Best Electric Smoker for The Money

It is difficult to choose the best electric smoker for the money under your budget due to the high end diversity of models, features, and brands.

Aside from this, electric smokers are the simplest, easiest models with large cooking shelves to serve you generously.

If you are tired of fuel types and want to have an electric smoker, you have got the right place at the right time. We have brought you the best electric smokers for the money to ensure your long lasting and successful investment.

For a basic good quality electric model, the range under $ 200 to $ 300 is more than enough. Yet you can even buy a smoker under the lowest price tag of $100.

5 Best Electric Smoker for the Money

Without further delay let’s have a look at our best picked electric smokers in your required budget lines.

Let’s get started,

1. Masterbuilt MB20073519 – Best under $ 100

The first pick in the list of best electric smokers for the money comes from Masterbuilts manufacturer.

Their Patio- 2 is a portable electric smoker which makes it even possible to be used for both indoor and outdoor smoking styles. Surprisingly this unit is easily available under the price tag of only $ 100.

Despite being small in size, the unit comes with a built in temperature gauge to provide you next level heat consistency while maintaining the internal temperature of the unit.

With this consistency, you can evenly cook throughout the process. Moreover, a 1400 watt heating element is quite sufficient to cook whatever you want.

To control the inside temperature, patio 2 comes with an analog temperature control system. As we know analog ensures you easily set the temperature to interface best for those who have just started their electric smoking.

Let’s talk about the cooking space of this mini chef, it comes with two cooking racks of stainless steel along with chrome coating. This space is more than enough to cook 2 racks of mid-sized, 1 port buts, and as many sausages as you want. Hence, this portable unit is suitable for small sized households.

The entire construction of the unit including racks depends on industrial grade stainless steel. Hence the robust and sturdy construction ensures durability and longevity. For better performance, clean up the smoker after each session.

This little champ is especially known for its astonishing portable features. Stainless steel folded legs are used to keep the unit upward for comfortable placing. Besides this, the side handles give you a comfortable grip so that you can easily rotate it anywhere you want.

What we like

• Features 2 chrome stainless steel coated cooking racks
• Analog temperature control for hassle free temperature set up
• Folded steel legs for comfortable mobility and transportation
• Built in temperature system ensures you temperature sustainability

What we don’t like

• Needs constant monitoring for perfect outcomes

Why should you buy this?

Masterbuilt Patio-2 is a perfect unit for those living in condos or apartments. Furthermore, you can easily transport it to the patio and back yard to start smoking within minutes.

Perfect size and portable features and the powerful heating element is something for which I can recommend it as the best electric smoker for the money.

2. Masterbuilt MB20071117 – Best Under $ 200

Georgia based Masterbuilt manufacturer is the trustiest name in producing durable electric smokers since the year 1973. Their MB20071117 Electric Smoker is the best seller product and a cheap electric smoker.

The unit features 800 watts of powerful heating elements and produces sufficient temperature for perfect cooking outcomes.

The interior of the unit is double walled insulated electric smoker to retain the temperature inside. This high-end insulation prevents you from temperature fluctuation and ensures even cooking as well.

To keep a check over inside temperature, the unit is equipped with a digital control panel. As it features a user friendly interface so you can have comfortable control over on/off during the process.

Besides this, you can set up the required temperature and cooking timings for multiple cooking recipes accordingly.

Moreover, thermostat temperature control provides you with even and consistent cooking and enables you to cook your meat at its required temperature.

Furthermore, the unit is also equipped with side handles and gives you hassle free mobility during transportation.

Another amazing feature for which I love this unit is the patented side wood chip loading system. This loading system has become the signature of Masterbuilt electric smokers.

For this purpose, it comes with whole wood chips filling at the back. all you have to load the provided filler and pour the wood chips without distorting inside heat. 

Let’s talk about the cooking area, Musterbuilt features ample cooking space providing room for up to 2 turkeys, 4 pork butts, 4 racks of ribs, and 6 chickens in a single go.

For its massive cooking area and durable construction, Masterbuilt MB20071117 can be the best electric smoker for the money.

The entire exterior and cooking racks are constructed using industrial grade stainless steel. This means that no matter what the weather is you can use it with no worries of damage. Infect, the sturdy construction ensures your longevity for years.

Read our review about Small Gas Grills

What we like

• Durable steel construction for longevity
• 4 cooking racks ensures massive cooking area
• Side wood chip system for comfortable filling
• Double walled insulation for heat retention

What we don’t like

• LED seems hard to read in sunny days

Why should you buy this?

I would recommend this unit if you are new to smoking. This is because Masterbuilt comes with user friendly features. Hence, no matter if you are a newbie or have little experience you can end up preparing delicious smoked food to amaze anyone at home.

3. Smoke Hollow CAB4017 – Best Digital Electric Smoker

Masterbuilt’s smoke hollow is a series of Masterbuilt. Their CAB4017 40” electric smoker comes with high tech features, a durable design, and a large viewing window to provide you with smooth working using this amazing unit.

Master built smoke hollow features 1035 square inches of ample cooking area to cater to the needs of BBQ parties and clan gatherings.

The space is provided using stainless-steel cooking racks along with chrome coating to make them dish washable.

Besides this, utilizing the entire cooking area you can smoke up to 6 chickens, 4 racks of ribs, 4 pork butts, and 6 chickens at the same time.

The unit is equipped with a digital control panel giving you versatile adjustment levels so that you can set up the required temperature level as per the demand of the recipe.

Moreover, the unit also comes with a blue LED display ensures you have a visible display on sunny summer days. The size of the wood chip tray is enough to pour sufficient amounts of wood chips.

This means that you can pour multiple flavors to produce bold and delicate smoke if you want to have strong smoky results.

The fancy feature of Smoke hollow’s smart app and Bluetooth feature provides you next level cooking comfort. Now, you can connect a mobile app with a smoker to set the required temperature remotely.

Let’s have a look at the performance of the unit, to ensure you sustain heat throughout the processing unit is equipped with 1500 watts of the powerful heating element. For heat retention, the door of the unit is sealed to prevent smoke and heat leakage.

Buying smoke hollow allows you to monitor the cooking process without opening the door. For this purpose, it comes with a glass viewing window that ensures food inspection without distorting the smoker’s inside temperature.

For hassle free mobility, smoke hollow features rear wheels and side handles to turn the unit the best portable smoker for the money. Hence, you can easily take it anywhere you want with no worries of portability.

What we like

• Features 1500 watt of powerful heating element
• Size of the wood chip tray prevents from refilling
• 4 chrome coating cooking racks provide sufficient cooking space
• Bluetooth smart technology to set required temperature

 What we don’t like

• Mobile app sometimes shows incorrect readings

Why should you buy this?

We would recommend smoke hollow if you want to have fancy, robust, and fully functioning units within a low budget. Smoke hollow’s portable features, ideal size, smart technology, and spacious cooking area is something you can’t have all of them in competitors’ models.

4. Smokin-It Model – Best Portab Smoker

Our next pick in the list is Smikin-it model 1 electric smoker. The best thing about this model is that it is NFC certified which means that there is no harm and design defection while buying this.

The durable design along with incredible cooking space is sufficient to hold up as much food as you want.

The entire construction of the unit is durable and developed using industrial grade stainless. For which you can use it even in harsh weather conditions.

To ensure your temperature consistency the internal construction is fully insulated and depends on 100% pure fiberglass. The high-end internal insulation prevents smoke leakage during the process.

Let’s talk about its power, the heating element is responsible to produce 400-watt power. This power along with the insulated internal is more than enough to produce sufficient temperature for perfect smoking results.

Thus, by buying smokin-it you can enjoy both hot and cold smoke at the same time.

Outdoor smoking seems messy if your workplace is not that comfortable. Hence, to provide next level comfort the model features wire hangers so that you can change the excessive wire for comfortable operation. 

Portability makes it easy to move bulky smokers with little or no effort. For this purpose, smokin-it electric smoker features 4 robust casters of 3’ diameter and two side handles to ensure comfortable mobility even on dumpy surfaces.

Furthermore, the large drip pan located beneath catches excessive grease and oil during the process. All you have to do is slide it out and put it in the dishwasher for comfortable cleaning.

Buying smoking-it turned your smoking super easy as it is super easy to operate. Due to its user-friendly nature, massive cooking space, durable design, and portable features this unit can be the best budget electric smoker.

What we like

• Features highly insulated body to ensure heat consistency
• 4 robust casters for hassle free mobility on dumpy surfaces
•  4 cooking racks to smoke up to 22 lbs in single go
• Robust and durable construction to last you for years

What we don’t like

• Hard to monitor inside temperature in absence of a control panel.

Why should you buy this?

The most important thing for which you can trust this model is that it is backed by NFC. Apart from it, if you are a person who wants to have a rough and tough unit to hold big BBQ gatherings then you never find any other better option.

Buying this unit would let you invite as many guests as you want. It will never get tired of serving you and your loved ones.

5. Bradley Smoker BTDS108P – Best Outdoor Electric smoker

Our last pick in the list of best electric smokers for money belongs to the house of Bradley smokers. Their Jim Beam BTDS108P is an outdoor electric smoker.

As being Bradley’s smoker, it works using bisquettes instead of wood chips, to let you enjoy a very distinct mild smoke flavour under $ 500.

The external construction of the smoker is manufactured using epoxy steel. The robust construction makes the unit sturdy enough to be used even in harsh weather conditions.

Whereas the internal stainless-steel construction protects components from getting rust and corrosion hence, ensuring your durability and longevity of the unit.

In addition to this, the interior is highly insulated to retain the heat inside of the smoker for perfectly cooked outcomes.

When it comes to power the unit is equipped with a sufficient 500 watts of a heating element. You can easily set the temperature to get slow and high heat as per requirements.

In addition to this, the 125 watt burner features the simplest interface providing you control over timings, temperature, and inside smoke for better performance.

Bradley, home electric smokers are equipped with their own Bisquettes feeding system. This system eliminates the need for wood chips, instead, you have to buy Bradley’s bisquettes to flavour the food.

The benefit of having a bisquettes feeding system is that they don’t produce debris and ashes.

Bisquettes are preferable over wood chips because they last way longer than wood chips. Once you have filled the tower it can work for more than 8 hours with single fill up.

Buying Bradley is a decent choice as it gives you spacious cooking space, robust design, and a highly insulated interior for which it can best electric smokers under 500.

What we like

• 125 watt of burner provides user friendly interface
• Perfectly Insulated body to retain the inside of the unit
• Digital temperature control allows setting as per requirements
• Robust and sturdy construction to ensure you durability

What we don’t like

• No side handles for comfortable portability
• Breadley Bisquettes are little expensive compared to wood chips

Why should you buy this?

Bradley’s Jim Beam is recommended for those who don’t like to have a mess in the smoking process. Jim Beam does not want you to have constant monitoring. It is a ‘fill it and forget it’ kind of model for its user-friendly interface and self-pouring of Bisquettes.

Buying Guides

Electric smokers are the easiest way to prepare hours of smoking, grilling, and searing within time. This is due to its electric power source. That ensures you the fastest cooking, comfortable handling, and a little cleaning. 

If you have embarked on a mission to find out the best electric smoker for the money. I would recommend you to go through these buying guides and enrich yourself with ground knowledge of electric smokers before making a decision.

Heating Element

The heating element inside the temperature is responsible for generating heat. the powerful heating element would not bother you in terms of temperature fluctuation.

The power of the heating element is measured using watt. If you are buying an electric smoker give it first priority. A middle-sized smoker should have a 1500 watt heating element for perfect searing and grilling. 

Some models are designed for slow smoking hence their heating element features lower wattage. Buying them is not profitable as for slow smoke you can control the temperature using temperature control.

TemperatureControl

The second most important aspect when buying an electric smoker for the money is its system to control the inside temperature. Some fancy units feature high tech digital control panels and Bluetooth connectivity to ensure you control the temperature remotely. 

Some models come with elegant and decent control panels to give you perfect control over the unit. These units do not have fancy features yet they provide you hassle free temperature settings in your required budget.

Size and Cooking Space

Electric units are manufactured in all sizes whether its portable or commercial purpose. Even the portable types have decent cooking space to feed a small sized household. So, choosing the best size depends on your requirements. 

For a middle-sized family unit with space of 500 to 700 sq. inches is more than enough to cater to the needs. Although commercial sized units have a bulky design to provide 1500 sq. inches of cooking space.

Cooking Racks/Grates

Electric smokers are vertically shaped cabinet-type units to place multiple food items for the cooking process. These shelves are further followed by cooking racks. Make sure that the material used and racks should be rust and corrosion proof. 

If your racks are made up using stainless steel along with chrome coating grab them immediately. Stainless steel is industrial grade durable material and chrome coating provides a non-stick shiny surface to enjoy smoking.

Portable Features

Most of the electric units are designed for outdoor smoking. Due to its electric components, you can’t keep them outside for convenient usage. This means that each time you have to move the smoker to the desired place to start smoking. 

To make sure the transportation is easy and hassle free your smoker should have comfortable side handles and lightweight for mobility.

Budget

No doubt budget is the most important factor to consider while picking up the best electric smoker. You may find smokers ranging from about 100 $ to 500 $. For a decent and reliable unit, the amount of 200 $ is enough for a smoker with all possible features.

Bottom Line

Buying an electric smoker for the money needs little consideration of your demand and ground knowledge of electric smokers. 

After going through this article, yet it seems hard to pick one, take it easy. People living in condos and apartments should look for portable and small sized units to handle the situation. 

We have Masterbuilt patio 2. As it is also recommended, you can easily use it on the balcony of your apartment. 

Besides this, an electric smoker with the necessary features to turn your smoking ease and simple Masterbuilt MB20071117 electric smoker is a durable option. It has a simple and easy-to-operate application to turn your smoke experience into a memorable one.

Don’t forget to take safety precautions before starting processing.

FAQS

Q1: What is the best electric smoker for the money?

It seems a little hard to recommend the best electric smoker for the money. Firstly, they are available in multiple price tags. Even though you can have a durable unit for only under $ 100. But it would have little space and power to meet most of the family’s requirements.

Hence, to solve this problem we have listed our best-recommended units with a different price tag so that you can easily pick them under your budget line. If you want a basic unit with decent cooking space then make sure that your budget should be under $ 200.

Q2: What is the best electric smoker for condos and apartments?

People living in congested condos or apartments where they have restrictions need to be more conscious when picking up an electric smoker than people living independently. they should always go for portable units so that they could be easily placed on the balcony for a secure process.

Masterbuilt patio -2 electric smoker is a great product due to its compact size and powerful features. You can easily place it anywhere you want to enjoy the outdoor flavour in indoor smoking.

Q3: Can we use electric smokers during harsh winters?

To deliver better performance even during harsh weather conditions, look for a unit with the best insulation. This is because the outside weather can somehow fluctuate the inside temperature.

Therefore, you need to have a perfectly insulated body to retain the heat side even when the temperature is fluctuating. Besides this, your smoker should have a durable construction to prevent the body from peeling, bubbling, and rusting.

Q4: What makes Bradley smokers different from competitors?

Bradley smokers compared to widely used Masterbuilt are quite different in functioning and price. Bradley’s original smoker recommended using Bradley’s bisquettes followed by Bradley Bisquettes feeding system.

If you want commercial-purpose smoker then there’s no better choice than Bradley due to its spacious cooking surface and delicate restaurant-style smoked food.

Beside this. Masternuilt and other competing brands produce home appliances as they usually have cooking areas suitable for up to 7 to 9 persons. Besides this you can’t use them for a longer time. On the other, you can cook food on Bradley for up to 8 hours. You don’t need to be worried about refilling bisquettes.

Q5: How are Bisquettes better than wood chips?

Bradley original smoker uses bisquettes instead of wood chips to produce smoke. We can’t prefer one over another as both have, they’re on plus points. Bisquettes are a little expensive but they can last you way longer than wood chips.

When it comes to wood chips, they are inexpensive and excessively available in local stores. Various recognized brands are producing quality wood chips of distinct flavours. If you want to get rid of the constant refilling of wood chips then Bradley’s bisquettes are a better replacement whereas wood chips can be used in all types of electric and even charcoal smokers.

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