Best Pellet Grills Under $500 [April 2024]: Good For The Money

Searching for the best pellet grills under $500? Pellet grills provide a low-cost, convenient way to enjoy the superior flavor and consistent temperature control. There are many options when it comes to buying the best pellet grill for the price of 500 dollars. However, not all of them can provide you the satisfaction that you want to enjoy your cooking experience.

That’s why I decided to write this guide to help those people who are searching for reviews of the most reliable pellet grills under $500 but don’t know how to pick the right one.

So, without any further delay, let’s find out the top pellet grills without breaking the bank!

Bonus Read: Are pellet grills good for cooking burgers

How Do Pellet Grills Under $500 Differ from More Expensive Pellet Grills?

The main difference between the pellet grills under 500 dollars and the more expensive ones is that they have fewer features. Affordable pellet grills under 500 dollars lack any advanced features like WiFi connectivity or mobile app support. If you are looking for more control over your grill and its operations, then it is better to look at more advanced models.

As far as pellet grills under 500 dollars go, you’re not going to find the fanciest grill in the world. Inexpensive pellet grills, there are side shelves and cabinets to store grilling accessories. But, in affordable pellet grills under $500, the chances are that you’ll be missing those options.

Furthermore, if you’re looking for a pellet grill under 500 dollars range with excellent build quality, the available cooking surface will be smaller. However, if you can sacrifice the material quality and sturdiness of the pellet grill, you can have a pellet grill with a large cooking surface area. But, in that case, you have to take extra precautions to ensure that your pellet grill lasts longer.

For instance, if you wish to do the outdoor grilling, make sure to prevent pellet grill from rain as pellet grills with cheaper material can rust out quickly. In addition, you have to make sure to do regular cleaning of your pellet grill after every cook.

You can use a grill brush to scrape off the grease and use a shop vac to remove sawdust of wood pellets out of the firepot. Lastly, I would also advise you to always use fresh and high-quality wood pellets in those affordable pellet grills under 500 dollars to ensure efficient combustion every time you’re planning for grilling.

Also, you can check some high-end built BBQ grills available in the market. You should also check those BBQ grills if you can increase your budget a bit.

Best Pellet Grills Under 500 Dollars Reviews

Here is a list of the best budget pellet grills under $500.

1. Camp Chef SmokePro DLX – Best Overall Pellet Grill

After a lot of research, I found that you can’t go wrong with getting Camp Chef DLX if you are searching for pellet grills close to the price of 500 dollars. The price of Camp Chef DLX is a bit higher than $500 i.e., it is currently priced around $550, which is quite close to your 500 dollars budget.

I would say if you can manage to spend extra 50 dollars, you should definitely buy this Camp Chef Smoke Pro DLX. Camp Chef DLX Pellet Grill is recommended by my friends and several members of the pellet grills users’ community.

As far as material quality is concerned, customers are pretty much satisfied with the Camp Chef DLX. It does come in stainless steel lid. But, that model is slightly pricey. You would have to pay around $600 to get Camp Chef DLX with a stainless steel lid. The grill grate of DLX is made of porcelain-coated steel. Camp Chef also sells cast-iron grates for this model.

The model with painted steel has a 14-gauge steel lid; while the body, legs, and hopper are made of 18-gauge steel. Also, the legs are tubular steel instead of bent sheet metal, and they have built-in threaded inserts that make assembly easier and are far more rigid and stronger.

Camp Chef DLX comes with a 2^nd Gen PID controller technology to control auger feed rate and fan speed to maintain the desired temperature. As compared to other high-end grills, the temperature control in Camp Chef is not as accurate as in high-end pellet grills like Rec Teq or Traeger. It can show variations up to 40 degrees. So, I would advise you to not use the DLX pellet grill in extremely windy weather.

Camp Chef SmokePro DLX has a hopper capacity of 18 lbs and a cooking area of 573 square inches that can hold up to 5 racks of ribs. The grilling area is 429 square inches, while the warming area (upper rack) is of 144 square inches. You can get a maximum temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit on this DLX pellet grill.

Another interesting feature of Camp Chef DLX is the ash cleanout system. You don’t have to take the grill grate out to vacuum the ash. All you need to do is to pull out the lever to remove the ash in a cup, and it’s done. However, sometimes, a lot of ash can be produced during grilling if wood pellets do not undergo efficient combustion. In that case, you would have to remove grill grate and vacuum out the excessive ash.

DLX pellet grill also features two temperature probes. One is on the sidewall of the pellet grill to monitor the inside temperature, and the second one is for the internal temperature of the meat.

The downside of Campchef DLX is that there is quite a bit of smoke comes out around the door. Due to this, wood pellets consumption can increase. You can use this Openfire Seal to fill the gap between the lid and grill body.

2. Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill

Cuisinart 6000 is one of the best pellet grills under the budget of 500 dollars. I would recommend this pellet grill if you live in an area that has a moderate temperature condition.

The Cuisinart CPG-6000 has a large 700 square inches of total cooking space which is more than enough to cook food for the whole family without having to frequently refill your pellets. It is home to 513 square inches of main rack space and 187 square inches of warming rack space. You can easily smoke 20lb of turkey in this pellet grill.

This grill is fully equipped with an auto pellet feed system that provides the machine with 20 lbs of capacity, which means up to 15 hours of smoking time.

Under the price of $500, you can get Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill with a cover that helps in keeping harmful weather conditions like frost or snow out, protecting your grill from outdoor elements during accidental outdoor storage.

Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill has a simple time-based controller that can cause temperature fluctuations as it is less efficient compared to the PID controller in the above-reviewed Camp Chef DLX. However, under the budget of 500 dollars, you would have to sacrifice that PID controller feature.

Another thing I liked about Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill, which is forcing me to prefer it over Z Grill 700 is the cabinet system where you can store grilling accessories like skillets, oil, sauces, etc.

Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill also has a nice lid seal to prevent smoke from escaping out of the pellet grill. As far as material quality is concerned, Cuisinart 6000 is made of powder-coated steel, which is pretty solid. The grill racks of Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill are made of chrome-plated steel, which is fine as Cuisinart 6000 is not made for searing. However, chrome-plated steel is more resistant to rust as compared to the enameled steel grate.

The downside of Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill is that it has a maximum temperature of 450 Fahrenheit. Moreover, it is not suitable for searing as the chrome-plated steel grate can warp in high heat and does not impart perfect grill marks on the meat.

Another downside is that Cuisinart CPG-6000 Grill has only one meat probe to record the inside temperature of a pellet grill. For recording the internal temperature of meat, you would have to buy a separate probe.

3. Green Mountain Davy Crockett

Green Mountain Davy Crocket Pellet Grill is also a great option for you if you’re looking for a pellet grill under $500 with a WiFi feature.

The cooking area of Green Mountain Davy Crockett pellet grill is only 219 sq in, which is quite less compared to the above-reviewed grills. However, you’re getting the WiFi feature at the cost of the cooking area so that you can control the temperature of the pellet through the app. You don’t have to stand by your pellet grill and monitor the temperature all the time.

One important point about the WiFi feature of Green Mountain Davy Crockett is that it also has its own WiFi. So, if your home WiFi is not working, you can connect to the grills WiFi. The password is the serial number on the grill.

In the area of 219 sq inches, you can cook two 8lbs of hams at once with no problems in the Green Mountain Davy Crockett pellet grill. So, if you’re a small family of 4 to 6 people, you should surely consider buying this great pellet grill in your budget of 500 dollars. Moreover, you can increase the temperature up to 550 Fahrenheit in Green Mountain Davy Croc. So, this is a great pellet grill under 500 dollars for searing steaks and burger patties.

Also, this pellet grill is pretty lightweight. You can lift in and out yourself. There is also a wire shelf to place grilling accessories. Unlike other grills, the legs of the Green Mountain Davy Crockett pellet grill are foldable, which makes them portable.

Green Mountain Davy Crockett pellet grill is made of high-quality thick gauge steel that ensures durability and quality performance for years. Even though it is not as expensive as other grills on the market, they work very well for long time use and you do not need to worry about replacing them any time soon.

The downside of the Green Mountain Davy Crockett grill is that the temperature control can be difficult to manage during low and slow cooks.

Another important point I would like to highlight is that the food is closer to the firepot due to the compact size of the Green Mountain Davy Crockett pellet grill. So, you have to take care of that. Otherwise, the food may become charred.

Another downside is that the WiFi on Green Mountain Davy Crockett grills usually works within a 10ft range.

4. PIT BOSS 700FB Pellet Grill

if you do not like pellet grills with a smokestack, Pit Boss 700FB Pellet Grill under 500 dollars can be a great alternative for you. The controller of Pit Boss 700FB is also a simple time-based controller like the above-reviewed pellet grills. It features a digital control board that allows you to set temperature from 180°F to 500°F.

If you face temperature fluctuations in Pit Boss 700FB Pellet Grill, you can check this guide on Pit Boss pellet grills temperature fluctuations for more details.

The Pit Boss has more than 700 square inches of cooking space which is enough for smoking about 20 burgers at a time. The main grilling area of Pit Boss 700 is 540 sq inches, and the upper rack is like 160 sq inches. Pit Boss 700 pellet grill features a 20lb hopper, which is big enough for overnight cooking.

The design of the Pit Boss 700FB is quite simple yet elegant. It doesn’t boast any fancy features or looks, but it does its job perfectly fine. Instead of smokestack like other pellet grills, it has vent holes to keep removing the excessive smoke and avoid food charring.

The removal of smokestack cuts down the production cost, due to which this Pit Boss 700 pellet grill is providing a large cooking area with a lesser price.

Another interesting feature that Pit Boss 700 possesses, but other pellet grills lack is the frame broiler. It is a great feature for searing steaks. It is a plate that you can slide in and out to expose food to the fire so that your food can get perfect searing marks.

Pit Boss 700 features an easy to clean porcelain-coated grill grates made of cast iron, making it durable and heat-resistant.

The downside of a Pit Boss 700 pellet grill is that it does not have a meat probe. So, you would have to separately buy it. Moreover, you can’t adjust the opening of vent holes on the back of this Pit Boss pellet grill. This can cause temperature fluctuations in windy and rainy weather. You can use aluminum tape to cover the holes.

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