Pellet Grills
The Best Large Pellet Grills
Six cookers from 932 to 2,224 square inches. Buying big is cheaper than most people expect — and more expensive to run than most people realize.
By Mike M. · Last updated November 6, 2026 · How we pick
Best Large
Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series Vertical
Pit Boss · score 9.8/10 · Catering volume and marathon overnight cooks
2,224 sq in and a 75 lb hopper. Nothing else under $1,000 smokes this much meat in one load.
Pit Boss list price as of 2026-11-07.
Also on Amazon — $927.54 (as of November 7, 2026)
Quick picks
Ranked by our value-weighted score. Prices are live from Amazon as of November 7, 2026 — tap a price to check it now, or tap a row to jump to the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series Vertical2,224 sq in and a 75 lb hopper. Nothing else under $1,000 smokes this much meat in one load. | Catering volume and marathon overnight cooks | 9.89.8 out of 10 | $899.99Pit Boss |
| 2 |  Pit Boss 1300 Navigator Series1,329 sq in and a touchscreen PID board for about what a mid-size Traeger costs — the value pick for big cooks. | Big families and anyone cooking for a crowd | 9.79.7 out of 10 | $999.99Amazon |
| 3 |  Pit Boss 1600 Navigator SeriesThe largest cabinet-style Pit Boss pellet grill on Amazon, and still priced below a mid-range Traeger. | Competition-volume cooks and very large yards | 9.69.6 out of 10 | $1,199.00Amazon |
| 4 |  Pit Boss 850 Navigator SeriesThe most cooking space per dollar of any WiFi pellet grill we track, and the one we point most buyers at first. | Most backyards — the default pick | 9.69.6 out of 10 | $799.99Amazon |
| 5 |  Traeger Woodridge ProAdds Super Smoke, a digital pellet sensor and a folding side shelf to the Woodridge. The sensor is the feature owners actually notice. | Long smokes where running out of pellets is the real risk | 9.49.4 out of 10 | $1,149.99Amazon |
| 6 |  Pit Boss Navigator 3-Series VerticalA 50 lb hopper and five racks for mid-$600s — if you mostly smoke rather than grill, this beats any barrel grill at the price. | Pure smoking — ribs, jerky, sausage, big batches | 9.79.7 out of 10 | $649.99Amazon |
#ad We earn a commission on Amazon purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking — here is the method.
How much is large?
Large starts around 900 square inches — enough for six chickens or eight rib racks. Above that, vertical cabinets take over: the Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series offers 2,224 square inches across five racks, more than twice any barrel grill here, for less than a mid-range Traeger.
| Cooker | Cooking area | Hopper | Format | Can it grill? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series | 2,224 sq in / 5 racks | 75 lb | Vertical cabinet | No — 420°F max |
| Pit Boss Navigator 1600 | ~1,593 sq in | 30 lb | Barrel | Yes, with sear slider |
| Pit Boss Navigator 1300 | 1,329 sq in | 30 lb | Barrel | Yes, with sear slider |
| Pit Boss Navigator 3-Series | 1,118 sq in / 5 racks | 50 lb | Vertical cabinet | No — 420°F max |
| Traeger Woodridge Pro | 970 sq in | 18 lb | Barrel | Yes, to 500°F indirect |
| Pit Boss Navigator 850 | 932 sq in | 30 lb | Barrel | Yes, with sear slider |
The running cost nobody mentions
A bigger chamber costs more to heat every single time you use it. It takes longer to come up to temperature, and it burns more pellets to hold that temperature because there is more volume and more surface area losing heat. On a 1,593 square inch barrel grill cooking two chicken thighs, you are paying the pellet bill of a full cook to make a snack.
That is the real argument for sizing to your normal cook rather than your biggest one. A Navigator 850 that gets used weekly beats a Navigator 1600 that you resent firing up. And if your genuine need is three big cooks a year, a cheap grill plus one hire or a borrowed second cooker is better economics than permanent over-capacity.
Why vertical wins on capacity per dollar
A vertical cabinet stacks flat racks in a tall insulated box, so it gets its square inches by going up rather than out. That is far cheaper in steel than a wide barrel, and it is also better for the things people cook in volume: ribs lie flat, foil pans sit on shelves, sausage hangs.
The price is grilling. 420°F with no direct flame means no burger crust and no steak. If a cabinet is your only cooker you will be disappointed; as a second cooker it is the best capacity-per-dollar buy in pellet cooking. More in best vertical pellet smokers.
Check the hopper-to-chamber ratio
The Navigator 850, 1300 and 1600 all carry the same 30 lb hopper across chambers of 932, 1,329 and roughly 1,593 square inches. The hopper is identical; the demand on it is not. On the 1600 in cold weather, 30 lb is proportionally far tighter than it is on the 850. If you buy the biggest barrel, budget for watching the hopper more closely.
The picks in full
#1 · Catering volume and marathon overnight cooks
Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series Vertical
Pit Boss · score 9.8/10
2,224 sq in and a 75 lb hopper. Nothing else under $1,000 smokes this much meat in one load.
Pit Boss list price as of 2026-11-07.
Also on Amazon — $927.54 (as of November 7, 2026)
Published specifications
- Cooking area
- 2,224 sq in over 5 racks (25.7 x 17.3 in each)
- Hopper
- 75 lb, with cleanout
- Temperature range
- 130-420°F
- Controller
- LCD digital, one probe, three ports
- Connectivity
- WiFi + Bluetooth, Pit Boss Grills app
- Warranty
- 5 years
How it scores
Weighted rubric score: 8.6/10. Value carries the most weight on this site by design. On our published scale that is 9.8/10.
What it does well
- 75 lb hopper — the largest on this site, and it ends mid-cook refills entirely
- Racks take two full-size foil pans each
- Chimney exhaust and convection airflow even out the cabinet
Where it falls short
- 420°F ceiling, so it is a smoker and nothing else
- Needs real floor space and is heavy to reposition
- One probe included for three ports
#2 · Big families and anyone cooking for a crowd
Pit Boss 1300 Navigator Series
Pit Boss · score 9.7/10
1,329 sq in and a touchscreen PID board for about what a mid-size Traeger costs — the value pick for big cooks.
Also direct from Pit Boss — $999.99 (list price as of 2026-11-07)
Price as of November 7, 2026. #ad how this is funded
Published specifications
- Cooking area
- 1,329 sq in across two tiers
- Hopper
- 30 lb, with a viewing window
- Temperature range
- 180-500°F in 5°F steps
- Controller
- Touchscreen, two meat probes included
- Connectivity
- WiFi + Bluetooth, Pit Boss Grills app
- Warranty
- 5 years
How it scores
Weighted rubric score: 8.5/10. Value carries the most weight on this site by design. On our published scale that is 9.7/10.
What it does well
- 1,329 sq in holds four pork butts or eight rib racks without stacking
- Touchscreen controller rather than the LCD board on the 850
- Still cheaper than a Traeger Woodridge with 470 fewer square inches
- Folding front and side shelves plus a bottom pellet shelf
Where it falls short
- A 30 lb hopper feeding a 1,329 sq in chamber burns through pellets faster than the same hopper on the 850
- Big footprint — measure your patio before you order
- App reliability is the same known weak point across the Pit Boss range
#3 · Competition-volume cooks and very large yards
Pit Boss 1600 Navigator Series
Pit Boss · score 9.6/10
The largest cabinet-style Pit Boss pellet grill on Amazon, and still priced below a mid-range Traeger.
Also direct from Pit Boss — $1,199.99 (list price as of 2026-11-07)
Price as of November 7, 2026. #ad how this is funded
Published specifications
- Cooking area
- 1,593 sq in (the listing title says 1,593; one bullet says 1,539 — the maker contradicts itself)
- Hopper
- 30 lb, with a viewing window
- Temperature range
- 180-500°F in 5°F steps
- Controller
- Touchscreen, two meat probes included
- Connectivity
- WiFi + Bluetooth, Pit Boss Grills app
- Warranty
- 5 years
How it scores
Weighted rubric score: 8.4/10. Value carries the most weight on this site by design. On our published scale that is 9.6/10.
What it does well
- More grate area than anything else at this price, by a wide margin
- Touchscreen PID-style board and dual probes as standard
- Flame Broiler searing carried over from the smaller models
Where it falls short
- Pit Boss's own listing gives two different cooking areas — treat the figure as approximate until they fix it
- 30 lb hopper is undersized for a chamber this big on a long cook
- Heats slowly from cold compared with the 850
#4 · Most backyards — the default pick
Pit Boss 850 Navigator Series
Pit Boss · score 9.6/10
The most cooking space per dollar of any WiFi pellet grill we track, and the one we point most buyers at first.
Also direct from Pit Boss — $799.99 (list price as of 2026-11-07)
Price as of November 7, 2026. #ad how this is funded
Published specifications
- Cooking area
- 932 sq in across two tiers
- Hopper
- 30 lb, with a viewing window
- Temperature range
- 180-500°F in 5°F steps
- Controller
- LCD digital, two meat probes included
- Connectivity
- WiFi + Bluetooth, Pit Boss Grills app
- Warranty
- 5 years
How it scores
Weighted rubric score: 8.4/10. Value carries the most weight on this site by design. On our published scale that is 9.6/10.
What it does well
- 932 sq in for well under four figures — roughly 20% more grate per dollar than the closest Traeger
- 30 lb hopper is double what most sub-$500 grills carry, so overnight cooks do not need a refill
- Flame Broiler slider gives you direct-flame searing, which most pellet grills in this range cannot do
- Two probes in the box rather than one
Where it falls short
- LCD controller is a step below the touchscreen PID on the 1300/1600 and the Advantage 850SL
- Pit Boss app has a long history of connection complaints in owner threads
- Assembly is a genuine two-person, ninety-minute job
#5 · Long smokes where running out of pellets is the real risk
Traeger Woodridge Pro
Traeger · score 9.4/10
Adds Super Smoke, a digital pellet sensor and a folding side shelf to the Woodridge. The sensor is the feature owners actually notice.
Price as of November 7, 2026. #ad how this is funded
Published specifications
- Cooking area
- 970 sq in (7 chickens, 9 rib racks or 7 pork butts)
- Hopper
- 18 lb, with digital pellet sensor
- Temperature range
- 180-500°F
- Controller
- Digital, WiFIRE, Super Smoke Mode, Keep Warm
- Connectivity
- WiFIRE, Traeger app
- Warranty
- 3 years
How it scores
Weighted rubric score: 8.2/10. Value carries the most weight on this site by design. On our published scale that is 9.4/10.
What it does well
- Digital pellet sensor warns you before the hopper empties — the single most useful upgrade in the range
- Super Smoke genuinely increases smoke output at low temperatures
- 970 sq in and a folding side shelf
Where it falls short
- Pit Boss gives you more than 1,300 sq in for less money
- Still an 18 lb hopper, sensor or not
- Side shelf, not a storage cabinet — that is the Pro Plus
#6 · Pure smoking — ribs, jerky, sausage, big batches
Pit Boss Navigator 3-Series Vertical
Pit Boss · score 9.7/10
A 50 lb hopper and five racks for mid-$600s — if you mostly smoke rather than grill, this beats any barrel grill at the price.
Also direct from Pit Boss — $649.99 (list price as of 2026-11-07)
Price as of November 7, 2026. #ad how this is funded
Published specifications
- Cooking area
- 1,118 sq in over 5 porcelain-coated racks
- Hopper
- 50 lb
- Temperature range
- 130-420°F
- Controller
- LCD digital, one probe, three ports
- Connectivity
- WiFi + Bluetooth, Pit Boss Grills app
- Warranty
- 5 years
How it scores
Weighted rubric score: 8.5/10. Value carries the most weight on this site by design. On our published scale that is 9.7/10.
What it does well
- 50 lb hopper is the standout number here — a full load runs overnight and then some
- Drops to 130°F, low enough for jerky, which barrel grills cannot reach
- Heavy-gauge stainless body with a high-temp door seal and a viewing window
- Named 2025 Best Vertical Smoker by Men's Journal (the maker's claim, cited as theirs)
Where it falls short
- Tops out at 420°F — you cannot sear or grill on it
- Vertical cabinets are harder to clean than a barrel
- Rack spacing limits what you can stand upright
Our recommendation
Top pick
Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series Vertical
Catering volume and marathon overnight cooks.
Pit Boss list price as of 2026-11-07.
Also on Amazon — $927.54 (as of November 7, 2026)
Runner-up
Pit Boss 1300 Navigator Series
Big families and anyone cooking for a crowd.
Also direct from Pit Boss — $999.99 (list price as of 2026-11-07)
Price as of November 7, 2026. #ad how this is funded
Questions people actually ask
What is the biggest pellet grill you can buy?
Among the models we cover, the Pit Boss Navigator 6-Series vertical at 2,224 sq in across five racks, with a 75 lb hopper. The largest barrel grill is the Navigator 1600 at roughly 1,593 sq in.
Does a bigger pellet grill use more pellets?
Yes, on every cook. More chamber volume and more surface area mean more heat loss and a longer warm-up, so the controller feeds more pellets to hold the same temperature.
How many people does 900 square inches feed?
At roughly 100 sq in per person for mixed grilling, comfortably eight to nine. Traeger quotes six chickens or eight rib racks for 860 sq in, which is a similar picture.
Should I buy a big barrel grill or a vertical cabinet?
Barrel if it is your only cooker, because you need grilling heat. Cabinet if you already own a grill and want smoking volume — it is substantially better value per rack.
Sources
Read next
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Guides
What Size Pellet Grill Do I Need?
100 sq in per person — and why buying too big costs you weekly.
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What Does a Pellet Grill Cost Per Cook?
The arithmetic nobody prints — and the one change that halves it.