Real owners lean toward the Pit Boss 850 Navigator: 75% of 20 owners recommend it, vs 57% of 127 for the Traeger Pro 575.
Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score
The Traeger Pro 575 and the Pit Boss 850 Navigator are both pellet grills whose owners praise easy, app-connected cooking and good value, yet they diverge on flavor and heat. Traeger owners love the set-and-forget ease, fast heat-up, steady temps, and juicy results, but complain of weak, mild smoke flavor, an inability to sear past around 500F, an inaccurate built-in probe, and unreliable WiFi. Pit Boss owners are overwhelmingly satisfied, calling it a great buy they'd make again and singling out the open-flame broiler that lets it grill and char like a real grill, plus strong value near the roughly $399 mark; their recurring complaints are electronics failures across control boards, WiFi controllers, probes, and igniters, and uneven heat with the hopper side running hotter and coarse 10-degree increments. A beginner wanting the simplest, most oven-like experience leans to the Traeger, while a cook chasing heavier smoke and real searing at a budget price leans to the Pit Boss. Both draw electronics gripes, so the pick comes down to whether hands-off simplicity or searing power and stronger smoke matters more.
“STILL ROCCCKING WITH THE NAVIGATOR 1150 AND 850”— @VietKieuLongNguyen on YouTube
“Just picked one up Black Friday at Academy for a great price and have already grilled on it a few times, Great Product!!”— @Intoxacajun on YouTube
“I have a Navigator 850G over a year old. Have replaced 4 control boards and 2 grill probes. Waiting on igniter. Does anyone have any ideas why they keep going bad?”— jcbitsme on Pit Boss Grill Forum
The Traeger Pro 575 and the Pit Boss 850 Navigator are both pellet grills whose owners praise easy, app-connected cooking and good value, yet they diverge on flavor and heat. Traeger owners love the set-and-forget ease, fast heat-up, steady temps, and juicy results, but complain of weak, mild smoke flavor, an inability to sear past around 500F, an inaccurate built-in probe, and unreliable WiFi. Pit Boss owners are overwhelmingly satisfied, calling it a great buy they'd make again and singling out the open-flame broiler that lets it grill and char like a real grill, plus strong value near the roughly $399 mark; their recurring complaints are electronics failures across control boards, WiFi controllers, probes, and igniters, and uneven heat with the hopper side running hotter and coarse 10-degree increments. A beginner wanting the simplest, most oven-like experience leans to the Traeger, while a cook chasing heavier smoke and real searing at a budget price leans to the Pit Boss. Both draw electronics gripes, so the pick comes down to whether hands-off simplicity or searing power and stronger smoke matters more.
Owners point the Pit Boss 850 Navigator at cooks who want both smoking and open-flame searing, and budget buyers wanting solid build for the money.
Owners point the Traeger Pro 575 at beginners wanting easy, set-and-forget pellet cooking, and owners who like WiFi app monitoring from their phone.
The most-cited downside of the Pit Boss 850 Navigator is electronics reliability problems, control boards, WiFi controller, grill probes, and igniter failing or needing replacement/upgrade. For the Traeger Pro 575, it's weak, mild smoke flavor compared to stick burners or charcoal.