When you are looking for a dedicated smoker, you can’t go wrong with a vertical pellet smoker. Here are the 4 best vertical smokers of 2023!
In this guide, we’ll break down the four best vertical pellet smoker grills in 2023.
The Best Vertical Pellet Smokers in 2023
Best Overall Vertical Pellet Smoker: Pit Boss Pro 1077
Best Vertical Pellet Smoker and Grill: Grilla Alpha Connect Wood Pellet Smoker
Vertical Pellet Smoker with the Most Smoking Area: Louisiana Grills 7-Series
Best Luxury Vertical Pellet Smoker: Cookshack Fast Eddys FEC100
Best Vertical Pellet Smoker
Pit Boss Pro 1077 ($799)
Category: Vertical Pellet Smoker
Total Cooking Area: 1077 square inches
Wifi/Bluetooth enabled: Bluetooth and Wifi
Hopper Capacity: 65 pounds
Temperature Range: 150-420 degrees F
What we like: Wifi and Pit Boss App to monitor, large cooking area, wheels make it easily portable
What we don’t: Auger design could be better to minimize pellet jams
The Pit Boss Pro 1077 is one of the first vertical pellet smokers to offer wifi connectivity so that you can monitor and control your smoker with your phone. Pit Boss’s app is very user-friendly and makes it so easy. You can use the Pit Boss Grills app to control temperature settings, monitor your smoker’s meat probes, and much more from the convenience of your phone.
The Pro 107 also come with four easy-to-maneuver wheels, so you can wheel the smoker out when you need it and put it away when you don’t. It also features four porcelain-coated cooking racks that stack together to provide over 1,000 square inches of adjustable cooking space. There is also a large view window to eliminate the need for opening the door to check on your food.
Best Vertical Pellet Smoker and Grill
Grilla Alpha Connect Wood Pellet Smoker Grill ($929)
Category: Vertical Pellet Smoker
Total Cooking Area: 488 square inches
Wifi/Bluetooth enabled: No
Hopper Capacity: 20 pounds
Temperature Range: 180-500 degrees F
What we like: Innovative design, stainless steel grates, direct flame cooking,
What we don’t: Smaller than other vertical smokers
The Grilla Alpha Connect wood pellet smoker is part of Grilla Grills lineup of WiFi-enabled pellet grills. The brand-new industry-defining Alpha Connect technology gives you the ability to control your grill from anywhere. The innovative design of this grill makes it stand out from all other pellet grills and smokers. The convertible, two-tiered stainless-steel cooking surface gives you the ability to stack food like a vertical smoker, or direct flame grill on the bottom grate like a pellet grill. The unique shape does not just look cool, but it also eliminates hot and cold spots. The design also creates better airflow to ensure all that smokey goodness is rolling over your food
The Grilla Alpah Connect also features EZ glide wheels so you can easily move it where you wanted. The outside of the grill is finished with a tough powder-coat finish, and the stainless-steel internal components are built to last forever. Although this combination of the vertical smoker and pellet grill offers the smallest amount of cooking area the overall function cannot be beaten. If you are looking for something that is a top-notch cooker that does it all and doesn’t take up a lot of space, this is your pellet smoker!
Vertical Pellet Grill with the Largest Cooking Area
Louisiana 7-Series ($999)
Category: Vertical Pellet Smoker
Total Grilling Area: 2,059 square inches
Wifi/Bluetooth enabled: No/No
Hopper Capacity: 60 pounds
Temperature Range: 150-450 degrees F
What we like: Largest vertical pellet grill available, huge hopper, well insulated
What we don’t: Difficult to empty pellets
With the 2,059 square inches of cooking space, you’ll have plenty of room to smoke anything end everything you can think of. The 60-pound hopper allows up to 35 hours of cooking time, ensuring you will never run out of pellets during a cook. The 7-Series comes with 6 beautiful porcelain-coated grid cooking rackings. The double-walled insulation helps hold in heat and keep temperatures stable no matter what the weather is outside.
I really like the solid construction of this smoker. The solid glass door has a high-temperature seal to ensure that you won’t lose an ounce of smoke or heat. This smoker also comes with 4 locking wheels so you can easily move this monster where you need you need it.
Best Luxury Vertical Pellet Smoker
Fast Eddies Cookshack FEC-1000 ($5,800)
Category: Vertical Pellet Smoker
Total Grilling Area: 1564 square inches
Wifi/Bluetooth enabled: None
Hopper Capacity: 20 pounds
Temperature Range: 130-400 degrees F
What we like: 304 Grade Stainless steel construction, well insulated, maintains consistent temperatures
What we don’t: No wifi or Bluetooth, high-temperature auto-shutoff can be an issue when smoking with a hotter temperature
This vertical smoker features stainless steel construction and 850-degree Spin-Glass insulation. This Spin-Glass insulation not only means ridiculously consistent temperatures inside the cooker, but the outside will always be cool to the touch. No other vertical smokers offer this.
The FEC-100 also features an exclusive IQ5 technology that allows you to cook your meat at a temperature and time that you set. The proprietary IQ5 electronic time and temperature controller is easy to use and gives you consistent results with every use. Thermostatically controlled temperature eliminates large heat fluctuations that dry and shrink meat. The patented automatic wood pellet stoker-fed system is operated by the IQ5 controller. It knows when the smoker needs more fuel; you can go away and leave it to do its job without your attention. The hopper has a 20-pound capacity and the smoker can cook for over 24 hours on one load of pellets. The FEC-100 also includes four 23 X 17-inch nickel-plated steel racks that are removable and adjustable. This is also one of the few smokers that are completely made in the USA.
What to Look for When Buying a vertical pellet smoker
When comparing different models to determine which is the best vertical pellet smoker for you there are several features that you should consider. Focusing on these key features will help you purchase the right model.
Cooking Temperature Range
To sear properly you need your grill hot. The internal temperature should be at least 500 degrees F or higher. The goal is to get the grates as hot as possible to flash-cook the exterior of your steak. The hotter the grill grates the better the sear and the more delicious brown bits are created in the form of grill marks.
Ideally, if searing steak is one of your top priorities you should be looking at pellet grills that can reach 600-700 degrees. This is very top of the temperature range and is really only found in the higher-end or luxury pellet grills.
Cooking Area
The size of the cooking area is important, especially if you plan to entertain larger crowds from time to time. Having a smoker that is large enough to smoke what you want when is ideal. However, if you live in a small apartment or have limited space you should also make sure you don’t purchase a model that is too big for your space.
Cooking Grates
The grate material of the pellet grill is important because of its longevity and ease of cleanup. Stainless steel grates will never rust and will last a lifetime. Nickel-plated or porcelain-plated steel will definitely last longer than raw steel. Most vertical smokers offer adjustable grates so that you can adjust them depending on what you are cooking. Most vertical smokers come standard with 4 to 6 grates.
Temperature Controls
How you control the temperature of your pellet grill is often overlooked as a feature, but it is important. Up until very recently, all vertical pellet smokers had simple analog or dial controls. However, now more and more models offer Bluetooth or wifi connectivity so you can control and monitor your smoker from an app on your phone. This feature may seem like a luxury, but once you cook with it you will wonder who you ever lived without it.
Comparison Table
| Grill | Temperature Range | Cooking Area | Number of Grates | Hopper Capacity | Grate Material | Wifi | Price |
| Pit Boss Pro 1077 | 150 – 420 degrees | 1,070 square inches | 4 | 65 pounds | Porcelain-coated steel | Yes | $799 |
| Grilla Alpha Pellet Smoker | 180 – 450 degrees | 488 square inches | 3 | 20 pounds | Stainless Steel | Yes | $929 |
| Louisiana 7-Series | 150 – 450 degrees | 2,049 square inches | 6 | 60 pounds | Plated Steel | Yes | $999 |
| Cookshack Fast Eddies FEC1000 | 130 – 420 degrees | 1056 square inches | 4 | 20 pounds | Stainless Steel | No | $5,800 |
Frequently Asked Questions
No, in fact, it is incredibly easy! The ease of pellet smoker and pellet grill technology means there is no fire management or other techniques to learn like a charcoal or wood smoker. Simply add pellets to the hopper, place the meat inside the smoker, set the temperature on the digital display, and walk away. Thats it! The pellet smoker will automatically add pellets as needed to keep a consistent temperature. Once your meat is done you simply take it out of the smoker and enjoy.
Typically the hottest part of the smoker is at the bottom. This is because the fire pot is at the bottom and the closer are to the flame the more intense the heat.
To ideal temperature range to smoke food is between 180 and 300 degrees F. Every vertical pellet smoker on this list has a temperature range that is ideal for smoking most foods. However, there are some foods that can be “cold smoked”, like cheese. Cold smoking must be done at much lower temperatures, which cannot be done with these four vertical pellet smokers
No. Vertical pellet smokers do not get hot enough to grill like a pellet grill. The vertical design of a vertical pellet smoker is optimized for smoking foods low and slow, not high heat grilling and searing.
It is very easy to clean your vertical pellet smoker after cooking. I highly recommend placing a disposable aluminum tray with two inches of water in it at the bottom of the smoker. Not only will this add some moisture to the air during the cook, but it also catches all the grease during the cook. Once you are finished cooking simply take this tray out and throw it in the garbage. Use a sponge and some soapy water to clean off the grates and you are all finished!