The 4 Best Traeger Grills That Deliver Wood-Fired Flavor

Cooking area: 924 square inches | Hopper capacity: 22 pounds | Max temperature: 500 degrees Fahrenheit | Weight: 199 pounds

Pros:

• Large cooking area
• Super Smoke Mode for smokier wood flavor
• Large hopper for less frequent filling

Cons:

• Expensive
• Heavy

The Ironwood XL offers a great intersection of features and value, which is why it earned the spot of best overall. To be fair, it’s still an expensive grill, but it’s a mid-range model in the Traeger lineup with a lot to offer. It has a whopping 924-square-inches of cooking space with a tiered porcelain grate that lets you maximize that space. Of course, it uses Traeger’s famous wood pellet technology and has a 22-pound hopper that requires less frequent fillings.

Aside from its size, one thing that makes this grill stand out is the ease of use. While the pellets offer a wood-smoked flavor, you don’t have to monitor them in the same way you do with other grills. There’s a full-color touchscreen display that you can use to accurately set temperatures and maintain consistency. It also comes with two meat thermometers and is Wi-Fi-enabled, so you can set it and monitor cooking temperature and internal meat temperature from the app on your phone. Another callout is the “Super Smoke Mode,” which allows you to increase the amount of smoke in the grill when you’re operating it at 225 degrees or less.

You can also customize it to some degree, too. There are various optional accessories you can add-on, like a front shelf, storage bin and cup holder (among others). These do come at an additional cost—you pay per accessory—so this can add to the overall investment. If you want to save a little bit of cash, you can opt for the regular-size Ironwood instead. This one has the same features as the XL, but with a little less cooking space and a smaller footprint.

Cooking area: 780 square inches | Hopper capacity: 18 pounds | Max temperature: 500 degrees Fahrenheit | Weight: 150 pounds

Pros:

• Wi-Fi-enabled
• Comes with integrated meat probe for remote monitoring
• Turbo Temp technology for faster preheating times

Cons:

• No Super Smoke mode
• No prep tray

If you’re on a tighter budget, you may want to consider the Pro 780, which nearly rivals the Ironwood in features (just not in size). As its name implies, the Pro 780 offers 780-square-inches of cooking space and the same two-tiered grate design as the Ironwood. It comes with one meat probe and is equipped with the same Wi-Fi technology that allows you to remotely monitor cooking progress. It doesn’t have the “Super Smoke Mode” of the Ironwood models, but it does have technology that speeds preheating time and helps maintain a precise temperature throughout the grilling process.

And while it’s smaller than the Ironwood XL, the Pro 780 isn’t a compact grill by any means. It will still work well for most families and large crowds, and can accommodate about 34 hamburgers, six whole chickens or six whole rib racks. The hopper holds 18 pounds of pellets and has a convenient trap door that lets you quickly empty it to remove ash and swap pellets.

Cooking area: 1.324 square inches | Hopper capacity: 22 pounds | Max temperature: 500 degrees Fahrenheit | Weight: 289 pounds

Pros:

• Advanced technology that’s easy to use
• Excellent heat maintenance and regulation
• Has induction cooktop and prep table

Cons:

• Technology can be glitchy sometimes
• Expensive

I’ll just say it: This grill is expensive. But if you want to go all out, the Timberline XL is a no-brainer. I own this grill and it’s an absolute workhorse. It comes with all of Traeger’s upgraded features, including its technology that helps maintain consistent temperatures, as well as the “Super Smoke Mode.” In my experience, the Timberline XL has excellent temperature maintenance and, despite its large size, you don’t get any cold spots thanks to these advanced technologies. Speaking of technology, this grill relies on a touchscreen for easy operation and it’s Wi-Fi-enabled and compatible with Alexa and Google Home so you can control it remotely and hands-free.

There’s an induction cooktop to the left of the grill grate, which comes in handy for preparing sides, and a removable bamboo cutting board to the right, so you can chop meats and veggies without going back inside. It also has a two-tiered side shelf so you have plenty of room to spread everything out.

This grill is the largest in the brand’s lineup, so it’s great for big families or those who often host guests. I frequently host large gatherings in the summer, and this grill is able to handle large amounts of food with ease. It has a whopping 1,324-square-inches of cooking space that’s spread out over three tiers, and it can hold 16 full-size rib racks. If you don’t need all that surface area, there’s a smaller version of the grill too; the regular Timberline has all the features of the XL, but with a 880-square-inch cooking area and a price tag that’s $500 lower.

Cooking area: 594 square inches | Hopper capacity: N/A | Max temperature: 600 degrees Fahrenheit | Weight: 189 pounds

Pros:

• Burners operate independently
• Fuel gauge worked into the grill face
• Tight-fitting hood to block out wind

Cons:

• Beefy construction that requires more space than smaller grills
• A bit pricey

The Flatrock is Traeger’s only flat-top and gas grill, but it didn’t just earn this spot by default. I’ve personally tested this grill, comparing it to similar flat-tops and gas grills, and it really stands out from the rest. It boasts carbon steel grill grates for even heating (and easy cleaning) and a 594-square-inch surface area that can hold 24 burgers or 26 eggs. Instead of straight burners that can create hot and cold spots, resulting in an uneven cooking surface, the Flatrock has U-shaped burners that heat the grates more evenly. It heats up to 600 degrees so it gets hotter than most, and each burner—there are three total—can be controlled independently so you can create three separate heat zones to cook multiple types of food at once. I’m not the most advanced griller out there, but the Flatrock makes it easy to cook everything from chicken kabobs to pancakes—yes, we enjoy grilled breakfast now.

Other callouts include an integrated fuel gauge that monitors the gas level, two side prep tables and an accessory rail that accommodates add-ons like a cup holder and roll rack (that you can purchase separately). I also love that this grill comes with a hood, and it’s a beefy one too. The grill’s construction is extremely solid and it feels durable, yet it’s easy to roll around and move if you need to.