8 Best Vertical Pellet Grill Smoker (Best Choice) 2024

Are you looking for the best vertical pellet grill smokers? Great! You have come to the right place as in this review article we will discuss all the aspects of those top-rated vertical pellet smokers that professional and passionate grillers highly recommend.

The vertical pellet smokers are a great choice as they provide a balanced heat distribution, steady airflow, high temperature, and yet a large cooking space for meal preparation.

Those who want to enjoy a party with their friends and family can opt for any model from top-rated brands including Camp Chef, Zee Grill, Masterbuilt, and others as discussed below.

Whether you choose an indoor smoker or an outdoor, depending upon your choice and requirement, you must know all the technical aspects and pros and cons that we will discuss in this article too.

Here comes a complete breakdown of our top-rated best vertical pellet Grill.

Best Vertical Pellet Grill Smoker 2024

Series	Product Name	Price
1.	Weber 14-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker	Check Price
2.	Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D	Check Price
3.	Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker	Check Price
4.	Camp Chef XXL Vertical Pellet Smoker	Check Price
5.	Masterbuilt MB20071117	Check Price
6.	Weber 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker	Check Price
7.	Bradley Smoker BTDS76P 990216	Check Price
8.	Dyna-Glo Signature Series DGSS1382VCS-D	Check Price

1. Weber 14-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker | Best Outdoor Grill Smoker

Weber 14-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker brings a slow-cooking mode smoker for you. It lets the slow and steady cooking make you feel good when your friends are just in. you can put the meat in its vertical grill and let it sear while enjoying other things at home or backyard. 

The smokey mountain cooker makes the savory barbeque-flavored pork or ribs as you desire. The plated steel cooking grates provide a perfect surface area to the meat. These plates give the perfect sear marks on yummy steak, ribs, meat of fillet for the burgers. 

The legs of the smoker are made of steel that resists corrosion. Moreover, a thermometer on the lid gives you the smoker’s internal temperature.

Features

What we like:

• Easy to assemble
  The smokey mountain cooker requires easy assembling to start working. You dont need a technician to fix it. The manual has simple instructions for assembling it step by step.
  Moreover, the free BILT app has 3D assembly instructions.
• Durability
  The steel made plated grill makes perfect sear marks on the meat/steaks. The body of the smoker and the stand/legs are also made up of steel. This makes the smoker corrosion resistant and durable in all kinds of weather.
• Temperature measurement.
  There is no guesswork in the cooking. The lid has a thermometer. This thermometer helps to indicate the temperature exactly.

What we dont like:

• There are no hooks or anything where you can put the lid. Whenever we uncover the smoker, the lid gets stained if we put it on the floor.

Personal Opinion

Except for the placement of the lid, the smoker works the best for all the customers. You can really enjoy your backyard barbeque when your friends join you for a feast. The durability, portability, and reliability make the smoker the best vertical smoker among the top pellet smokers.

2. Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D | Best Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker

As the heat rises naturally in vertical smokers, this design is best for heat efficiency and best flavored smoky food. The offset charcoal smoker has an offset design along with the vertical smoker. It does not heat the food directly, keeping it safe from burning.

The smoker has six height-adjustable cooking grates that can manage any size of food from grilling whole chicken or turkey to steaks or burgers.

The amazing part is the porcelain enameled steel charcoal chamber that 

Keeps the briquettes stacked for higher efficiency. 

Moreover, the stainless steel thermometer does not let you worry about temperature control. You can easily read the temperature through an easy to read gauge for proper insight.

The removable steel ash pan helps in cleaning, making the process simple for you.

Having this smoker can make your grilling experience super easy due to the following features.

Features:

What we like:

• Offset heating chamber
  The offset design of the heating zone sends the heat indirectly to the food. This way neither direct burning nor any burnt food. You get an easy and steady heat flow that makes the food delicious and a perfect feast.
• Customizable cooking
  The smoker hits the sweet spot of taste and variety as you can cook large batches of any sized food in it. It has six adjustments for grates, that can accommodate huge amounts of food. Low and slow smoked cooking gives barbeque flavor to the food without any burns.
• Heat efficiency
  The charcoal chamber helps in briquettes stacking. The stacked briquettes hold tight and provide high burn efficiency. As the smoker has a stainless steel thermometer, it finds the exact temperature helping the infusing smoke. 

What we dont like:

• Large quantity of charcoal
  It needs a large quantity of charcoal to start smoking. 

Personal Opinion

If we compare the efficiency, flavor, and price, this smoker has a huge customer line. The quality, price, and easy to achieve flavors make it one of the best vertical pellet grill & smokers. The large quantity of required charcoal is nothing in front of the quality of food achieved. The top class grillers not only use it but highly recommend it too.

3. Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker | Best Budget Grill Smoker

Charbroil is a low priced, highly efficient smoker with electrical ignition and a digital control system. It offers a large value to price ratio for all the people who are looking for a budget-friendly smoker. The smart and sleek design offers a great smoker option for limited spaces with easy assembling and simple set up.

Having a simple stainless steel thermometer makes it an easy to read temperature smoker and anyone can use it by reading the users guide only.

The smokers inner is made up of steel, the exterior is made up of high-quality plastic that looks good and stylish too. The smoker has an integrated pan of water that steams the meat and stops it from drying during heat.

Why do people like it most is because of its lightweight feature. The product weighs only 49 pounds, electrical start, makes it highly portable and easy to travel with.

Features:

What we like:

• Portability and durability
  The design is smart and sleek with a weight of 49 pounds only. This compact and lightweight feature helps in outdoor cooking, tailgating, and traveling. Moreover, the double insulated cooking chamber provides durability and efficiency at the same time.
  
• Water pan and drip tray
  The smoker has a built-in water pan and a drip tray. As the heat increases water starts boiling and steams the meat, keeps it juicy, and stops it from drying. Moreover, the drip pan can collect any dripping water or juices from the food and can be removed for easy cleanups. 
• Large capacity
  There are three cooking grates in the smoker, providing a total smoking area of 554 sq inches. The grates are chrome coated and can be easily cleaned by just soap washing. You can adjust the grates at any height according to your food size and type. Cooking for small or large families can easily be done.

What we dont like:

• No high heat option
  As the smoker offers low and slow cooking, there is no high heat option.

Personal Opinion

All those people who are looking for a low priced, compact, and portable smoker, this one’s for you. It offers highly juicy and moist smoky flavored food while keeping the cooking hassle-free. 

4. Camp Chef XXL Vertical Pellet Smoker

This camp chef pellet smoker hits the spot among the best vertical smokers because of its high efficiency, low price, and versatile flavors. Superb quality 8 in 1 cooking set offers barbeque, braise, roast, sear, bake, grill, smoke, and char gill. Having 4 smoking racks, three jerky racks for smoking, 1 rack for 12 sausages makes it super attractive and capacious than many other backyard cookers.

One of the most important features is its strong and sturdy steel built with black finish, giving an extra glare to it along with durability. The digital temperature control system ensures the right temperature for smoking. Smart smoke technology decides the exact smoke a food needs to be properly cooked, without your interference. So you dont need to babysit the smoker, letting you enjoy your time with the family.

Features:

What we like: 

• Smart smoke technology
  The smart smoke technology helps to maintain the required amount of smoke needed to prepare the food. The digital thermometer indicates the smoke zone and grilling zone, giving an exact estimation of the temperature. The smart smoke technology provides an exact amount of smoke, even if you are away from the smoker you get a perfect meal.
• Cooking space
  The smoker has 8 cooking racks with a 21 sq inch area each. It means you can put a large amount of meat on it. Moreover, you can either cook jerky, pork shoulder, ribs, whole chicken, or any large pieces that are not possible on horizontal pellet grills.
• Easy cleaning
  The ashtray at the bottom of the smoker collects all the drippings and greases from the fat falling from the meat. You just need to throw away the ash, and your smoker is clean. The porcelain-enameled grates just need a normal cleaning with soapy water followed by wet wiping.

What we dont like

• Temperature drops down
  The temperature remains even and steady as long as the door is closed. Once you open the door, a sudden decrease in the temperature may happen.

Personal Opinion

It is a perfect balance of price and performance. The ease of cleaning, easy assembly and set up, amount of perfectly cooked meals in small amounts of time is amazing. Moreover, the fuel efficiency, smart smoke technology, and durable construction make the smoker highly in demand.

5. Masterbuilt MB20071117 | Best Digital Electric Smoker

The master built smoker has all the distinctive features over other smokers. As it has a digital panel for easy on and off switch, the ignition becomes quite easy and handy. The panel also has a temperature control system and timer to monitor cooking time.

Moreover having a patented wood chip plate makes it easy to clean a smoker with less or minimum effort.

To hit the spot among the best vertical pellet grill, it has a water bowl to add moisture and flavor during heating.

You can easily load/charge the fuel through a side wood pellet loading system, giving you the advantage of not opening the door.

A built-in thermostat controls the temperature and keeps the internal temperature consistent.

Features:

What we like:

• 8 in 1 cooking set
  You can easily achieve 8 flavors of food in one set. All you need to set the required temperature and you are ready, set, go to your favorite food.
• Easy maintenance and ash out system
  The prep times also add up in meal preparation when it comes to cleanups. The users believe that putting disposable aluminum pans can collect all the drippings from some juicy foods, leaving your smoker as clean as it was before. Moreover, the side tray for wood chips makes the ash cleanout super simple and easy.
• Air damper
  The top of the smoker has an air damper. That lets the extra smoke go in the air. This way the smoke level is maintained and controlled in the smoker.

What we dont like:

• Hard readability of digital panel
  Many people find it a little bit difficult to read the digital control panel in daylight or when the sun is shining at its peak.

Personal Opinion

Easy maintenance, zero timing cleaning system and easy to achieve flavors make this smoker the best choice among passionate home grillers. It reduces your prep times, giving you the liberty of enjoying your time and food. We strongly recommend it for all the people who look for high value smoked flavored vertical smoker with less maintenance requirement.

6. Weber 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker

Weber 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker is one of the most extensively used charcoal cookers. It is famous for its steady temperature, high-quality build, bullet-shaped charcoal fuel features. The biggest benefit of this smoker is a large capacity of grates. The grates have a total area of 726 sq inches making a large family meal easy to cook.

Moreover, 68 pounds heavy smoker has a steel construction with black finish and chrome-plated grates, to serve at its best durability.

There is no hassle in assembling the product as it is extremely easy to assemble with only the following user guide. The BILT app has its 3D assembly instructions to facilitate the users.

Features:

What we like:

• Easy to assemble:
  Weber smokey mountain cooker has the easiest assembling. You can assemble the smoker just by seeing the instructions from the user guide. A 3D illustration of assembly is also available on the BILT app.
• Durability and reliability
  The smoker has a steel construction with a black finish offering an ultra-durable product to use. You can easily rely on its “set it and forget itâ€. The thermometer gives an exact reading of the temperature that you can easily control.
  Moreover, the rust-resistant metal legs help to withstand any harsh atmosphere.
• Large capacity
  As the smoker is famous for its large capacity you can easily cook for more than 40 people with this cooker/smoker.

What we dont like:

• High fuel cost
  As the smoker has a large capacity the fuel consumption is high. Those who cook food for small families find it expensive in terms of fuel consumption.

Personal Opinion

Weber 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker is popular among the best vertical pellet grill smokers because of its large capacity, precise and accurate temperature, easy to assemble and handle, and irresistible feature. For those who are looking for large quantity meal preparation, this pellet smoker is a great choice for you.

7. Bradley Smoker BTDS76P 990216 | Best outdoor smoker

Bradley Smoker BTDS76P 990216 Bradley Digital 4 Rack Smoker is an outdoor barbeque smoker with a perfect shape and high-quality material. It is electrically corded, having a full digital control system of temperature, smoke, and time. Having a cabinet shape, it is made up of stainless steel material with a powder epoxy finish, perfect for easy cleaning.

You can cook versatile foods on it because of its four racks. These racks can accommodate all kinds of meat, chicken, pork, fish, and many other food items.

There is no need for huge experience to start cooking on this vertical smoker. It is easy to assemble, clean, and move.

The construction is so perfect that you dont need to worry about dirty smoke. It has a vent on its top to remove dirty smoke. Inside the smoker, there are hooks to hang sausages or jerky racks, and a smoke diffuser that evenly spreads the smoke in the smoker.

The internal parts also include a water basin at the bottom of the smoker, collecting wood briquettes, and any greases or drippings.

The smoker has a digital generator, attached to the side of it. It has all the digital temperature control, timer for cooking time, and smoking time.

Features:

What we like:

• Digital electric generator
  The smoker has digital electricity generated attached to it. You can easily remove the generator and take it indoors in case of severe weather conditions.
  Moreover, the generator has a digital panel for temperature control, cooking, and grilling times. The fuel hopper is on the top of the generator, which holds the briquettes up to 9 hours of nonstop heating. It can also burn 12 different flavors of briquettes.
• Design and material
  The smoker has a versatile design including a vent for dirty smoke, a water basin to collect drippings and briquettes waste, hooks to hang your favorite sausage, and a replaceable heating element. Moreover, a stainless steel construction with powder epoxy finish makes it durable and corrosion-resistant. Double insulation helps to increase fuel efficiency and temperature control.
• Clean smoke technology:
  The smoker has a design based on clean smoke technology. It uses purest wood briquettes, made from natural wood. The smoker also has a built-in diffuser that spreads the smoke smoothly and evenly. Any raw, dirt, and toxic smoke is expelled out from the smoker through a specially designed vent. This whole process makes the smoke hygienic, producing a healthy meal for your loved ones.

What we dont like:

• Temperature  variations in cold weather
  Many customers believe that working in extremely cold weather can be hard. As the temperature goes down, the smoker does not achieve high temperatures within it.

Personal Opinion

This vertical smoker has a perfect balance of shape, consistency, flavor, and economy. Moreover, you save your time and enjoy your family while your smoker makes amazing foods for you. The fuel consumption is minimal as one briquette burns in 20 minutes, needing 3 briquettes per hour. Highly recommended for outdoor smoking experience.

8. Dyna-Glo Signature Series DGSS1382VCS-D

Dyna Glo smoker is another way to enjoy your outdoor cooking experience. It comes with capacity, versatility, durability, offset design, and easy to achieve flavors.

Having five grates for cooking makes it super capacious for large families and is the best choice for large meal preparations. Five chrome-plated cooking grates add up to the capacity making the total cooking area of 1382 sq inches. So whether you want to roast a whole chicken or smoke your favorite steak, the smoker can handle a variety of foods.

Moreover, the heavy gauge steel construction with a black finish makes it super sturdy against erosion and corrosion.

The smoker also has a digital temperature gauge, that features a smoke zone to indicate the perfect temperature for perfect smoke infusion.

Having the cool handles makes the smoker easy to use when you want to open the smokers door to check the food.

The smoker has an offset firebox for burning the charcoal but it also features a grill. You dont get a direct flame in your smoker and heat travels from the offset box to the smoker. Moreover, it doubles your experience of smoking by providing an additional grill.

Features:

What we like:

• Offset firebox
  The best part of this smoker is the offset firebox that has a grate for the grill and ash pan. You can pull the tray out to remove the ash. The firebox helps easy access to the fuel and the grate for the grill is a big plus of this smoker.
• Design and construction
  The smoker is made up of heavy gauge steel with a black finish. It also has hooks in it to hang the sausages. There are spring handles, cool to touch and make the smoker easy to work with. Moreover, the sturdy wheels help in the mobility of the smoker. This attractive and practical design makes this smoker highly desired among all the grillers and foodies.
• Analog-digital thermometer
  The analog-digital thermometer gives a grill zone and smoke zone temperatures, that help to choose the right amount of smoke to infuse perfect flavor.

What we dont like

• Two wheels for a heavy-duty smoker
  There are only two wheels attached to the firebox and the smoker is the heaviest product among all the other smokers. What is the point of giving only two wheels? The manufacturer must have given more wheels or no wheels at all.

Personal Opinion

This is the heaviest smoker among all the smokers reviewed above. it hits the spot among the best vertical pellet grill smokers because of its highest cooking capacity. Having a cooking area of 1382 sq inches makes it a smoker for large families. Highly recommended for large families and large meal preparations. 

Difference Between Horizontal Pellet grill and Vertical Smoker:

A horizontal pellet smoker grill can smoke and grill the food while a vertical pellet smoker can only smoke the food only. The difference occurs because of the shape of the smoker.

As it is designed in a vertical shape, the distance between the grates and the heating source increases, so it cannot grill food. Moreover, vertical smokers have a “low and slow†mode of cooking, so it is only best for low-temperature cooking.

One may think that only pellet grills are the best option to choose as it can do both, but this is not right.

You only choose the product according to your space, choice, requirement, and budget.

Here we discuss important features of a pellet smoker:

Features of a pellet smoker:

• Space
  Space is the most important thing to consider before buying a pellet smoker. What if you cannot accommodate a big, large size smoker in your apartment?
  Most of the pellet smokers are designed in a smart and sleek manner, best for small spaces. Moreover, many of them are portable and easy to take along while traveling.
• Capacity
  The capacity of a smoker depends upon the number of grates and their sizes. If you want to cook for a large family, or want to throw a party for your friends, choosing a large-capacity smoker is beneficial for you. As it will save cooking time and you can enjoy your time with family.
• Material
  The material of a pellet smoker must be strong, resilient, and corrosion-resistant. Most of the pellet smokers are made up of steel, and stainless steel with a finish of either high-quality plastic or powder epoxy. A durable smoker withstands all weather conditions and can be used for years without any damage and repair requirement. Grates are also made of steel with porcelain enamel on them, providing a great cooking experience and easy cleanups.
• Construction:
  Pellet smokers have metallic built, fully insulated to lock the smoke in it. Many smokers have a water bowl that provides moisture and flavor to the meat and stops them from drying at high temperatures. A basin is also present to collect any kind of drippings, greases, or burnt wood briquettes, The grates provide a surface area for smoking and cooking. Moreover having hooks to hang sausages is also a big plus for a smoker.
• Power source
  Pellet smokers are electrically powered, having a fuel of either charcoal or briquettes. Having a wood briquettes smoke gives the wood smoke-flavored food. Charcoal gives a pure barbeque taste.
• Advantages of Vertical pellet smokers:
  You must know all the pros and cons of buying a pellet smoker. Of Course, you are gonna spend a handsome amount of money, so spend wisely. Extra attention can save your time, energy, and money if you consider the advantages and disadvantages of the product you are purchasing. 
• Space saver
  Vertical pellet smokers are designed in a compact shape that is best for portability and transportation. Even if you are moving with your family, just put them in the trunk of your car and you are all set. Moreover, handling and storage of the smoker is also easy. Just use it and keep it either in your backyard or in any corner of your garage.
• Budget-friendly
  If you dont want to spend a large amount and still want a wood-smoked original flavored food, vertical pellet smokers are the best choice for you. They offer a great value for the money and you can enjoy your favorite bbq within your budget.

Disadvantages of vertical pellet smokers

• No high heat options
  As the vertical smokers are designed for low and slow cooking mode, you cant have high heat options. Moreover in extreme cold weather maintaining high temperatures can get hard because of the slow heating system.
• No grilling
  Because these are only smokers, you cant enjoy the sear or grill of your food. 
• Power requirements
  If you dont have electricity or a generator, you cant enjoy electrically corded smokers.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are vertical pellet smokers better than horizontal pellet smoker grills?

Vertical pellet smokers are better smokers than any other pellet grills. As the vertical smokers are vertical in shape, the heating source is far away from the grates and the smokers cant grill the food. Overall they can smoke in excellent manners than any other pellet grills.

While horizontal pellet grill smokers can smoke and grill the food. Moreover, the vertical pellet smokers have smart and sleek design, best for small places.

2. Do pellet smokers make enough smoke?

Pellet smokers are designed for low and slow heating and cooking. The smoke produced is just nominal and other pellet grills produce large smoke in general. Moreover, the efficiency per pound of pellets is better for hardwood pellets than any other fruit wood pellets.

3. Are pellet smokers better than propane smokers?

Both types of smokers have some similarities and differences. Pellet and propane, both smokers are designed for low and slow heating and cooking following the rule “set it and forget it.

While a pellet smoker uses pellets as fuels, giving original wood-smoked flavor but the high price of smoker and pellets.

On the other hand, propane smokers are run on propane gas, filled from a propane tank, handling and maintenance are easy and low price. But the tastes and the flavors are inferior to pellet smokers.

Conclusion

Buying the best vertical pellet Grill smoker can save your time and money when it comes to cooking for large families or a group of friends. The pellet smokers are ideal for large meal preparations because of their vertical design, as they can accommodate large amounts of meat on multiple grates.

Moreover having a vertical pellet smoker also saves storage space, they are easy to handle, clean, and maintain. Smart smoke technology and digital control system lets you enjoy your time and brings you high quality smoked food within minimum time.

We hope to cover all the important features and top-rated smokers in this review article.

Happy shopping.