The five questions to answer before you buy
1. How much do they want to tend a fire? This is the whole decision. Charcoal smokers (the Weber bullet, the Pit Barrel) need the cook to manage vents and add fuel a few times over a long cook. Pellet grills and electric cabinets hold a set temperature by themselves. Gravity-fed charcoal smokers sit in between: real charcoal, but a fan and a thermostat run it. If they have ever said “I like sitting by the fire,” buy charcoal. If they have said “I want to cook overnight and sleep,” buy something with a controller.
2. Is there a power outlet where it will live? Pellet, gravity and electric smokers all need mains power — the auger, the fan, the element. A charcoal smoker needs nothing. A balcony or a far corner of the yard with no outlet rules out three of the picks below.
3. How much space is there, and who carries it? A bullet smoker stands on a footprint about the size of a bar stool. A pellet grill is a barbecue-sized object on legs. An offset is furniture. Check the assembled dimensions on the listing against the spot it will live, and think about the delivery day: the larger ones are heavy, two-person objects.
4. Will a whole brisket fit? A trimmed packer is roughly twenty inches long, and the smaller versions of several smokers make you bend or trim it to fit. Every pick below fits a full packer, which is why the 22-inch Weber is here and the 18-inch is not.
5. Did they ask for it? For a pellet grill, an electric cabinet or the Weber bullet, “I’d love a smoker” is enough. For an offset, it is not — see the last pick.
Pick by pick: who each one is for, and what to check
Weber Smokey Mountain 22-inch — best smoker to give as a gift, overall
Why it lands. The bullet smoker that has produced more competition brisket than anything near its price. Charcoal and a water pan hold a rock-steady 225–250°F for an overnight cook, the 22-inch grates take a whole packer flat, and the porcelain-enameled steel lasts a decade with basic care. It is our top pick for a first real smoker and for most people’s only smoker, and it needs no outlet, no app and no firmware.
Who it suits. Anyone who is happy to check a fire every couple of hours and wants the real thing. It is the safest smoker to buy for someone else because there is nothing about it to get wrong: no fuel-type mistake, no electronics, no assembly beyond a few bolts.
What to check. That they are not the person who wanted to set a number and walk away — this has no thermostat. Buy the 22, not the 18: the smaller one rarely lies a full packer flat. Pair it with a bag of lump charcoal and post oak chunks and the gift is complete.
Z Grills 700-Series — best hands-off pick for the money
Why it lands. A pellet grill with a PID controller — set 225°F and it holds it — and about 700 square inches of grate, for well under what the big brands charge. For a recipient who wants an overnight brisket without tending a fire, this is the cheapest good answer, and it is our top pick on the budget smoker roundup.
Who it suits. The person who said “I want to smoke a brisket but I don’t want it to be a whole day of work.” Also the right pick if you are not sure how much they will use it — the price makes it a reasonable gamble.
What to check. It needs a power outlet. The base model has no Wi-Fi, so add a leave-in thermometer (the app-free ThermoPro on the under-$50 page) and a bag of pellets. Lighter build than the premium pellet grills; a cover is a sensible add-on.
Traeger Woodridge Pro — best if they want the app and the brand
Why it lands. Traeger is the pellet grill most people can name, and the Woodridge Pro is its current mid-tier: set the temperature, let the controller and the auger hold it, and watch the brisket’s internal temperature on your phone through the stall from the sofa. For a gift, the brand recognition matters — it is the smoker the recipient has probably already looked at.
Who it suits. A cook who likes the phone in the loop, and a gifter who wants the name on the box to land. It is the most hands-off route to a good brisket on this page.
What to check. Power outlet, Wi-Fi reach to where it will stand, and space — this is a full-size grill. Pellet smoke is milder than charcoal smoke; if the recipient talks about bark and smoke flavor above all else, the gravity smoker below gets closer. Traeger’s own pellets are the safe fuel to include.
Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 — best charcoal flavor without the babysitting
Why it lands. Real charcoal and wood, held at a set temperature by a fan and a controller: the hopper feeds charcoal down by gravity, the fan holds 225°F for a brisket, and the same cooker reaches searing heat for steaks. It is the gift for the person torn between flavor and convenience, because it does not make them choose.
Who it suits. Someone who wants charcoal smoke and an overnight cook they can sleep through — and who will keep the hopper topped up and the ash bin emptied.
What to check. Power outlet. More moving parts (fan, hopper, electronics) than a manual smoker, so it suits a recipient who is comfortable with a bit of upkeep. It is a large object; check the footprint. Include a bag of lump charcoal and some wood chunks.
Pit Barrel Cooker Premier 18.5-inch — best for a small patio
Why it lands. A drum that hangs the meat on hooks instead of laying it on a grate, which is how a barrel this narrow fits two whole packers at once. It ships complete — hooks, rods, charcoal basket, grate — there is almost no fire management once the basket is lit, and it stands on the smallest footprint of anything here. For a townhouse patio, it is the answer.
Who it suits. Limited space, no outlet, and a cook who is fine with a hotter, faster cook — the drum runs hotter than a bullet by design and finishes a brisket sooner.
What to check. That the recipient is not set on a slow 225°F cook; this is not that smoker, and it has almost no temperature adjustment beyond one vent. Our Weber vs Pit Barrel comparison lays out exactly that trade.
Masterbuilt 40-inch Digital Electric — best for a no-fuss recipient
Why it lands. Plug it in, set a temperature, and it holds it all night with no fire at all. The 40-inch cabinet is the size to buy because a whole packer lies flat across its racks, and the side chip loader adds smoke without opening the door. For the relative who wants smoked brisket but not a hobby, this is the kindest gift on the page.
Who it suits. Older cooks, apartment balconies with an outlet, anyone who found the word “vents” off-putting in question one.
What to check. An outlet within reach and somewhere sheltered. Electric smokers make lighter smoke and softer bark than charcoal; if the recipient is a flavor-first person, they will notice. Buy the 40, not the 30 — the 30 makes you fold a packer.
Oklahoma Joe’s Highland — only if they asked for an offset
Why it is here, with a warning. A real stick-burner you can afford, with reverse-flow baffles that fix the hot-spot problem cheap offsets usually have. It makes the heaviest smoke and the best bark of anything on this page. It also demands a split of wood every 45 to 60 minutes for the whole cook, some seam-sealing and a seasoning burn out of the box, and it cannot be left alone. That is a hobby, not a convenience — and a hobby is a decision the recipient has to make.
Who it suits. The person who has explicitly said they want to learn to run a fire. If they said that, this is the offset to buy, and our offset roundup explains why.
What to check. That they asked. Then the footprint: it is furniture, and it arrives heavy. Include a chimney starter, lump charcoal and a bag of post oak splits or chunks — an offset with no fuel is a very large paperweight on Christmas morning.
What to put in the box with it
A smoker with nothing to burn and nothing to measure is an unfinished gift. Every smoker here wants a thermometer — the under-$50 guide has the two to choose from — and a first load of fuel that matches the cooker: lump charcoal and post oak chunks for the Weber, the Pit Barrel, the gravity smoker and the offset; a bag of hardwood pellets for the Z Grills and the Traeger; wood chips for the electric. A roll of pink butcher paper and a pair of heat gloves finish it. All of that together costs less than the smoker’s cover, and it means the first cook can happen the day the box is opened.
If you are not sure, do not buy the smoker
Buy the thermometer, the gloves and the paper — things they will need whatever smoker they end up with — and give them our beginner smoker roundup so the choice stays theirs. That is a better gift than the wrong smoker, and it is not close. The under-$150 guide has the substantial gifts that fit any cooker.
