Pit Boss has built its reputation on a simple promise: more grill for less money. Bigger cook areas, direct-flame searing, and a 5-year warranty at prices that undercut Traeger by hundreds of dollars. But the lineup is sprawling — Sportsman, Pro Series, Navigator, verticals, retailer exclusives — and the right pick depends on how you cook. We ranked every Pit Boss pellet grill and smoker worth buying in 2026 on temperature control, build, cook area per dollar, and real street price.
Quick Answer
The Pit Boss Pro Series 850 is the best Pit Boss pellet grill for most people in 2026 — 849 sq in of cook space, a PID controller with WiFi/Bluetooth, a 22 lb hopper, and the slide-plate Flame Broiler for direct searing at about $600. Need maximum space on a budget? The Austin XL gives you 1,000 sq in for just under $500 at Walmart. Prefer pure smoking capacity? The Pro Series II 4-Series vertical stacks 1,077 sq in across four racks with a 65 lb hopper. Every pick below runs real hardwood pellets and carries Pit Boss’s 5-year warranty.
Best Pit Boss grills at a glance
| Model | Best for | Cook area | Hopper | App/WiFi | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Series 850 | Best overall | 849 sq in | 22 lb | WiFi/BT | ~$600 |
| Austin XL | Best big-capacity value | 1,000 sq in | ~31 lb | No | ~$500 |
| Sportsman 820 | Best budget | 820 sq in | 18 lb | No | ~$480 |
| Pro Series II 4-Series Vertical | Best vertical smoker | 1,077 sq in | 65 lb | WiFi/BT | ~$550 |
| Platinum Lockhart | Best grill + smoker combo | Grill + cabinet | ~20 lb | WiFi/BT | ~$700–$850 |
1. Pit Boss Pro Series 850 — Best Overall
Pit Boss Pro Series 850
- 849 sq in of porcelain-coated cook space — a full brisket, ribs, and sides at once.
- Digital PID controller with Grill Connect WiFi/Bluetooth app monitoring.
- Slide-plate Flame Broiler for direct-flame searing most pellet grills can't do.
- 22 lb hopper — Smoked BBQ Source's testing ran 8+ hour low-and-slow cooks on the 850-size platform without a refill.
Get your pellet grill fired up this weekend — try Amazon Prime free for 30 days and big items like this ship fast at no extra cost. The Pro Series 850 is the sweet spot of the whole Pit Boss lineup: enough grate for a crowd without the pellet appetite of the bigger 1150, app control that actually works, and the Flame Broiler for finishing steaks over live flame. At around $600 it undercuts similarly sized premium grills by $300 or more. If you buy one Pit Boss, buy this one — it’s also our big-capacity pick in our best pellet smoker for beginners guide.
2. Pit Boss Austin XL — Best Big-Capacity Value
Pit Boss Austin XL
- 1,000 sq in of cook space for just under $500 at Walmart, per The Barbecue Lab.
- Oversized ~31 lb hopper (per Pit Boss spec) shrugs off overnight cooks.
- Flame Broiler slide plate for direct grilling over the fire pot.
- 53.5 inches wide — fits a rack of ribs front to back with room to spare.
The Austin XL is the raw-capacity champion: nobody else sells 1,000 sq in of pellet grill for five hundred dollars. You give up the PID controller and app of the Pro Series — temperature swings a bit wider — but for big-batch cooks, parties, and pulled-pork weekends, the sheer space and giant hopper are what matter. It’s the best answer if your question is “how much grill can I get for $500?“
3. Pit Boss Sportsman 820 — Best Budget
Pit Boss Sportsman 820
- 820 sq in of cook space around $480 — huge grate per dollar.
- Simple dial controller: fewer features, less to go wrong.
- Flame Broiler searing, same as the pricier lines.
- 18 lb hopper covers a full brisket cook without a top-up.
The Sportsman 820 is what you buy when you want Pit Boss space and searing without paying for WiFi. The controller is simpler than the Pro Series’ PID and holds a slightly wider temperature band, but the fundamentals — heavy grates, Flame Broiler, big hopper, 5-year warranty — are all here. For a first pellet grill on a tight budget, it’s a smarter buy than most no-name alternatives at the same price. More budget picks in our best pellet grill for the money roundup.
4. Pit Boss Pro Series II 4-Series Vertical — Best Vertical Smoker
Pit Boss Pro Series II 4-Series Vertical Smoker
- 1,077 sq in across four adjustable racks in a compact vertical footprint, per Pit Boss.
- Massive 65 lb hopper — multi-day jerky and snack-stick sessions without refills.
- PID board holds 130–420°F with WiFi/Bluetooth app monitoring.
- Fan-forced convection circulates smoke evenly across all four racks.
If you smoke more than you grill, the 4-Series vertical is the best capacity-per-square-foot deal Pit Boss makes. Four racks swallow multiple briskets or a season’s worth of jerky, the 130°F floor is low enough for real snack-stick and fish work, and the 65 lb hopper is triple what most horizontal grills carry. The trade-off is no direct searing — this is a dedicated smoker, so pair it with a grill or pick the Lockhart below if you need both.
5. Pit Boss Platinum Lockhart — Best Grill + Smoker Combo
Pit Boss Platinum Lockhart
- Pellet grill below, double-door smoking cabinet above — two cookers, one fire.
- PID control, 180–500°F range, WiFi/Bluetooth via the Pit Boss app.
- Sear burgers on the grate while ribs hang in the cabinet upstairs.
- Regularly on sale around $700 — a lot of hardware for the money.
The Lockhart is the conversation piece of the lineup: a full pellet grill with a smoking cabinet stacked on top, both fed by the same fire pot. It’s the one Pit Boss that genuinely replaces two cookers — grill dinner on the grate while sausage and cheese smoke in the cabinet. Build quality is a step above the value lines, and street prices routinely dip well under the ~$850 list.
Pit Boss by the numbers
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard pellet-grill warranty | 5 years | Pit Boss |
| 4-Series vertical cook space / hopper | 1,077 sq in / 65 lb | Pit Boss spec |
| 850-platform hopper endurance | 8+ hr cooks, no refill | Smoked BBQ Source testing |
| Austin XL price at Walmart | Just under $500 | The Barbecue Lab |
| Pro Series temperature range | 180–500°F | Pit Boss spec |
Three numbers frame the Pit Boss value case. First, the warranty: Pit Boss covers its pellet grills for 5 years, per Pit Boss — versus 3 years at Traeger and as little as 1 year on budget brands. Second, capacity: the Pro Series II 4-Series vertical packs 1,077 sq in of rack space and a 65 lb hopper, per Pit Boss’s spec sheet, more fuel capacity than any horizontal grill in this class. Third, endurance: Smoked BBQ Source’s hands-on testing found the roughly 21–22 lb hopper on the 850-size Pro platform handled low-and-slow cooks of eight hours and more without a refill.
Which Pit Boss should you buy?
- Most people: Pro Series 850 — PID precision, app control, searing, and family-size space at ~$600.
- Maximum space, minimum money: Austin XL — 1,000 sq in for about $500.
- Tight budget: Sportsman 820 — the same searing and warranty, minus the app.
- Smoking-first: Pro Series II 4-Series vertical — four racks and a 65 lb hopper.
- Want it all: Platinum Lockhart — grill and smoking cabinet in one footprint.
Whichever you pick, feed it well — our best wood pellets for smoking guide ranks the blends that actually improve flavor. Still weighing Pit Boss against the competition? Our Traeger vs Pit Boss breakdown settles the brand question, and our overall best pellet grill guide ranks every brand’s top models side by side.