We pick the Traeger Woodridge Pro
Buy the Woodridge Pro unless your patio has nowhere dry to keep tools. Everything that cooks matches: 970 sq in as 585 below and 385 above, a 500 F ceiling, Super Smoke from 185 to 225 F, a 24 lb hopper and a rating of eight pork butts. Both reviews score heat performance 8.0 for that reason. The $1,399.99 Pro Plus spends its extra $250 on a two-door cabinet, and pays for it with weight and wheels.
What actually differs
-
A shelf with a number against a cupboard without one
The Pro's open bottom shelf is rated to 60 lbs, so a bag of pellets has a known home. The Pro Plus cabinet carries no load rating at all. A small utility rack in the open bay is what remains of the shelf.
-
200 pounds on casters alone
The Pro rolls on casters at one end and all-terrain wheels at the other, at 174 lbs. The Pro Plus is 26 lbs heavier and loses the big wheels. On flagstones that is nothing; on a lawn or gravel it decides where the grill lives.
-
Dry storage is a real benefit, on the right patio
Tongs, gloves and pellets kept behind doors stay out of rain and out of sight. If you have a shed or a deck box, the Pro and that box do the same job for less.
How they score, category by category
The Woodridge Pro scores higher in 3 categories. 3 are level.
-
Heat Performance
Counts for 25% of the scoreTraeger Woodridge Pro Plus 8.0Woodridge Pro 8.0Level: within a tenth of each other.
Why the Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus scores 8.0Super Smoke over a two-rack 970 sq in barrel, but the published ceiling stops at 500 F and no sear station exists.
Why the Woodridge Pro scores 8.0Super Smoke and a two-rack 970 sq in barrel, though the published ceiling stops at 500 F and there is no sear station.
-
Long-term Reliability
Counts for 20% of the scoreTraeger Woodridge Pro Plus 7.0Woodridge Pro 7.0Level: within a tenth of each other.
Why the Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus scores 7.0Ten years is rust-through only; controller, auger and fan get three years, the hot rod and RTD one, and resale voids it.
Why the Woodridge Pro scores 7.0Ten years covers rust-through only; the controller, auger and fan carry three years, and the hot rod and cord one.
-
Build Quality
Counts for 18% of the scoreTraeger Woodridge Pro Plus 7.5Woodridge Pro 8.5 Better by 1.0Why the Woodridge Pro scores 8.5Load-rated shelves, casters and staging hooks at 174 lbs, but Traeger publishes nothing at all about the steel.
Why the Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus scores 7.5
Gains an unrated cabinet but drops the Pro's rated bottom shelf and all-terrain wheels, and Traeger names no steel anywhere.
-
Ease of Use
Counts for 15% of the scoreTraeger Woodridge Pro Plus 9.0Woodridge Pro 9.5 Better by 0.5Why the Woodridge Pro scores 9.5WiFIRE control, a pellet sensor reporting in 5% steps with app alerts, and one-touch Super Smoke and Keep Warm.
Why the Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus scores 9.0
Four probe channels, WiFIRE and one-touch Super Smoke, offset by 200 lbs rolling on casters alone.
-
Value
Counts for 12% of the scoreTraeger Woodridge Pro Plus 6.0Woodridge Pro 9.0 Better by 3.0Why the Woodridge Pro scores 9.0$250 over the base Woodridge buys the flavor feature, two shelves and 110 sq in; the next step buys a cabinet.
Why the Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus scores 6.0
$250 over the Woodridge Pro buys storage and no cooking at all, in a line where every other step buys heat.
-
Maintenance
Counts for 10% of the scoreTraeger Woodridge Pro Plus 8.0Woodridge Pro 8.0Level: within a tenth of each other.
Why the Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus scores 8.0One keg takes grease and ash together, yet the firepot wants a vacuum roughly every 20 cooking hours.
Why the Woodridge Pro scores 8.0Grease and ash share a single keg, but the manual still asks for a firepot vacuum after about 20 hours of cooking.
See all six scores in one table
| Category | Traeger Woodridge Pro Plus | Woodridge Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Heat Performance (25%) | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Long-term Reliability (20%) | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Build Quality (18%) | 7.5 | 8.5 Better |
| Ease of Use (15%) | 9.0 | 9.5 Better |
| Value (12%) | 6.0 | 9.0 Better |
| Maintenance (10%) | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Avid Griller Score | 7.6 | 8.2 |
Both reviews are scored on the same six weighted categories, on the same 0 to 10 scale, and each reason is the one that review gave. A category is marked better only where the two differ by a tenth or more. How we score →
Where the spec sheets differ
Quoted from each maker's own specifications, as each review records them. Figures the two products publish identically are left out, so only the differences are listed.
Which one is for you
Your grill is the whole outdoor kitchen, on hard ground, and nothing nearby keeps tools dry.
Check price →You want the same cooking for $1,149.99, a rated bottom shelf and wheels that handle soft ground.
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.