
Weber 2026 Smart Grills: The Full Lineup and Which to Buy
Cooking is the one thing I never needed convincing to do. Thirty years behind grills, smokers, and pizza ovens — outdoors whenever possible. Every recommendation comes from real use, not spec sheets.
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2026 is the year Weber stopped treating smart grilling as a gas-only experiment and built a proper ecosystem around it. The Weber Connect app now runs across the whole lineup, including the first Wi-Fi charcoal grill the company has ever made. For the first time you can pick your fuel, charcoal, gas, or pellet, and still get the same app, the same alerts, and the same hold-this-temperature confidence on all of them.
If you want the single most interesting grill of the bunch, it is the Weber Performer Smart Charcoal, because a Wi-Fi kettle that holds 225 overnight is genuinely new. If you want the smart grill most people will actually use most nights, it is one of the two smart gas grills below. Here is the whole 2026 smart lineup, what the Weber Connect ecosystem actually does, and which piece is right for you.
Quick Picks
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Take Our QuizWhy These Picks
I have cooked on Weber gear for years, from the original kettle up through the gas range, so my read on the 2026 lineup leans on knowing how the platform behaves rather than on a season with each brand-new model. These three are the ones with a clear job and a clear buyer. The lineup has more pieces than this, but a buying guide should narrow, not list everything, so I have picked the grill that defines the launch and the two gas grills that most people choosing smart Weber will actually weigh against each other.
Weber Performer Smart Charcoal: The Headline
This is the grill that makes 2026 worth paying attention to. It is a 22-inch Weber kettle, the most proven charcoal cooker ever made, with a Wi-Fi controller and a digital fan that feeds the coals exactly enough air to hold your target temperature. The thing charcoal could never do easily, sit at 225 for twelve hours without someone minding the vents, it now does on its own. Rapidfire Assist even uses the same fan to light the coals, so you skip the chimney entirely.
It suits the cook who loves charcoal flavor and has always been put off by the labor of a long smoke. Two probe ports and an included food probe mean the app watches both the pit and the meat, and the fuel alerts matter here in a way they never do on gas, because a kettle running low at hour ten is a real risk. The honest limit is that you are adding electronics to a grill whose whole appeal was having nothing to break, and the smart parts carry shorter warranty coverage than the 10-year bowl. If you want the full breakdown, I went deep on it in my Weber Performer Smart review. Check Price on Amazon
Weber Spirit EX-325 Smart: The Smart Gas Grill For Most People
If you grill on gas, the Spirit EX-325 Smart is the one that makes sense for the most backyards. It is a three-burner Spirit with a built-in Weber Connect Wi-Fi thermometer and an included food probe, so the same app that runs the charcoal grill tells you when your steak is ready. It adds a Sear Zone driven by two Boost burners that put extra power into one area for proper sear marks, and it keeps Weber's porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates and a 10-year warranty.
This is the grill for the household that grills more than it smokes and wants the convenience of phone alerts without paying flagship money. Three burners is enough for a family and the occasional group, the Sear Zone covers steaks and chops, and the smart probe takes the guesswork out of doneness. The honest limit is capacity: three burners can feel tight if you regularly cook for a crowd, and the Spirit gives up cooking area and outright power to the Genesis. If your gatherings are big, size up. If they are not, this is the value pick of the smart gas range.
Weber Genesis EX-325W Smart: The One With The Best Sear
The Genesis EX-325W Smart is the gas grill for people who want real searing power and the full ecosystem without compromise. The headline is the Sear Zone: two Boost burners unleash extra power into a high-output zone that reaches up to 750°F, hot enough for steakhouse crust that the Spirit cannot quite match. It runs Weber's PureBlu burners, which raise the flame above the tube to resist clogging and corrosion, carries the same built-in Weber Connect Wi-Fi thermometer, and backs it all with a 12-year warranty.
It suits the serious gas cook who sears often and hosts regularly, the buyer who wants the most capable smart gas grill Weber makes and is willing to pay for it. The extra power and the longer warranty are the real reasons to step up from the Spirit. The honest limit is simply price and footprint: you are paying a clear premium over the Spirit for more sear and more space, and if you do not sear steaks often, that money is buying capability you will not use. Check Price on Amazon
What The Weber Connect Ecosystem Actually Is
The reason to think about these as a lineup rather than three separate grills is the app that ties them together. Weber Connect is the software layer: you set and watch temperatures, you get an alert when the grill is preheated, a flip notification partway through, and a done alert when your food hits its target. The same app, the same probes, and the same experience now run whether you are on charcoal, gas, or pellet. That consistency is the actual product Weber launched in 2026, not any single grill.
There is also a Kettle Smart Ring, which adds the Wi-Fi controller and fan to a standard Weber kettle you may already own, turning a plain kettle into something close to the Performer Smart. It is the cheapest way into the ecosystem if you already have a 22-inch kettle, though availability on the usual retailers has been patchy, so check before counting on it.
The pellet member of the family is the Weber Searwood, which carries the same Weber Connect smarts in pellet form and is covered in my best pellet grill guide. Its availability has been coming and going since launch, so confirm you can actually buy it before you set your heart on it.
Smart Versus Standard: Is The Upgrade Worth It?
This is the question worth sitting with before you spend, because every grill here has a non-smart sibling that cooks the same food for less. The smart premium buys you one thing: information and, on charcoal, automation. On gas, the built-in Weber Connect probe tells you when your food is done without you cutting into it or hovering, which is genuinely useful but is also something a separate wireless thermometer can do for less. On charcoal, the upgrade is bigger, because the fan is not just reporting temperature, it is actively holding it, and that changes what you can attempt on a kettle.
So the worth-it answer splits by fuel. On the Performer Smart Charcoal, the smart system does real work you cannot easily replicate, so the premium is easier to justify if long cooks appeal to you. On the smart gas grills, you are mostly paying for integrated convenience, the probe and alerts living in one app, and whether that is worth it depends on how much you value not juggling a second device. Neither answer is wrong. The trap is paying for smart features on a grill you will only ever use for quick weeknight burgers, where a plain grill would have served you just as well.
The other thing the ecosystem genuinely adds is consistency across a multi-grill setup. If you end up with both a smart gas grill for weeknights and the Performer Smart for weekend smokes, running both from one app with one set of habits is a real convenience. For a single-grill household that benefit does not apply, so weigh it for the setup you actually expect to own.
What To Look For, And What To Avoid
The right way to choose inside this lineup is to pick your fuel first and your features second. Decide whether you want charcoal flavor and the ritual, gas convenience and speed, or pellet hands-off smoking, then choose the smart model in that fuel. The app is the same across all three, so you are not trading away the smart experience by picking the fuel you actually enjoy cooking on. For the broader field beyond Weber, my best gas grill guide and best charcoal grill guide put these against the rest of the market.
What to Avoid
Do not buy a smart grill for features you will never switch on. If you are never going to open an app, the standard non-smart versions of these grills cook identical food for less money, and the smart premium is wasted. Be honest with yourself about whether you will use it.
Do not assume bigger numbers mean the right grill. The Genesis outpowers the Spirit, but if you cook for a family of four and sear a steak now and then, the Spirit does everything you need and the Genesis premium buys capability that sits idle. Match the grill to how you actually cook, not to the top of the range.
Do not chase a smart model that you cannot reliably buy. The Performer Smart and both smart gas grills are readily available, but the Kettle Smart Ring and the Searwood have had patchy stock since launch. If a smart grill is not consistently available, it is not the one to build your plan around right now, however appealing it looks on paper. And steer clear of the temptation to bolt a generic third-party Wi-Fi thermometer onto an old grill and call it smart, because the integrated experience, fan-assisted temperature control on charcoal, real probe integration on gas, is the part that actually earns its keep.
What I'd Buy Today
If you want the grill that makes the 2026 lineup worth talking about, get the Weber Performer Smart Charcoal. A Wi-Fi kettle that holds a low temperature overnight is the most genuinely new thing Weber has done in years, and it turns the most trusted grill ever made into one you can walk away from. Get the Weber Performer Smart on Amazon →
If you are a gas cook, get the Spirit EX-325 Smart unless you sear often and host big, in which case the Genesis EX-325W Smart is worth the step up. Either way you are buying into the same app and the same confidence, on the fuel you actually love to cook with. That is the whole point of what Weber built this year.
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Products Mentioned in This Guide
Weber Performer 22-Inch Smart Charcoal Grill
Weber
Wi-Fi enabled 22-inch kettle with digital controller, fan-assisted temperature regulation, and Weber...
Check Price on AmazonWeber Spirit EX-325 Smart Gas Grill
Weber
Weber's 2026 value smart gas grill. Three burners with a Sear Zone driven by two Boost burners, a bu...
Check Price on AmazonWeber Genesis EX-325W Smart Gas Grill
Weber
Weber's 2026 flagship smart gas grill. Three PureBlu burners plus a high-output Sear Zone with two B...
Check Price on AmazonFrequently Asked Questions
What is new in Weber 2026 smart grill lineup?
Weber extended its Weber Connect app across fuel types, including its first-ever Wi-Fi charcoal grill, the Performer Smart. The same app and probes now work on charcoal, gas, and pellet grills.
Which Weber 2026 smart grill is best for most people?
For gas cooks, the Spirit EX-325 Smart. For charcoal lovers, the Performer Smart. If you sear often and host big, step up to the Genesis EX-325W Smart.
What is the difference between the Weber Spirit EX-325 Smart and Genesis EX-325W Smart?
Both have the built-in Weber Connect probe and a Sear Zone. The Genesis adds more power, a 750F sear, more cooking area, and a 12-year warranty for a higher price.
Is a Weber smart grill worth it over the standard version?
On charcoal, yes, because the fan actively holds temperature. On gas, you are mostly paying for an integrated probe and alerts, which a separate thermometer can also provide for less.
Can you make an old Weber kettle smart?
Weber sells a Kettle Smart Ring that adds the Wi-Fi controller and fan to a standard 22-inch kettle. Availability has been patchy, so check current stock before relying on it.
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