The Best Gravity-Fed Smoker in 2026: Superior to Pellet Grills?
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What if you could combine the convenience of a pellet grill with the real wood flavor that you love about a traditional stick-burner? A gravity-fed charcoal grill just might be the answer you’re looking for…
That’s right – all the charcoal flavor that you love with none of the work. It almost sounds too good to be true, but I’ve been using gravity-fed grills for over a year now and I can confirm that they live up to their promise.
Today I’m going to be breaking down the basics of gravity-fed grills, as well as comparing the best options on the market today.
What is a gravity-fed charcoal grill?
As the name implies, a gravity-fed grill utilizes gravity to keep your charcoal burning for hours. Similar to a pellet grill, the gravity-fed design has a hopper that can be filled with lump charcoal, charcoal briquettes, and/or wood chunks.
I usually use lump charcoal because that is what I prefer in all of my grills, but I’ve used briquettes as well. I find that the briquettes burn a little slower than lump because you can fit more of them in the hopper due to size.
You simply light the charcoal at the bottom of the hopper, set the grill to your desired temperature, and let the grill do its thing.
The grill has an electronic temperature system and fan to keep your charcoal burning at the same temperature for hours. The hopper can hold 10 pounds of lump charcoal or 16 pounds of charcoal briquettes, which will allow you to keep your charcoal burning for upwards of 8 hours straight without adding more fuel.
Gravity-fed grills allow the flexibility of smoking, grilling, and searing, all at the simple touch of a button. They are easy to use and will allow you to pack in that amazing, smoky, charcoal flavor that you love without any of the hassle of a traditional charcoal grill.
What I love about gravity-fed grills:
- Hassle-free cooking for hours on end.
- Integrated temperature control and fan will maintain a steady temperature throughout the entire cooking process.
- Ability to raise or lower temperature in a matter of minutes.
- All the charcoal smoke flavor you love with no hassle.
What I don’t like about gravity-fed grills:
- Inability to set up multi-zone cooking; the entire grill surface can only be set to one temperature.
- Electrical components increase the chances of product defects (though I have not experienced any issues in over a year of grilling regularly).
What gravity-fed models are available on the market?
Masterbuilt was the first company to launch a gravity-fed charcoal grill back in 2019. They essentially took all the convenience people love about pellet grills and applied that concept to this charcoal grill.
Masterbuilt patented the design, which is why we haven’t seen a lot of other grill companies create a similar style grill of their own. The one exception is Char-Griller which released the Char-Griller 980 Gravity Fed charcoal grill in 2021.
Both Masterbuilt and Char-Griller are owned by the same parent company, so I think that is how they were able to get around the 15-year patent on the technology.
However, it has been out of stock for several months, so we don’t know if that model has been discontinued.
Masterbuilt has also recently released a higher end XT model with a bunch of design and quality imprveoments.
The current models available are as follows:
| Specifications | Masterbuilt Gravity 560 | Masterbuilt Gravity 800 | Masterbuilt Gravity 1050 | Masterbuilt Gravity XT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking Space | 560 sq. in. | 800 sq. in. | 1080 sq. in. | 1260 sq. in. |
| Hopper Capacity | 16lbs of briquettes 10lbs of lump | 16lbs of briquettes 10lbs of lump | 16lbs of briquettes 10lbs of lump | 18 lbs of briquettes 12 lbs of lump |
| Dimensions | 54W x 51H x 24D | 55W x 50H x 30.5D | 61W x 52H x 33D | 60.3W x 52.2H x 34D |
| Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price |
We have also published detailed reviews of the smallest 560 model and the new XT model.
The Best Gravity Smokers We’ve Tested
The Masterbuilt Gravity 1050
I got my Masterbuilt Gravity 1050 in December of 2021, so I have been cooking with it for a few years now. It is by far one of my favorite grills in my collection. I’ve done everything from smoking meat low and slow to searing steaks at a high temperature of 700°F+, and the Masterbuilt is a powerhouse for any cooking application.
Until the XT was released, this was the largest and most expensive of the models Masterbuilt offered.
| Cooking Space | 1080 sq. in. |
| Hopper Capacity | 16lbs briquettes / 10lbs lump charcoal |
| Single-hopper Cooking Time | Up to 10 hours |
| Cooking Grates | Cast-iron grates that are reversible for both smoke + sear functions |
| Temperature Range | 225°F to 700°F |
| Fan | DigitalFan™ technology for precise temperature control |
| Control Panel | Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity to monitor your cook from your phone |
| Warranty | 1 year |
When I first got this grill, I joked with my husband about how I could fire up a charcoal grill without even getting my hands dirty. But, all jokes aside, that is one of my favorite features of this grill.
You simply fill the hopper with your charcoal of choice, then slide a couple of fire starters into the bottom and light them. There are dampers located on the side of the hopper that you need to remove before lighting the grill, but they slide out easily with one hand.
After you light the fire starters, you want to let them burn for a couple of minutes to really get going. Then, you can shut the hopper and head over to the control panel to set your desired temperature.
The temperature ranges from 225°F to 700°F and heats up very quickly. It only takes about 10 minutes to get the grill up to 225° for low and slow smoking and another 5 to 7 to kick it up to 700°F when you want to perform a high-heat sear.
As I said before, I’ve been cooking on this grill for a few years now and have done just about every type of cooking you can imagine on it.
It allows you to set the temperature down to 225°F for low and slow smoking, and I would venture to say that it rivals an offset smoker when it comes to the flavor you are able to achieve.
The grill holds a consistent temperature for hours and will allow you to add a prominent charcoal smoke flavor to your cooking. Some of the best ribs I’ve ever made have come off my Masterbuilt and I’ve also gotten the grill up to over 650°F to reverse sear steaks beautifully.
With the release of the XT which I’ll cover below, you seem to be able to get some great deals on the 1050.
Masterbuilt Gravity XT
The XT is the newest lineup to the Masterbuilt gravity range. It’s bigger, better built, and has better fuel economy than the previous models.
After a few months of cooking on it, I think it’s a significant upgrade over the 1050.
My favorite new feature on the XT is the redesigned heat and air intake slides. Now you can control air flow to the hopper via a small lever on the front of the grill. The old models used a small metal plate that you removed and I never had a good place to put them.
One of the biggest complaints about Masterbuilt smokers is always their build quality, and the Gravity series definitely suffered from some cheap components.
The XT has beefed up everything with better insulation, a thicker interior, and a heat gasket to prevent heat and smoke leakage. I’ve noticed a significant improvement in fuel economy, meaning I can smoke for longer with the same amount of charcoal.
The hopper is also a little bigger, which is great for those overnight cooks.
They’ve also completely redesigned the digital control panel, making it easier to navigate and control.
Despite being better in every way, the XT is a steep price jump over the 1050. I think it’s worth it if you can afford it, but after cooking on the 1050 for years, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with grabbing one of those instead.
Our Verdict: The Masterbuilt Gravity XT refines everything we liked about the original, with better insulation, smoother airflow control, and easier digital operation. It delivers true charcoal flavor with pellet-grill convenience. The price is higher, but the upgrades make it a worthwhile step up.
- New heat and air intake slides
- Improved hopper design
- Better fuel efficiency
- Digital control panel
- Better build quality
- Large price jump from the older model
The Char-Griller Gravity 980
I’ve left this information in incase you manage to find a Char-Griller gravity in stock somewhere.
While I don’t have nearly as much experience cooking on the Char-Griller 980 as I have with the Masterbuilt, I’ve been able to get a few cooks in on the Char-Griller and found it to perform just as great as the Masterbuilt model.
The Char-Griller has a round design and looks more like a traditional smoker or pellet grill, plus it comes in two colors (red and blue) for those that want to add a touch of color to their cooking space.
Char-Griller Gravity 980 overview & specifications
| Total Cooking Space: | 980 sq. in. |
| Primary Cooking Space: | 680 sq. in. |
| Hopper Capacity: | 16lbs briquettes / 7lbs lump charcoal |
| Single-Hopper Cooking Time: | Up to 8 hours |
| Cooking Grates: | Porcelain-coated cast iron |
| Temperature Range: | 200°F to 700°F |
| Fan: | Precision control fan for temperature control |
| Control Panel: | Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity to monitor your cook from your phone |
| Warranty: | 1 year |
Lighting the Char-Griller is almost identical process to the process I outlined above for the Masterbuilt model. You simply fill the hopper with your charcoal of choice, add a firestarter into the slot in the bottom, allow it to light for a few minutes, then shut the hopper and adjust the temperature of the grill using the control panel.
You can use the grill to smoke meat at a range of temperatures from 200°F to 250°F, or you can kick up the temperature and grill/sear food at temperatures from 450°F to 700°F as well.
Similar to the Masterbuilt, cooking on the Char-Griller Gravity 980 was a great experience. I love the design of the grill and how easy it is to adjust temperature based on what you are cooking.
I smoked a couple of pork butts and they came out amazing. The smoke flavor was very prevalent and they cooked very similarly to the way I would expect a charcoal grill to cook. I also made a couple of racks of ribs and they came out amazing as well.
The hopper lived up to the promise of an 8 hour cook time. If you run out of charcoal during the cook, you can always add more on top easily without having to turn off or adjust the grill in anyway.
What accessories can you buy?
Masterbuilt has a few accessories that I think are worth looking at besides the obvious cover.
- Rotisserie Kit – the Masterbuilt Gravity Rotisserie Kit is compatible with all three models of the Masterbuilt Gravity Fed grills. It has a powerful electric motor and can hold up to 10 lbs of food to cook rotisserie-style. It also has 2 interchangeable spit rods to allow your food to cook slowly and evenly over the charcoal grates.
- Pizza Oven – the Masterbuilt Pizza Oven slides right into your GravityFed™ smoker and converts it into a pizza oven with a 14” capacity. It’s made from stainless-steel with a porcelain-coated exterior and offers a 360° airflow to cook your food evenly and quickly.
- Smoker Griddle – Masterbuilt offers a smoker griddle insert for both the 800 model and the 1050 model that will allow you to convert your GravityFed™ smoker into a full-sized griddle.
Why aren’t gravity-fed grills more popular?
I honestly think the issue is that people don’t know they exist. Pellet grills have been the shining star of the backyard barbecue industry in recent years, so many people gravitate towards the brands they know, like Traeger,
I can confidently say that performance is not the issue with gravity-fed grills. The issues are marketing and publicity.
The ability to cook over charcoal and wood without any of the hassle of managing a fire is a huge game-changer in the grilling industry. The number one complaint that I hear from people about pellet grills is the lack of smoke flavor, but a gravity-fed grill is going to give you all the smoke flavor that you love with the convenience and ease of cooking on a pellet grill.
Plus, Masterbuilt filed for a patent on the technology when they launched the gravity-fed back in 2019 and that patent got approved for a 15-year term. Essentially, the only companies that are going to be able to be players in the gravity-fed game are going to be models that are owned by the same parent company as Masterbuilt, Char-Griller, and
Final thoughts
As I mentioned before, I think the Gravity Fed design is an absolute game changer when it comes to grilling over charcoal. If you are in the market for a pellet grill, I highly recommend considering a gravity-fed charcoal grill.
These grills combine the convenience and versatility of a pellet grill but allow you to use real wood and charcoal as your fuel source. If you’re a fan of a deep, smoky flavor in your food, then I would venture to say that you would prefer the flavor you can get from a gravity-fed grill over a pellet smoker.
About Your Pitmaster
Breanna Stark is a Texas-based competitive pitmaster and barbecue educator. She grew up cooking over charcoal and open flames while camping with her father, sparking a lifelong love of barbecue. Since 2014, she has competed in over 100 IBCA, KCBS, and CBA events, earning recognition for her award-winning chicken and Texas-style barbecue.
Passionate about recipe testing and development to create approachable dishes that help backyard cooks level up their barbecue skills. Breanna shares her expertise with over three million followers on social media.
Just wondering what the cost would be to replace the fan if it ever goes out in the Masterbuilt Gravity Pit?
Masterbuilt offers a replacement fan kit on their website for $13.99
I bought a Masterbuilt 560 about 2 years ago now, I love it. It can Smoke, Grill, Bake, Sear, Crisp, Warm, BBQ, Roast and Braise, doing it all while Charcoal smoke to the food
What about adding wood or wood chips is this possible? Do they go on the grill or in the hopper?
Yes, you can add wood chunks to the hopper along with charcoal. I usually aim for an 80/20 mix of wood and lump charcoal.
I toss wood chunks into the ash bucket. The embers that fall into it cause the chunks to smolder & gives more smoke than adding chunks into the hopper.
Thanks, useful to know how they work. Is the firebox actually offset to the fuel box? I assume the briquettes aren’t all sitting on top of the fire. Does it work best with a particular size of charcoal or briquettes? Also fyi, with a patent you can grant someone else a licence to use or copy your patent (usually for a fee) and so masterbuilt is presumably willing to provide a licence to related companies but not external ones to protect their competitive position.
The fire is directly below the charcoal hopper, so yes – the charcoal sits above the fire but the fan regulates how much burns at a time to maintain the temperature you choose.
I usually use lump charcoal because that is what I prefer in all of my grills, but I’ve used briquettes as well. I find that the briquettes burn a little slower than lump because you can fit more of them in the hopper due to size.
Thanks, yes had a look at them and have a sense of how they work – almost a vertical snake and I assume the heat regulation is controlled by the speed of the fan. Can you tell me how the sear works? Looks like some pictures show a flame but I didn’t think there was anything burning under the grill? Also when you are finished cooking / burning, can you stop the fire or do you effectively have to burn all the briquettes / charcoal you have loaded into the hopper?
When you are done cooking you just replace the slides and it basically smothers the fire.
To sear you just set the temperature controller to 700 degrees and let it get up to temp.
From the video on Amazon, there appears to be a metal tent ^ running from side-to-side under the cooking grates, like the heat shields or “flavorizer” bars covering a gas grill’s burners. The fan blows the heat under this tent, heating it to the set temperature. Heating the shield to 700 degrees should provide radiant searing. I have no idea how well it performs.
This post really has my interest. I’ve been deeply interested in getting a smoker. I have done on a very small charcoal and kept saying I’d like a pellet but would rather have a charcoal version of that. Now my interest is peaked. I’m just worried about money vs reliability.
I see Lowe’s has a sale on the 980 one for two more weeks…
Glad to hear our post was helpful! Sounds like a gravity smoker is precisely what you need. That Lowe’s price is pretty good for the 980
Gravity-fed grill sounds interesting. How easy is it to clean? With my pellet grill, it’s a lot of work to clean out all the ash and grease, and I have to do it at least once a month.
I would say it is very similar to the cleaning process of a propane grill, but not quite as labor intensive as a pellet grill. It needs to be cleaned regularly (I shoot for about monthly) or you will run the risk of flare-ups.
How about cleaning? Is it difficult to clean?
How about grease collection?
I don’t find it difficult to clean – it’s very similar to the cleaning process on a propane grill. It does collect some grease in the bottom of the grill body if it isn’t cleaned regularly, which can cause flare-ups.
I bought a Masterbuilt back in 2020 and I love it!!! I have done brisket, ribs, pork butt, turkeys and chickens. I love the convenience of just setting a temperature and a time and forgetting about it.
Just 2 things to add that you forgot to mention. There are 4 plug ins for temperature probes right on the controller so you have a way of keeping track of internal temperature.
And don’t forget about the app!!! You can easily check the grill temp, time remaining and probe temps right from your phone!!!
You mentioned it was one of your favorite grills in your collection what other grills would you consider your favorites?
I have owned my Gravity980 for a year now next month. The greatest selling point to me was the computerized temperature control (this over my old stick-burner offset). I can’t recommend it enough. Pro tip: assemble it as close to where your final resting will be; I had to get a few neighbors to help me get it on my backyard deck cuz this thing is heavy as hell!
BTW: Masterbuilt and Char-Griller are owned by the same parent company now (Middleby is the parent company now)
Do both reach the high end of the advertised temps? I’ve seen some reviews that they struggle to reach 300.
I haven’t had an issue with any of the ones I’ve cooked on reaching high temperatures. I regularly sear steaks on my Masterbuilt at 700°F+.
Hi griller friends!
Bought 2 Masterbuilt 800 in Sweden. They seem to have a very uneven quality and extremely poor quality control. I have had several replacements due to rust on the lid and shelves. I have also had the control unit exchanged and the lid contacts on one of the grills. It is also tricky to connect to internet, but when it works-it’s fantastic. Just wish they would address the quality issues and time to get replacements!
You know, I very much like your content, but your amazingly over-pervasive ads will cause me to unsubscribe from your newsletter, and avoid visiting your site. I get that your content is free and that ads help keep them so, but when I’m bombarded with flashy distracting embedded ads and popup ads so constantly as to see four of them on any given stretch of webpage as I scroll though the article, the value of your site isn’t worth the overwhelming distraction. Add to that the multiple automatic reloads (this particular page automatically reloaded twice before I had completely scrolled through it), and your content quite simply isn’t worth the aggravation. Not trying to troll or be malicious here, just giving you some constructive feedback on my experience with this site.
Thanks for sharing your experience Tom, as you say, the ads help keep our content free but it’s always a balancing act of finding the number that work without ruining the user experience. I’m going to look into the issue you had with reloads, as that isn’t something that should be happening. There should also only be 1 popup and that shouldn’t show more than once per visit (within 30 days).
I bought my Masterbuilt XT in May 2024 after owning the Chargriller 980 for over 2 years. The Chargriller worked great until the sensors in the doors started going bad (they are push in activated). So I bought the Masterbuilt XT hoping that would alleviate the problem with the magnetic sensors, what a mistake that was. In 6 months, the Masterbuilt XT has been nothing but a piece of junk and a waste of $1600 dollars. It came with a faulty power cord that I had to fix in order to get it to work initially. The hopper that stores your charcoal, Burns all your charcoal up after you close the flue when you’re done, so all your charcoal is wasted after each time you use it. ( It’s supposed to cut off the airflow and kill the fire and preserve your charcoal, but it doesn’t do that.) And if there is any charcoal left from the previous grilling session it’s a pain in the rear to get a fire started if it rained at all sometimes taking up to an hour for the coals to get going, I guess because water gets in and saturates the previous ash. And after only seven times of using it, the master controller just stopped working. On top of that, you can’t call anybody at Masterbuilt, or have a technician come out. You have to wait for their response via email, and they’ll just arbitrarily send you parts under warranty to troubleshoot your problem. And it takes 10 to 14 days for a part to come in the mail. Then you have to fix your own $1600 grill. So once you go through several different parts to fix your problem, you’re about a month and a 1/2 in of not being able to use your grill. So if you’re into wasting time and money and picking up a second hobby of working on electronics and fishing wires through a cramped, tight working environment, like a grill, then I suggest maybe picking up one of these pieces of junk.
Thanks for sharing your experience Chistopher, and sorry to hear you’ve had such a bad time with the XT! I think every now and then you can just get really unlucky with a grill, and have multiple part failures where others have no problems. Especially when you’ve got a lot of electrical components it seems there’s more room for random failures to crop up. We haven’t run into any of the issues you’ve mentioned, but it’s still early days so will keep an eye on them and update our review if anything starts to go wrong. I hope you have better luck with Masterbuilt support. They should have a warranty for at least 1 year, so it might not be too late to just return it and get a refund.
You really need to look a little harder for comparative products. With several on the market from Oklahoma Joe to some other high-end regional brands. I’m on my second master built in five years. I love the concept, but the product is junk. Everybody I’ve talked to that has one says expect three years and then get a new one.
Hey Tim, we always try and find the best products within a category, the problem with Gravity-Fed grills is that the design is patented, so all of the options on the market including models from Char-Broil, Oklahoma Joes and Masterbuilt are all owned by the same parent company. We do plan on reviewing the Oklahoma Joe’s Tahoma, which I assume is the model you are referring to? Would be keen to hear what high-end brands you’ve found that sell a similar model, I would love to try one out.
Great roundup! I’ve been using a gravity-fed smoker for a couple of years now, and I can’t overstate how much I love the “set it and forget it” convenience without sacrificing charcoal flavor. One tip I’ve found helpful is layering wood chunks throughout the hopper when filling it this gives a consistent smoke profile for the entire cook. Also, keeping the ash pan clear between sessions really helps maintain steady airflow.
I think gravity-fed smokers are still underrated compared to pellet grills, but once you try one, it’s hard to go back. The long burn times and temperature stability make them perfect for overnight briskets or big BBQ gatherings.
I’ve had both a MB 1050 and the portable. Both worked awesome for the first 10 times, then the fan and/or thermostat, and or controls gave out. A BIG waste of money. Great idea, but build quality is crap.
Great review! I bought the 560 back 2020. Ran it for almost 5 yrs before getting my 1050($539 floor model Home Depot!) I absolutely love my 1050 and still love my 560. (She’s showing her age, but can still cook slow and low, or hot rod up to 700 plus degrees!) Actually had her up to 803 degrees! My friends and co workers (pellet grill owners) envy the smoke flavor that my cooks produce on my masterbuilts. One thing I’d like to add though-the 560 and 1050 can be dialed down to 150 degrees. Great for beef jerky or smoking cheeses,etc.