The four grills, spec for spec
| | Weber Spirit E-325 (gas) | Weber Spirit E-210 (gas) | Traeger Woodridge (pellet) | recteq Bullseye (pellet) |
|---|
| Fuel | Propane | Propane | Hardwood pellets | Hardwood pellets |
| Heat output / range | 31,000 BTU across 3 burners | 26,600 BTU across 2 burners | 180–500°F, set from the app | Rated up to 749°F |
| Cooking area | 360 sq in primary, 450 total | 360 sq in primary, 450 total | 860 sq in across two racks | 380 sq in |
| Needs an outlet | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Wood smoke flavor | Only with a smoker box or tube | Only with a smoker box or tube | Built in — it burns wood | Built in — it burns wood |
| Warranty | 10 years on cookbox, lid and burners | 10 years on cookbox, lid and burners | 10-year limited | Ignition rated for 100,000 cycles |
| Weight and width | 98 lb, 48 in wide | Same 48 in footprint | 138 lb | About 70 lb |
Every figure above is the maker’s own published specification. Prices sit on the buttons above and move constantly, so compare them live rather than trusting a number in a table.
Flavor: the one thing gas cannot do by itself
This is the real reason pellet grills sell. Propane burns clean, which is a virtue for the house and a limitation for the food — it contributes almost nothing to taste. A pellet grill burns actual hardwood for the entire cook, so smoke is not a step you add, it is the heat source. Over a long cook that difference is unmistakable.
It is worth being honest about the size of the gap on a weeknight, though. In twenty minutes of cooking burgers or chicken thighs, a pellet grill has very little time to put smoke into the food, and most people would struggle to pick it out of a blind taste test. The gap can also be closed from the other direction for about twenty dollars: a pellet tube or a smoker box turns a gas grill into a smoker for the cooks where it matters. Our guide to smoking on a gas grill walks through it, and pellet tube vs smoker box compares the two devices.
Searing: the one thing most pellet grills cannot do
A standard pellet grill cooks with indirect, fan-driven heat behind a steel baffle. That is exactly why it is so steady at 225°F, and exactly why it disappoints the first time somebody puts a steak on it. The Woodridge tops out at 500°F, which makes a respectable oven and a mediocre sear.
There are two ways around it. The first is a pellet grill built for heat: recteq rates the Bullseye up to 749°F under a 22-inch stainless dome, far above the barrel-style grills, which is the only reason it is on this page. The second is cast iron — a grill topper holds enough heat to brown properly on a cooker that cannot. Our best grills for searing steak covers both routes, and how to reverse sear a steak is the technique that gets the most out of either grill.
Effort, time and the outlet
A gas grill is ready in ten to fifteen minutes and shuts off with a knob. A pellet grill needs a startup cycle, a hopper with pellets in it, and — the detail people miss until the grill is delivered — mains power. The auger, fan, igniter and controller all run on electricity, so there has to be an outdoor outlet near wherever the grill is going to live. Check that before anybody spends money.
Running costs differ too, in a way that is easy to overlook. A propane tank is a predictable expense people already understand. Pellets are cheap by the bag but consumable on every cook, and a long smoke works through several pounds. Neither is expensive; they are just different habits.
Cleaning and the long term
Gas grills are simpler machines with fewer parts that can fail, and in Weber’s case with a spare-parts network that means a burner or a set of grates ten years from now is a twenty-minute fix rather than a new grill. Pellet grills add an igniter, an auger motor, a fan and a controller — the parts that eventually go — plus ash from the fire pot to empty. Traeger answers that with a 10-year limited warranty and an EZ-Clean keg that collects ash and grease in one place, which is the most useful thing anybody has done to a pellet grill in years.
So which should you buy?
Buy the Weber Spirit E-325 if you are buying for a household rather than a hobby. Three burners give a genuine hot zone and cool zone, 360 square inches feeds a family, and nothing about it needs planning ahead. It is the gas grill we recommend in the full gas grill roundup for the same reasons.
Buy the Traeger Woodridge if the appeal is brisket, ribs and pork shoulder. The 24 lb hopper, app control and 10-year warranty make long cooks genuinely hands-off, and it is our overall pick in the pellet grill roundup.
Buy the recteq Bullseye if they want wood flavor but will judge the grill by its first steak. Buy the Weber Spirit E-210 if the Spirit cabinet is the target and the budget is not — just know it keeps the same 48-inch footprint, so you save money rather than space.
Still deciding on fuel generally? Our gas vs charcoal guide sets out the third option most people are also weighing, and best grills under $500 shows what each fuel buys at one fixed budget.
