The Best Electric Smokers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital Electric Smoker

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The Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital is the most capable all-rounder: 970 square inches over four racks, a side wood-chip loader, and simple digital time and temperature control at a mid-range price. The Bradley wins on pure smoke quality and hands-off operation, and is the one to buy if cold-smoking or set-and-forget consistency matters more than capacity.

Electric smokers trade the fire-tending of charcoal and the pellet-hopper of a pellet grill for a plug, a thermostat, and a tray of wood. That makes them the easiest way to get real smoked flavor with the least babysitting, but the category runs from genuinely capable cabinets to boxes that can't even hold a barbecue temperature. We weighed maker specs and a wide range of owner reports to land on two we'd buy, one that depends on what you want, and one to skip for all but a narrow use.

RBE top pick

Masterbuilt

Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital Electric Smoker

Buy it

The workhorse (model MB20072918): the most rack space and the least fuss for the money, with a side loader so you never open the door to add wood.

Best for: Families and first big-batch cooks who want maximum capacity and a simple digital smoker.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Four chrome-coated racks totaling 970 square inches, which Masterbuilt says fits up to 8 pork butts or 8 racks of ribs
• Patented side wood-chip loader lets you add chips without opening the door and dumping heat and smoke
• Digital panel sets cooking time and temperature, with a removable water bowl, rear grease tray, air damper and a fully insulated body

Know before buying

• Temperature tops out at 275F, enough for low and slow but not for crisping poultry skin
• Masterbuilt lists no meat probe for this model, where the 710 WiFi lists integrated meat probes
• No phone app; WiFi control is on the 710 WiFi model
• One year warranty

Check price on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Bradley

Bradley Original 4-Rack Electric Smoker

Buy it

An automatic wood-puck feeder makes clean, consistent smoke for hours and is the better cold-smoking choice of the group.

Best for: Fish, cheese, and jerky smokers and set-and-forget purists who care about smoke quality over gadgets.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Automatic bisquette feeder runs up to nine hours of hands-off smoking, per Bradley
• Compatible with a cold smoke adapter (sold separately) for fish and cheese
• Clean, controllable smoke that owners say avoids the bitter over-smoked taste

Know before buying

• Proprietary wood bisquettes are an ongoing cost you can't substitute
• Heat control is simpler than a precise digital controller
• Premium price for the capacity

Amazon had no buyable listing for this when we last checked. The link still works if it returns.

Find it on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

Pit Boss

Pit Boss 30-Inch Digital Vertical Smoker with Wi-Fi (PBV30DS)

It depends

App control and a viewing window at a friendly price, if you can live with some temperature swing and occasional fiddling.

Best for: Gadget-minded budget buyers who want phone monitoring and will accept some inconsistency to get it.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• WiFi app lets you watch and adjust temperature from your phone
• Glass door and digital control panel are easy to read
• Four adjustable porcelain-coated racks

Know before buying

• Owners report temperature swings and some controller or element inconsistency
• App connectivity can be flaky and needs re-pairing
• Smoke output is milder than a dedicated smoke feeder

Amazon had no buyable listing for this when we last checked. The link still works if it returns.

Find it on Amazon Read our detailed assessment ↓

We'd skip it

Smokehouse Products

Smokehouse Big Chief Front Load Electric Smoker

Skip it

A cult favorite for salmon and jerky, but with no temperature control it can't cook real barbecue.

Best for: Only fish and jerky hobbyists; it is not a do-it-all barbecue smoker.

$ · budget

Why we like it

• Dead simple, inexpensive, and light at about 17.6 lb
• Beloved for cold-style smoked salmon and jerky
• Front-loading racks make it easy to check a batch

Know before buying

• No thermostat at all: it runs at one fixed low heat (about 165F) you can't change
• Runs at only about 165F, well below the 225 degrees and up needed for ribs, brisket, or safe poultry
• Aluminum body offers little insulation outdoors and in cold weather

See our pick instead See it at Amazon anyway Read our detailed assessment ↓

How we judged the field

We did not run our own lab. Instead we weighed maker specs and a broad range of owner reports, then weighted the criteria that actually decide whether an electric smoker is worth owning. The big ones: usable cooking capacity and rack layout; temperature range and how tightly the smoker holds a set point; how wood is fed and how clean the smoke is; insulation and cold-weather recovery; whether digital or app control is present and reliable; cleanup effort; and overall build. Because these are electric smokers, we treated them as a distinct category from charcoal and pellet cookers, and we cared most about set-and-forget consistency rather than raw searing power.

This is the cabinet most people should buy, in its current form as model MB20072918. Masterbuilt gives it 970 square inches across four chrome-coated racks and says it fits up to 8 pork butts or 8 racks of ribs, the most capacity in the group. The standout feature is the patented side wood-chip loader: you top up chips without opening the door, so you avoid the heat-and-smoke dump that plagues front-loading boxes. Control is a simple digital panel where you set cooking time and a temperature up to 275F, and the body is fully insulated with a lockable latch, a removable water bowl, a rear grease tray and an adjustable damper. Masterbuilt lists no meat probe for this model, so budget for a separate thermometer, and 275F is a ceiling for low and slow rather than for crisp skin. If you want phone control and integrated probes, the 710 WiFi model in the same family has both.

The Bradley wins on smoke, not size. Its signature trick is an automatic feeder that drops a fresh compressed wood bisquette onto the burner automatically, and Bradley says it runs up to nine hours of continuous smoking, so smoke stays clean with little attention from you. Bradley also offers a cold smoke adapter, sold separately, for fish and cheese. Owners praise how it avoids the bitter, over-smoked taste that comes from smoldering a big pile of chips. The tradeoffs are real: heat control is simpler than a precise digital controller, the bisquettes are proprietary and an ongoing cost, and it sits at a premium price. For the flavor-first crowd, it earns the buy anyway.

This one is a genuine maybe. On paper it is a lot of smoker for the money: a digital controller, WiFi so you can watch temperature from your phone, a glass viewing door, and four adjustable racks. In practice, owner reports are mixed. A meaningful number describe temperature swings, occasional controller or element inconsistency, and an app that can be finicky and need re-pairing. If cheap app control and a viewing window are what you want and you can tolerate some fiddling, it delivers. If you want it to just work every time, look at the top two.

The Big Chief has a devoted following, and for one job it deserves it: cold-style smoked salmon and jerky, which it does cheaply and simply. But as a general electric smoker it has a disqualifying limitation. There is no thermostat at all; it runs at a single fixed low heat you cannot change, which means it runs far below the 225 degrees and up needed for ribs, brisket, or safely cooked poultry. The aluminum body also offers little insulation outdoors and in the cold. Unless your entire plan is fish and jerky, this is a skip.

Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital vs Bradley Original: which should you buy?

These are the two we would actually spend money on, and they answer different questions. The Masterbuilt is about capacity and convenience: it has the most capacity, it has a side loader for adding wood without opening the door, and its digital panel is simple at a mid-range price. The Bradley is about smoke quality and walking away: its automatic bisquette feeder is aimed at clean, consistent smoke, and it is the one with a cold smoke adapter option. Choose the Masterbuilt if you want the most barbecue for the least money and effort. Choose the Bradley if smoked fish and cheese are on your menu, you value hands-off consistency, and you are willing to pay premium price plus the running cost of proprietary pucks.

What to look for

• Real temperature control: insist on an adjustable thermostat that can climb past 225 degrees; fixed-heat boxes cannot cook true barbecue.
• How wood is fed: a side loader or an automatic feeder means you add smoke without opening the door and losing heat.
• Insulation: double-wall or insulated cabinets hold temperature and recover faster, which matters most in cold weather.
• Capacity and rack layout: measure what you actually cook; racks that are too shallow limit large cuts.
• Digital vs app control: a clear digital panel is enough for most; treat WiFi as a nice-to-have, not a reason to accept worse temperature stability.
• Cleanup: removable trays, a grease pan, and washable racks save you time after every cook.

Our final take

Electric smokers are the easiest way to get real smoke flavor, but the category rewards buying carefully. The Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital Electric Smoker is the pick for most people thanks to its capacity, side wood-chip loader, and simple digital control. The Bradley Original 4-Rack is the smoke-quality choice and the one to buy if cold-smoking or true set-and-forget operation matters most. The Pit Boss 30-Inch Digital with Wi-Fi can be a smart budget buy if you want app control and accept some inconsistency. And unless you only smoke fish and jerky, skip the Smokehouse Big Chief, because a smoker that cannot change temperature cannot cook the barbecue most people are after.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Masterbuilt 40-Inch Digital Electric Smoker vs Bradley Original 4-Rack Electric Smoker.

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