The GMC Sierra 2500HD ostensibly competes with the Ford F-250, the Ram 2500, and the Chevrolet 2500HD, but it gets a leg up in the luxury department, especially with its bougie Denali Ultimate trim. With its dual nature, the 2500HD can operate as a workhorse towing up to 20,000 pounds but then look decadent pulling up in front of a five-star luxury hotel. The 2026 Sierra 2500HD is part of the fifth generation, which was completely redesigned for 2020 and refreshed in 2024. There are seven trims for the 2026 model year: Pro, SLE, SLT, AT4, AT4X, Denali, and Denali Ultimate.
2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD Pricing, Specs, and Release Date
- What’s New for the 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD
- Design
- Powertrain
- Interior
- Technology
- Safety
- Pricing and Release Date
- Further Research
What’s New for the 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD
Since the GMC Sierra 2500HD got a major refresh in 2024 that included refreshed exterior styling, animated welcome lighting, more power, and a lot more tech, the 2026 model is largely a carryover. The GMC MultiPro Tailgate is now available on the SLT trim, and there are two new exterior colors: Glacier White Tricoat and Coastal Dune. Colors going away for this year include the White Frost Tricoat and Thunderstorm Gray.
Design
The 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD has a bold, upright stance with distinctive “light blade” LED daytime running lights (DRLs) and a lot of chrome accents. It boasts class-leading cargo bed volume, 12 corner bed tie-downs, and a 120-volt power outlet in the back. Standard wheels are 17-inch “steelies” on the Pro trim, but 17-inch aluminum wheels and 18-inch painted silver wheels are available. As you level up in trims, you’ll see 18-inch, 20-inch, and 22-inch wheels available with different finishes. The AT4X is the only trim that offers special appearance packaging in the form of the AT4X AEV Edition, which includes AEV branding, stamped steel skid plates, gloss black door handles and tailgate accent, 18-inch AEV Salta Black Gloss aluminum wheels, and AEV-branded rubber floor mats. While there aren’t appearance packages on most of the Sierra 2500HD trims, you will see various exterior options in various trims that help customize your truck, and that includes body-color wheel arch moldings, illuminated front GMC emblems, and blacked-out badges.
Powertrain
The 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD has two powertrain options: a 6.6-liter V8 direct-injection gas engine and a 6.6-liter V8 turbodiesel. The gas engine delivers 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque, and it can tow up to 16,000 pounds in the Crew Cab models. The diesel delivers 470 horsepower and 975 pound-feet of torque, and it can tow up to 20,000 pounds with the Crew Cab. The base drivetrain is rear-wheel drive (RWD), but that is only available in the base Pro trim. All other trims are four-wheel-drive only (4WD). Because the 2500HD is a heavy-duty truck, the EPA doesn’t provide official fuel economy numbers, but various outlets report that you can expect about 14 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway with the gas engine and 17 mpg and 23 mpg, respectively with the diesel.
Interior
The 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD can seat up to six passengers, depending on whether the truck is equipped with the front bench seat. The base Pro trim is what you might expect from a work truck with standard cloth seats, a front bench seat, analog gauges, and a small infotainment screen. Vinyl seats are available. Once you jump up one trim level, you’ll see larger infotainment screens, nicer amenities, and a digital cluster–but you still get the bench seat. Starting with the AT4 trim, you’ll see nicer interior materials–including leather seats–and front bucket seats. A sunroof is available starting with the SLT trim, and it is standard on the top Denali Ultimate trim. Rear under-seat storage is also available starting on the SLE trim.
Technology
While the base Pro trim of the 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD is a bit stingy with the tech, it does have standard features such as keyless entry, trailer hitch guidance, a 7-inch color touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Wi-Fi hotspot capability, and an HD rear camera. Available features include a 13.4-inch premium infotainment system with Google Built-In, wireless phone charging, an in-vehicle trailering app, the GMC MultiPro tailgate, Bose premium audio, rear camera mirror, head-up display, digital gauge cluster, dual automatic climate controls, and bed-view camera. The Denali Ultimate also offers a couple of additional standard tech features, including a 12-speaker Bose Premium Series audio system with CenterPoint, trailer tire pressure and temperature sensors, a MultiPro Audio system by Kicker, and power-retractable assist steps with LED perimeter lighting.
Safety
Even though this is a heavy-duty truck, it still comes with a whole host of standard and available safety features. On the standard side, the 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD comes with forward-collision alert, a following-distance indicator, front pedestrian braking, automatic high-beams, lane-departure warning, buckle-to-drive, and automatic emergency braking. Available features include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors, high-definition 360-degree camera views, and trailer blind-spot monitoring. Though the light-duty Sierra 1500 gets General Motors’ hands-free highway driving Super Cruise system, it’s worth noting that this feature is not available on the Sierra 2500HD due to the lack of electric power steering. Neither the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has crash-tested the Sierra 2500HD as of this writing.
Pricing and Release Date
Production of the 2026 GMC Sierra 2500HD began in mid-August 2025, and the heavy-duty truck went on sale in early September. The Sierra 2500HD offers a multitude of cab-and-bed configurations, including regular, double, and crew cabs with standard and long bed options with most cabs. Thus, there are multiple price points for each trim and configuration. If you’re looking for the least you can pay, you’re looking at a regular-cab, long-bed truck in the Pro trim with 2WD, and that starts at $49,295 at the time of this writing. Adding 4WD will take you up to $52,095. The SLE starts at $56,095. Beginning with the SLT trim, the only cab configuration is crew, and that trim starts at $67,295. Opting for the long bed only adds $300. Looking at the final four trims–AT4, Denali, AT4X, and Denali Ultimate–starting prices are $74,195, $77,595, $86,295, and $96,395, respectively.
