The Pit Boss Pro Series 850 is the “best overall” pick in this site’s own best Pit Boss pellet grill roundup and shows up as the value counterpoint in our Traeger vs. Pit Boss comparison — but it’s never had a standalone, this-is-everything-you-need-to-know review. Here’s what the spec sheet and independent testing say about the grill that keeps winning this site’s “most value per dollar” picks.
Quick Answer
The Pit Boss Pro Series 850 (~$600) packs 849 sq in of cook space, a WiFi/Bluetooth PID controller across a 180-500°F range, a 22 lb hopper, and a slide-plate Flame Broiler for direct-flame searing into a price that undercuts similarly sized Traeger and Recteq models by $300 or more. Smoked BBQ Source’s testing clocked 8+ hours of low-and-slow runtime on this platform without a hopper refill. The trade-offs: temperature control swings a bit wider than Traeger’s premium PID controllers, and the 5-year warranty is shorter than Recteq’s 6 or Traeger’s 10.
Pit Boss Pro Series 850 at a glance
| Spec | Pit Boss Pro Series 850 |
|---|---|
| Cook space | 849 sq in |
| Temperature range | 180-500°F smoking; 500-1,000°F on Flame Broiler sear zone |
| Controller | Digital PID, WiFi + Bluetooth app monitoring |
| Hopper capacity | 22 lb (8+ hrs runtime tested, per Smoked BBQ Source) |
| Extras | Slide-plate Flame Broiler for direct-flame searing |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Price | ~$600 |
What the Pro Series 850 gets right
Pit Boss Pro Series 850
- 849 sq in of cook space at roughly $600 — one of the widest cook-area-per-dollar ratios of any WiFi-connected pellet grill on the market.
- Slide-plate Flame Broiler exposes food to direct flame, pushing the sear zone into the 500-1,000°F range versus the ~450-500°F ceiling on a standard Traeger.
- 22 lb hopper ran 8+ hours of continuous low-and-slow cooking without a refill in Smoked BBQ Source's testing — enough for most overnight briskets.
- WiFi/Bluetooth app monitoring and a 5-year warranty put real distance between this and non-connected budget grills at a similar price.
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What separates the Pro Series 850 from cheaper Pit Boss models and from most sub-$700 competitors isn’t any single spec — it’s that Pit Boss didn’t cut the PID controller or the app to hit this price. The Sportsman line below it drops both to save $100-$150; the Pro Series 850 keeps them, which means real set-and-forget temperature holding on long cooks instead of babysitting a dial. Combined with the Flame Broiler, it’s one of the few grills under $700 that can smoke a brisket for 12 hours and then sear steaks over direct flame the same afternoon.
Where it falls short
The Pro Series 850’s temperature control, while solid, isn’t in the same class as Traeger’s higher-end PID controllers. Traeger’s Ironwood and Timberline tiers hold grate temperature within about 5°F on long smokes, per this site’s Traeger vs. Pit Boss comparison; the Pro Series 850 swings noticeably wider, which most casual cooks won’t notice but competition-style pitmasters will. The 5-year warranty also trails Recteq’s 6 years and Traeger’s 10, and Pit Boss’s build quality — while solid for the price — uses lighter-gauge steel than the Recteq RT-700. None of that is a dealbreaker at $600, but it’s the honest reason this isn’t a premium-tier grill.
Pro Series 850 vs. the alternatives
| Grill | Cook space | Sear ceiling | Warranty | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pit Boss Pro Series 850 | 849 sq in | 500-1,000°F | 5 years | ~$600 |
| Pit Boss Austin XL | 1,000 sq in | No Flame Broiler on this size | 5 years | ~$500 |
| Traeger Woodridge Pro | 970 sq in | ~450-500°F | 10 years | $1,149 |
| Recteq RT-700 "Bull" | 702 sq in | 700°F | 6 years | ~$1,199 |
The honest comparison most shoppers need is against Traeger, which trades away the Flame Broiler’s searing heat and the lower price for tighter temperature control and a far longer warranty — see our full Traeger vs. Pit Boss breakdown for the complete case on both sides. Against the Recteq RT-700, the Pro Series 850 gives up steel gauge and warranty length but wins decisively on price, undercutting it by roughly $600. If pure cook space per dollar matters more than searing, our best Pit Boss pellet grill guide covers how the Austin XL stretches to 1,000 sq in for even less.
Who should buy the Pro Series 850
- Buy it if: you want WiFi PID control, real searing, and family-size cook space without spending $1,000+.
- Consider the Austin XL instead if: raw cook space matters more than the Flame Broiler’s searing heat — it’s $100 cheaper for 150 more sq in.
- Consider the Traeger Woodridge Pro instead if: the tightest possible temperature control and a 10-year warranty are worth roughly $550 more to you.
- Skip it if: you’re a competition-style cook who needs the tightest PID accuracy on the market, or steel gauge and warranty length outrank price.
The verdict
The Pit Boss Pro Series 850 earns its “best overall” spot in this site’s Pit Boss roundup for a simple reason: nothing else at $600 combines a real WiFi PID controller, 849 sq in of space, and direct-flame searing. It won’t out-hold a Traeger Ironwood on precision or outlast a Recteq’s steel, but for the price it undercuts both by hundreds of dollars while keeping the features that actually matter for a weekend pitmaster. For the full Pit Boss lineup, see our best Pit Boss pellet grill guide.