Traeger invented the pellet grill and remains the category leader. Their WiFIRE-enabled grills smoke, bake, and roast with app-controlled precision for perfect results every time.
We have a soft spot for Traeger, and not just because it invented an entire cooking category. In 1988, Joe Traeger built the first wood-pellet grill in a backyard shed in Oregon, betting that home cooks would trade the fuss of charcoal and the constant attention of a traditional smoker for the convenience of set-it-and-forget-it wood smoke. He was right. Traeger is still the name people mean when they say “pellet grill,” and the company’s WiFIRE-equipped models have turned smoking from a weekend hobby into something you manage from your phone while doing the grocery shopping. In 2021, the brand was acquired by Harson and went public, cementing its position as the commercial heavyweight of the pellet grill category. If you’ve been curious about what all the pellet-fan hype is about, this is the brand that started it — and, in our experience, still does it best.
WiFIRE Puts Real Cooking on Autopilot
The Pro 575, Traeger’s entry-level WiFIRE model at around $800, is the grill that made pellet cooking click for us. The app connects over your home WiFi and lets you set a target temperature, monitor the internal meat probe reading in real time, and adjust the cook from anywhere — we’ve run a full brisket cook from the grocery store parking lot, adjusting the target temperature as we drove home, and walked into a perfectly timed dinner. The grill holds its set temperature within a few degrees for the full cook, which is something a charcoal smoker simply cannot do without constant attention, and something offset smokers struggle with in wind and cold. Traeger says its WiFIRE-connected grills have logged millions of cooks since the feature launched, and after a season with our Pro 575, we believe every number. The D2 series, the step up from the Pro line, adds variable-speed exhaust fans that improve smoke circulation and temperature consistency even further, though for most home cooks the Pro 575 covers the full range of what pellet grills can do.
Ironwood and Timberline: When You Want to Go Further
Move up the Traeger range and the upgrades are real engineering choices rather than cosmetic ones. The Ironwood 885 adds double-wall insulation throughout the cooking chamber, WiFIRE connectivity, and Traeger’s Super Smoke mode, which boosts smoke flavor output during the opening phase of a cook — exactly what you want for a brisket that actually tastes like it came off a traditional offset smoker. At the top sits the Timberline 1300, the full flagship that Traeger positions as the closest thing to a complete outdoor kitchen currently on the market, with enough cooking space for a large gathering, triple-wall insulation that keeps it running in cold weather, and an integrated front shelf and pellet sensor that most competitors still don’t offer. Here’s where the honest advice kicks in, though: pellet grills need electricity to run theauger and fans, so a power outage mid-cook ends your session. And the smoke flavor, while genuine and wood-fired, is lighter and cleaner than what a traditional offset smoker produces — it’s a different taste, not a lesser one, but it’s worth knowing before you buy. Budget for a 20-pound bag of pellets every three to five cooks, and the ongoing cost becomes part of the math rather than a surprise.
Summer Is Prime Time for Bundle Deals
Traeger pricing is notoriously sticky, and the brand rarely discounts heavily through its direct channels. What does happen, twice a year without fail, is that Father’s Day and Labor Day bring promotional bundles with real value: pellet bags, custom-fit grill covers, and extra meat probes bundled together for prices that effectively lower the per-item cost by $100 or more. The Ironwood 885 sells through fast once the promos appear, and the Pro series usually follows right behind. If you’ve been watching the pellet grill market for a while and waiting for the right moment, the summer windows are that moment. By October, inventory tightens, promos end, and you’re waiting another nine months for the next cycle. The Timberline 1300 in particular has a long lead time once demand spikes, so if that’s the one you want, don’t wait.
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Final Thoughts
Traeger invented the pellet grill and still sets the standard for the category, from the $800 Pro 575 up to the flagship Timberline 1300. The WiFIRE app alone changes how you cook — it’s the difference between a hobby that dominates your weekend and a dinner that happens while you’re living your life. Factor in the cost of pellets and the honest learning curve around smoke intensity, and it’s not a purchase to make on impulse. But for set-and-forget wood-smoke cooking that turns ordinary weeknights into real cookouts, nothing in the pellet category does it better.
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