Best Yoder Smokers Model to Buy: How to Choose

If you've landed here, you already know Yoder Smokers is where you want to spend your money. The harder question is which one. This guide is for the home cook comparing models, and by the end you'll know exactly which Yoder Smokers pellet grill fits the way you actually cook, how many people you feed, and where the grill will live. Here's what makes this decision genuinely worth thinking through: every model in the lineup shares the same DNA of heavy-gauge steel and precise heat control, so you're not choosing between good and better. You're matching a specific grill to a specific backyard, and that match is what separates a good purchase from one you'll be glad about a decade from now.

Quick note before we dig in: All Things Barbecue is the exclusive online retailer of Yoder Smokers, and both companies call Kansas home. When you order one of these grills through ATBBQ, it ships by freight straight to your door. That relationship, plus more than 5,000 five-star reviews across the site, is why folks trust us to steer them right.

What to look for across models

Cooking capacity, measured honestly. Square inches only matter in the context of what you cook. The Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill delivers 800 total square inches (480 on the main grate plus 320 on the included two-piece second shelf), which is right for a family and a few guests. Step up to the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill and you get 1,070 total square inches, enough to run 3 to 4 packer briskets at once. The Yoder Smokers YS1500s Pellet BBQ Grill jumps to 1,500 square inches, built for catering-scale cooks.

Steel thickness and heat retention. This is where Yoder Smokers earns its reputation. The YS480s and YS640s both use a 10-gauge (1/8-inch) steel cooking chamber, with 14-gauge steel on the hopper and cart. The YS1500s steps up to even heavier construction and adds a patented Heat Management System with an adjustable damper over the firebox. Thicker steel means the grill shrugs off temperature swings when you open the lid or load cold meat, and it's a big reason these grills cook just as well in July as they do in January.

True do-it-all versatility. Here's a distinction worth making: not every pellet grill is a grill, oven, and smoker in one. Many only bake in that gentle oven-style range. A quality Yoder Smokers pellet grill genuinely does it all. Pull the access door and you cook directly over the flame for searing, run it low and slow for brisket, or bake on the upper shelf. Across the S-Series, the temperature range runs from 150°F up to 600°F in 5-degree increments. Add the GrillGrate Set and searing temps climb past 650°F.

Where it will live. Standard cart, competition cart, or built into an outdoor kitchen. The grill body is identical across configurations (i.e. a YS640s on a Standard Cart and a YS640s on a Competition Cart have the same grill body and cooking ability). What changes is mobility, storage, and how the grill integrates with your patio.

Our picks

Best for most backyard cooks: Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. Starting around $2,699 on the standard cart, this is the flagship and the brand's best seller for good reason. With 1,070 square inches of dual-level cooking space, it handles 8 to 10 racks of ribs or a couple of large turkeys without breaking a sweat. The next-generation Adaptive Control System connects over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth through the FireBoard app, holds your target within about ±5°F, and includes two food probes so you're not opening the lid to check doneness. If you cook for a family plus regular guests and want one grill that smokes, sears, roasts, and bakes, this is the one to beat. As one verified customer put it, "The first thing you notice is the weight; this thing is a tank."

Best for smaller spaces and smaller crews: Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill. Around $2,249 on the standard cart, the YS480s brings every bit of the same engineering, including the 10-gauge steel cooking chamber and the same ACS controller, in a footprint that fits tighter patios. Its 800 square inches is plenty for weeknight dinners and weekend gatherings, and it converts to open-flame grilling in seconds. A verified customer who goes through a whole cow of beef a year chose it specifically for open-flame reverse searing, noting it eliminated the need for multiple grills. If you're feeding four to eight and want to skip the extra bulk, start here.

Best for mobility and the competition crowd: Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill on Competition Cart. Priced from about $3,199, this configuration swaps the standard cart for 8-inch flat-free pneumatic tires, locking casters, built-in tie-down rings, and a closed-cart design finished in high-temp powder coat. The cart itself is built from 10-gauge steel. It's the right call if you tailgate, compete, or simply move your grill around more than most, and it comes in a range of colors. A first-time owner summed up the appeal well: "I'm a beginner and so far everything I have made is restaurant quality or better."

Best for feeding a crowd: Yoder Smokers YS1500s Pellet BBQ Grill. Starting near $5,695, the YS1500s is the model that made its name with caterers and competition teams before landing in backyards. Its 1,500 square inches will hold 6 to 8 full packer briskets or 4 to 6 whole turkeys with room for sides. The offset-inspired firebox sits below the chamber on the left and pulls heat and smoke left to right, and the patented Heat Management System lets you build multiple cooking zones on one grill at one time. If holidays, big tailgates, or catering are part of your life, this is the workhorse.

Best for the built-in outdoor kitchen: Yoder Smokers YS640s Built-In Pellet Grill with ACS and Valance. The YS640s built-in configuration surface-mounts flush to a non-combustible counter, so it becomes the heart of an outdoor kitchen while delivering the same 1,070 square inches and wood-fired flavor as the cart models. More on designing around it below.

Best for the true stick-burner purist: Yoder Smokers 20" Loaded Wichita Offset Smoker with Casters. Around $2,899, this is a different animal from the pellet lineup, and worth naming for the cook who wants direct command over fire, airflow, and smoke. Built from 1/4-inch steel with a 20" x 42" x 20" cooking chamber, 1,610 square inches of cooking surface, 304 stainless grates, and a removable heat management plate, the Loaded Wichita burns real wood or charcoal for hands-on traditional barbecue. Choose this only if managing a fire is the point, not a chore.

One more note on what backyard cooks actually reach for once the grill arrives: a fresh 20-pound bag (or four bags) of BBQr's Delight Wood Pellets is among the most-purchased items on the whole site, a reminder that great results start with quality fuel.

What most guides get wrong

Plenty of buying advice tells you to size up "just in case," as if a bigger grill is always the safer bet. That's not quite right with Yoder Smokers. Because every S-Series model shares the same construction, controller, and heat stability, a YS480s doesn't cook worse than a YS640s. It simply cooks less food at once. If you regularly feed four to eight people, sizing up to the YS1500s means paying for and heating 1,500 square inches you'll rarely fill, and running a larger grill for a small cook is less efficient, not more capable. The smarter move is to match capacity to your real, everyday cook, then let the versatility of the platform stretch to handle the occasional big day. You can always run a full load of ribs on a YS640s when the neighbors show up uninvited, and they will.

If your grill is going into an outdoor kitchen

When a built-in YS640s or YS480s becomes the centerpiece of a patio build, the design around it matters as much as the grill. This is where ATBBQ's free, professional outdoor kitchen design consultations come in. You work with real, in-house designers, actual people who cook, not an impersonal online configurator or a DIY drag-and-drop tool. They handle design, custom steel fabrication, and appliance selection as one connected process, which is exactly why it works: our custom-built frames arrive plumb, square, and level, so the grill, doors, and finishes drop into place with minimal shimming, faster installation, and a tighter, more durable fit than a contractor framing it by hand on site.

And these builds are not one-size-fits-all. We design everything from a simple grill island to a sprawling custom kitchen, for every climate. Some elements are genuinely optional: a vent hood really only becomes necessary when you have a roof overhead and a wall behind the main cooking area, and a sink, while handy, is often the most expensive single piece and easy to leave out of a leaner build. The point is to design around how you'll actually use the space. When you're ready, the best first step is to start with our outdoor kitchen design form so a designer can begin sketching around your space and budget.

The recommendation

Feeding four to eight on a compact patio, or want the full Yoder Smokers experience without the extra bulk? Buy the Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill. Cooking for a family plus regular guests and you want one grill to do everything for the next decade or three? The Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill is the flagship and the model most people should own. Move your grill for tailgates or competition? Take the YS640s on the Competition Cart. Routinely feeding crowds, catering, or competing at volume? Step up to the Yoder Smokers YS1500s Pellet BBQ Grill. Building an outdoor kitchen? Choose the built-in YS640s and let our design team frame the whole thing around it. And if you crave the hands-on ritual of tending a live fire, the Loaded Wichita Offset Smoker is your pit.

Whichever you choose, you're getting a grill handcrafted from heavy-gauge steel in Kansas, USA, backed by a team that cooks on these grills at home and at work. Have a question before you commit? Reach our team at