SmartThermo vs Masterbuilt
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SmartThermo
Easily monitor your meat's temperature while grilling or smoking. Insert the probe, select your food and desired doneness, and receive alerts when it's perfectly cooked. Features include Bluetooth connectivity, a long-lasting battery, and multiple cooking modes.
- Wireless meat temperature monitoring
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Preset temperatures for 8 meats
- Custom doneness programming
- Alerts for perfect temperature
- Multiple cooking modes (Meat Profiles, Timer, Target Temp)
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It has been never easy to take your meat from grill. Now you can use this Smart Thermo® to make grill easier. Just simple insert the SmartThermo® probe into the meat you'd like to track, let the free app know what you're tracking and leave your SmartThermo® by the side of the grill (or smoker). This SmartThermo® alerts you when your meal has reached the perfect temperature. Program your choice of eight entrees and choose the desired doneness - and you're good to grill! - Bluetooth® v4.0 -100-hour battery life -Backlight LCD display -High-strength Magnetic on back for vertical mounting -Modern Touch Key Display -3 Modes: Meat Profiles / Countdown Timer / Target Temperature -Preset temperatures for and doneness for BEEF, LAMB, VEAL, HAMBURGER, PORK, TURKEY, CHICKEN & FISH. App requires a Bluetooth® Smart Ready device.
Masterbuilt
Control your smart grill or smoker remotely. Adjust temperature, monitor cooking progress with real-time graphs, and receive alerts. Explore a vast recipe library to elevate your outdoor cooking experience.
- Remote grill and smoker control
- Set and adjust temperature and time
- Monitor meat probes and view graphs
- Receive cooking notifications and alerts
- Access a recipe library
- View cooking history
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Control your Masterbuilt Gravity Series®, AutoIgnite™ Series, and WiFi Smokers with our improved mobile app for a seamless grilling experience. Made for the modern grill master, you easily control your cooks with the power in the palm of your hand. Set and adjust temperature and time, monitor meat probes, view cooking history, discover hundreds of recipes, and take outdoor grilling to the next level. Features: Control Multiple Devices – Sync multiple Masterbuilt grills or smokers to the app for a digitally-driven outdoor cooking experience. Set Time and Temperature – Easily set your product’s desired cooking time and temperature. Notifications and Alerts—Receive alerts and notifications to help power on/off the grill, notify you when your meat probe has reached the desired temperature, and more. Interactive Cooking Graphs – Scroll through temperature graphs as you cook to stay on top of your game. Cooking History – Easily compare and interact with your past cooking adventures with a new session history feature. Recipe Library – Discover hundreds of new recipes and filter by food type, cooking style, or cook time. Product Compatibility – The Masterbuilt App is compatible with all Gravity Series Grills & Smokers, the AutoIgnite Series 545 Digital Charcoal Grill, and the 710 WiFi Digital Electric Smoker. Compatible products: Gravity Series 560 Grill & Smoker (MB20040220) Gravity Series 600 Grill & Smoker (MB20041023) Gravity Series 800 Grill & Smoker (MB20040221) Gravity Series 900 Grill & Smoker (MB20040122) Gravity Series 1050 Grill & Smoker (MB20041220) Gravity Series 1150 Grill & Smoker ( MB20041525) Gravity Series XT Grill & Smoker (MB20041223) 40” Digital Charcoal Smoker (MB20060321) AutoIgnite Series 545 Digital Charcoal Grill & Smoker (MB20041124) 710 WiFi Digital Electric Smoker (MB20070924) 710 WiFi Digital Electric Smoker EU (MB20072024, MB20072124, MB20072224)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Masterbuilt at 4.7 against SmartThermo's 1.8. Masterbuilt also leads on ratings volume (12K vs 41). SmartThermo's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Masterbuilt holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Masterbuilt has 12K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of SmartThermo's written reviews are positive against 13% of Masterbuilt's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SmartThermo ships an update monthly, Masterbuilt every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmartThermo | Masterbuilt |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (41 ratings) | 4.7 (12K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.4% of reviews — better | 13.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 41 | 12K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fuzhou Emax Electronic Co.,Ltd | PREMIER SPECIALTY BRANDS, LLC |
Customer experience
SmartThermo
Masterbuilt
User reviews
SmartThermo
From 41 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Accurate temperature readings
- 👍 Works well when connected
- 👍 Alarm notifies desired temp
- 👍 Can see temperature remotely
- 👍 Foolproof meals when working
Room to improve
- 🐛 Does not work at all
- 🐛 Connection issues
- 🐛 Unintuitive interface
- 🐛 Does not charge
- 🐛 App gives no info on errors
Masterbuilt
From 12K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great smoker and grill
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🔥 Excellent flavor from charcoal and wood
- 🍽️ Versatile (smoking, grilling, baking)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Connectivity issues with app
- 🔌 App frequently disconnects from smoker
- 🔍 App lacks important features (e.g. temperature history, notifications)
- 🔢 Inconsistent temperature readings
- 🤖 App is buggy and unreliable
Bugs and requests
SmartThermo
Reported bugs
11 issues- App not connecting to phone
- Thermometer not charging
- App buttons hidden by notch
- App reverts to Celsius
- Bluetooth connection drops frequently
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Timer function stopped working
- App crashes with iOS 9.0.1
- App not working with iOS 9.1
- App not pairing with new versions
- App not connecting to ET-737
- App not pairing with iOS 10
Requested features
9 requests- Update UI for newer iPhones
- Allow multiple device support
- Color coding for probes
- Add Apple Watch app
- Add graph of temperature
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Estimate time to reach temp
- Alerts for cool down temperatures
- Ability to set alarms within app
- Timers continue when disconnected
Masterbuilt
Reported bugs
4 issues- App frequently loses connection to smoker
- Temperature settings not always reflected in smoker
- Probe temperature selection options are limited
- App crashes when trying to access certain features
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to set custom probe temperatures
- Improve app connectivity and reliability
- Add more detailed cooking data and history
- Provide better notifications and alerts
In-app purchases
SmartThermo
No in-app purchases
Masterbuilt
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SmartThermo free?
Is Masterbuilt free?
Which has better reviews, SmartThermo or Masterbuilt?
Do SmartThermo or Masterbuilt have ads?
Which is updated more often, SmartThermo or Masterbuilt?
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