The 9 Best Grills of 2025

Traeger invented the pellet smoker. And Traeger still makes the pellet grills and smokers we love best. The Traeger Woodridge Pro is our overall favorite pellet grill and smoker, existing at the intersection of value and utility and the ability to make you popular in the neighborhood. In this, it replaces the discontinued Ironwood 650. The Woodridge is a straightforward beast of a thing that's easy to clean, easy to dial in for a perfect rack of ribs, and big enough to cook up two pork bellies at the same time.

One could quibble with the capacitative touch button controls and LED readout, which take a sec to figure out. And while the included temperature probes are nice, the app doesn't offer now-standard functions on the best wireless meat probes like a temperature history that lets you see the heat graph. But in terms of execution, control, and unarguable results? There are no complaints. This is a heck of a cooker. —Matthew Korfhage

The Masterbuilt 1150 is a big grill with a large capacity—not just for meat (though definitely for meat) but also for charcoal and for cooking styles. This big, Wi-Fi-enabled charcoal cooker has 1,000-plus square inches of grate space, which is enough for a full brisket, a pork butt, and a few racks of ribs. And it will slow smoke at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, but also heat up to a searing 700. With enough room for a full 17.6-pound bag of charcoal briquettes and an electric fan that controls the temp by blowing more or less air onto the charcoal, you can set it and forget it while you sleep or work.

It's going to take some work to get there, though. This grill is a beast, weighing nearly 300 pounds in its packaging. Putting it together is a major project—a TaskRabbit I hired gave up after two hours, after losing numerous pieces, and a buddy who later attempted the project from scratch spent three hours to get it right. Then there are two hours of seasoning time required to burn off the factory chemicals. There is no electric starter, so you'll be fiddling with fire-starters. Oh, and the app can be a bit touchy and will beep incessantly if the fire is slow to start. The whole process is high-friction and fairly laborious compared to a high-end product like a Yoder smart pellet grill, though that grill is nearly triple the price.

But in the end, once it was all set up, I smoked some of the best ribs I've ever made on the Masterbuilt 1150, and the $200 pizza attachment also worked like a charm. If you're looking for a smart grill that has some champagne features on a beer budget and don't mind a few rough edges, this is a great choice. —Martin Cizmar