What it actually is
A barrel on a cart with a pellet hopper bolted to one end. An auger feeds hardwood pellets from the hopper into a fire pot, a hot rod lights them, a fan keeps them burning, and a controller decides how fast the auger turns. Set 225°F and the grill holds 225°F by feeding itself. That is the whole concept of a pellet grill, and our pellet smoker roundup covers the category in full.
The 780 is the larger of Traeger’s two Pro-series sizes. Its 780 square inches is the number in the model name and the number in the listing title, and it is genuinely a lot of grate — room for two pork butts, or six chickens, or a packer brisket with space to spare. If you are cooking for four people you will never fill it, which is an argument for the smaller Pro or for a different grill entirely.
Two features distinguish it from the cheap end of the category, and it is worth being precise about which is which. WiFIREis Traeger’s app control: the grill joins your home WiFi and you set the temperature, watch the probe and get alerts from your phone. D2is the drivetrain and controller — a variable-speed fan and auger rather than a simple on-off cycle, which is what makes the temperature hold steady and the startup quick. D2 affects the cooking; WiFIRE affects your afternoon.
What the money actually buys
Here is the comparison that decides this purchase, with only published figures in it. All three of these cookers were purchasable on 2026-10-05.
| Traeger Pro 780 | Z Grills 700 | Masterbuilt Gravity 600 |
|---|
| Fuel | Wood pellets | Wood pellets | Charcoal (gravity-fed) |
| Cooking area | 780 sq in (maker) | 700 sq in (listing) | 600 sq in (maker) |
| Temperature range | 165–500°F (maker) | 180–450°F (listing) | 225–700°F (maker) |
| Built-in meat probes | One (maker) | Two (listing) | Up to four (maker) |
| App control | Yes — WiFIRE (maker) | No (listing) | Yes (maker) |
| Warranty | 3 years (maker) | Not published on the listing | 1 year (maker) |
| Maker’s list price | $999.99 (maker, read 2026-10-02) | Not published | $799.99 (maker, read 2026-10-02) |
Read that table honestly and the Pro 780 wins on exactly three rows: area, temperature ceiling among the pellet grills, and warranty. It loses on probes to both of them. On food, there is nothing in that table that says a Traeger cooks better than a Z Grills, and we do not believe it does — the Z Grills has a PID controller holding a set temperature, which is the thing that actually matters, and it is our overall pick for a first pellet smoker.
What the extra money buys is ownership. Traeger is the biggest name in this category by a wide margin, which means replacement augers, hot rods, fire pots, controllers and grates are available almost everywhere, from Traeger and from third parties, for grills made years ago. It means a three-year warranty rather than a term nobody will publish. It means an app that works and keeps working. For a beginner who does not want to become an expert in their own cooker, that is a real product feature and not just brand tax. It is just not worth $450.
Who should buy it
You want a pellet grill and you want the default one.There is nothing wrong with this reason. The Pro 780 is the model most people who say “I bought a Traeger” mean, parts are everywhere, and you will never struggle to find a video of someone cooking the thing you are about to cook on exactly your grill.
You want app control specifically. If the appeal of a pellet grill is putting a brisket on at 10pm and watching it from bed, WiFIRE is the feature you are paying for and the Z Grills 700 does not have it. Our Pit Boss versus Z Grills comparison covers the budget end of the same question.
You are cooking for a crowd. 780 square inches is the most grate of anything we recommend under $1,000, and the difference between six chickens and three is the difference between hosting and not.
You found it discounted. At $799.99 this is a straightforward recommendation against the budget pellet grills: you are paying about 45% more for the brand, the warranty and the app, and that is a defensible trade. At $999.99 it is nearly twice the price of the Z Grills and we would not.
Who should not
Anyone who chose a pellet grill because it is the cheapest way into smoking. It is not, and a pellet grill is not the cheapest route anyway. Our smokers under $300 page is the honest answer to that brief, and a Weber Smokey Mountain will make better-tasting barbecue than any pellet grill for a third of this money, in exchange for your attention.
Anyone who wants heavy smoke flavor. This is the complaint about pellet grills generally and no model fixes it, including this one. A pellet grill burns efficiently with a fan, and efficient combustion produces clean heat and light smoke. Our is a pellet smoker worth it page is blunt about this being a structural trade rather than a defect. If heavy smoke is what you want, the gravity-fed Masterbuilt on this page burns actual charcoal, or a charcoal cooker will give you more of it still. If you already own a pellet grill and this is your complaint, a smoke tube costs ten dollars and fixes a surprising amount of it.
Anyone without an outdoor outlet.A pellet grill is an appliance. No power, no cook — and a power cut at hour six of a brisket is a real outcome rather than a hypothetical one. Our propane versus electric comparison walks through the equivalent problem for cabinet smokers.
Anyone who will not fill it. 780 square inches of cold steel takes longer to come up to temperature and burns more pellets doing it. If you cook for two, the smaller Pro or a bullet smoker is a better machine for your actual life.
What Traeger does not publish
Three gaps worth knowing about before you order, because none of them is on the spec sheet.
Assembled dimensions.Traeger’s product page for this grill states the weight (150 lbs) and not the footprint. If you are fitting it into a specific space on a deck, measure the space and ask the retailer, because we are not going to estimate it for you.
Pellet consumption. Nobody in this category publishes a burn rate, Traeger included. The 18 lb hopper is the only figure you get, and how long it lasts depends on your set temperature, the outside temperature and how often you open the lid. Budget on a bag per long cook and you will not be caught out. Our cost to run a smoker page works through the fuel arithmetic by cooker type.
What the probe is like.One meat probe is included and Traeger does not publish its accuracy or its temperature rating. This is not a Traeger problem specifically — built-in probes on every pellet grill are convenience instruments. USDA’s guidance for smoking is to use two thermometers, one for the food and one for the chamber, and on a cooker with one bundled probe that means buying something. Our wireless thermometer picks are the usual answer and the budget instant-read picks are the cheap one.
How it compares to the other Traeger questions people ask
Pro 780 or Pit Boss? This is the comparison that generates the most argument and we have a dedicated page for it: Traeger versus Pit Boss. The short version is that Pit Boss consistently gives you more grate and a higher temperature ceiling per dollar, and Traeger gives you the parts network and the app. Neither cooks noticeably better food.
Pro 780 or a cheaper Traeger? We looked at the Tailgater 20 for this review as the budget way into the same ecosystem, and it showed “Usually ships within 1 to 2 months” on 2026-10-05, so we are not recommending it today — a two-month wait is not a purchase. That is why the cheaper slot on this page is filled by a different brand.
Pro 780 or an offset? Different hobbies. An offset smoker makes the best barbecue of anything on this site and asks you to tend a fire for twelve hours; a pellet grill asks you to plug it in. Our offset versus pelletcomparison is the page for that decision, and “which of these do you actually want to spend Saturday doing” is the real question in it.
The verdict
The Pro 780 is a good, big, well-supported pellet grill with the best warranty in its price class and the most grate we recommend under $1,000. It will hold 225°F for twelve hours without you watching it, which is exactly what a beginner wants from a first smoker, and its app means you can do that from inside the house. We are comfortable recommending it.
We are not comfortable recommending it at full list price, and we would rather say that plainly than sell you the headline. The money difference between this and the Z Grills 700 does not buy you better food; it buys you a brand, a longer warranty and a phone app. At a real discount that is a sensible trade and plenty of people should make it. At $999.99, put the difference toward good pellets, a proper thermometer and the handful of accessories that will change your first cooks more than any grill upgrade will.
If you are still deciding between types rather than models, start at how to choose your first smoker. If you have settled on pellets and are working a budget, the under $1,000 roundup puts this grill alongside everything else at the same money.
