Quick Comparison
| Product | Best For | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Masterbuilt MB20071117 30 inch | Best Overall | 4.7/5 |
| Masterbuilt MB20070210 Analog | Best Budget | 4.6/5 |
| Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 | Best Premium | 4.7/5 |
| Masterbuilt Bluetooth Digital 40 inch | Best for Large Cooks | 4.5/5 |
| Masterbuilt Portable Electric | Best Compact | 4.6/5 |
I have smoked dozens of briskets, pork shoulders, and rack after rack of ribs, and I ran five Masterbuilt smokers through a full summer of barbecue to compare them honestly.
What Matters Most
I look at temperature stability across a ten hour cook, smoke production at low and high heat, app reliability, ash and water pan cleanup, and how well it handles weather swings.
My Setup
I cooked the same fourteen pound packer brisket recipe on each smoker outdoors in mixed weather. I logged grate temperature every fifteen minutes with a Thermoworks Smoke X4 and tracked fuel use.
The Masterbuilt Smokers I Tested
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Smoker was my top pick because the gravity hopper held two fifty for eleven hours without any baby sitting and gave real charcoal flavor.
The Masterbuilt MB20071117 30 Inch Digital Electric Smoker is the easy starter. Plug it in, set the temperature, and walk away to your kid’s soccer game.
The Masterbuilt MB20074719 Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker had the most useful app. Notifications worked from across the yard without weird disconnects.
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series 560 Digital Charcoal Smoker felt the most balanced. Smaller footprint than the 1050 but still real charcoal performance.
The Masterbuilt MPS 230S Propane Smoker is the budget pick. Propane heat with a wood chip tray gets you smoking for around two hundred dollars.
Common Mistakes
Folks crank the temperature for the first hour to save time and end up with a dry brisket. Patience at two twenty five for the stall phase is what gives you that pull apart tender finish.
Final Recommendation
For serious barbecue the Gravity Series 1050 is the clear winner. The 30 Inch Digital Electric is best for set and forget, and the MPS 230S Propane saves real money.
Frequently asked questions
Do Masterbuilt smokers really taste like wood smoke?+
The gravity-fed and pellet models give real charcoal or pellet flavor. The electric models give light clean smoke that some pitmasters find too mild for brisket.
How often do I need to refill chips or pellets?+
On the electric models I add chips every forty minutes during the bark phase. The gravity-fed unit ran a full brisket on one hopper load.