopper into a fire pot, so the wood is the fuel and the smoke at the same time.
| Electric smoker | Pellet smoker | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat source | An electric element, wood chips for smoke | Wood pellets, burned for heat and smoke |
| Top heat | 275°F on the Masterbuilt | 450°F on the 7002B, up to 600°F on pricier ones |
| Adding fuel | Chips about every 45 minutes to an hour | About 1 lb of pellets an hour at low heat, from a 20-lb hopper |
| Smoke flavor | Lighter | A little stronger |
| Smoke ring | Rare without tricks | Common |
| Grilling | No | Chicken, chops, burgers, pizza |
| Cooking space | 710 sq in on four racks | 700 sq in |
| Needs an outlet | Yes | Yes |
| Price | About $239 | About $489 |
Which one gives more smoke flavor?
The pellet smoker, by a little. It's burning wood the whole time, while an electric only smokes when its chips are smoldering, and Smoked BBQ Source points out that electrics rarely make enough of the gases that form a pink smoke ring. Most pellet smokers make one. The ring is mostly looks (it doesn't taste of anything), but if you're bringing brisket to a party, people do notice it.
The gap is smaller than the fuel suggests, though. The same site's reviewer smoked ribs and corned beef in the Masterbuilt 30 and called the smoke subtle but adequate, about on par with a pellet grill. Neither one tastes like a charcoal or wood fire, and if that's the flavor you're after, skip to the charcoal section below.
Which is easier to run?
Both start with a button. The difference shows up three hours into a pork shoulder. The Masterbuilt's chip tray is small, so you'll be reloading it every 45 minutes to an hour if you want smoke the whole time. A pellet smoker just keeps feeding itself: Kingsford puts it at about 1 pound of pellets an hour on low heat and about 2 on high, so a 20-pound hopper outlasts any brisket.
Temperature holds steady on both. The 7002B uses a PID controller, the kind that adjusts the pellet feed and the fan constantly, and on its Wi-Fi sibling Smoked BBQ Source saw the heat move barely more than 5°F. The Masterbuilt holds its setting well, but its top rack can run up to 20°F cooler than the bottom one, so put the thickest cut down low and check it with a good meat thermometer.
Pellets do ask for two small chores: keep the bag somewhere dry (damp pellets swell and can jam the auger), and empty the fire pot of ash every few cooks.
What else can each one cook?
At 450°F, the 7002B roasts a spatchcocked chicken with crisp skin, grills pork chops and burgers, and bakes a pizza or a skillet of cornbread. It won't give a steak a dark crust (for that you'd want a pellet grill that runs hotter, like the ones in my pellet grill guide), but it covers most of what a gas grill does on a Tuesday.
An electric smoker does one thing. At 275°F you get ribs, pork butt, brisket flats, salmon, jerky and smoked wings that you crisp somewhere else. If you already own a good grill and want a box that sits next to it for low-and-slow weekends, that's a fair deal.
What each one costs
About $239 for the Masterbuilt against about $489 for the 7002B. The extra $250 pays for the grilling, the hopper and a bit more smoke. It also buys a three-year warranty from Z Grills. Masterbuilt gives one year, and some owners have had the digital controller or the heating element quit, so register it when you buy it.
Space is close: 710 square inches on the Masterbuilt's four racks, 700 on the 7002B. The electric is the better shape for a big batch of jerky or four half racks of ribs, since it stacks food vertically, while a pellet grill lays it all out flat where a whole brisket fits more easily.
Charcoal vs electric smoker
Charcoal tastes more like barbecue. The best-known charcoal smoker for home is the Smokey Mountain, a steel bullet with a water pan between the fire and the meat, at about $419 for the 18-inch. Owners who fill its charcoal ring and light only a few coals on top regularly get 8 to 15 hours at 225°F from one load, depending on the charcoal and the wind, so it's less work than its reputation.
It still asks more of you than an electric. You light a fire, you learn the vents, and on a cold or windy day you watch the thermometer. In exchange you get real charcoal and wood-chunk flavor, a smoke ring without trying, and a smoker that works anywhere in the yard with no cord. An electric is the one to pick if you want to set a number, walk away, and not think about fire at all. For wood, chunks last much longer than chips on charcoal (there's more on that in the wood chip guide).
Electric vs propane (gas) smoker
A propane smoker looks like an electric one, a tall box with racks, but a gas burner heats it. It gets much hotter than an electric's 275°F, and it runs anywhere you can bring a tank, which makes it the one for a hunting cabin or a campsite. Its smoke also tends to taste a little closer to charcoal.
The electric wins on ease and running cost. It plugs in, its thermostat holds the setting, and power usually costs less than propane per cook. Propane boxes are thinly insulated, so wind and cold pull their temperature around. Keep a spare tank on hand for a long brisket, too. Both still need their wood chips topped up.
Pellet smoker vs offset or wood smoker
A wood smoker usually means an offset: a steel barrel with a firebox on the side, burning real logs. It gives the strongest smoke of anything here, and it asks the most work, about a new split every 30 to 45 minutes for the length of the cook. If you're weighing a pellet grill against an offset or a kamado, kamado vs offset smoker compares those two, and next to either one the pellet grill is still the low-effort choice.
What you need
- Z Grills 7002B The pellet smoker that feeds itself and grills at 450°F.$489.00
- Masterbuilt 30-inch Digital Electric Smoker An electric smoker for low-and-slow cooks on a smaller budget.$239.00
- Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker A charcoal smoker if you want real fire flavor and no cord.$419.00
For ribs on Saturday, a pork butt for a crowd and grilled chicken on a weeknight, the 7002B is the one I'd buy, and it's the easier smoker to live with. For low-and-slow only, next to a grill you already own and on about $240, the Masterbuilt is the sensible pick.
