An electric smoker plugs into a wall outlet and holds a set temperature with a heating element, so you don't have to babysit a fire or feed a hopper (the bin that holds the pellets) all afternoon. That trade-off is the whole appeal: less smoke flavor depth than charcoal or offset, but a lot less to manage. If you want to load a brisket at 6 am, set 225°F, and walk away for most of the day, this is the category built for exactly that.
We looked at six models ranging from budget-friendly to built-to-last, based on capacity, insulation quality, how the wood chips or bisquettes load, and whether the digital controls hold temperature as claimed.
Table of Contents
Our top picks at a glance
- Masterbuilt 40" Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker: Best overall
- East Oak 30" Electric Smoker with Glass Door: Best budget
- Masterbuilt 30" Digital Electric Smoker: Best for beginners
- Bradley Original 4-Rack Electric Smoker: Best for hands-off smoking
- Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker: Best remote control
- Smokin Tex Pro Series 1400: Best build quality
How we picked
We compared cooking capacity, insulation and build quality, how each unit loads wood (side-tray chips, bisquettes, or manual loading through the main door), temperature range and reported accuracy, and whether an app or remote control adds anything useful. Price matters too, since electric smokers range from about $150 to well over $600 for the same basic job: holding a steady low temperature for hours.
1. Masterbuilt 40" Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker (MB20074719): Best overall
Price: ~$400-450 | Capacity: 975 sq in across 4 chrome-coated racks | Temp range: 100-275°F
This is the largest common electric smoker on the market, and the one most people land on once they've outgrown a smaller unit. The side wood-chip loader means you never have to open the main door to add chips, which matters more than it sounds: every time that door opens, heat and smoke escape, and your cook time stretches out. Bluetooth app control lets you check and adjust temperature from your phone, though the range is limited to roughly 100 feet and the app itself gets mixed reviews for reliability.
2. East Oak 30" Electric Smoker with Glass Door: Best budget
Price: ~$220-270 | Capacity: 725 sq in across 4 racks | Temp range: 100-275°F
East Oak has carved out a place in this category by undercutting Masterbuilt on price without cutting corners as much as you'd expect at this range. The glass door lets you check on food without losing heat, the built-in meat probe is a feature most budget smokers skip, and reviewers consistently note the door seal is tighter than you'd expect for the price. The tradeoff is a narrower cooking chamber and a 275°F ceiling, so this isn't the smoker for high-heat finishing.
3. Masterbuilt 30" Digital Electric Smoker (710 Series): Best for beginners
Price: ~$300-350 | Capacity: 710-730 sq in across 4 racks | Temp range: 100-275°F
The 30-inch Masterbuilt is the electric smoker most people picture: a black cabinet, a digital controller on the front, a side wood-chip tray, and a water bowl underneath the racks. It's been around in some form for over a decade, which means there's an enormous amount of community knowledge (and third-party parts and mods) if something needs fixing or upgrading. WiFi is available on some variants for a bit more, but the base digital model without it is what most beginners should buy, since the core cooking performance is identical either way.
4. Bradley Original 4-Rack Electric Smoker: Best for hands-off smoking
Price: ~$470 | Capacity: 572 sq in across 4 racks | Temp range: up to 250°F
Bradley smokers work differently from every other name on this list. Instead of wood chips, they use compressed wood pucks called bisquettes that feed automatically from a side magazine. One drops onto the heating element every 20 minutes or so, and the spent one is pushed into a water tray below to snuff it out. That system can run up to 9 hours without you touching it, which is about as close to true "set it and forget it" as electric smoking gets. The tradeoff is ongoing cost: you're buying Bradley's proprietary bisquettes instead of cheap bagged wood chips, and a long cook adds up faster than it does on a chip-based unit.
5. Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker: Best remote control
Price: ~$250-300 | Capacity: 725 sq in across 4 adjustable racks | Temp range: 100-275°F
Char-Broil's entry uses a physical remote instead of a phone app, and for a lot of people that's the better interface: no app to update, no Bluetooth pairing to lose, just buttons that work. The glass door and double-wall insulation stand out, holding temperature more consistently than several competitors in independent tests. The included meat probe is the weak point, with several reviewers swapping it out for a separate instant-read or wireless unit almost immediately.
6. Smokin Tex Pro Series 1400: Best build quality
Price: ~$600-800 | Capacity: Compact vertical, narrower rack spacing | Temp range: 100-250°F
This is the smoker for someone who wants an electric unit that will outlast the cheaper competition. Double-wall stainless steel construction, rubber door seals, and an analog dial instead of a digital board that can fail all point toward a company building for decades of use rather than a few seasons. The compact vertical design means less capacity than the Masterbuilt units, and the 3-inch rack spacing is tight for anything bulky like a full rack of ribs standing upright. But for jerky, sausage, and standard cuts it's a different tier of build than anything else on this list.
Electric vs other smoker types: what you're trading away
An electric smoker will never produce quite the same smoke ring or bark (the dark, crusty outer layer) depth as charcoal or a stick burner, because the heat source itself isn't combusting wood the way those do. What you get instead is temperature stability that's hard to beat: no fire to tend, no charcoal to relight, no pellet auger (the screw that feeds pellets to the fire) to jam. If flavor depth is your top priority, look at our pellet smoker guide instead. If convenience and consistency matter more than squeezing out every bit of smoke flavor, electric is the easier category to live with day to day.
Wood chips vs bisquettes vs pellets
Most electric smokers on this list burn wood chips, either loaded through a side tray (Masterbuilt, East Oak, Char-Broil) or straight into the chamber (Smokin Tex). Chips are cheap and available everywhere, but they burn out in an hour or two and need refilling on a long cook. Bradley's Bisquette system solves that refill problem, but at the cost of buying Bradley's proprietary pucks instead of generic bagged chips. Neither system uses wood pellets, which is a pellet grill's job, not an electric smoker's.
Best electric smokers, side by side
Common mistakes people make with electric smokers
Opening the door to check on food constantly. Every time that door opens, heat escapes and the cook time stretches out, sometimes by 15-20 minutes per peek on a long smoke. Use the built-in window or a wireless probe instead.
Not accounting for cold weather. Electric heating elements have to work harder to hold temperature once it's cold outside, and a unit rated for 275°F indoors might struggle to clear 225°F on a 30°F day without a cover or added insulation.
Skipping the pre-season burn. Running the smoker empty at high heat for an hour before the first real cook burns off manufacturing residue and oils, something the manual usually mentions but a lot of first-time owners skip.
New to smoking? Our guide to the best smoker for beginners compares the easiest smokers to learn on, and how to clean a smoker covers the upkeep an electric smoker needs.
Frequently asked questions
Do electric smokers produce real smoke flavor?
Yes, though generally less than charcoal or wood-fired units. The wood chips or bisquettes still combust and produce actual smoke. It's just a milder flavor profile than you'd get from a fire-based smoker.
How long do wood chips last in an electric smoker?
Typically 45 minutes to an hour and a half per load, depending on the model and how much you use. Bisquette-based units like Bradley automatically feed a fresh one roughly every 20 minutes, extending unattended run time significantly.
Can you use an electric smoker in the rain or cold?
Most are rated for outdoor use and handle light rain fine, but cold temperatures make the heating element work harder and can slow cook times. A smoker cover or an insulating blanket made for that model helps in winter.
Is a 30-inch or 40-inch electric smoker better?
It depends on how much you cook at once. A 30-inch unit with around 700-730 square inches handles a couple of racks of ribs or a single large brisket comfortably. A 40-inch model with closer to 975 square inches is worth the extra size and cost if you regularly cook for a crowd or smoke multiple items at once.
Do electric smokers need electricity the whole time they're running?
Yes, continuously. Unlike a charcoal smoker, which needs no power at all, an electric smoker's heating element needs constant power, so a generator or reliable outlet is required for outdoor use away from the house.
Which one to buy
If you want the most capacity and don't mind a weaker app, the Masterbuilt 40" Bluetooth is the safest overall pick. If money's tight, the East Oak 30" delivers more than its price suggests. First-time smokers do well starting with the standard Masterbuilt 30", since it's simple and well-documented online. For hands-off long cooks, Bradley's automatic bisquette feed is worth the higher running cost. And if you want a smoker built to last a decade or more and don't mind paying for it, the Smokin Tex Pro Series 1400 is in a different build-quality tier than anything else here. Whichever one you pick, the core appeal is the same: set a temperature, close the door, and let it do the waiting for you.