Choose a pellet grill if you want steady, hands-off wood-fired cooking, and a charcoal grill if the live fire itself is the part you love.
The decision comes down to how much you want to manage the fire and how well the grill is built, not fuel type alone. The mistake most buyers make is believing pellet grills can't sear and charcoal can't hold low-and-slow temps. In reality, a cheap grill of either kind struggles at both, while a heavy-gauge grill handles the whole range. Build quality and heat retention decide what a grill can actually do.
Our pick: The Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill smokes, bakes, and sears in one appliance, holds your target within ±5°F, and offers 1,070 square inches of cooking space, so you get real wood flavor without babysitting a fire.
Runner-up: The Yoder Smokers Flat Top Adjustable Charcoal Grill suits the cook who loves tending fire, with a five-position tray that sets coals 4 to 9.5 inches from the grate for hard sears or indirect heat.
If you'd rather set a temperature and walk away, go pellet; if adjusting the fire by hand is your favorite part of cooking, go charcoal. Both are handcrafted in Kansas, USA and shipped by freight straight to your door through All Things Barbecue.
This guide is for the home cook standing at a crossroads you want real wood-fired flavor and you're deciding whether a pellet grill or a charcoal grill is the smarter fit for your backyard, your schedule, and the food you actually make. By the end, you'll know which fuel type suits your cooking style, what separates a good grill from a great one at each price tier, and exactly which models we'd point you toward. Here's what makes this decision genuinely worth thinking through: the fuel you choose shapes not just flavor, but how often you'll actually fire the thing up, and a grill that sits cold in the corner is the most expensive grill there is.
What to look for when choosing a BBQ grill, pellet or charcoal.
Both fuel types can produce phenomenal barbecue. The differences come down to how much you want to manage the fire, how much hands-on control you crave, and how the build quality holds up over years of cooking. A few criteria matter more than anything else:
Steel gauge and heat retention. This is the single biggest dividing line between a grill that will last and one you'll replace in a few seasons, and it significantly impacts the grill's performance, too. Thin-walled grills swing wildly in temperature every time the wind picks up or you lift the lid. Heavier steel holds heat like a cast-iron skillet, which means steadier temps and better bark. For reference, the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill is built around a 10-gauge (1/8-inch) steel cooking chamber with a 14-gauge steel hopper and cart, and the whole unit weighs in at 335 pounds. That mass is doing real work on every cook. You can find pellet grills and charcoal grills with sturdy steel and flimsy steel. Pay attention to this while shopping.
Temperature control and how hands-on you want to be. This is where the two fuels genuinely diverge. A quality pellet grill runs on an electronic controller and an auger that feeds wood pellets automatically, holding your set temperature within a tight window while you do other things. A charcoal grill puts you in the driver's seat you manage airflow, coal placement, and fire size by hand. Neither is "better," but one asks a lot more of your attention. If you love the ritual of tending a fire, charcoal rewards it. If you'd rather set a temperature and walk the dog, a pellet grill earns its keep.
Versatility across cooking styles. Here's a distinction worth burning into memory: not every pellet grill can do everything. Plenty of them are essentially outdoor ovens that run on wood pellets and stop there. Only a select few can also sear over direct flame, run a rotisserie, or host a wood-fired oven insert. A high-quality pellet grill genuinely functions as grill, smoker, and oven in one appliance — but that's a claim you can only make about the good ones. On the charcoal side, an adjustable-height fire tray is one of the key features that separates a one-trick grill from one that can sear a steak hard and then back off for low, indirect cooking.
Cooking capacity for the crowds you actually feed. Buy for your biggest realistic cook, not your average Tuesday. A grill that handles a holiday spread with room to spare will never frustrate you; a grill you're constantly cooking in batches will.
Our picks
The do-it-all pellet grill: Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. This is the one we hand to the cook who wants wood-fired flavor without babysitting a fire, and it's the brand's top seller by both revenue and units among grills for good reason. You get 1,070 square inches of total cooking space — 640 on the main grate plus 430 on the two-piece upper shelf — which comfortably handles 3–4 packer briskets or 6–8 pork shoulders at once. The Adaptive Control System holds your target within ±5°F, and pulling an access door lets you cook directly over the flame when it's time to sear. It smokes low and slow at 150°F, climbs to 600°F, and takes accessories like the Yoder Smokers Wood-Fired Oven and the GrillGrate panels to push its range even further.
The right-sized pellet grill: Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill (mid investment). For the family cook who doesn't need to feed the entire neighborhood, the YS480s delivers the same 10-gauge steel cooking chamber, ceramic ignition, and ±5°F control as the YS640s in a footprint sized for weeknight dinners and weekend get-togethers. It offers 800 square inches of total cooking space and, like its bigger sibling, converts to direct-flame grilling in seconds by removing the diffuser access door — so you're not choosing between smoking a brisket and searing a burger.
The hands-on charcoal choice: Yoder Smokers Flat Top Adjustable Charcoal Grill, Standard Cart . If you love fire, this is your grill. The five-position adjustable charcoal tray lets you set the coals anywhere from 4 to 9.5 inches below the grate, so you can rip a steakhouse sear up close and then drop the fire away for indirect cooking. The dual-stack airflow system gives you real draft control for shaping distinct heat zones, and it comes in a 24" x 36" or a 24" x 48" surface. Built with a 12-gauge steel body, a 14-gauge lid, and a 7-gauge charcoal basket, it's made to take heat and abuse for the long haul.
What customers actually buy alongside the grill. The most popular grilling purchase, hands down, is fuel and flavor. BBQr's Delight Wood Pellets are beloved by home cooks who take pride in the food they plate, and for good reason — the right pellet is where flavor starts on a pellet grill. Pair whichever grill you choose with a well-loved rub like Cattleman's Grill Trail Dust All Purpose Rub or Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Poultry Rub, both perennial favorites among the cooks who shop at All Things Barbecue.
What most guides get wrong
The tired old take says pellet grills can't sear and charcoal is the only way to get a real crust. That was true a decade ago. It isn't now — at least not for the grills worth owning. Yoder Smokers introduced direct-flame grilling to the pellet world years ago, and on a YS640s or YS480s you simply remove an access door to cook right over the fire, and you can add GrillGrate panels that climb past 650°F for steakhouse marks and hard caramelization. The honest version of the advice isn't "charcoal sears, pellets don't." It's this: a cheap pellet grill can't sear, and a cheap charcoal grill can't hold a steady low-and-slow temperature. Build quality decides what a grill can do far more than fuel type does. That's why steel gauge and heat retention keep coming up — they're the real story.
The recommendation
If you want genuine wood-fired flavor with minimal fuss and one grill that smokes, bakes, and sears, buy the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill — it's the most capable, most trusted choice for the everyday cook who also throws down for a crowd. Feeding a smaller household or working with a tighter patio? The Yoder Smokers YS480s Pellet BBQ Grill gives you the same engineering in a right-sized package. And if the fire itself is the part you love — the adjusting, the sensing, the hands-on craft — the Yoder Smokers Flat Top Adjustable Charcoal Grill was built for you.
Whichever way you lean, these are handcrafted in Kansas, USA from heavy-gauge steel, and as the exclusive online retailer of Yoder Smokers, All Things Barbecue delivers them by freight straight to your door. That build quality is the same reason folks across every experience level have left more than 5,000 five-star reviews across our shop. If you're weighing how a grill like this might anchor a larger outdoor kitchen — a searing station, a pizza oven, whatever fits your space — our in-house design team offers free, genuinely personal consultations, real people who design for your climate and layout rather than handing you an app and wishing you luck. Start the conversation any time through our outdoor kitchen design request form, and let's get you cooking.
