When comparing the Traeger Pro 575 and the Green Mountain Grill Ledge Prime, both models are superb backyard pellet grills. Recently I did a full breakdown between these, someone wanted the nitty-gritty between these two barbecue smoking machines, so I thought I would share what I know and how they differ.
Every time I do one of these comparisons, I try and use the same criteria, so I will stick to the same style as always.
I’ve smoked, hunted, and cured my own meat for the last few decades.
When it comes to using technology to make things easier, I am all for it.
They have given me that next-level convenience factor when smoking meat (for grilling too, but my 5 burner gas grill – is a beast of a grill for that job).
The GMG Ledge, I was given for a 2-month trial, and I actually had to unbox it. I was reviewing and writing up for a distributor.
I like to step back and observe how these grills work and see what’s going on before drawing these conclusions.
But don’t expect me to say one is going to be the “best” compared to another. Those ‘review’ sites aren’t my way of doing things. But anything I do review will be worth investing in.
I will list the observations that I’ve made and let you decide which factors are important for drawing a conclusion since everyone sees features and/or benefits differently!
Full disclaimer* please note this rating system is fully an opinion that I have derived on my own and I am in no way influenced by these suppliers, with either of the brands in terms of sponsorship/marketing etc.
| Category | Traeger Pro 575 | Green Mountain Grill Ledge |
| History & Reputation | A | A |
| Warranty & Service | A | A |
| Unique Selling Propositions | A | A |
| Thermostat Controller Design | A | A |
| Build Quality / Materials Used | A | B |
| The efficiency of Pellet Use | A | A |
| Technology / Wifi | A | B |
| Useful Brand Accessories | A | A |
| Temperature Range & Searing | B | B |
Comparison Breakdown
It’s pretty easy to put the specification side-by-side and then say this one’s a winner because it goes to this temperature. But I want to get into a bit more of the functional and useful aspects when you put these pellet grills side-by-side.
The bottom line is that both of these will produce excellent flavored smoked barbecue goodness and even though the Traeger can’t quite get up to the same top temperature, it will also make a very effective searing and grilling machine if you provide a little bit of heat retention (more on this later).
History & Reputation
Traeger
Traeger, of course, has a long history since they had the patent and invented pellet grills in 1985. I think they ‘sat on their laurels’ for quite some time (didn’t change much), even right up until the patent was lifted in 2006.
But now since there are so many options when it comes to pellet grills, they have definitely upped their game. Especially in regards to the Traeger Pro 575 (2019). There’s been quite the overhaul and design change compared to many of the previous models/iterations.
Green Mountain Grill
Green Mountain Grill came out pretty quick after the Traeger patent ended, and around 2007 that’s when they hit the market. Definitely, one of the more recognizable pellet grill brands in the World now and I would say in the top few places.
Strong following just like Traeger.
I’ve mentioned this quite often but both of these pellet grills will do an amazing job and produce quality barbecue smoked goods. It more probably comes down to what features you have a preference for.
Warranty & Service
Traeger Pro 575
Traeger takes great pride in the customer service and that’s probably since they have got that long history, there not a family business anymore, and were sold off around the time of the patent ending. But any dealings with Traeger whether it’s reps or on the phone are always up there.
I have met quite a few Traeger reps and they always have a good depth of knowledge around smoking and their products. They are more about guiding than selling in my experience.
Warranty wise, Traeger offers 3 years.
There is an added layer of customer satisfaction guarantee that Traeger likes to do.
45 days after purchase to exchange or refund if you’re not completely satisfied (If bought direct).
Green Mountain Grill
There isn’t any customer satisfaction guarantee that I’m aware of with Green Mountain Grill.
It’s a matching warranty period of 3 years as well with GMG.
Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)
Traeger Pro 575
- Brushless DC Motor (D2 Drive)
- Faster at Getting up to Temperature (TurboTemp)
- Grill Guide (Easy Recipes Straight to the Grill)
- Notches for Grease Tray / Secure Fit
- Seam and Metal Plate inside lip of Hood
- Quiet compared to GMG
- Outside coating tougher then GMG
Brushless DC Motor (D2 Drive)
In terms of the actual, let’s say engine or motor that’s driving the pellet grill, the brushless motor and D2 design is the big shift in the Pro series.
Launched in 2019 this variable-speed fan PID controller has now brought Traeger up to the same level of technology that is a standard issue for Green Mountain Grill or RecTec have had for some time.
That is in terms of a PID controller, I believe Traeger is the only company with brushless motors in pellet grills at the time of writing this.
PID controllers, of course, will vary depending on programming, they are essentially real-time responding feedback loops so that temperature is more tightly controlled. If you want more info on PIDs I wrote a blog about whether or not they were worth it (in summary, it doesn’t really matter when it comes to the finished smoked meats).
Faster at Getting up to Temperature (TurboTemp)
To get to about 350°F you’d expect about 10 minutes at moderate air temperature for the Traeger Pro 575. Still not too sure if this is a gimmick or not but because of the brushless motor the fans can supposedly run harder to bring up the temperature faster.
But you’ll probably find it takes 10 or 15 minutes for most pellet grills to get up to temperatures of 400°F. There are quite a few variables that have to be taken into account like what type of wood pellet is being used, harder stronger wood pellets will burn hotter, therefore producing more heat. And of course, the environmental conditions will have an impact.
Green Mountain Grill has another marketing spiel in terms of their fast heat-up – same PID fast heat up I think.
Grill Guide (Easy Recipes Straight to the Grill)
Since Traeger has been around for quite some time is now, they have developed a recipe (online) book which has over 1,500 smoking & grilling recipes. But what makes this a bit more unique is that all of these are ready to go on any Traeger wifi grill like the Pro 575, have a look at this 1 min video to get an idea of it.
This really is an easy way to get into some amazing smoked barbecue.
Notches for Grease Tray / Secure Fit
Ok pretty minor I know, but it does fit a lot better than many other pellet grills I have seen.
When it comes to a snug fit which the grease tray doesn’t need but it’s nice to have. The design of the Traeger Pro 575 is sturdy. It’s a bit of a minor, but it is something which is an improvement on previous models as well.
Seam and Metal Plate inside lip of Hood
The design of the lead has changed a little bit with the same going around the front edge close to the handle. Is also a block of metal lining just the inside of that led. This helps with stopping any grease dripping and may possibly help with how the smoke vapor is circulating inside the chamber. This is quite an interesting little thought-out design.
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
- Vac Fire Pot Clean Out Hole
- 12 Volt Power Option off Car Battery or Power Outlet
- Adjustable Heat Shield
- Prime Cosmetic & Functional Additions
- Hanging rack and bottom storage shelf
Vac Fire Pot Clean Out Hole
There is a hole on the right-hand side under the shelf of the GMG Ledge which goes directly through to the firepot. Allowing you to stick in a nozzle so a shop vac can suck out any remaining pellets or ash.
This is actually a really cool feature and gets rid of the hassle to take out grills, heat deflectors, and grease trays to actually get to the firepot to do the same job.
You can put a normal vacuum hoover over the outside of the hole but it doesn’t do as good a job.
12 Volt Power Option off Car Battery or Power Outlet
The GMG Trek is the smallest out of the three pellet Grills in the Green Mountain Grill range which was always designed around tailgating for camping we can run it straight off car.
But to be honest, it’s also a decent pellet grill smoker with many of the GMG Ledge features, it’s just kinda not much grill space real estate.
Now the GMG Ledge and Peak have both got a DC to AC converter and can be either plugged in normally to a power outlet or using a 12-volt adapter that comes with the prime grill, they can plug straight into a cigarette lighter giving you some more flexibility about where you want to do your pellet grill cooking.
Adjustable Heat Shield
So you can actually slide the heat shield externally from the side giving you some variation if you’ve got hot spots on the grill, like too much heat concentration in one place.
There are also markers on the screw feed rod which is quite useful. This is something I haven’t seen on any other pellet grill before.
Prime Cosmetic & Functional Additions
The recent release of the prime range (2019) of Green Mountain Grill, the other being the choice range. Has brought about a few changes that are worth mentioning.
If you want a comparison of prime and the choice pellet grills from GMG, I summarized it here, since I couldn’t actually find all of the differences listed on the GMG website!
Some other bits do make an impact on performance and functionality.
Pellet hopper window and lid window – so you can take a bit of a peek and see how things are coming along inside the grill during cooking is nice to have. I have a window on my 5 burner gas grill which has always been useful (head torches or cell phone lights help see inside the hood window).
Even though the pellet hopper has an alarm built in when the pellets get low, it’s nice to have a visual.
This is kind of why a window on a pellet hopper is a good thing also.
Hanging rack and bottom storage shelf
Simple but quite useful having a place we can stick some things underneath the GMG Ledge prime. It’s very sturdy, so even if you want to put a 20-pound bag of pellets it will handle a load.
The hanging rack is pretty simple but can be useful for all your utensils and tools that you will need when grilling or smoking.
Thermostat Controller Design
Traeger Pro 575
Since the release of the Pro series, Traeger has now upgraded all to standard PID controllers. I’ve talked about this one before, that a PID controller will not produce completely next-level smoked barbecue goodness (in my opinion).
In a quick summary, if you missed what I said before, a PID controller works in real-time, feeding back the information and making adjustments so that it can keep tighter control of the temperature. It kind of reacts to what is happening in terms of the increases from the pellet heat and also the surrounding environment.
Quote – me
If you want some more information about PID controllers a wrote about whether or not they’re worth it, in short, I said it doesn’t really matter.
The thought and finish of the controller system mean there are many options throughout the interface screen.
Putting it in the warming mode or putting in programs that are customized for changes in temperature.
At the end of the day, you can still do the same things, like customize programs on the Green Mountain Grill. It doesn’t look as polished in terms of the UI (user interface). But it does do exactly the same job and the same functionality.
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
PID controller so you’re talking about keeping that temperature range pretty tight on this as well,& some people like that. As mentioned, the interface is a bit cleaner with GMG you still get the same functionality.
Here is an example of the controller computer system, it’s just a short 30-second promo vid, but you can see it’s just a digital numerical display vs. Traeger which has a small screen showing a lot of information.
Build Quality / Materials Used
Traeger Pro 575
If you’re taller or just like a higher working bench, then the Traeger does seem to have that higher level on the grill, as simple as this is – it’s noteworthy.
The same as what you have with stainless steel higher workbenches in professional kitchens for instance – since you don’t want to bend over all day chopping onions.
By no means am I a tall guy, just under 6 feet. But I prefer a working height where I don’t have to crouch over lower, especially if you are grilling steaks and corn.
The total height of these pellet grills is similar, but the cooking grill plate height is lower on the Green Mountain Grill Ledge.
The actual cooking area design of the Traeger’s is more a drum shape style.
Whilst the GMG Ledge has more of an industrial sort of look with square edges, I don’t think these variations make much impact in heat, smoke, and oxygen circulation – it’s more about the look comparison. Due to design, the hood heigh means more cooking space in GMG, IF you get a 2nd tier rack or are doing a big bad whole turkey.
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
The auger screw feed design is different from Green Mountain Grill, there is a lot of people out there that have preference over its simplicity. If things are faulty, it’s easy to change.
But since the Traeger auger and brushless motors are solid designs.
And Traeger grills stand behind the products (& do a ton of R+D testing) and there is always excellent follow-up service if there are any issues.
GMG Ledge has the hopper on the left and then a shelf on the right, so you have a fair bit of tabletop real estate to work with, which can be quite useful when you doing big cooks.
Traeger has the hopper on the right-hand side and no shelf underneath the grill or on the side. You can use the top of the pellet hopper on the Traeger for a brewski or Sangiovese.
An additional front shelf tray for the Traeger Pro 575 is an add-on. The additional tray is adjustable so you can drop it so it’s flat or upright, which is useful.
The GMG Ledge front shelf is droppable also which is cool, it’s a serious fixture too!
Pellet Hopper Clean-Out
Both these models have a door on the back of the pellet hopper, so you can change the pellets.
The Traeger Pro 575 is a magnetized door it’s in a position that probably allows a bit more flow compared to GMG.
The GMG Ledge wood pellet hopper door takes a bit of poking to get some flow going into a bucket.
You basically put a bucket underneath and that’s how you clear out your pellets if there been in there a bit long (like a month for me) or if you want to change the wood pellet flavors for instance.
Both GMG Ledge and the Traeger 575 have porcelain-coated grill plates.
Most guys would prefer stainless steel but these are fine and will last at least several years normally. You can always upgrade grill grates there are a lot of after-market and 3rd party grill grates.
Cooking Space
Traeger Pro 575 vs GMG Ledge
| Traeger Pro 575 | GMG Ledge | |
| Total Cooking Area | 572 SQ IN | 458 SQ IN |
| Main Grill Rack | 22″ X 19″ | 27″ x 16″ |
| 2nd Rack Area | 22″ X 7″ | Optional Rack Sizes |
| Internal Cooking Height | Not 13.5″ | 13.5″ |
A few points to note about the above, Traeger comes with that 2nd rack which can be placed in a fixed holding position.
Traeger – Hang rack near the legs, so you can store 2nd rack if need be (quite useful).
These Pellet Wood Hoppers both have an 18-pound capacity
GMG Ledge Prime Stainless
A standard cooking area, which is focused on a higher clearance, so if you are going to be doing a beer can chicken or a big turkey, you might want that kinda height internally.
The trade-off is that the actual grill grate height is lower with GMG Ledge, whilst the Traeger grill grate height is higher. As mentioned, the overall total heights are basically the same!
The way to get extra racks with the Ledge e is to buy them, they are basically 4 legs that sit on the main grill area. They have a whole bunch of sizes.
Efficiency of Pellet Use
Traeger Pro 575
1/2 pound to 1 pound per hour on low temperature, 2 pounds on high searing temperature – is the general guideline.
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
As a guide, you’re talking about 1 pound per hour at low temperatures. (below 250°F)
Technology / Wifi
Traeger Pro 575
The actual interface and user experience are very slick with Traeger, now that you are getting the wifi at this price point, it does really give an enhancement to the product. If you want to have a pellet grill with a massive range of recipes that can be uploaded straight into the grill this is definitely the smoothest experience on the market.
In terms of setting up and the logic in the menus, the main display unit has probably the most complete aspects on the market.
I would call this the ‘human intuitiveness’, I guess the same way you would see good old Apple producing slick functionality but this is in a pellet grill.
Green Mountain Grill -Ledge Prime
You can get all the same functionality and remote access to a grill with GMG Wi-Fi, but you can see it’s a bit more basic in terms of the interface.
Don’t get me wrong, it still gives you full functionality, it just hasn’t had the investment in the marketing budget to get the look.
Simplistic & Functional would be how I describe the interface with the app and main control unit. And I know some folks prefer this style too.
And furthermore, it doesn’t really affect the performance either.
You have a more drummed-down menu system which is more about grilling and smoking – which is the most important aspect!
Temperature Probes & Thermal Sensor Position
To start off with in terms of temperature you’re up to 450°F with a Traeger Pro 575, and 550°F with the Green Mountain Grill Ledge.
Regardless of which one, if you use and retain the heat that is generated you can sear like a boss. Grilling will be awesome too, but you need that heat retention.
Basically, an old cast iron griddle or pan can do the trick.
For more grilling real estate invest in grill grates, I wrote a page about these here, they are awesome!
GMG Ledge did come with a few spare probes too!
Traeger Pro 575
For some, it’s a big deal the top temperature getting ‘only’ to 450°F, not an issue with me.
Also, with thin-crust pizza, you want either a pizza oven to slide into the pellet grill or some bricks that are suitable to build a DIY pizza oven, if you want more info on buying a pizza oven, check out the page here I wrote.
It is worth noting that there is only one temperature probe with the Traeger Pro 575, compared to two probes with the Ledge
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
I have grilled on a standard Traeger Timberline which is a higher-end model, it can get up to 550°F and you still won’t be able to get full searing on it. To do it properly you do need to have heat retention as I mentioned.
But in terms of having those two temperature probes built-in so that you can remotely see what internal temperatures are for low & slow whilst your down the road the shops all walking the dog for, some people that’s a big factor.
This was very useful for this Wild Venison Pastrami session I had:
Useful Brand Accessories
Traeger Pro 575
Front Tray -it’s foldable which is probably the key thing but you do pay extra to get it.
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
The pizza Oven from GMG is awesome.
Quite like the variable sizes for the racks, it gives more flexibility depending on the occasion and how much food you need.
When grilling, I like to use 2nd racks as warming drawers quite often.
Temperature Range & Searing Ability
Traeger Pro 575
I had to mention it early on but the temperature range is lower with Traeger, whether this really makes a difference is whether you do some heat retention or not.
Green Mountain Grill – Ledge Prime
Again, heat retention is the name of the game. If you want to sear get a cast iron pan.
The sliding heat shield will help micro-adjust hot spots when grilling so that does give GMG Ledge and slightly richer feature.
Conclusion & Summary
So you’ve got all the bells and whistles and cosmetic accessories with the Green Mountain Grill Ledge prime stainless mode.
A high hood for big fat turkeys as well. The easy cleaning port is a great addition.
Compared to the proven long-standing brand Traeger, and now that the Pro 575 has Wi-Fi capabilities and has a PID controller is solid.
Traegers 2nd rack and thoughtful design to store it hanging off the back…interesting.
You get higher temperature ranges with the Green Mountain Grill.
So there are a lot of good points on both sides and as I keep on mentioning both of these are fantastic pellet grills. The interface and the menu of the Traeger and how it’s been thought through gives it that bit of ‘human intuitive edge” too.
So whichever way you decide to go, I think you’ll be happy and you’ll get a lot of fantastic barbecues smoked and grilled food out of these woodfired beasts, either way, you’re going to win.
So if you want a beautifully made and robust grill with the longest history in the pellet grill industry – Here is the link to the official Traeger 575 page for more information (I would advise going through the official website for direct customer service and backup).
OR
Ditto if you choose the Green Mountain Grill Ledge
And here are the recommendations on a comparison page I put together here.
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