Pellet grill or gas grill? It's one of the most common questions we get on the showroom floor in Phoenix, and it's a fair one. Both cook outdoors, both have a lid and grates, and some cost about the same. But they make heat in completely different ways, so they're good at different things. This guide breaks down how each one works, the real pros and cons, what each can do that the other can't, and which meats cook best on each, so you can buy the right one the first time.
The short answer: A pellet grill burns hardwood pellets and works like a wood-fired outdoor oven. It's the better choice if you want real smoke flavor on brisket, ribs, pork shoulder, and turkey, with set-it-and-forget-it temperature control. A gas grill burns propane or natural gas and puts direct flame right under the grates. It's the better choice if you mostly cook steaks, burgers, chicken, and weeknight dinners and want to be cooking in 10 to 15 minutes. If you do both styles of cooking, plenty of our customers end up owning one of each.
Pellet Grill vs. Gas Grill at a Glance
| Feature | Pellet Grill | Gas Grill |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Food-grade hardwood pellets | Propane or natural gas |
| How it cooks | Indirect, fan-driven convection heat and wood smoke | Direct radiant heat from burners under the grates |
| Temperature range | Model-dependent. Example: 150°F–550°F (GMG Ledge Prime 2.0), 150°F–600°F (Yoder YS640S) | Most reach about 500°F–550°F on high. Infrared burners run hotter for searing |
| Heat-up time | An automatic igniter cycle, then the controller brings it up to your set temp | About 10–15 minutes to preheat on high with the lid closed |
| Smoke flavor | Yes, real hardwood smoke | No smoke from the fuel. Flavor comes from drippings sizzling on the heat plates |
| Low-and-slow smoking | Excellent. Built for it | Limited. Possible with a smoker box and indirect setup |
| High-heat searing | Varies by model. Some, like the YS640S, offer direct-flame grilling | Excellent. Built for it |
| Electricity needed | Yes. Runs the auger, fan, igniter, and controller | No (aside from extras like lights or rotisserie motors) |
| Temperature control | Digital, automatic, often Wi-Fi app controlled | Manual burner knobs |
| Best for | Brisket, ribs, pork butt, whole birds, roasts, smoked fish | Steaks, burgers, chops, chicken pieces, seafood, veggies |
How a Pellet Grill Works
A pellet grill is part smoker, part outdoor convection oven. You fill a side hopper with hardwood pellets and plug the grill into an outlet. When you set a temperature, a motorized auger feeds pellets into a small fire pot, an electric igniter (often called a hot rod) lights them, and a fan feeds the fire with air and circulates heat and smoke around the cooking chamber. A heat baffle sits over the fire pot so food cooks with indirect heat instead of flame.
The controller is the brain. It reads the chamber temperature and speeds up or slows down the auger and fan to hold your set point. That's what makes pellet grills so easy to use: you set 225°F for a brisket, close the lid, and the grill handles the fire. Most current models, including our pellet smokers, let you watch and adjust temps from a phone app.
How a Gas Grill Works
A gas grill runs on a propane tank or a natural gas line. Gas flows to a row of burners under the cooking grates, and each burner has its own control knob. Heat radiates straight up through the grates, which is why gas grills are so good at fast, high-heat cooking and grill marks.
Metal sear plates or flavor bars sit between the burners and the grates. They protect the burners, spread heat, and vaporize drippings that fall on them. That sizzle is where most of a gas grill's "grilled" flavor comes from, because propane and natural gas burn clean and don't add smoke flavor on their own. Browse our full lineup of gas grills and built-in grills to see the range, from freestanding carts to outdoor kitchen units.
Pellet Grill Pros and Cons
Pellet Grill Pros
- Real wood smoke flavor: You're cooking over burning hardwood, not gas. That's the whole point for brisket, ribs, and pork shoulder.
- Set-it-and-forget-it control: The controller holds temperature automatically, typically in 5°F increments on models like the GMG Prime 2.0 line and the Yoder YS640S.
- Long, unattended cooks: Yoder rates its 480 and 640 models at up to 12 hours on a full 20-pound hopper, depending on cooking temp and weather.
- Versatility: Smoke, roast, bake, and grill in one cooker. Pizza, cobblers, and roasted vegetables all work.
- Flavor options: Swap pellet species (hickory, oak, cherry, mesquite, blends) to change the flavor of the same cook.
- App monitoring: Check pit and meat temperatures from your phone instead of babysitting the fire.
Pellet Grill Cons
- Needs electricity: No outlet, no cook. Plan for a GFCI outlet near your patio.
- More moving parts: Augers, fans, igniters, and controllers are extra parts that can eventually need service.
- Searing varies a lot by model: Many pellet grills are better at roasting than at a hard steakhouse sear. Check whether the model offers direct-flame access or a searing station.
- Pellet cost and storage: Pellets have to stay dry. Wet pellets swell and can jam the auger.
- Lighter smoke than stick burners: Pellets give clean, consistent smoke, but it's milder than an offset. If you want the heaviest smoke flavor possible, read our pellet grill vs. offset smoker comparison.
Gas Grill Pros and Cons
Gas Grill Pros
- Fast: Most gas grills preheat to around 500°F–550°F in about 10–15 minutes.
- Great searing: Direct flame and hot grates give you crust and grill marks on steaks, chops, and burgers.
- Multiple heat zones: Each burner has its own knob, so you can sear on one side and keep food warm on the other.
- No electricity required: Great for spots on the patio without a nearby outlet.
- Simple to run: Turn the knob, light it, and cook. Very little to learn.
- Extras on higher-end models: Infrared side and rear burners, rotisserie kits, interior lights, and big warming racks.
Gas Grill Cons
- No real smoke flavor: You can add a smoker box of wood chips, but it won't match a dedicated smoker.
- Not built for 12-hour cooks: Holding 225°F steady for a whole brisket is hard on most gas grills.
- Manual temperature control: You adjust the knobs yourself, and wind and outside temperature affect heat.
- Flare-ups: Fatty foods over direct flame can flare. You'll need to manage zones and keep the grill clean.
- Fuel logistics: Propane tanks need refills, and a natural gas line needs to be installed by a pro.
What a Pellet Grill Can Do That a Gas Grill Can't
- True low-and-slow barbecue. Holding 225°F–275°F for 10 hours or more with wood smoke is exactly what pellet grills are built for. That's how you get tender, smoky brisket, ribs, and pulled pork.
- Cook overnight without babysitting. The controller feeds fuel and holds temperature while you sleep. Most gas grills aren't designed to run unattended for that long at low heat.
- Change the flavor with the fuel. Hickory for pork, oak for brisket, fruitwoods for poultry and fish. Our guide to Lumberjack pellet flavors and wood types covers which wood goes with which meat.
- Bake and roast with smoke. Pellet grills cook with circulating heat, so they handle smoked mac and cheese, cornbread, pies, and whole roasts like an outdoor oven.
- Program a cook. Some controllers can be programmed to change temperature at a set time or meat temperature. The Yoder YS640S can do this through its FireBoard-powered app.
What a Gas Grill Can Do That a Pellet Grill Can't
- Go from cold to cooking in about 10–15 minutes. For a Tuesday night burger, gas is hard to beat.
- Run several heat zones side by side. Separate burners let you run high, medium, and off zones at the same time. A pellet grill has one fire, so you get hotter and cooler areas but not independent control.
- Get a steakhouse sear without accessories. Direct flame, plus infrared burners on models like the Napoleon Prestige 500, gives you hard crust on steaks and chops. Some pellet grills can sear well, but many need upgrades like grill grates or a searing station.
- Cook without power. As long as you have gas, you can grill during a power outage or anywhere on the patio.
- Cook on rotisserie over infrared heat. Many premium gas grills include rear infrared rotisserie burners, which are less common on pellet grills.
Best Meats to Cook on a Pellet Grill
Pellet grills shine on large, tougher cuts that need hours of gentle heat and smoke to break down. These are the cooks our customers buy pellet grills for:
- Beef brisket: Smoke low and slow. Most cooks pull brisket around 200°F–203°F internal, when a probe slides in with almost no resistance, then rest it.
- Pork ribs: Spare ribs and baby backs are done around 195°F–203°F, when the meat pulls back from the bone and bends easily.
- Pork shoulder (pork butt): The classic pulled pork cut. It needs a long cook to get tender enough to shred.
- Beef ribs: Big, fatty plate ribs love long cooks with oak or hickory smoke.
- Whole turkey and chicken: Smoke-roasting gives great flavor. Poultry is safe at 165°F.
- Prime rib and roasts: Smoke it low, then roast hotter to finish.
- Salmon and fish: Fruitwood or alder pellets are a great match. Fish is safe at 145°F.
- Jerky, sausage, and smoked cheese dips: Low pellet temps make these easy.
For target temps on every major cut, check out our BBQ temperature chart.
Best Meats to Cook on a Gas Grill
Gas grills are at their best with thinner, tender cuts that cook fast over high heat:
- Steaks: Ribeye, NY strip, filet, flank, and skirt all benefit from a hot sear.
- Burgers, hot dogs, and brats: Fast, easy, and great for a crowd. Ground beef is safe at 160°F.
- Chicken breasts, thighs, and wings: Sear over direct heat, then finish on a cooler zone. Cook to 165°F.
- Pork chops and pork tenderloin: Cook to 145°F and rest for 3 minutes.
- Shrimp, fish fillets, and scallops: Quick cooks that need high heat and close attention.
- Vegetables, kebabs, and grilled fruit: Corn, peppers, asparagus, and pineapple all char nicely over direct flame.
Safe minimum internal temperatures above come from the FoodSafety.gov safe minimum internal temperature chart. Barbecue cuts like brisket and ribs are cooked well past those minimums so the connective tissue breaks down.
The Best of Both: The Reverse Sear
If you own both, try the reverse sear on a thick ribeye or tri-tip. Smoke it on the pellet grill at around 225°F until it's about 10°F–15°F below your target doneness, then move it to a ripping hot gas grill for a minute or two per side. You get smoke flavor, edge-to-edge doneness, and a real crust.
Cost: What You'll Spend Up Front and Over Time
Up front: On our floor, pellet grills range from the Green Mountain Grills Ledge Prime 2.0 at $699 to the Yoder YS640S at $2,699.99, with competition-cart, built-in, and premium models above that. Freestanding Napoleon gas grills start under $1,000, and built-in grills for outdoor kitchens run from under $2,000 to over $10,000 depending on size and brand.
Fuel: Pellet use depends on temperature and weather. Yoder puts it at roughly 1.5 to 4 pounds per hour on its pellet grills. Low-and-slow cooks use less, and high-heat grilling uses more. Gas grills use propane from a refillable tank, or run off a natural gas line that never needs refilling once it's installed.
Size matters too. If you're weighing cooking space, our grill size guide for 26", 36", and 48" grills shows how much food each size actually holds.
Pellet Grill or Gas Grill: Which One Should You Buy?
Buy a pellet grill if:
- You want to make real barbecue at home: brisket, ribs, pulled pork, smoked turkey.
- You'd rather set a temperature and walk away than manage a fire.
- You like the idea of smoking, roasting, and baking in one cooker.
- You have an outlet near where the grill will sit.
Buy a gas grill if:
- Most of your cooking is quick: steaks, burgers, chicken, chops, seafood, veggies.
- You want to cook a few nights a week with almost no prep time.
- You want strong searing and several heat zones at once.
- You're building an outdoor kitchen around a built-in grill with a natural gas line.
Get both if:
- You cook weeknight dinners and weekend barbecue. A gas grill for speed and a pellet grill for smoke cover nearly everything, and it's one of the most common setups we see in Valley backyards and outdoor kitchens.
Pellet and Gas Grills We Recommend
These are four grills we sell and stand behind, two pellet and two gas, covering different budgets and setups.
Green Mountain Grills Ledge Prime 2.0 — Best Value Pellet Grill
A great first pellet grill. It runs from 150°F to 550°F, connects to the GMG app over Wi-Fi, and has windows in the lid and the pellet hopper so you can check food and fuel without opening anything. It smokes, roasts, bakes, and grills on a wheeled cart with a lower storage shelf. $699.00
Yoder Smokers YS640S — Best Premium Pellet Grill
The pellet grill for people who want to do it all. It's built in Kansas from heavy 10-gauge steel and runs from 150°F to 600°F with a 20-pound hopper. Yoder lists 1,070 square inches of cooking space with the second shelf. A removable access door over the fire lets you grill over direct flame for real searing, so it handles both low-and-slow brisket and hot-and-fast steaks. $2,699.99
Napoleon Prestige 500 with Infrared Side and Rear Burners — Best Freestanding Gas Grill
A freestanding propane grill with four stainless steel burners putting out up to 48,000 BTUs, 500 square inches of main cooking area, and 760 square inches total with the warming rack. The infrared side burner handles steakhouse searing, and the rear infrared burner and included rotisserie kit cover slow-roasted chicken and roasts. $1,879.00
Delta Heat 32" Built-In Gas Grill — Best Built-In Gas Grill for Outdoor Kitchens
An American-made, 304 stainless steel built-in grill for outdoor kitchens and BBQ islands. Three stainless U-burners deliver up to 60,000 BTUs across 625 square inches of grilling area, plus a 174-square-inch warming rack, interior halogen lights, and a double-lined hood. $3,089.00
Prices reflect our listings at the time of publishing and may change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a pellet grill better than a gas grill?
Neither is better overall. They're better at different things. A pellet grill is better for smoking and low-and-slow barbecue with real wood flavor and automatic temperature control. A gas grill is better for fast, high-heat grilling like steaks, burgers, and chicken, and it's ready in about 10 to 15 minutes.
Can a pellet grill sear a steak?
Some can and some can't. Pellet grills cook mostly with indirect heat, so many don't sear as hard as a gas grill. Models with direct-flame access, like the Yoder YS640S (rated up to 600°F), or a dedicated searing station sear much better. Grill grates and the reverse sear method also help.
Can you smoke meat on a gas grill?
Yes, but it's limited. You can add a smoker box or foil pouch of wood chips over a lit burner and cook the meat on an unlit side. It adds some smoke flavor to shorter cooks like chicken or pork tenderloin, but it won't hold steady low temps or produce the smoke flavor of a pellet grill on a 12-hour brisket.
Do pellet grills need electricity?
Yes. A pellet grill uses electricity to run its auger, combustion fan, igniter, and digital controller, so it needs to be plugged in. Most use a standard 120V outlet, and some models, like the Green Mountain Grills Prime 2.0 line, can also run on 12V DC power. Gas grills don't need electricity to cook.
How many pellets does a pellet grill use per hour?
It depends on the temperature, the weather, and the grill. Yoder estimates 1.5 to 4 pounds per hour on its pellet grills. Low-and-slow smoking uses the least, and high-heat grilling uses the most. Cold, wind, and opening the lid all increase pellet use.
Does food taste different on a pellet grill than on a gas grill?
Yes. Food cooked on a pellet grill picks up hardwood smoke flavor, and the flavor changes with the wood you use. Gas burns clean, so gas-grilled food tastes like a char and sear from direct heat and sizzling drippings, not wood smoke.
Should I buy a pellet grill and a gas grill?
If you cook both quick weeknight meals and weekend barbecue, owning both is the most flexible setup. Use the gas grill for speed and searing, and the pellet grill for brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and smoked poultry. Many outdoor kitchens are designed with a built-in gas grill next to a pellet smoker for exactly this reason.
See Them in Person at Our Phoenix Showroom
The best way to decide is to see both side by side. Stop by Over the Fire BBQ Supply at 21443 N 23rd Ave, Suite 2, Phoenix, AZ 85027, or call us at (602) 345-1659. The Over the Fire team will walk you through how each grill works, open the lids, and help you pick the right fit for how you actually cook.
