The best wireless meat thermometers to level up your cooking

The best wireless meat thermometer will ensure you spend more time relaxing instead of babysitting your cook. These connected devices typically include a probe that connects to a transmitter and a wireless receiver or app that keeps you apprised of your meat’s current temp. 

While some experienced cooks can use their instincts to tell when a piece of meat has hit perfection, the rest of us are better off with precise measuring tools. It only takes a very short amount of time for a pricy steak to go from a perfect 145-degree medium to a 150-degree medium well if you don’t keep careful tabs on it. At the same time, pulling chicken or pork before it hits the recommended 165-degree temp could play havoc on your stomach. The best wireless meat thermometer can help with all of these issues.

How we picked the products

While we’re big fans of lab-grown and plant-based meat here at Popular Science, we also know our way around a grill or smoker. For this guide, we combined the on-staff expertise with outside help from a few dedicated barbecue enthusiasts, as well as extensive research across online resources and reviews. We searched for the ideal mix of features, connectivity, and reliability to come up with the best possible recommendations. We also used this as an excuse to pay for brisket and barbecue rub with the corporate credit card. It’s all in the name of research. 

Best wireless meat thermometer: reviews & recommendations

Best wireless meat thermometer overall: Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub

Specs:

• Four probes
• Wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Smartphone app with advanced cooking features
• Rechargeable built-in battery

Why it made the cut: Versatile connectivity options and a robust mobile app with the most advanced features on the list.

Pros	Cons
Full-features mobile app	Pricy
Four probes	Assistant features may not be useful for experienced cooks
Slick, weatherproof design

Weber’s top-end smart wireless meat thermometer is only a little bigger than a deck of playing cards. The transmitter has a simple LED temperature display on the front that totally disappears when it’s powered off. There’s a rechargeable battery built-in that can last the length of a super-long brisket cook. It really shines, though, when you connect it to the app. 

The Weber iGrill app starts assisting with your cook as soon as you plan your meal. It monitors temps from the two included problem–one for the meat temperature and other for the ambient. It tracks the heating process and gives you real-time estimates on how long it will take before you have to flip your meat or take it off the grill. This comes in particularly handy when you’re cooking something like pork or brisket, which tends to stall out around 165 degrees as the connective tissue starts to break down. 

Even if you’re not using the helpful features and ample alerts and alarms, the Weber Smart Connect Grilling Hub is a rock-solid thermometer with a very slick design.

Best long-range wireless meat thermometer: Taimasi Digital Meat Thermometer

Specs:

• Two-piece transmitter and receiver setup
• 500-foot range
• Four probes
• Requires Four AAA batteries

Why it made the cut: Paired right out of the box, the transmitter and receiver can talk to each other from up to 500 feet apart.

Pros	Cons
Super-long wireless range	No low temperature alarm
Four color-coded probes	No rechargeable battery
Roomy screens for cooking info
Flexible timers

As soon as you put batteries in the transmitter and receiver, they automatically connect with one another and start sharing information collected from the four color-coded probes. The connection stays solid for up to 500 feet, which is among the longest ranges you’ll find on the market. That’s really handy if you have a huge yard or you want to be sure the receiver won’t lose connection no matter where you go on your property. 

In addition to its range, this is also a very full-featured setup. It has preset built-in for 12 different meats as well as a range of different steak options from rare to well-done. It has timers that count both up and down and loud digital alarms to let you know when it’s time to pull your food off the cooker.

Both units have adjustable stands and magnetic backs so you can stick them basically anywhere inside or out of the kitchen. They do lack some handy features, however, like a rechargeable battery and a low-temperature alarm to let you know if your grill starts to drop in temperature unexpectedly. The probes are also less than five inches long, which is relatively short compared to the competition. 

Best wireless meat thermometer on a budget: Thermopro TP08S

Specs:

• 300 foot range
• Direct wireless connection
• Two probes

Why it made the cut: This bargain-priced model has everything a beginner or occasional cook needs. 

Pros	Cons
Long 8.5-inch probes	Limited programs
300 foot range	Only two probes
Affordable

The chunky, rubberized transmitter and receiver in this budget-friendly package look more like construction equipment than cooking tools. In reality, however, it’s a surprisingly capable setup for beginners and occasional users. 

It doesn’t connect to a mobile app, but it does offer high and low temperature alarms so you’ll know when your meat is done or when your grill is running out of fuel. The setup runs on four AAA batteries, which power the backlit screen that’s easy to read, even if you’re grilling in the dark. 

The stainless steel probes measure 8.5-inches long. That extra length is handy if you’re plunging it down into a thick cut of beef or a turkey. The probes pull double duty, so each one can monitor a different piece of meat, or one can capture ambient temperature inside the chamber. 

The budget option will cut down on the built-in presets for different kinds of meat, however, so you’ll have to set your own goal temperatures based on the recipe or just Googling it.

Best rechargeable battery wireless meat thermometer: Inkbird BBQ thermometer

Specs:

• Four probes
• Bluetooth connection
• 150 foot range

Why it made the cut: The rechargeable battery will last for up to 40 hours on a single charge. 

Pros	Cons
Rechargeable lithium polymer battery	Short-ish 150-foot range
Four probes	Dim display can be tricky to see in bright conditions
Clear display
Magnetic back

Most affordable wireless meat thermometers rely on AA or AAA batteries for power, but that’s not always convenient. For instance, if you have kids and they’re constantly stealing your batteries for their video game controllers, leaving you out of luck when you just went to cook a pork shoulder. The Inkbird wireless meat thermometer promises up to 40 hours of operation from each charge of its 1,000 mAh lithium polymer battery. Obviously, that performance differs based on variables like temperature, but it’s still plenty of time even for the lowest and slowest cooks. 

It offers all the temperature monitoring features you’d typically want, including four probes. There’s a slightly cheaper two-probe version, but the price difference isn’t worth the trade-off from our standpoint. It connects via Bluetooth, so it offers a wireless range of about 150 feet. The super-simple display shows you the number of the probe you’re monitoring as well as the temperature rather than cluttering up the screen with tons of complications. It also gives high- and low-temperature alarms. 

If it starts to run out of charge before the end of your cook, it can charge during operation from a portable battery pack like those meant to power a smartphone or tablet. 

Best Bluetooth wireless meat thermometer: Meater Plus

Specs:

• Bluetooth connectivity
• Two sensors in one probe
• Alexa compatibility
• Requires one AAA battery

Why it made the cut: It pairs a slick design with a robust app full of clever features and visualizations.

Pros	Cons
Attractive, modern design	165 foot max range
Advanced app	Pricey to add another probe
No cables attaching probe to base

Wireless meat thermometers typically take a very functional approach to their design, but the Meater Plus feels very much like a high-tech gadget. The probe looks like a stylus that you’d expect to find bundled with a tablet. Inside the probe, however, Meater has crammed a pair of temperature sensors, one at the tip to monitor meat and another at the back to keep tabs on the ambient temperature. 

When the probe isn’t in use, it rests inside of a bamboo charging block, which pulls power from a single AAA battery. Just once sell can provide up to 100 charges before it needs replacing. It’s an extremely slick-looking package.

The app is similarly well-designed. Once it’s paired with the probe, the Meater smartphone app can provide estimated cooking times, cooking suggestions, and alarms that indicate different stages of the preparation process. It’s a very smart setup that can offer as much or as little help as a cook requires. 

To access the built-in Alexa compatibility, download the Meater Alexa skill to enable voice commands. The Amazon digital assistant can then offer up information about current temperatures and estimated remaining cooking time. It’s handy for those who don’t feel like constantly monitoring their phones. 

Things to consider before buying a wireless meat thermometer

The best wireless meat thermometers will last for years and hundreds—if not thousands—of cooks, so it’s crucial to choose the right one. You want a model with everything you need, but you don’t want to pay for stuff you’re never going to use. Here are some of the most important considerations that go into this decision. 

Connection type

Most wireless meat thermometer setups rely on two pieces of gear: a transmitter with a temperature probe and a receiver that displays the information. Many options come with two pre-paired pieces of hardware that connect directly via radio frequency. Some other options rely on Bluetooth, which also allows it to connect to a smartphone app. Some offer Wi-Fi connectivity so they can talk with any compatible device on the same network. 

Range

This stat is typically tied to the connection type. Many current Bluetooth models will work within a range of about 150 feet. Wi-Fi models will work as long as they’re within range of a network. Models with direct connections can go to 500 feet and beyond in case your barbecue is far from wherever you plan to chill during a cook. 

Alarms and timers

Some wireless meat thermometers simply sling the temperature from the transmitter to the receiver and let you decide what to do with that information. Others have more complex features, like preset temperatures for specific types of meat and timers that count up and down. The most advanced models have advanced apps that can show you temperature trends, cooking tips, and dynamic timers based on your meat’s actual temperature trajectory. 

Number of probes

Most wireless meat thermometers include somewhere between one and four probes designed to stay in the meat or the grill and keep tabs on the temp. Multiple probes come in handy if you’re cooking multiple items, like several chickens at once. They can also be useful if you’re cooking something large like a turkey and you want to make sure all the segments hit the required temps. Some models offer six or even more probes, but that’s overkill for most people. You’ll likely want between two and four probes.

It’s also worth noting the different types of probes. While some are designed to stab into the meat and keep track of the internal temp, others hang out inside the cooling chamber to monitor the air temperature. Don’t get them mixed up or you’ll get wacky readings.

 FAQs

A last word about the best wireless meat thermometer

Temperature is crucial when you cook. Just a few degrees over or underdone and a wonderful meal can turn into a sad night spent waiting for replacement delivery take-out to arrive. The best wireless meat thermometer can save your steaks, chops, chickens, and just about anything else you can fit in a smoker, grill, or oven.