We pick the Traeger Woodridge Pro
Take the Pro. The two share a barrel: 970 sq in as 585 and 385, a 500 F ceiling, a 24 lb hopper, Super Smoke that switches off above 225 F, and the same controller. The Elite's $650 is two steps Traeger prices separately: $250 for the Pro Plus cabinet, then $400 for an electric side burner. Neither reaches the fire, and both make the grill heavier and harder to move.
What actually differs
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$650 in two pieces
Traeger's own ladder shows the split. Want the cupboard without the hob, and the Pro Plus sells it for $250 over the Pro. Want neither, and the Pro is the whole cooking package.
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Casters only, at 221 lbs
The Elite is 47 lbs heavier and trades the Pro's all-terrain wheels for four casters. On grass, gravel or a patio you rearrange, the Pro is the one that moves.
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Rated shelves give way to doors and glass
The Pro's folding side shelf takes 50 lb and its bottom shelf 60. On the Elite the left end is a glass hob that bars metal utensils, and the bottom is a cabinet. You gain enclosed storage and lose a place to land a tray.
The scorecard, side by side
Both reviews are scored on the same six weighted categories, each bar on the same 0–10 scale, and every cell carries the reason that review gave. A row is marked won only where the two differ by a tenth or more. How we score →
The Pro Plus's grate, ceiling and Super Smoke window exactly; the side burner publishes no output, so it adds nothing here.
Super Smoke and a two-rack 970 sq in barrel, though the published ceiling stops at 500 F and there is no sear station.
The ten-year headline covers rust-through on sheet metal; the side burner you paid for sits in the three-year row.
Ten years covers rust-through only; the controller, auger and fan carry three years, and the hot rod and cord one.
Cabinet and 221 lbs of steel feel solid, but a glass cooking panel lives outdoors on caster-only wheels.
Load-rated shelves, casters and staging hooks at 174 lbs, but Traeger publishes nothing at all about the steel.
Traeger's controller and app are as simple as ever, though the burner adds a small rule book of its own.
WiFIRE control, a pellet sensor reporting in 5% steps with app alerts, and one-touch Super Smoke and Keep Warm.
Four hundred dollars over the Pro Plus adds an electric hob with three settings and no extra grate space.
$250 over the base Woodridge buys the flavor feature, two shelves and 110 sq in; the next step buys a cabinet.
One keg catches grease and ash, but the firepot still wants vacuuming and the burner wants wiping and covering.
Grease and ash share a single keg, but the manual still asks for a firepot vacuum after about 20 hours of cooking.
Published figures that differ
Quoted from each maker's own specifications, as each review records them. Figures the two products publish identically are left out — only the differences are listed.
Which one is for you
You cook whole meals outside, want sauces and sides on the same cart, and the grill will never move.
Check price →You want the same smoke and grate for $650 less, on wheels that cross a lawn.
Check price →More head-to-heads
Every score and figure on this page comes from our own reviews of these two products, linked above. We have not tested them side by side in one place; the comparison is between two full reviews, each built from the maker's published specifications and documentation. Prices move, and the ones quoted are the ones each review checked on its own date.