The Best Smart Grills of 2026: Pellet, Gas and Electric

Yes, if you enjoy low-and-slow cooking and have an outdoor outlet; less so if you mostly grill burgers and hot dogs in a hurry. A pellet grill holds a set temperature for hours and lets you monitor it from your phone, which helps on cool, windy days. It has to be plugged in, takes longer to heat up than gas and should be covered when not in use, since rain and moisture ruin pellets. Check the hopper size if you plan long cooks.

Mostly the pellets: expect roughly 1 lb (0.5 kg) an hour for low-and-slow smoking and over 2 lb (1 kg) an hour at high heat, more in cold or windy weather. A six-hour cook at low temperature typically needs 7 to 9 lb (3 to 4 kg), so multiply by the price of your bag of food-grade grilling pellets (not heating pellets). Electricity is minor: the igniter draws a few hundred watts for a few minutes, then the fan and auger use little.

Never in a garage or any enclosed space, because burning pellets produce carbon monoxide; a gazebo is only OK if it's open on the sides and well clear of the grill. Follow the clearances in the manual, both above and around the grill, and keep it away from fences, sheds and the side of the house. Plug into a GFCI-protected outdoor outlet rather than running an extension cord through a window. In the rain, a grill cover between cooks is safer than cooking under a fabric canopy.

Wi-Fi if you want to check on the cook from anywhere, Bluetooth if you stay in the backyard or kitchen. Bluetooth range drops sharply through walls, so many fully wireless probes use a base unit that relays to Wi-Fi. Choose a probe rated for the grill's ambient temperature. For poultry, aim for 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the meat.

Usually because of damp pellets, a fire pot full of ash or a failed igniter. Empty the fire pot and vacuum out the cold ash, make sure the pellets are dry and not crumbling into dust, and check that the auger is feeding. If the grill keeps flaming out mid-cook, wet pellets or an empty hopper are the usual suspects. If nothing glows at startup, the igniter rod may need replacing, a common and inexpensive part.