Best Pellet Grills Under $500 in 2023

Do you want to up your BBQ game? Pellet grills are so worth your money, as long as you pick the right one. These grills give more of a smokey, wood-fired flavor to any food, making your burgers, racks of ribs, and chicken the star of the BBQ cookout.

But, since pellet grills are not as sought after as other grills due to their higher prices, you need some guidance on which reasonably priced models to get

So, if you have a limited budget of five-hundred bucks, you’re in the right place! We will help you choose the best pellet grills under $500.

Top Recommended Pellet Grills Under $500

Here is our compilation of the various pellet grills that you can get for less than 500 dollars. With this information table, you can compare these budget-friendly models side by side.

1. Camp Chef SmokePro DLX

Camp Chef’s DLX Pellet Grill deserves to be on our top spot. It’s high-quality, and it has great longevity, as you would expect from Camp Chef, a leading brand of outdoor cooking products.

Due to its rust-resistant, stainless steel body that weighs 140 lbs., you can confidently say that the Smoke Pro DLX is a sturdy, well-made grill.

Its cooking capacity is 570 square inches, which is quite less than what you’d expect from an almost 500-dollar pellet grill. Its main cooking space measures 429 square inches, while its upper warming rack gives 141 square inches of space. Clearly, you can still fit in a decent amount of food in its 3,778 cubic-inch chambers.

Furthermore, its electronic ignition, Dual LED temperature control, internal meat temperature probe, and internal temperature sensor should give you everything you need when it comes to perfecting your cook.

This grill’s cooking temperature can go up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as 160 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s no surprise given that its heat output is 25,000 BTUs per hour.

Moreover, there’s an automatic auger that does a great job of maintaining the temperature. It works by supplying wood pellets systematically. Its pellet hopper capacity is 18 lbs., which is quite right for a grill this size.

Other nice add-ons are a side shelf and two wheels.

2. Traeger Pellet Grills Tailgater 20 Grill

Traeger Tailgater 20 Pellet Grill is your key to versatile, consistent cooks. Consequently, you can grill, smoke, roast, braise, BBQ, and even bake to perfection! No matter what you do, this pellet grill is sure to deliver that distinct, wood-fired taste you enjoy on your meat.

The grill can reach 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, its Digital Elite Controller ensures that there’s only a maximum of 20-degrees temperature variation – that’s your answer to how the Tailgater achieves consistency!

Its 300 square inches of cooking space allows you to take advantage of that multiple functionalities. You can fit a lot: 18 hotdogs, two chickens, 12 burgers, or three racks of ribs without any problems. And afterward, cleanup is easy, too, because of its nonstick porcelain-coated grilling grates.

This 76-pound grill has a rust-resistant design to accompany its well-thought-out portable construction. You can fold its stainless steel legs, further helping its tailgating capability.

3. Z Grills ZPG-7002E Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker 2020 Upgrade

With Z Grills ZPG-7002E, you can get the ultimate cooking versatility with 8-in-1 functions: grill, smoke, char-grill, bake, roast, BBQ, braise, and sear.

It’s got a pretty spacious cooking surface, which measures 700 square inches in total. Out of the 700, you have only 504 square inches for the primary cooking space, and the rest is for the warming rack.

Furthermore, this grill’s digital control can get the fan-forced convection cooking grill anywhere from 180-450 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature variations are good, being only ten degrees.

Lastly, its hopper capacity is one of its strong points: it allows you to place 20 lbs. of pellets for uninterrupted cooking!

4. Pit Boss Classic 700 sq. inch Wood Fired Pellet Grill & Smoker

For those who would prefer something they can use for both long-term use and longer cooking times, the Pit Boss Classic is for you. Firstly, its powder-coated steel body and heavy-duty caster wheels prove that this grill can withstand heavy use.

With 700 square inches of cooking space and 21 lbs. of hopper capacity, this pellet grill and smoker will ensure you don’t need to refill your hopper that much when cooking a large batch.

Its cooking range is impressive, ranging from 180 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Everything from the electronic auto-ignition to its constant pellet feed is well-executed.

Further, its temperature dial has a digital readout, plus its lid has a temperature gauge. This pellet grill will let you control the temperature of your grill much easier.

5. Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett WiFi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill

Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett Pellet Grill is another portable grill that will offer a favorable deal. The most excellent thing about this pellet grill is its WiFi connectivity; this feature is convenient for a smartphone. It also comes with a 12V adapter, meat probe, tool hooks, and tray.

This pellet grill is one of the most portable ones on the market, for it weighs only 57 pounds! Imagine all the tasty, wood-fire flavored BBQ you could take anywhere you go. A huge plus side is that it’s so easy to clean, too.

Another nice little perk of this grill is its foldable legs that turn into handles for easier transportation, making this one of the best portable pellet grills on the market.

6. Ozark Grills: The Razorback Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker

Ozark Grills Razorback Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker is another alluring smaller-sized pellet grill. Its 305 square inches of cooking space comes in handy for ten burgers!

Its 11 lbs. of hopper capacity is pretty decent considering that some pellet grills of the same size only come with five pounds capacity. And with this grill’s impressive flexibility, you can grill, slow-smoke, roast, bake and braise for a very long time without thinking about pellet refills.

Moreover, you get to have excellent cooking grate build quality with the Razorback. Its porcelain-coated cast-iron cooking grates will ensure that you’ll end up with evenly cooked food.

Other pros to getting the Ozark Grills Razorback are the temperature controls and sensors, internal temperature probe, and the grease collection system. Together, these features help give you an easy, fun, grilling experience.

Ultimately, a heavy gauge powder-coated steel adds to this affordable pellet grill’s resistance to elements. Thus, you can rely on this grill for the years to come.

7. Masterbuilt SH19260119 Smoke Hollow WG400B: 20″ Pellet Grill

The Masterbuilt SH19260119 Smoke Hollow WG400B Pellet Grill is an insane deal. Firstly, with its incredibly low price, you won’t believe this pellet grill has a great build construction, 390 square inches of cooking space, 11 lbs. pellet hopper capacity, and easy digital control.

You can cook for hours and hours without having to reload your pellets. Surely, its efficient auger system helps with the feed rate for that.

Certainly, this affordable pellet grill will be your favorite cooking companion at your next BBQ party.

8. Cuisinart CPG-4000 Wood BBQ Grill and Smoker Pellet Grill and Smoker

The biggest advantage to getting this Cuisinart model is its unique flareups control. Therefore, you’re sure to cook your food at the temperature you want, no more, no less.

This Cuisinart pellet grill and smoker packs 450 square inches of valuable cooking space – totally larger than most of the products featured here, giving you a more relaxing time working on the grill. Plus, its two-tier cooking system makes your grilling area more efficient.

The CPG-4000’s thermostat does a pretty great job of regulating the heat regardless if you cook at the low, slow, fast, or hot setting.

Its advanced technology ensures that the right amount of pellets are added (only when needed).

Further, you can do six kinds of cooking: grill, smoke, roast, braise, bake, and BBQ. Imagine being able to do all that with just one pellet grill! Above all, you have lots of recipes to try for your seafood, chicken, beef, pork, and vegetables. As a result, you can even bake pizza and bread.

9. Big Horn Outdoors Pellet Grill and Smoker

The Big Horn Outdoors Pellet Grill and Smoker is a fantastic product. For one, it’s well-built, as you can see in its durable steel construction, all-terrain wheels, and overall stable structure.

All types of BBQ cooks, from beginners to experts, will love this pellet grill because it makes cooking super easy. For instance, the Digital Control Center gives you a respectable temperature range of 225 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s not as wide of a range as most of the pellet grills are, but it still manages to hit the sweet spot for the typical BBQ grilling.

Its cooking area is 430 square inches, with the second cooking rack area measuring 270 square inches, adding up to 700 square inches. Indeed, these are pretty good numbers for three chickens, six racks of ribs, or 20 burgers. However, given the vast cooking area, the 8-pound pellet hopper capacity seems lacking.

Aside from the LED display, the folding front shelf, adjustable damper, storage rack underneath, a sidebar with tool hooks, and wheels add to the grill’s overall functionality.

What to Look When Buying Pellet Grill with 500 Dollars on Hand

These are the things to consider when buying a pellet grill for less than 500 bucks. Reading this buying guide will help you get the most bang for your buck.

1. Cooking area

Pellet grills less than $500 come in all sizes. If you’re always on-the-go, you’re more likely to buy portable models, but they do give you less room to cook.

But if you like cooking at home, it’s always better to stick to a larger sized pellet grill. It’s important to consider still how much space you have in your backyard, or else your grill will be a pain to store.

Most importantly, for commercial usage, the total cooking space is a huge deal. You don’t want to run out of grilling space if you have a lot of mouths to feed!

2. Look for the one which offer wide temperature range

For well-cooked food, you will need something to reach a wide temperature range every time you use the grill, regardless if you use a pellet, charcoal, or gas grill. It will also matter a lot if you like experimenting with cooking techniques!

Typical premium pellet grills will surely claim to get to 180 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. You can already see how easily you can grill, roast, bake, and smoke meat in that range. Some grills can reach 500 degrees Fahrenheit, which is pretty impressive, especially if you want a quicker cook with delicious sear marks.

Anyway, to ensure that your food stays within your desired temperature, it’s best to have accurate temperature reading and adjustment. That is to say, a great thermometer is an expert cook’s much-valued accessory.

3. Check the Hopper size

Excellent pellet grills have large pellet hopper capacities. A pellet hopper container directly connects to the pellet feeding system, so it needs to store a decent amount of wood pellets that can last a long cook.

Therefore, if you end up with a small hopper size, you will have to deal with frequent refills.

4. The overall design and parts

If something goes wrong with your grill, it will help if you know the parts’ availability, like the fan, control board, or the automatic auger. There’s also a huge online marketplace for pellet grill repair kits and maintenance kits. Thus, we discuss the most common accessories you’ll find in pellet grills below.

Firstly, your pellet smoker needs a well-designed auger motor. It should run without a hitch and if you encounter some problems with it, don’t worry for you can easily find a replacement. Certainly, most online stores and hardware supply stores sell them for about a couple of grand.

The heating fan motor is another thing to consider since it helps in temperature regulation of the pellet smokers. If somehow it stops working properly, there are lots of instructional guides and even video tutorials online!

Meat probes are a must-have for precision cooking. Most high-quality pellet grills include one in their package, but if you do not have a meat probe, you can very easily find and purchase one in stores. Moreover, the simple temperature controller, a.k.a. proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, is a handy tool for setting your desired temperature. It’s a device used in industrial control applications.

Lastly, a pellet hopper extender adds functionality to your grill by increasing the hopper capacity. It is an extremely useful tool for pellet grills with a price tag of fewer than 500 bucks since these hopper capacity extenders can help a lot with your cooking time.

Conclusion

With enough research, you can get the best deals! Most importantly, we hope to have helped you set your mind on a pellet grill for under 500 dollars.

To sum up, there are so many excellent choices, including best-selling ones from Z Grills, Camp Chef, and Green Mountain Grills. You can’t go wrong with any of these affordable grills. We especially liked Z Grills ZPG 7002E Wood Pellet Grill for its durability and a wide variety of uses, while some options such as Camp Chef Pro DLX have a great 3-year warranty.

Arthur Boralia

I spent most of my life fascinated by food, and the outdoors. I can’t think of a more fitting combo that leads to mastering the art of BBQ one day. I ended up decent enough to grill the perfect burger and choose the best equipment after years of improvement. I create this website for outdoor cooking enthusiasts, who are fueled by interest but lacking in help, feel educated when they leave because I see my past clueless self in them.