Welterweight · $699–$877

Grills, Smokers, and Pizza showdown

Traeger Westwood XL vs Z Grills 700D4E vs Weber Smoque: The Welterweight Pellet Grill Showdown (2026)

By The Smith Family, reviewed by Brad Smith · Independent, no paid placement · Updated October 15, 2026Prices checked October 2026

Some links here are affiliate links — if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you (sometimes with a discount for you). It never changes which products we recommend — and we name the SKIPs to prove it.

Three pellet grills for about the price of one good weekend at the barbecue joint, and every box promises the same thing: set it, walk away, come back to perfect smoke. The testers who put a thermometer on the grate found out which ones keep that promise, and at what heat.

This is the Welterweight class, the step up from a budget grill and the step below the Traeger Woodridge money. A Triple Threat, three grills, one winner. Here’s who wins, and for whom.

Quick comparison

Model	Best for	Max temp	Cook area	Main grate	Hopper	Warranty	Price
Traeger Westwood XL	Best overall	450°F	823 sq in	540 sq in	18 lb	7 years body, legs and shelf (rust-through); 3 years controller, auger, fan, grates and casters; 1 year igniter, sensors and meat probe; authorized seller only; parts only, labor and freight at the owner's expense	Soon
Z Grills 700D4E WiFi	Most accurate measured	500°F	697 sq in	504 sq in	28 lb	3 years, the whole unit, original owner; zgrills.com or authorized seller only; no labor or freight	~$877typical at Z GrillsCheck price →
Weber Smoque 22	Best for low-and-slow	500°F (dial; a tester measured it short at high settings)	594 sq in	385 sq in	20 lb (Men's Health; Weber does not publish it)	5 years cook box and all parts not listed; 3 years electrical; 3 years grates, pellet slide, burn pot, heat baffle, pellet grate and controller bezel; no channel clause found	Check price →

Prices move constantly — any Amazon price shown is as of the date noted and subject to change; tap through for today's number.

The Max temp column is what each maker prints on the dial. The table below is what testers found.

What the testers measured

Every quote read on the tester’s own page on October 14, 2026.

Read across the rows: at smoking temperatures, all three do the job. The difference shows up when you ask for heat. The Z Grills is the only one a tester measured holding a 450°F setting across the whole grate.

Best overall: Traeger Westwood XL

If you want the most grill and the longest warranty for this money, and you mostly smoke, this is the one.

Food & Wine’s Greg Baker named the Westwood XL the Best Value pellet grill of a lab and home test, and found it “maintains temperature with 5°F in most cases” and recovers quickly after the lid opens. It gives you 540 sq in on the main grate, the biggest of the three, plus a 283 sq in upper rack. Traeger covers the body for 7 years, the longest body term of the three, and the controller, auger and fan for 3. It costs $799.99 at Traeger.

Not for you if: you want to sear, or you want an owner record behind your grill. It tops out at 450°F, and Food & Wine’s grill marks were faint to nonexistent. And there is no owner rating we count: Traeger’s own site shows the same 22 reviews on both Westwood sizes, and the XL is not sold on Amazon.

Most accurate measured: Z Grills 700D4E

This is the grill to buy if precision is the point. Smoked BBQ Source put probes at three spots across the grate and found them within 4 degrees of each other at 225°F and within 6 at 450°F, the only grill in this fight measured that closely at high heat. It has a 500°F dial, a 28 lb hopper, a WiFi PID controller and an enclosed cabinet underneath.

Three catches. Z Grills sent that test unit free. You can only buy it at zgrills.com, for $877, the most money of the three. And its owner rating is not one we count: Z Grills’ own site shows 761 reviews of the 700D4E and not one at one or two stars. Its warranty is 3 years, and only when you buy from Z Grills or a seller it authorizes.

Z Grills 700D4E WiFi

Most accurate measured

Your pick if you want the grill a tester measured holding its setting across the grate at both 225°F and 450°F — 697 sq in and a 500°F dial; the tester's unit came free from Z Grills, and you can only buy it at zgrills.com.

“If you want an easy to use smoker then the Z Grills 700D4E is a great entry point into the world of pellet grills.”— Jeff Rice, Smoked BBQ Source

Pro review “It has by far the most steady temperature in any budget pellet grill I’ve used.”— Jeff Rice, Smoked BBQ Source

Pros

• Measured even: Smoked BBQ Source's probes read 226, 226 and 222°F at a 225°F setting, and 450, 450 and 444°F at 450°F
• 500°F dial, a WiFi PID controller and two meat probes
• 28 lb hopper
• An enclosed cabinet under the cook chamber for grilling tools

Cons

• Smoked BBQ Source's test unit was supplied free by Z Grills
• No owner rating we count: the only reviews are on Z Grills' own site, with no 1- or 2-star review among 761
• 3-year warranty, only from zgrills.com or an authorized seller; no labor or freight
• Sold at zgrills.com, not on Amazon; don't expect a sear (Smoked BBQ Source)

~$877typical at Z Grills · checked October 2026

Check price at Z Grills →

✓ Safety: no active recallNo active CPSC recall found (checked Jun 2026). Standard pellet-grill care: run outdoors with clearance, keep grease cleaned up, and don't leave it unattended on high.

Best for low-and-slow: Weber Smoque 22

The Smoque is a smoker first, and a good one. Popular Mechanics’ Tony Carrick ran a long smoke and his thermometer held “within at least 10 degrees and often to within five degrees of the thermostat.” It has the only owner base of the three we can read cleanly: 4.8 stars across 23 Amazon ratings when we read it on October 14, 2026, with no free-unit reviews. On Amazon it was $699.00, below Weber’s own list price.

The catch is heat. Men’s Health’s Sal Vaglica seasoned it at 450°F and his probe read 260°F while Weber’s app said 450°F; it ran 30 to 46 degrees cool and never reached the setting. Both critical owner reviews on Amazon say the same thing in their own words. It also has the smallest main grate here, 385 sq in.

Weber Smoque 22

Best for low-and-slow

Your pick if you want Weber's build for low-and-slow smoking at a sale price — a tester's thermometer held within 5 to 10 degrees on a long smoke; it fell 30 to 46 degrees short of a 450°F set point in another test, so it is a smoker first.

4.8 · 23 owner ratingsAmazon · 2026-10-14 · early data

Pro review “I found the Smoque maintained the temperature to within at least 10 degrees and often to within five degrees of the thermostat.”— Tony Carrick, Popular Mechanics

Pros

• A tester's thermometer held within 5 to 10 degrees through a long low-and-slow smoke
• Two meat probes included, and Weber Connect app control
• 5-year warranty on the cook box
• A clean Amazon owner base: real purchases, no free-unit reviews

Cons

• Fell 30 to 46 degrees short of a 450°F set point in Men's Health's test, and two owner reviews say it would not get hot
• Smallest main grate here: 385 sq in
• Weber's app showed the set temperature, not the measured one, in Popular Mechanics' test
• Weber does not publish the hopper size; testers report 20 lb

What owners complain aboutCapability limit

It may not reach high settings: owners say it would not get hot, matching a tester whose probe read 260°F when the app said 450°F.

2 of 2 critical reviews (of 17 written) · critical reviews read October 2026

Check price at Amazon →

Sold and shipped by Amazon · 30-day refund / replacement · read 2026-10-14

✓ Safety: no active recallNo active CPSC recall for the Smoque (checked 2026-10-14). Weber's recalls on record are gas grills from 2003 and 2007.

Why two of these ratings don’t count

A star rating is only as good as the reviews behind it, and two of these three grills only have reviews on their makers’ own sites:

• Traeger shows one number for two grills. The Westwood and the Westwood XL pages both say 22 reviews. Whatever that base is, it is not a rating of the XL.
• Z Grills shows no unhappy owners at all. 761 reviews of the 700D4E, 695 of them five stars, and not one at one or two stars. Every Amazon base we have read has a critical tail; a page with none at all is not one we can trust.

The Weber Smoque is the only one sold on Amazon, and its 23 ratings were real purchases. It is a small base, which is why we call it early reports, but it is honest, and its two critical reviews agree with the tester who measured it short.

How to choose between them

1. Mostly smoking, and want the most room and warranty? The Westwood XL.
2. Want the grill that holds a high setting evenly across the grate? The Z Grills 700D4E, bought from Z Grills.
3. Low-and-slow only, and want to buy on Amazon at the sale price? The Weber Smoque 22.

Spending less? Our Lightweight pellet grill showdown puts the smaller Traeger Westwood against the Pit Boss Navigator 850. Ready for more, or want to sear? The Middleweight showdown has the Weber Searwood 600, and the best pellet grills of 2026 page gathers every tester measurement across the weight classes.

What to look for in a mid-range pellet grill

• A tester’s thermometer, not the dial. In two separate tests, Weber’s app showed the set temperature rather than the measured one. Look for a review that put its own probe on the grate.
• Main-grate area, not total area. Total area counts the warming rack. The main grate is where the brisket goes.
• The warranty on the moving parts. The auger, fan, igniter and controller fail first. Read how long each maker covers those.
• Where you buy it. Traeger and Z Grills both tie the warranty to an authorized seller.

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