No matter how much I meal plan and batch cook, I still can't resist the temptation of ordering in a pizza. But in the spirit of frugality (and being able to serve up exceptional pizzas made by my own fair hands), I've been hunting for the best indoor pizza ovens now that the weather is turning – and Ooni's new Volt 2 electric pizza oven has given me pause for thought.

Available from 1 October, the Volt 2 features something that Ooni has termed 'pizza intelligence' – a heating system that automatically adapts to the type of dough you're cooking, ensuring the best temperature and heat balance. It's not simply designed for pizza recipes, however; with an oven and broil mode, and even a dough-proofing setting, this just might be the most high-tech pizza oven we've ever seen – and we've tested a lot here at Homes & Gardens.

Since I really am determined to learn how to home-cook pizza (and restaurant-quality pizza, at that), the high-tech features of the Ooni Volt 2 could be a real game-changer for me. I was impressed by the temperature range alone: while it starts at 70°F (an ideal choice for proofing dough), it can reach a maximum temperature of 850°F. According to Ooni, this enables the Volt 2 to cook a pizza in as little as 90 seconds.

This will depend on the type of pizza you're cooking, of course – but the 'pizza intelligence' feature provides three handy preset modes, each with different heat settings. Choose between Neapolitan (a crispy, fast-cooking pizza), thin and crispy (akin to an New York-style pie) and pan pizza (a thick, fluffy option). Plus, there are two customizable modes allowing you to save your favorite oven settings.

I can't deny that I've been stumped by pizza ovens in the past – they might look straightforward, but figuring out how to use a pizza oven can take a little patience. With tech systems like this one, however, I could be cooking like a professional in no time and with minimal effort.

'I've seen smart technology built into refrigerators, dishwashers, and standard ovens, but never in a dedicated pizza oven like the Ooni Volt 2,' says our Kitchen Appliances Editor, Lydia Hayman. 'The term "pizza intelligence" sounds fancy, but in reality, it’s quite similar to the smart cooking tech found in ovens from brands like Samsung and Bosch. Put simply, it automatically adjusts the temperature and heat balance based on your dough, helping you get an evenly cooked, crispy crust.'

According to Lydia, the smart settings on the Ooni Volt 2 pizza oven really can transform home cooking.

'For casual cooks, it's genuinely useful – you don’t have to hover by the oven, second-guessing every pie,' she explains. 'Just a couple of weekends ago, I hosted a pizza night for six, and I'm pretty sure I spent more time watching the oven than enjoying my guests' company. A feature like this could take that stress out of the process and make pizza nights a lot more relaxing, but possibly less fun and theatrical.'

I, for one, can sacrifice the theater in favor of a show-stopping home-cooked pizza – and the chance to save money on takeout.

Shop more pizza ovens

I can't wait to get my hands on the Ooni Volt 2 pizza oven when it launches in October – I'll be using it to perfect my best ever pizza dough and quick tomato sauce recipes for starters.

There's nothing like a Christmas dinner, but it can be a stressful part of the holiday. Even if you're cooking for a small family, there's a lot of different dishes to create, and the stress ramps up with every extra guest.

While planning out my Christmas dinner this year, I noticed that I had a pizza oven sitting out in the yard - an entire extra oven that could be used to give me a hand through one of the biggest meals of the year. However, I worried that the high heat of a pizza oven would incinerate all my ingredients. I was also concerned the turkey wouldn't fit, and that the vegetables would burn to a crisp. But after speaking to pro pizza chefs, I was convinced to give it a try.

I still had a sample of the new Ooni Karu 2 Pro, so I put all the advice to the test. I found that while you can just about make a Christmas dinner in a pizza oven, it's only the vegetables that make it worthwhile. Here, I share everything I discovered when attempting to cook Christmas dinner in a pizza oven.

Turkey (or chicken)

First up, the centerpiece of any Christmas dinner – the turkey. I wanted to see if the pizza oven could tackle this crucial part of the meal. Many people think that pizza ovens aren't big enough to hold a turkey. They only have a small opening, so many assume that the the tall crown of a turkey won't fit. However, this isn't true.

Pizza chef Hakki Akdeniz told me that 'You can cook a turkey in a pizza oven if you spatchcock it. The pizza oven's high temperature keeps the meat moist while giving it yummy crispy skin on the outside.'

Spatchcocking means removing the spine from the carcass. This allows you to lay the body flat, so it fits into the low clearance of the pizza oven. This has the added benefit of making jucier meat - every part of the bird is on the same plane, so the breast sticking out above the limbs doesn't dry out as the others cook. I was cooking for one, so I went with a chicken instead so that there wasn't as much waste.

With the chicken spatchcocked and dressed in a lemon and herb dressing, I added a quartered lemon, an thickly sliced onion, and a couple cloves of garlic for moisture and extra flavor.

Outdoor cookery expert Mary Cressler suggests 'Lower heat is better heat. Avoid burning the skin by lowering the flame for a better ambient heat matching a typical indoor oven, which for us is between 375 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Be sure you are rotating the bird every so often as one side will cook faster with the flame on only one side.'

However, I got off to a bad start. The chicken had been in the oven for around 10 minutes when I noticed that the oven had dropped a lot of temperature down to 246F. I turned it back up a little and a flame shot out the oven and over the chicken.

In the minute it took to fiddle with the dial get the flame down to a reasonable intensity the skin of the chicken on the side facing the flame crisped and charred while the rest was raw. It's all a lot more effortful than cooking chicken in a domestic oven.

Things didn't improve: the oven would drop a lot of temperature, so the only choice was other to have the flame roaring hot or for it to drop down below 250F, which isn't food safe. I turned the flame up higher, and this was a mistake - after a few minutes it incinerated the chicken skin and the vegetables roasting with the chicken, so I covered the chicken with foil to reduce any further damage.

This is fine, but part of the point of using a pizza oven is that you have an open flame for smokiness. If it's covered in foil, preventing that char, you might as well cook it in a regular kitchen oven. Unlike the last time I cooked chicken in this oven, which went well, I wasn't standing by the oven to keep a constant eye on the food and its temperature as I cook, so it's easy to overdo, especially with the open flame. The temperature is much more variable than the consistent heat of a kitchen oven.

The temperature drops a lot, so it's hard to find the balance between too cool and too hot. With the foil covering the chicken, it wasn't getting hot enough, and the oven kept dropping heat in the cold. This meant I only really had two options - either grill it under the flame or bake it at a temperature so cool that it isn't safe. I opted for the former - so it was more like grilled chicken than roast chicken.

So, while it's technically possible, I didn't save any time or make a better roast chicken. For all the effort I put in, it's no better than other turkeys and chickens I've roasted. It tastes delicious - there's an incredible smokiness and char to the chicken but it's more like a grilled chicken than roast chicken.

In short, even if I cooked it perfectly, pizza oven chicken takes a lot more effort and diligence for a slightly worse outcome.

Potatoes

Chef Hakki told me that 'Roast potatoes in a pizza oven is a treat you never knew you needed. To get the perfect crispy skin and airy inside, parboil them first and add some oil or butter.' Following his advice, I boiled the potatoes a little to soften then, then shook them with olive oil, onion, garlic and rosemary.

I turned the potatoes after around 10 minutes, and this showed me that I'd have to be careful with these as they cooked. The outside of the potatoes was licked by the flames and starting to char, but the interior was still relatively raw. The skin was developing a crust closer to wedges than classic roast potatoes, even though the potatoes had been peeled.

I moved them to the back of the oven, and once the the carrots and sprouts finished I could turn the tray and spread them out a little. Getting them out from under the flame hugely improved the flavor of the potatoes and stopped them from cooking like wedges. All together the potatoes had an hour in the oven - half an hour faster than cooking them in a domestic oven.

In the end, the flavor was basically the same. The methods aren't very different and so the oven made crispy, fluffy potatoes. the overall result was good - if not life-changing - roast potatoes. I think this is probably the best use case for a pizza oven on Christmas - you can roast potatoes in a separate oven, freeing up some room in the main kitchen oven.

Carrots and parsnips

Pizza chefs also recommend cooking other vegetables in the pizza oven. Chef Hakki told me that 'Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and carrots roast nicely. Add salt, spices, and olive oil, then let the flame work its magic. It's amazing how caramelized they get.'

I adapted chef Hakki's recommendation a little - in the the second half of the tray I put sliced carrots and parsnips, covered with oil, paprika, salt, pepper, and hot honey.

I cooked these for around 30 minutes, slightly longer than the Brussels sprouts. This is still about 3/4ths faster than roasting them in an oven, too, so it's a good way to cut down on time.

The results were excellent - juicy, tender carrots and parsnips. The hot honey I used caramelized into an incredible char, much better than I've achieved in a kitchen oven, but it proved a double-edged sword.

The char was good, but the couple of carrots or parsnips I sliced too thinly burned into something more like a vegetable chip than a side for a roast. However, all together, these were also very successful, and infinitely better than boiling.

Brussels sprouts

With the big sheet pan taking up most of the oven I could only fit a little loaf tin up side. I filled it up with Brussels sprouts and candied bacon lardons, drizzled with oil and Maggi seasoning.

The sprouts were ready in around 15 minutes, slower than cooking them in a skillet. However, without tooting my own horn, these were delicious. The sprouts took on a delicious char that's hard to achieve in a pan without burning the vegetables. The lardons were all well cooked, and while I had worried that the sugar in the festive seasoning mix would caramelize and burn them, it lent a slight sweetness and nuttiness that played off well against the saltiness.

The only thing that stopped them from being the best sprouts I've ever made made is that the were slightly overcooked. It's hard to judge with a pizza oven, so they were slightly too soft and lost some of that vegetal firmness. However, this is tiny criticism - these are some of the best sprouts I've made.

Should you cook Christmas dinner in a pizza oven?

I think a pizza oven can be a great help if you don't have room in your main kitchen oven. The scenario I imagine is if you're hosting a lot amount of people and need some extra oven room.

If your oven is full with the turkey and other dishes, and Yorkshire puddings and stuffing and the rest of it, a pizza oven can give you another spot for all of your roast potatoes, for example. Vegetables are much better roasted in a pizza oven because they take on delicious, smoky char that boiling or straightforward roasting can't match.

However, simple practicalities get in the way. The simplest is size. A pizza oven only cooks on one level, unlike a kitchen oven which can hold lots of food at once. You'll notice in the image above that I didn't cook any sides like stuffing or pigs in blankets, and that's only because I lacked the room.

On top of that, you need to keep the oven near to the house, because I found it a little frustrating to move from the kitchen to the yard to check on the food as it cooked. In a kitchen you can keep a near-constant eye on food as it cooks, but when it cooks outside you're always moving from the kitchen to the garden and letting cold air into the house.

There's also less control than in a domestic oven, because it's harder to set the oven to a specific temperature. Midway through cooking I found that the temperature would randomly drop or ramp up, and because you open the oven door out in the cold (it was 43°F as I cooked) rather than a warm house I dropped much more heat than usual .

This means that I wouldn't cook poultry in a pizza oven. It's much harder to achieve an even, consistent temperature, so while you can make much juicier meat by spatchcocking it, it's much more effort than prepping a turkey and leaving it to cook for a couple hours.

In the end, I wouldn't cook a whole roast in the oven. It has half the room of a traditional oven, and the main draw of a pizza oven - that it can reach blistering temperatures - isn't useful when slowly roasting vegetables and poultry.

My pizza oven picks

If you're considering a pizza oven, here's some of my current favorites.

A pizza oven isn't the only hack for a good Christmas dinner. Our resident expert chef Lydia Hayman recently tested out some Christmas air fryer hacks that can make your cooking faster, easier, and tastier.

It's no secret that Ooni dominates the pizza oven market. I've been trying to find something to replace the Ooni Karu 16 as our favorite pizza oven for years - half the time my job feels like I'm advertising for them rather than reviewing.

The good news is that the Ooni Karu 16 has been replaced at the top of my guide to the best pizza ovens. The kicker? It's been replaced with a different Ooni. The company recently launched the Ooni Karu 2 Pro, and when I tried it the other week on seven different pizzas, I knew it had to go in at number #1.

This means that the original flagship oven has been kicked down the pecking order, but that also meant a huge Black Friday discount. Because the original Ooni has been supplanted, it became the cheapest I've ever seen it, and $280 cheaper than it was in the summer. It was such a good deal that it sold out on Ooni's own site, and then on Best Buy, and then on Huckberry. I'm not surprised - it was top of our guide to the best pizza ovens for a reason.

What's the deal?

What's so good about this oven?

For years we thought this was the best pizza oven in the world. It can cook with gas for ease and convenience and wood for unbeatable smokiness. It can cook a crisp pizza crust in just over a minute, making for perfect pizza.

Unlike most pizza ovens on the market at the time, the Ooni Karu 16 had a door, and not just that, a door with a window. It seems like an obvious feature, but it sets the oven above many others because it means that the air retains a little moisture while the rolling flame evaporates grease and wetness from the pepperoni and sauce. This also helps the pizza, because the crust is the perfect consistency. Where other pizza ovens leave the pizza wet with sauce, the Karu 16 harmonizes every element into a world-beating pizza.

That's not just a figure of speech - it was the first domestic pizza oven recommended by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, a non-profit dedicated to preserving Neapolitan pizza.

In short, this was the best oven we had tried. It was faster, easier to use, and tasted better than any oven we'd tested - until the Ooni Karu 2 Pro, available at Ooni and my new pick for the best pizza oven.

What are the drawbacks to this oven?

There are two main drawbacks to this oven: the cooking area and the thermometer.

Firstly, the Karu 16 holds, unsurprisingly, a 16" pizza. But the Karu 2 improves on this capacity by excavating a little space up the back of the oven under the burner. This slightly increases the capacity while maintaining almost the same exterior dimensions. I've done the math and the Karu 2 Pro has more useful cooking space while only increasing its exterior dimensions by 1%. That means more room for cooking, and it's especially useful if you're cooking non-pizza dishes that need skillets or pans.

On top of that, the original Karu has a very basic digital thermometer with a retro digital readout. It's fine, but it just shows the temperature, so you need to learn the right temperatures for different pizzas. The updated thermometer on the Karu 2 Pro - the grandly named 'Digital Thermometer Hub' - has handy color coding to let you know when you reach the top temperature. It also has a probe thermometer, which proved especially helpful when testing roasted chicken thighs.

A smaller improvement is with the door. The door of the new Karu 2 Pro has a bigger window, so you have a better view inside, and it does a slightly better job of retaining moisture.

Are there any other good pizza oven deals?

While the deal on the Karu 16 is the best I've seen this year, there are a couple of other deals worth considering.

Don't just take my word for it - there are plenty of pizza ovens out there and it pays off to do your research. There are a lot of Ooni alternatives and I've directly compared Ooni to their biggest rivals, Gozney. There is also a range of indoor pizza ovens to consider.

When Ooni announced the Karu 2 Pro, I was one of the first people in line to try it. I was dying to see if it could beat its predecessor, the Karu 16.

To be honest, I almost wanted to hate this oven. Ooni dominates our guides to the best pizza ovens and it feels like an advert to include the brand, even though test after test has shown that its ovens are exceptional. I wanted this oven to be mediocre so that we have something new to say about this brand; something that didn't feel like fawning.

But Ooni's new Karu 2 is almost flawless. After testing it on seven pizzas (including gluten-free dough) a flatbread, a calzone, grilled chicken, and even brownies, it's the best pizza oven I've tested. It will go straight in as the new reigning champion in our guide to the best pizza ovens.

Specifications

Who would it suit?

This oven would suit basically anyone looking for a good outdoor pizza oven. It's the quintessential pizza oven - it's fast and makes perfect pizza. I almost can't fault it.

The only caveat? It might not work if you're tight on space and budget. The kit that Ooni's PRs sent me included a bamboo peel, an aluminum peel, a gas conversion kit, and a thermometer gun. These were invaluable when testing, but they aren't included as standard, so you need to pay extra - on top of the $799 basic price. It's also large, so it won't work if you're cooking out of a courtyard garden.

Unboxing

The Ooni Karu 2 Pro arrived in a huge box. It was almost intimidating, a large, 82 lb box that was a little tricky to move around. I had a trolley on hand that made moving the oven out to the yard much easier, but you might struggle without one.

Having said that, the rest of the setup was incredibly easy. I set up the table for the oven and it slid easily out of the box. It easily lifted out of the box and I was pleased to see that most of the crucial parts were already assembled - I didn't have to screw in the legs or do any difficult wiring.

All I had to do was follow the instructions on the app. While I prefer a manual on paper - you lose your place in the app instructions if your phone auto-locks as you build - it was a relatively painless assembly. The only finicky part is clipping in the digital thermometer, but it's hardly arduous. The app said it would take half an hour, and it took 28 minutes - an excellent start.

Best of all, this oven is fast to heat. The stone reached Neapolitan temperature in around 15-20 minutes, which is much faster than other pizza ovens - a 4-minute heat time used to be the industry standard.

Test 1: Cheese pizza

First up, the most important test of any pizza oven: a Neapolitan cheese pizza. Fail at this, and the review isn't worth finishing.

I made a simple pizza dough and topped it with tomato sauce, a mix of mozzarella and cheddar, and finished with rounds of mozzarella. The rest was simple - you just load it onto the pizza peel and launch it into the oven.

The result was better than expected. It cooked slightly faster than other ovens I've tried, taking a little over a minute for all of the cheese pizzas I tried. The dough quickly puffed up into a perfect crust and the cheese melted into a soft golden color.

It aced the taste test. A common issue in some pizza ovens is that they either over- or under-cook the sauce. Overcooked sauce dries out the pizza, and undercooked sauce makes the pizza doughy and wet. This oven was perfect. The door means that moisture is trapped in the air, which means the sauce was moist without being wet, softening the chewy pizza dough without overwhelming it. It was one of the best pizzas I've ever made, and I hadn't varied my usual recipe - it was all thanks to the oven.

Test 2: Pepperoni

Next up, two pepperoni pizzas and it's the same procedure as the cheese pizza - but with slices of pepperoni. The test here was to see the aggression of the flame. Pepperoni is easy to burn, as it curls up towards the heat source and crisps on the edges. Pepperoni also puts out a lot of grease, which can make the dough far too moist.

But this wasn't an issue for the Karu 2 Pro. Much of the grease had evaporated, making for a delicious pizza that felt light and refreshing rather than heavy an oil. On one of the pizzas I tested, the pepperoni slices singed a little, but it wasn't catastrophic.

Test 3: Gluten free pizza

I wanted to test a gluten-free dough and I was also cooking for a celiac, so I tried Ooni's gluten-free dough recipe. It was very straightforward, a simple dough of water, yeast, and gluten-free flour (for those interested, I used the Antimo Caputo flour, available at Amazon, as recommended by Ooni). I was worried as I kneaded it because it looked very wet, even though it didn't feel wet to work with. I was worried that the moisture content in the dough would be too high for the stone and the crust wouldn't form and lift away from the surface.

Thankfully all my worries were unfounded. This is one of the best gluten-free meals I've made. The dough behaved almost exactly like a gluten dough - there were a few worrying seconds before it puffed up, but after about 40 seconds it was just like any other pizza I've made. There was excellent leopard-spotting on the crust and it was perfectly cooked all the way through, with beautiful striations through the dough. This oven can easily handle gluten-free food, so it's a good choice even if you can't eat gluten.

Test 4: Flatbread

I wanted to see how the oven could handle a drier dough. Some pizza ovens are too aggressive and dry out pizzas, which means that they bake flatbreads into crispy, dry cookies rather than moist pizzas. To this end, I tried a flatbread dough topped off with red onions, rosemary, zucchini, goat's cheese, and a homemade balsamic glaze of vinegar and honey, drizzled with olive oil.

This was also perfect. The vegetables were perfectly cooked in seconds, maintaining moisture but developing a delicious char from the rolling flame. Paired with hummus, this was the perfect flatbread - another test passed flawlessly.

Test 5: Chicken thighs

Pizza ovens have a bad reputation as single-use appliances, but they're really no different from any other oven, so I also tried to bake some chicken and onions.

Using Ooni's rosemary chicken thighs recipe, I heated a skillet in the oven and then cooed chicken thighs skin-down for three minutes. After that, I flipped them over, added rosemary and thick wedges of onion, then basted everything in butter.

The result was remarkable - perfectly juicy chicken thighs with deliciously, crisp skin, bubbled to a perfect golden brown color by the flame. Best of all, it was much faster than the equivalent dish would've been in a traditional domestic oven. The pizza oven reaches such high temperatures that you can cook much more quickly than a convection or fan oven.

It was also a great opportunity to test out the probe thermometer, which was fantastic. It's easy to use, it just plugs into the digital thermometer hub, and from there you just push it into whatever you're cooking. It gives an accurate internal temperature for meat - which gives excellent peace of mind when cooking chicken

Test 6: Calzone

Calzone are a crucial test for pizza ovens because they're much harder to perfect than pizza. The extra dough folded over the top means that there's a lot more moisture to cook off, and because the ingredients are protected from the open flame, they cook at a lower temperature.

I took a big chunk of my pizza dough, added tomato sauce, leftover vegetables from my flatbread, vegan sausage - to see how the oven copes with meat alternatives - as well as rosemary, cheddar, mozzarella, and a little goat's cheese.

The result was excellent, with two minor hitches. One is that though the oven is taller than many other pizza ovens, it's not quite tall enough for a calzone. I made a pretty small, flat calzone, but it was thick enough that the rolling flame caught the top and it briefly ignited, singing a burn mark across the top of the pie. It tasted great once I had scraped the char off, but it's a mark that the oven doesn't have a huge vertical capacity.

The taste was fantastic. Every ingredient in the calzone had cooked in a matter of seconds, making for an unguent, indulgent calzone. The only minor quibble is that there were a couple of patches in the crimping where the dough hadn't entirely cooked, but I attribute that more to my crimping the edges too thickly than to a fault of the over. All things considered, this was yet another test aced.

Test 7: Brownies

But we end on a slightly disappointing note - brownies were not successful in this pizza oven. We always test something sweet in pizza ovens, because an oven that can only handle savory dishes is pointless. I whipped up a quick box of brownie mix, put it in a greased tin, and let the oven do its thing.

Unfortunately, this was the only disappointment of the day. I kept the flame low and stood guard by the oven the whole time to turn the brownies and stop them from catching. But even with this vigilance the edges of the brownie caught, broiling the top. I took it out after the recommended time.

Yet while the thermometer and thermometer gun told me the air and stone temperature had been right for the whole cook, this brownie wasn't quite right. The top was burned, but there was a patch in the middle of the brownies that hadn't cooked.

When I put it back in to finish, it was still the same story. Even on its lowest burn, the flame burned the top of the brownie but didn't cook the interior. I think this oven is perfect for thinner doughs in pizzas, flatbreads, and calzones, but might struggle with thicker bakes. This is poor when you consider that other ovens - the Gozney Arc, for example - can cook desserts with ease.

Cleaning, storage, and maintenance

Cleaning this oven is pretty easy. To be fair, cleaning all pizza ovens is easy because you should only even brush the stone lightly and clean the inside with a microfibre cloth. That said, some readers will have noticed that I spilled some flour on the oven door that then baked on - but it was easy to remove the worst of it with a tiny amount of glass cleaner and a towel.

Maintenance is easy, too - there's basically nothing that needs to be done to this oven except to keep it out of the rain and keep the propane topped up.

The trickier issue is storage. This is one of the largest ovens I've tested, and it's particularly long, taking up the width of my entire garden table. It's also one of the heaviest ovens I've tried, weighing in at 59 lb. It's hardly earth-shattering weight, but it's awkward to move this thing around the yard.

How does it rate online?

The Karu 2 Pro has only been out for few days, so there aren't any reviews of it yet. I'll be sure to update this review in future when there's more consensus from every day users.

How does it compare?

I've compared the new Karu 2 to the original Karu 16, and you can see in the table below that it has a range of tiny improvements that put it above the Karu 16. The most notable is the grandly titled 'Digital Temperature Hub', a sleek LED update on the original digital readout. This is brighter and easier to read, and it also has a probe, which is particularly useful for cooking meat and ensuring that it reaches a safe internal temperature. It has a circle display with colors from green to red to let you know when the oven is hot enough for pizza.

The only downside to this display is that it can be hard to read through the glass door. At noon it was hard to see the temperature reading from the probe because the reflections in the glass obscured the display underneath, but this is a minor issue.

Apart from that, the differences are mostly size and weight. The Karu has slightly larger external dimensions (and I mean slightly, it's a 1% difference) but a much larger internal capacity, but at the same time cuts down on the weight of the original Karu 16, which is remarkable. These minor improvements make for a much better oven overall: it's faster, makes more pizza, and it's easier to use.

Should you buy it?

If you want a pizza oven, the Karu 2 is as good as it gets. It's fast, makes large pizzas, and excelled at almost everything I threw at it. It is the best pizza oven around, especially for the price, which is hundreds of dollars cheaper than equivalent ovens at Gozney. If you want the very best, this is the oven for you.

How we test

We put all pizza ovens through a battery of different tests. Firstly, we see how easy they are to assemble, and if there are any potential issues for those with mobility issues or disabilities. Next, we see how long it takes for the oven to warm up.

Then, we test every oven on a huge range of different dishes. We always make cheese and pepperoni pizzas, as well as sweet treats like brownies and more complicated meals like chicken.

For more detail, take a look at how we test.

Gozney has been at the forefront of making some of the top pizza ovens for years. Their ovens are fast, make delicious pizza, and look better than any other brand on the market. They're the perfect capstone to any outdoor kitchen setup.

However, even though Gozney produces some of the best pizza ovens, they will cost you more than almost any other brand. Their top-line oven, the original Dome, usually costs $2000, twice as much as the nearest competitor.

Last year, the best prices were on Black Friday, but there are still lots of other opportunities to buy the brand for less. Here's all you need to know about one of our favorite pizza ovens – and how you can game the system to get one for a discount.

Where to shop the best Gozney deals

Here are all the places you can buy deals from Gozney - as it stands, Gozney itself is the best place to buy one of these ovens.

• Gozney: 10-20% off every Gozney pizza oven, and free shipping when you spend over $50.
• Amazon: enjoy Prime delivery on a range of Gozney pizza ovens and accessories.
• The Home Depot: Shop the bestselling Gozney pizza ovens.
• Ace Hardware: Ace Rewards members get free assembly and delivery.

Our favorite Gozney pizza ovens

Below are the Gozney pizza ovens that we always look out for in the sales. They are products that have been tested, rated and come highly recommended by experts. The handy deal widgets will also tell you whether they are currently at a discounted price. You can read more about each product in our dedicated reviews, which we've highlighted on each product block.

When to shop for Gozney deals

Like many other brands and retailers, Gozney uses certain sale periods and key times of the year to release big discounts on their products. To help you shop at the right time of year, we've rounded up the key shopping dates below.

Amazon Prime Day

It's not always the case, but sometimes you can find Gozney ovens on sale for Amazon Prime Day. There are usually two Prime Day events a year. In 2024, the two sales fell on the 16th-17th of July and the 8th-9th of October.

Prime Day has huge discounts, but you need to be a member to take advantage. If you're a new user, you can get a 30-day free membership.

Gozney Summer Sale

Gozney doesn't run discounts on all the big sales weekends throughout the year, and their last Summer Sale only had two ovens on offer. We predict that the coming Black Friday will be the best time to buy a Gozney pizza oven, and you won't see better prices for the rest of the year.

Black Friday

Black Friday is the Friday straight after Thanksgiving. The day sees big discounts on a huge range of products, as retailers shift stock that didn't sell in the runup to Thanksgiving and try to jump-start Christmas shopping. The day has since turned into more than a week of discounts, with the following Monday nicknamed 'Cyber Monday' due to its particular focus on tech discounts.

This year, Black Friday will fall on November 28th, with Cyber Monday following on December 1st.

Historically, Black Friday is the best time to get a deal on a Gozney oven. Gozney's ovens just went on sale, as well as some of their pizza oven accessories. All of these ovens are discounted on Amazon, too.

Bear in mind that the prices won't drop much on the day itself, and stock may run out before then. If you want a good deal on a Gozney oven, it might be smart to buy it early in the month while the price is low and the stock is high.

How we source the top Gozney deals

For more information about how we test pizza ovens, take a look at our guide to how we test.

Here, we use our in-person tests of all these ovens to inform our recommendations, as well as factor in the price and percentage discount of a particular deal.

We keep an eye on all of the major retailers so that we can spot new Gozney deals. We also have sources in the company so we know ahead of time when deals will land.

FAQs

When is the best time of year for Gozney deals?

Black Friday is the best time of year for Gozney deals because it sees all of their ovens go on sale and bigger discounts than at any other time of the year. Last year, all the lowest prices fell during Black Friday.

Still not sure if a Gozney is for you?

Gozney ovens are some of the most expensive around, so it's smart to see if other brands offer better value. In our detailed breakdown of Ooni vs Gozney, we found that Ooni ovens are often cheaper and make better pizza, but they're boring black-and-gray designs that aren't as stylish as Gozney's.

It's also worth weighing up indoor pizza ovens. Gozney has yet to make an indoor pizza oven, so you can only use their ovens when the weather is good. If you live somewhere wintry or have limited outdoor space, it's worth considering one of these ovens.

There's nothing like a good pizza oven for feeding a crowd. These increasingly popular appliances are perfect for making party food.

However, pizza ovens aren't always ready to use out of the box. A handful of essential accessories make the whole experience a lot less stressful.

Years of testing the best pizza ovens have shown me that these products are all essentials for making the very best pizza. From a simple cleaning brush to a high-tech digital thermometer, these are the crucial tools every pizzaiolo should have on hand.

Essential pizza oven accessories

If you don't know what you're doing, pizza ovens are notoriously hard to clean. A dirty oven makes for bad pizza. Learning how to clean a pizza oven is a quick way to elevate your pizza skills.

There's nothing like homemade pizza. It's one of the most fun recipes to cook at home, especially with kids. It's an easy process, tastes great, and you can customize it in ways you'd never be able to in a restaurant.

However, the first pizza recipe you make at home is often a total mess. Even with the best pizza oven, if you don't know what you're doing what seems like a simple meal can quickly turn a kitchen into chaos. Think pizza sticking to the stone, cheese burned to a crisp, or dough that's barely cooked.

That's why I spoke to pizza chefs about the things they always do when making pizza - whether in their restaurant kitchens or in the comfort of their own homes. These 11 tips are the perfect way to step up your pizza game.

1. Know your dough hydration

Firstly, when you're preparing your dough, keep the dough hydration in mind. Dough hydration is the water ratio in your bread dough.

New York pizzaiolo Frank Kabatas says 'If you’re looking to make a New York-style pizza, you can use one and a half to two cups of flour, five grams of yeast, about one-half to three-quarter cups of water, a few teaspoons of salt, and one to three tablespoons of olive oil.'

However, the amount of water involved can change depending on the style of pizza - this is the dough hydration. Frank adds that 'Depending on the type of pizza you’re looking to make, the proportions of these ingredients differ. For example, a New York-style pie has a dough with 65% hydration, and a Neapolitan-style pie has around 85% hydration, which means that more water is being used in the dough.'

Pizza expert Gregorio Fierro adds that the temperature of your water is crucial, too. Gregorio advises that you keep your water temperature low. 'Work with cold water. The dough will get enough heat during the mixing process, You really don’t want the dough leaving your mixer much hotter than 75 or 76°F, so you want your water to be cold enough so that the heat generated by mixing will not push the dough too high.'

2. Mix your dough mechanically

If you can, it's best to mix the dough with a stand mixer than by hand. Pizza chef Jeremy Betlach says 'A home chef should either mix the dough by hand, which can be tedious, or use a stand mixer like a KitchenAid.' At the time of writing, our tests of the best stand mixers put the KitchenAid Artisan at the top, but the Cuisinart Precision, available at Amazon is cheaper actually slightly better for bread dough.

There are a couple of reasons to use a stand mixer. Gregorio Fierro says 'Mechanical mixing is essential in order to build gluten. Under mixed dough will not perform well.' You get much more thorough, effective kneading with a stand mixer, making for a more elastic dough that's easier to work with and tastes better.

On top of that, a stand mixer frees you up for other parts of the process, such as slicing and cooking toppings before they go on the pizza.

3. Let your dough rest

One of the simplest ways to improve your homemade pizza is to let the dough rest. Pizza expert Eidref Laxa says, 'time is an ingredient and is the key to developing good flavor during fermentation.'

How long is up to you. The professionals let their dough rest for a very long time. Jeremy Betlach says, 'Good dough takes time. At Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, we use large mixers to prepare an entire batch of dough and allow it to proof for at least 24 hours.'

Oakland pizza chef Sayed Seyar goes even further. 'At Pizza Ponte, we are committed to our 56-hour dough fermentation process. This ensures that the dough will crisp up perfectly on the outside while keeping a soft, chewy texture on the inside.'

However, you don't need to wait so long. The night before is great, a couple of hours is fine, and even if there's a short rest your pizza should still be fine. Sayed says, 'We always recommend letting your dough rest for at least 10 - 15 minutes before adding your toppings so the gluten relaxes, making it easier to stretch and shape the dough without it shrinking back.'

4. Use your hands, not a rolling pin

While mixing is best done by a machine, you should stretch out the pizza by hand. It takes more time, but it improves the flavor, especially if you want the puffy, bubbly crust of a true Neapolitan.

Sayed Seyar says, 'We do not recommend using a rolling pin as it can deflate the air bubbles. Instead, stretch it by hand to maintain its airy structure.'

5. Semolina or polenta on the peel

Whatever you do, make sure to put semolina, polenta, or flour on your pizza peel to make sure your pizza doesn't stick.

Pizza expert Hengam Stanfield says, 'I prefer using a blend of semolina and flour on my pizza peel. The semolina acts like tiny ball bearings, allowing the dough to slide off easily onto the stone.'

Chef Eidref Laxa agrees, telling me 'Semolina is a game-changer. Aside from helping the dough come off of the peel smoothly into your oven, it makes the pizza super crispy during the bake.'

Other chefs have slightly different recommendations. Gregorio Fierro says, 'The ideal medium for working with dough is neither semolina nor flour, You want to try and get your hands on fancy durum. Durum is basically just semolina ground to a finer texture.'

However, don't go rushing to the deli to bulk-buy semolina. Jeremy Betlach says, 'Semolina is a great option but can also be difficult for some people because of the gritty texture.'

Instead, Sayed Seyar says, 'We actually use regular, all-purpose flour when cooking our pizzas. All-purpose flour creates a softer dough with a chewier flavor, while still preventing the dough from sticking to the oven '

However, don't overdo it. Frank Kabatas says, 'It’s important to note that you shouldn't use too much flour during this process, otherwise it can leave an excess amount on the pizza after it’s finished cooking.' If you add too much, it can even be a fire hazard - flour or semolina left on a pizza stone can ignite.

6. Cook meat and mushroom toppings in advance

It's also a good idea to cook some toppings in advance - particularly meat and mushrooms.

Hengam says, 'I recommend cooking meat toppings before adding them to the pizza. At our pizzeria, we roast chicken breast and cook ground beef in-house, ensuring that these meats are fully cooked before the pizza hits the oven.' Thankfully, you don't need to do this with all meats. Hengam says, 'Cured meats like pepperoni are already pre-cooked.'

It;s also a good idea to cook watery ingredients like mushrooms beforehand. Eidref says 'I love roasting mushrooms in Corto olive oil with salt and pepper before baking them in a high-temperature oven. Mushrooms are so good at soaking in flavor but they also release water when baking. That moisture throws off the balance of the pizza which is why it is beneficial to pre-cook them.'

However, you don't need to cook everything in advance. Hengam says, 'I personally don’t cook vegetable toppings ahead of time before adding them to the pizza. This helps the veggies retain their texture and enhances their flavor as they roast directly on the pizza in the oven. Pre-cooking them would only expose them to more heat, causing them to lose both texture and color.'

7. Don't overdo the toppings

While we're on toppings, be careful not to overdo them. When cooing at home, it's tempting to experiment, loading up your pizza with generous amounts of toppings you'd never see in a restaurant. But while it seems delicious at the time, it could be making your pizza worse.

Sayed Seyar says, 'A common mistake I see all the time is adding too many toppings to your pizza. This can make the pizza soggy and difficult to cook evenly. Keep it simple for the best results.'

8. Keep the oven hot

Pizza needs a piping-hot oven. Domestic pizza ovens like those from Gozney and Ooni can reach blistering temperatures. If the conditions are right, domestic pizza ovens can sometimes be higher than 1000°F, just like a traditional brick oven. This high temperature is what crisps up the crust, and makes these ovens cook so quickly.

However, these temperatures are impossible in a kitchen oven, so all of the chefs I spoke to recommend setting the oven temperature as high as possible. Hengham Stanfield says, 'For home ovens, I recommend setting it as hot as it can go, typically around 500-550°F (260-290°C). You want that high heat to mimic the conditions of a professional pizza oven. Baking pizza at 450 to 500°F for 7 to 10 minutes is usually enough; just check the bottom of the pizza to ensure it’s as crispy as you like it.'

However, if you have a domestic pizza oven, you can play with the temperature a little. Sayed Sayar says, 'a frequent error people make when cooking pizza is not adjusting the cooking temperature to the dough's hydration level. High-hydration doughs, like those used for Neapolitan-style pizzas, need to be baked at very high temperatures to ensure rapid moisture evaporation, resulting in a crisp exterior and properly cooked interior. On the other hand, low-hydration doughs should be baked at lower temperatures to avoid burning the crust while still allowing the inside to cook thoroughly.'

Frank Kabatas gave an example. 'For reference, a Neapolitan-style pizza requires a hotter oven temperature, around 800 degrees Fahrenheit, since it has a faster cooking time of just a few minutes. On the other hand, a New York-style pizza needs to be cooked at around 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and requires a longer cooking time.'

9. Try a pizza stone - but be patient

If you don't have an outdoor pizza oven, you can mimic the effect by using an oven pizza stone like this NordicWare pizza stone at Amazon. It's exactly the same material as pizza stones in domestic ovens, and while it won't get as hot as a kitchen oven, it does a similar job.

However, if you use one of these in your oven just remember to take your time. Hengam Stanfield says, 'Your pizza stone needs time to get thoroughly heated. I’d recommend preheating the stone for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour before placing your pizza on it. This ensures that your crust gets the right amount of crispness on the bottom.

Sayed Sayar agrees, telling me 'It takes about 30 to 45 minutes for a pizza stone to reach the right temperature in a preheated oven. Patience is key. You want to ensure your stone is fully heated for optimal pizza baking.'

10. Try a pizza steel

Lots of experts also swear by pizza steels, like this pizza steel at Amazon. Eidref Laxa says, 'If you ask me, ditch the stone and get a baking steel. It will result in a beautifully cooked and crispy pizza, plus it gets way hotter than a stone resulting in the ability to cook multiple pizzas.'

Hengam Stanfield agrees. 'If you don’t have a pizza stone and want a simpler alternative, I highly recommend using aluminum pizza screens. They cost around $8 to $15, come in sizes like 10, 14, or 16 inches (perfect for most home ovens), and are dishwasher-safe. Simply place your pizza on the screen and put it in the oven - it’s easy to handle, cleanup is quick, and pizza screens are widely used in many pizzerias.'

On top of being dishwasher-safe, there's no risk of thermal shock with pizza steels. They won't crack if placed into a hot oven, so you don't need the 40-minute wait you need for a pizza stone.

11. Keep the crust thick

Because a kitchen oven is cooler than a domestic pizza oven or professional pizza oven, the crust won't crisp up the same way. In a hot 900°F+ oven, the crust instantly crisps, lifting away from the pizza stone, which ensures that your pizza doesn't stick to the surface. This means that you can get away with a very thin crust because the surface moisture on the base of the pizza instantly evaporates.

That isn't the case with a kitchen pizza. The temperature of the oven is half that of a dedicated pizza oven, so a thin crust won't instantly crisp up, making it more likely that the pizza will stick to the stone and be ruined.

Instead, Hengam Stanfield recommends, 'At home, I suggest rolling out your dough to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, depending on how you like it. If you prefer a New York-style pizza, go for thinner; if you like a more Neapolitan style, keep it a bit thicker so it has that beautiful puff and chew.'

If all of these steps seem a little overwhelming, it's worth considering if you should bother with a pizza oven. These get so hot that they overcome a lot of the difficulties with cooking pizza at home - but they're very expensive.

Ooni makes the best pizza ovens in the world. I've tested pizza ovens for years, and I've yet to find an oven that can beat this brand. They make faster, bigger, better-tasting pizzas than any other on the market.

However, the big problem with Ooni is that they're expensive. They can cost up to $1000, which is a lot of money to spend on a few pizzas.

While there aren't many deals at the moment, recent launches mean that older Ooni models are now much cheaper. This means you can buy an excellent pizza oven for hundreds of dollars less.

Where to buy Ooni

• Ooni: 20% off selected Ooni pizza ovens
• Amazon: enjoy Prime delivery on a range of Ooni pizza ovens and accessories.
• Best Buy: Same-day pickup on Ooni ovens and accessories
• Williams Sonoma: Free shipping on Ooni ovens

Our favorite Ooni pizza ovens

Below are the Ooni pizza ovens that we always look out for in the sales. They are products that have been tested, rated and come highly recommended by experts. The handy deal widgets will also tell you whether they are currently at a discounted price. You can read more about each product in our dedicated reviews, which we've highlighted on each product block.

When to buy an Ooni pizza oven

Like many other brands and retailers, Ooni uses certain sale periods and key times of the year to release big discounts on their products. To help you shop at the right time of year, we've rounded up the key shopping dates below.

Ooni Summer Sale

Ooni sometimes runs a summer sale, often just before the summer Prime Day. Last year, there was 20% off on selected Ooni ovens, though they weren't the lowest prices we've seen for these ovens.

Amazon Prime Day

It's not always the case, but sometimes you can find Ooni ovens on sale for Amazon Prime Day. There are usually two Prime Day events a year. In 2024, the two sales fell on the 16th-17th of July and the 8th-9th of October.

Prime Day has huge discounts, but you need to be a member to take advantage. If you're a new user, you can get a 30-day free membership.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving. Because retailers want to entice customers into starting their shopping for the holidays - and get rid of old stock to make way for new stock - they lower their prices.

This year, Black Friday will fall on November 28th, with Cyber Monday following on December 1st.

Historically, Black Friday is one of the best times to get a deal on an Ooni oven. Every year, we've seen hundreds of dollars off some of our favorite tested pizza ovens. Last year, we saw some of the biggest discounts I've ever seen on Ooni ovens. Stock of the Ooni Fyra 12 has sold out on Ooni's website, so you need to be fast on the day.

How we source the top Ooni deals

For more information about how we test pizza ovens, take a look at our guide to how we test.

Here, we use our in-person tests of all these ovens to inform our recommendations, as well as factor in the price and percentage discount of a particular deal.

We keep an eagle eye on all of the major retailers so that we can spot new Ooni deals, and we also have sources in the company, so we know ahead of time when deals will land.

FAQs

When is the best time to buy an Ooni?

The best time to buy an Ooni is usually Black Friday, though if you live somewhere cold you might not be able to use it over the winter. There are also good deals on offer during the Ooni Summer Sale.

Still not sure if an Ooni is for you?

Ooni makes great ovens, but it isn't the only manufacturer on the market. It's worth weighing up the two biggest brands - Ooni vs Gozney - before you take the plunge.

While Oonis are great, Gozney ovens are always more stylish, and sometimes a little faster and easier to use - the only downsides are that they're usually more expensive and they pizza doesn't taste as good.

If you're in the market for an indoor pizza oven, you only have two options: the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo and the Ooni Volt 12. No other indoor pizza oven on the market comes close to these two models. They've remained the only real options for several years.

However, if you're new to domestic pizza ovens, it can be hard to choose between the two. They look similar, perform the same task, and cost roughly the same.

I've tested lots of the best pizza ovens - in fact, the Breville was one of the first I tested years ago. After lots of tests, I've found that the Ooni Volt 12 makes better-tasting pizza than the Breville. However, the Ooni has several shortcomings - its price, size, and ease of use - which means the Breville can be a better option.

Which oven makes the best tasting pizza?

Winner: Ooni (just, and not for every type of pie)

Taste is hard to call because it's so subjective. However, when it comes to a classic pizza, the Ooni Volt does a better job. You can see in the images below that the pizza made in the Ooni had much better basics. The crust is crisper, and the cheese is golden. The sauce retains its moisture without becoming overly wet and soggy. The Breville oven is worse in all of these departments. The crust is slightly burnt, but still isn't as crisp the cheese isn't as well melted or browned, and the sauce is a little wetter than it should be.

However, the Breville has a significant advantage over the Ooni Volt in that it has dedicated settings for different types of pizza. While the Ooni is better at generic cheese pizzas, the Breville is designed to make lots of different styles of pizza and sort all the timing and temperature for you.

Which oven is easier to use?

Winner: Breville

The feature mentioned above makes the Breville oven much easier to use than the Ooni Volt 12. It offers dedicated settings for different styles of pizza, and it also has dedicated darkness settings, so not only can you tailor the pizza to a particular style, but you can also bake it exactly as you want.

This means that unlike the Ooni Volt 12, there's no learning curve. You can just set it to New York, for example, dial in your desired doneness, and cook.

However, there is a significant catch here, which is that the Ooni oven is better for making pizza in bulk. It has an excellent temperature boost function, which increases the temperature of the oven when its door is open. This means you don't have to wait a few minutes for the oven to get back up to temperature to make your pizza.

On top of that, the Ooni oven is faster than the Breville. On their highest, fastest settings, the Ooni Volt 12 is 30 seconds faster than the Breville oven, which is part of why it tastes a little better.

Which oven is cheaper?

Winner: Breville

For the last year, these ovens were the same price - $999 - but the Breville oven was recently reduced by $200 to $799. The Ooni Volt was also reduced to $899, but it's $100 more expensive than the Breville.

On top of that, the big issue with Ooni products is that they don't include vital equipment. Breville's oven comes with a pizza peel and pan, but Ooni's does not. A peel is essential because it's the tool you need to load the pizza into the oven. With Ooni, you have to pay an extra $10 for the peel. It's not exactly a financial hit, but it's $10 more than you have to pay for the Breville, which is already cheaper.

Which is best for storage?

Winner: Breville - unless you have outdoor space

The Breville Pizzaiolo is easiest to store because it's smaller than the Ooni Volt, which can totally dominate a countertop. The Ooni is also slightly too big for most kitchen base cabinets, so it can be trickier to store than the Breville oven.

That said, the Breville Oven is also huge; when I tested it for a different magazine a few years ago I found that took up almost an entire half of my countertop. However, it's a little smaller than the Ooni Volt 12, so it's a better choice for storage.

However, the Ooni Volt 12 is rated for outdoor use, which also means that it can be stored in outdoor buildings, or, in a pinch, under a cover outdoors, which isn't possible with the Breville oven.

Which is better looking?

Winner: Breville

I think the Breville oven is better looking than the Ooni. It's not the most exciting-looking oven in the world, but it's a neutral stainless steel appliance that won't look out of place in any kitchen. The Ooni, however, is a black monolith that's fine in modern, Scandinavian kitchens, but will look a little too sci-fi in more traditional homes.

Buy Ooni Volt 12 if...

• You want the very best pizza
• You want fast pizza
• You want to make lots of pizza

Buy Brevillie Smart Oven Pizzaiolo if...

• You want to save money
• You want easy pizza
• You have a smaller kitchen

However, these pizza ovens aren't your only choice. Indoor pizza ovens are notoriously poor compared to outdoor pizza ovens, so before you spend any money on these ovens it's worth weighing up indoor pizza ovens vs outdoor pizza ovens. Outdoor models are less convenient, but they taste much better.

Homemade pizza is at its best when cooked in a domestic pizza oven. These clever appliances mimic a traditional pizza oven, making for fast, authentic pizza that a frozen pizza thrown in your oven can't touch.

When you're shopping for a pizza oven you'll notice that they can be divided into two categories: indoor and outdoor. As the weather gets colder, it's smart to consider if an indoor pizza oven is the right way to go. After all, an indoor pizza oven can be used all year, not just in summer, and some of them can save storage.

However, before you spend hundreds on a new oven, there are a few drawbacks that even the best indoor pizza ovens can't overcome. As a pizza oven tester, I've tried plenty of both types, so I know exactly which oven is best for each home.

Which type of oven makes the best tasting pizza?

The most crucial problem is deciding which of the two makes the most delicious pizza. However, it's an easy answer.

Outdoor pizza ovens create a taste that is far superior to indoor pizza ovens. That's because the different fuel sources have a huge impact on taste. The rough rule is that wood-fired tastes best, followed by gas, distantly followed by electricity, which is the heat source in all indoor ovens.

Wood-fired ovens taste best because they impart a smoky flavor to pizzas that other fuel sources can't match. On top of that, wood ovens have flame rolling across the top of the oven to broil cheese. Altogether, this makes for perfect pizza. The best pizza ovens are all wood ovens because they're the closest thing to a traditional brick pizzeria oven.

Gas-fired ovens also have this flame rolling across the top of the oven, so they achieve similar results to wood ovens. However, they lack the smokiness of wood-fired pizzas. If you don't like the smell or taste of smoke, a gas oven could be for you, but many people find that they taste a little sterile by comparison. It's like the difference between a charcoal grill and a gas grill - there's ultimately not much difference, but the smokier option tastes slightly better.

Both gas and wood pizza ovens can reach high temperatures far above a domestic oven. Where a kitchen oven taps out at 500°F, gas or wood pizza ovens can reach 900-1100°F. This is what crisps the crust and metals the cheese, and it means that your pizza can be cooked in one or two minutes rather than ten.

Both types of outdoor oven can be augmented with a huge range of bonus features from steam injectors to keep thicker dishes like calzones from drying out, to skillets for searing meats. They offer much more versatility than electric pizza ovens.

That's because electric pizza ovens are just big toaster ovens. They cook with a huge electric filament. This doesn't have the smokiness of a wood-fired oven, nor the flame-cooking of a gas-fired oven. It makes for a similar pizza to those you'd make in a domestic oven, just with a slightly crisper base thanks to the pizza stone. If you want the very best-tasting pizza, you need a wood-fired pizza oven.

The fairest way to compare is to pit the best indoor pizza oven against the best outdoor pizza oven:

You can see in the table above that the Ooni Karu is a better pizza oven than the Breville Smart Oven. The Ooni cooks with more fuel types, makes larger pizzas - so you can feed more people - and makes them much faster. When we put the two to the test, we found that the Ooni Karu 16 makes much better-tasting pizzas, too.

However, there are a couple of things to recommend about the Breville oven. Its exterior is smaller, so it takes up less room, and while it's only electric it can be plugged into utility power and run straightaway, with no finicky propane hoses or wood pellets. It also has dedicated settings for different styles of pizza, making it easy to make a wide range of different pies.

Which type of oven is cheaper?

Pizza ovens are notoriously expensive, and many models cost more than $1000. However, indoor pizza ovens are more expensive. Indoor ovens like the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo and Ooni Volt 12 tend to cost around $800, depending on sales events. Comparable outdoor ovens like the Gozney Arc and the Ooni Koda 16 cost $700-$600.

If you need a budget pizza oven, I strongly recommend a cheap wood pizza oven. They can taste as good as ovens more than three times the price, and crucially, much better than the equivalent indoor pizza oven. For example, we can compare the Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven with one of my favorite pizza ovens, the Ooni Fyra:

You can see in the comparison table above that the Cuisinart pizza oven only wins in one category, its exterior dimensions. The Ooni Fyra has a larger cooking surface, cooks almost seven times faster, and best of all, tastes much better. The Ooni has a lower MSRP too, so it's unless there's a sale, it's also cheaper. If you have any outdoor space, a cheap outdoor pizza oven - even a cheap mass-market pizza oven like this from Walmart - will be a much better budget option.

Which oven is easier to use?

Indoor pizza ovens are much easier to use than most outdoor pizza ovens, and it's their only real benefit. They're easy to set up and use and you can cook whenever you want.

Firstly, indoor pizza ovens run on utility power, so they're very easy to set up. You don't need to worry about sourcing propane and filling up the tank, or fuss with hooking the gas tank up to the oven. You don't need to keep up a continual supply of wood pellets and learn how to light and stoke them. Just switch on the oven and you're good to go.

Indoor pizza ovens don't have as steep a learning curve as other types of pizza oven. Most indoor pizza ovens have programs for different types of pizza. This means you can set it and forget it; you don't need to monitor a temperature gun to work out the single degree Fahrenheit for your ideal New York slice. You can just launch the pizza into the oven and the temperature and timing are sorted for you.

Most importantly, you can use an indoor oven whenever you want. I've had some great times cooking in an outdoor pizza oven, but it gets harder as the weather gets colder. If you've ever used an outdoor pizza oven in winter, you'll know it can be miserable. It's harder to light the oven, it's harder to use with numb fingers, and in the winter months, you can't host. Your guests won't want to sit out in the cold while you fumble with a pizza. This isn't a problem with an indoor pizza oven, because you can use it whatever the weather.

Which is best for storage?

I think that outdoor pizza ovens are much easier to store than indoor pizza ovens. Indoor pizza ovens are often marketed as space-saving appliances, but my experience is that they take up a lot of room. In a large kitchen, that's fine, but most indoor pizza ovens take up at least a square foot. That's a lot of countertop real estate. I know from testing pizza ovens in my small apartment that an indoor pizza oven can take up half a countertop and an entire shelf in a kitchen cabinet.

Outdoor pizza ovens, however, can be stored outside under a cover, or in a garage or shed. While usually bigger, they're stored out of the way. If you keep a pizza oven in the kitchen, you'll have to navigate around it every time you open a cabinet.

Which is better looking?

Pizza ovens are big, expensive appliances, so they'll likely be on display in your kitchen or garden year-round. That means that appearance is much more important than people like to admit.

Indoor pizza ovens tend to look worse than outdoor ovens. Outdoor ovens are designed to be the focal point of a social space, or built into an outdoor kitchen. Indoor pizza ovens are kitchen appliances, designed to look neutral and inoffensive. However, this means that they're pretty boring. Indoor ovens are either stainless steel or black, and they don't do much to elevate the look of a room.

For an example, take the Ooni Volt and the original Gozney dome below. The Ooni is a pretty good oven, but being brutally honest it's not the best-looking appliance in the world. It's a pretty dull black and silver design that looks more like a UFO than a stylish part of your kitchen design. If your kitchen is anything other than Scandi minimalism, you might find this a little too workaday for your style.

The original Gozney Dome in olive, however, is a much more stylish appliance. It's colorful without being garish and can work with a wide range of garden styles from the traditional to the modern. It would look fantastic nestled into a corner of the patio, surrounded by handy kitchen herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme. Outdoor pizza ovens like this tend to come in many different colors, so you can tailor the oven to your style.

Pizza oven FAQs

Can an outdoor pizza oven be used indoors?

An outdoor pizza oven cannot be used indoors. Both gas and wood pizza ovens create smoke which can be toxic or a fire hazard when used indoors. The only exception is the Ooni Volt 12, the only oven rated to be used both inside and outside.

With the type of pizza oven nailed down, there are plenty of other things to consider before you buy a pizza oven. It's important to consider which is the best fuel for a pizza oven, or weigh up which of the two biggest brands is best between Ooni and Gozney.

Whatever you do, make sure to measure your space before you buy. Pizza ovens are surprisingly hefty appliances and need a lot of room, so make sure it will fit.

It's no secret that Ooni makes the best pizza ovens in the world. We've tried and tested them with various pizza recipes, for our shopping guides and have consistently given them five stars. However, the main issue with Ooni is that their ovens are very expensive. Spending $900 on a pizza oven is hard to justify, even if you're obsessed with pizza, like me.

That's why I wait for the Ooni sales to find the best deals. Summer is often one of the best times to shop the brand. Last year, the Ooni summer sales offered up to 30% off our favorite ovens, as well as 20% off accessories. Some bundle deals are live already, so I have dropped them below.

As soon as more deals land, I'll list the best prices from the Ooni summer sales below. I won't include everything (I don't think $2 off Ooni socks is essential), but otherwise, you'll find the lowest prices from the Ooni sales below. Plus, the best offerings from the rivals, like Gozney, too.

Ooni Summer Sales

Other pizza oven deals

Ooni sales FAQs

When is the Ooni summer sale?

Last year, the main Ooni summer sales ran from July 11th - 17th. This gives you around a week to choose which pizza oven you're going to go for.

Are other pizza oven brands running deals?

Yes, the Summer Special at Gozney has already kicked off with some really great discounts on their best-sellers, like the Roccbox and Dome S1 ovens.

For more savings on outdoor cooking, take a look at our guide to the best grill deals.

If you've just started looking into getting a pizza oven, or your curioristy has been piqued by the seasonal sales, you will probably have heard of Ooni. It's the biggest pizza oven brand on the planet, and its popularity shows no signs of waning. Lots of people use the brand's name as a synonym for the 'best pizza oven' – and it can be hard to compete with that.

However, Gozney has been in the game just as long, and while Ooni’s ovens are functional and efficient, they can sometimes feel utilitarian and industrial. Gozney, on the other hand, creates chic, minimalist ovens that elevate any outdoor kitchen, consistently topping our lists of the best Ooni alternatives.

I’ve spent the summer making pizzas and testing every oven I could get my hands on, building on the insights of lead outdoor product tester, Alex David. To make it easier to compare, we've created this guide that breaks down the two brands across four key areas: design, ease of use, taste test, and price (including the latest discounts).

Our final verdict? Ooni came out on top overall, but we think Gozney is worth considering if chic design or a more precise cooking experience matters to you.

At a glance

When considering Ooni vs Gozney, both ranges include models of all shapes and sizes, so the fairest comparison between the two brands is to assess their two top-rated, similar spec ovens – the Ooni Karu 2 Pro vs the Gozney Dome S1. On paper, they're very evenly matched. They both make exceptionally good pizza, and both use both wood and gas.

Both have digital and probe thermometers, and both can cook pizzas incredibly quickly. The only significant technical difference is that the Karu has a door. It's an obvious point, but this makes it much more heat-efficient and means that in the long run, it uses slightly less fuel. This latest Karu is also much deeper than the Gozney Dome, so it's better for large joints of meat. Overall, we felt that the Karu 2 Pro made slightly better pizza, with a better crust.

The only real difference between the two pizza ovens is price. The Gozney Dome is usually $1200 more expensive than the Ooni Karu and I don't think you get a better oven for your money. I've just laid out that these ovens have very similar features, so you're not paying for anything extra. The only improvement is that the Dome looks better, and I don't think good looks are worth $1200 extra.

Design

If you scroll the Ooni website, you'll see that their ovens have a more utilitarian design; they are boxy, angular, and often finished in black tones. The brand prioritizes functionality over style, which means they’re incredibly practical but can feel a bit industrial.

Gozney takes a very different approach. The brand's ovens have smooth, rounded edges and are available in a range of chic colors, instantly elevating the look of any patio. They are tactile, with sleek accessories and modern controls. If you're comparing Ooni vs Gozney on visuals, the latter looks much better in an outdoor kitchen by a long stretch.

Winner: Gozney

Ease of use

When it comes to ease of use for Ooni vs Gozney, each brand takes a slightly different approach to home pizza-making, and every model in their range is different. It's tricky to come down on either side, but here's our take.

Ooni ovens are all about speed and simplicity. For all the Ooni ovens we’ve tested, the setup has been easy. The ovens and accessories lift out of the box effortlessly, and often you'll find that the crucial parts are already assembled. For the Ooni Koda 2 I recently tested, I didn’t have to screw in the legs or wrestle with any complicated wiring – it was ready to fire up in seconds.

The Ooni instructions manuals tend to be clear and friendly; when I had a question about a propane tank, the customer service was incredibly prompt and helpful; they sent through lots of video links, which were fun and useful to watch.

Gozney takes a slightly more precision-oriented approach, aiming for more professional-level results. The Dome S1, for example, took us a little getting used to. The pizza oven took a while to ignite and we struggled to understand some of the instructions in the Gozney Dome S1 technical manual, but got there in the end through trial and error.

However, once you're all fired up and know what you're doing, Gozney's bonus features do make the experience more precise. Not all of Ooni's pizza ovens come with thermometers, but every Gozney has one as standard, which takes out some of the guesswork. Some Gozneys even have notifications to let you know when your oven has reached the right temperature.

Cleaning is just as simple as with both brands – brush the stone lightly and wipe the interior with a microfibre cloth. A cover keeps your pizza oven safe and dry from the elements.

Winner: Tie

Taste and cooking performance

Even after trying dozens of pizzas made across all different brands, we're yet to find an oven that can match Ooni for taste. When we tried blind taste tests for our best pizza oven guide, Ooni came out number one. I don't know if it's how their ovens are shaped, the thickness of the stone, or the efficiency of the heat source, but pizzas made in Oonis have the best crusts, perfectly melted cheese, and a delicious smokiness.

I also recently tried out Ooni's pre-made dough balls, which you can order from their site and they were absolutely fantastic; they are evenly sized, bake well, and tasted consistently great in the Ooni oven – better than our own homemade dough we used for testing, I have to admit.

That's not to say Gozney's pizza-making skills are terrible by any stretch of the imagination; the difference between Ooni vs Gozney are only noticeable when trying to find flaws. Gozney makes very, very good pizza, just not as crispy or evenly cooked. You'll see what I mean if you read our Gozney Tread review.

Winner: Ooni

Price: Which is best value?

Ooni wins on value. This comes with the significant caveat that their ovens are still expensive - our favorite is $799, and doesn't include essential items like a pizza peel - but they're often around $100 cheaper than equivalent ovens. It's hardly a bargain, but it could be a lot worse.

The Fyra 12 is the oven I recommend to the average user. It's cheap and you get all the fun of making homemade pizzas without spending a small fortune. Gozney's Roccbox is its cheapest offering after the Roccbox, but it's still hundreds of dollars more than the Fyra 12.

Winner: Ooni

Ooni vs Gozney: the bottom line

Ooni is the overall winner. To be brutally honest, I think Ooni is overpriced, but they're still much cheaper than Gozney alternatives. I also think Ooni pizza tastes slightly better, with better char, crust, and melted cheese, but the difference between the two brands is tiny. The design isn't as sleek or chic, but I can look past that for taste and value. If you do want something that looks great on a patio, I'd opt for a Gozney oven, but I think you'll be paying a premium for looks and little else.

Other brands worth looking at

If you love the idea of a pizza oven but find both Ooni and Gozney out of budget, there are some alternatives worth considering.

Solo Stove Pi Prime makes ovens that cost a bit less, while still turning out pizzas that rival the top models from Ooni and Gozney. It can run on both gas and wood, letting you choose between the ease of gas or the smoky flavor of wood-fired pizza. The pies we made on it tasted really nice, although we found the design a bit tricky at first – you can read our full Solo Stove review for all the pros and cons.

For indoor cooking, you could also consider one of the best indoor pizza ovens. Ooni leads here as well, but Breville and Cuisinart both offer strong, more affordable options – perfect if you’d rather save money and don’t mind skipping the outdoor setup. We've written a guide to the indoor vs outdoor pizza ovens to help you weigh up the decision.

FAQs

Is everything included in an Ooni or a Gozney?

No, not everything is included when you buy an Ooni or a Gozney pizza oven. My biggest pet peeve about these brands is that they don't include essential equipment as standard. With both brands, you'll have to pay extra for a pizza peel so that you can load your pizza into the oven.

When is the best time to buy a pizza oven?

The best time to buy a pizza oven is in the sales. Both Ooni and Gozney participate in Black Friday, but your next best chance is in the summer. There is no guarantee either company will run a sale, but in 2024 both ran discounts on some of their pizza ovens.

For more help with pizza ovens, check out our expert guide to how to clean a pizza oven, and what else you can cook in a pizza oven.

More From Homes & Gardens

Buying Guides

-Best Pizza Ovens
-Best Indoor Pizza Ovens
-Best Ooni Pizza Oven
-Best Ooni Alternatives

Reviews

-Ooni Karu 2 Pro Review
-Gozney Dome S1 Review

Advice

-Indoor Pizza Ovens vs. Outdoor Pizza Ovens
-Ooni vs. Solo Stove
-Gozney vs. Solo Stove

News

-First Look: Gozney Compact Arc Lite Outdoor Pizza Oven

We're heading into party season now, and there's nothing like homemade pizza to feed a crowd. If you're anything like me, you'll have bought the best pizza oven you can get.

However, mastering a pizza oven is another step entirely. Even once you've learned how to make your dough and sauce, and practiced launching your pie, it isn't immediately obvious how hot your oven should be.

I spoke to expert chefs – including a pizza champion – about the right temperature for your pizza oven. The experts gave me two simple rules. In a pizza oven, you should aim for about 800°F; in a kitchen oven, just crank the temperature up as high as it will go.

What's the best temperature for cooking with a pizza oven?

The chefs I spoke to said it depends on the style of pizza you're trying to cook. New York-style pizza - sugary, heavy dough rolled thin - and Neapolitan - lighter, puffy, crispy dough - need different temperatures.

World pizza champion Michael Vakneen recommends that New York-style pizzas need 550°F, and Neapolitan pizzas need between 775-800°F.

Chef Phillip Bollhoefer agreed and told me that the best temperature for pizza 'depends on the style of pizza you are cooking and the type of oven. For Neapolitan pizza, this temperature can range from 650°F to 900°F depending on the dough hydration.

Pizza chef Frank Kabatas gave me even more precise tips. 'For a dough with 65% hydration, which is typically used for NY-style pizza, you should aim for a minimum of 450°F. However, if your dough has 85% hydration, which is more typically used for a Neapolitan-style pizza, you should increase the temperature to 800-plus degrees Fahrenheit.'

What's the best temperature for making pizza in a kitchen oven?

If you don't own a pizza oven, you can still make pizza at home in a regular oven. Thankfully, the rule here is very easy to follow. You just need to get the oven as hot as you possibly can.

Michael Vakneen told me there's no real temperature for making pizza at home. His only advice? 'Crank it up all the way. Most home ovens max out at 500°F.'

Food blogger Aleka Shunk agrees, telling me that 'A kitchen oven cannot get that hot so cook your pizza on the highest temperature your oven will allow, ideally between 450-500°F'. 10 minutes should be enough to cook the pizza - just keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn.

If you want to get a little fancier, Phillip Bollhoefer suggests using a pizza stone at 500°F. You can get a pizza stone and peel set like this at Amazon for around $40. If you decide to use this method, Philip recommends that 'The pizza stone or cooking surface needs to be properly pre-heated in order to have a restaurant-style crust.'

What's the best temperature for deep dish?

Deep dish is a lot heavier and wetter than other styles of pizza, so it's about as low-and-slow as a pizza gets. Aleka Shunk told me that in an oven, '400-425°F will work well. Pizza ovens should be around 600-700 °F.'

Michael Vakneen suggests a similar temperature with a pizza oven, and told me that 575°F 'gets the bottom nice and crunchy.' He also says to 'use baking steel or stone so that the pizza gets a nice cook on the bottom.'

Chef Philip Bollhoefer roughly agrees, recommending '450°F with a pizza stone. Again, Philp recommends a stone because 'The heat transfer from the deck or pizza stone to the pan is extremely important for the crust to cook fully.'

Pizza oven FAQs

How long should I cook a pizza for?

It depends on the pizza style and topping, but a general rule of thumb is that a pizza in a pizza oven will take around a minute, and a pizza cooked in a regular kitchen oven needs around 10 minutes.

For more help with pizza ovens, take a look at my advice on how to clean a pizza oven.

Most pizza ovens I test need a lot of setup. I need to clear a space outside and organize some propane, or arrange wood pellets and logs for a fire. On top of all of this, they're usually around $800.

Not so with the Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven. This is the rare pizza oven for under $500, and it's electric, so it plugs straight into an outlet. If you want a pizza oven on a budget, this - hypothetically - is the oven for you.

I've tested plenty of the best pizza ovens over the years, so I know exactly what to look for in a good model. Unfortunately, I didn't find it with this. It's a good oven, but I'm not convinced that it's any different to a kitchen oven.

Product specifications

Unboxing

This oven arrived in a huge box which was almost too big for my countertop. There's no polystyrene, but there's some plastic wrapped around the oven.

This is a very big appliance. It's smaller than the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, but that's not saving very much. It's larger than any air fryer I've used and larger than a toaster oven, which is the closest direct comparison.

However, I was very happy to see all the extras that come with this pizza oven. It comes with a pizza peel, a pizza cutter, and a deep-dish pan. The biggest players in the pizza oven industry - Ooni and Gozney - don't include these essential accessories, so it was great to see them included in the box.

It's the easiest pizza oven to set up I've ever tested. You put the rack and pizza stone into the oven and you're ready to go. There's no gas or wood to connect and no steps to burn off plastic smells before you cook.

Test 1: Pepperoni pizza

With nothing else to do, I started the first test. I kneaded, rested, and stretched out the dough, added some tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella for a simple Neapolitan cheese pizza.

As I prepared the dough, I set the pizza oven to warm up, and this was my first indication that it wouldn't be the greatest pizza I've ever made. This oven can only reach around 750°F. That sounds incredibly hot when compared to the average American domestic oven, which tops out at about 450°F. However, top-line gas and wood-fired ovens usually reach around 950°F, more than double the temperature of this oven. The very best can be hotter than 1000°F. This means that they give a pizza a delicious, charred crust, and cook it in around a minute. This oven was starting from a much lower temperature, so I was immediately unconvinced.

The other thing I noted as I waited for the oven to hit the temperature is that it's relatively loud. It maxed out at 60 dB. It's like a cheap air fryer, or someone using a hairdryer in the next room. It's hardly deafening, but it's the loudest of these ovens that I've tested.

After 12 minutes the oven beeped to let me know that it was at temperature, so I loaded a pizza onto the handy folding pizza peel and launched it into the oven. There was a little sticking here. I had floured the peel and the base of the pizza, but the peel had some holes in it which caught a little on the dough.

As I predicted, this oven was slow. Previous experience had me twitching to turn the pizza after half a minute, but it had barely changed color. After the typical one-minute mark, I was ready to take the pizza out, but again, it had barely started cooking. The crust puffed up at around the three-minute mark (it should do this almost instantly) and the pizza was ready in around 6 minutes.

The pizza lifted easily from the stone, which was a relief; I had worried that the cooler cooking temperature wouldn't be enough to separate the crust from the stone. The slicer was a lot of fun to use, too - unlike a pizza wheel, it's a mezzaluna, a long blade that had the pizza cut into perfect slices in seconds.

The pizza itself was a little disappointing. To paraphrase the saying, it's pizza - even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. It tasted like a frozen pizza: the dough was a little undercooked, the cheese was a little overcooked, but the crust was fairly good. However, I couldn't get past the fact that I would've had the same result from baking the pizza in my oven. It seems like a waste of $400 to buy a separate oven that's slightly harder to use for basically the same result.

Test 2: Cheese pizza

To ensure the problem wasn't user error, I tried a simple cheese pizza. I rolled the dough out to be a lot thinner, and I hoped that the dough would be less soggy without the grease from the pepperoni.

I found that this made some difference, but not much. It cooked faster, but I left it in longer just to be sure. This meant that the cooking time was around 7 minutes.

The result was fine, but again, it was not all that different from just cooking it in the oven. The dough was better cooked this time round, but still relatively soft. It has all the fun of using a pizza oven, but none of the results.

Test 3: Brownies

We always test pizza ovens at how well they can cook other dishes, and this Cuisinart oven is no exception. I had some ready-made brownie mix on hand, so I combined it together and poured it into the deep dish pan.

After 20 minutes I had brownies - sort of. The brownies were well-cooked at the back, but I noticed a distinct cool patch all along the front of the pan, which was uncooked. This is pretty worrying, as the mix was only an inch thick, which doesn't bode well for thicker bakes.

This is a worse result than the other tests. In the other tests, I could've achieved the same result in an oven. In this test, I had slower, worse result than if I'd just cooked them in an oven.

Cleaning, storage, and maintenance

Having said all this, this pizza oven was easy to clean. It was simple to brush the worst of the soot from the pizza stone, and I could quickly wash the pizza peel and deep dish pan in the kitchen sink. The latter is nonstick, which made it even easier.

Storage, however, is a bigger issue. It's a very big appliance, and I don't have anywhere in the apartment to store it. It would have to sit on my countertop year-round, and it takes up about half of the space. That's a lot of room to give up for an appliance that's pretty niche.

How does it rate online?

I found an interesting mix of reviews online. Most other professional reviewers have found that it's far from the quality of other pizza ovens, and not much different from baking in an oven.

However, lots of other users on Amazon and other retailer websites love it. They like the pizza it makes, and like that it's cheaper than lots of other pizza ovens. They also like that it runs off electricity instead of gas or wood, which can be expensive, and impossible if you lack outdoor space.

However, lots of others agree with me that it's not much different from an oven. Others found it too large or took a while to cook. It's not a problem I have, perhaps because I was running it off a 230V outlet, but others found that it takes around half an hour to reach temperature.

How does it compare?

The fairest comparison is to the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, another indoor pizza oven. The Cuisinart has one clear advantage over the Breville: price. This oven is usually $600 cheaper than Breville's oven, so if you want indoor pizza on a budget you'd be hard-pressed to beat this on price.

However, the benefits end there. The Breville makes larger pizzas, gets much hotter and cooks faster, and has a dedicated mode for cooking different styles of pizza. While I think gas or wood tastes a little better, the pizza you can make in the Breville Oven is far better than the pizza in the Cuisinart.

Another option is the Ooni Volt 12, which is similarly better at making pizza than the Cuisinart and can also be used outdoors.

Unfortunately, I think this oven is far from the standards of gas or wood-fired ovens. These ovens cook faster and give pizzas delicious leopard spots. Wood-fired ovens in particular impart deep, smoky flavor. This Cuisinart oven is far off the flavor you can get from an Ooni Fyra 12, for instance.

However, I think a better comparison would be to something like the Breville Smart Oven. This is a little toaster oven with an air fryer mode, and I think you'd be better off with this. It has a pizza mode which does a similar job to this oven, but takes up less room and has more functionality. You'd also be better off Cuisinart's own TOA-60 toaster oven. It's not great, but you can cook more with it.

Should you buy it?

I don't think you should buy this oven. In its defense, it's just as much fun as any other pizza oven I've used. However, I could've had as much enjoyment out of doing all the same steps with my usual kitchen oven, and I would've made a very similar pizza.

How we test

We test all our pizza ovens on a wide range of different pizzas and recipes. We time how long it takes them to warm up and cook, measure how loud they are, and double-check all the measures. We then assess the taste of all the pizzas and judge this against the price of pizza to see If it's good value.

Pizza ovens continue to take the appliance market by storm, as more and more of us start to cook delicious, authentic pizzas in our backyards. 

But the one thing that has always stood out in my quest to find the best pizza oven is the eye-watering price. All the bells and whistles of our favorite pizza oven cost about $1200 put aside, which is a lot to spend on some pizza. 

After years of testing pizza ovens, I have a good sense of how much you should spend. This is exactly how much you spend on every type of pizza oven so you aren't overcharged.  

How much should I spend on a wood-fired pizza oven?

Never overspend on a wood-fired pizza oven. These are very simple appliances, and while they're often listed for hundreds of dollars, you should never spend more than $350 dollars. This is true across sizes; from 12" to 16", anything above $350 is too expensive. 

The exception here is if you want a huge oven for an outdoor kitchen. Manufacturers like Alfa make huge ovens from 23" to 39". For example, check out the Alfa Allegro at BBQ Guys, a huge 39" oven that costs more than $4000. These cost well into the thousands, and you should only consider this if you have a huge budget, regularly feed a crowd, or have a lot of space for an outdoor kitchen. 

How much should I spend on a gas pizza oven?

Gas pizza ovens are a little more complicated because the price varies between sizes. From my experience, $400 is the hard limit for 12" ovens - any more and you're overpaying. Look to spend no more than $600 for a 14"-16" pizza oven and you won't be overcharged.

Again, the truly massive pizza ovens will start costing you into the thousands, but I advise against these. They're fun, and they look incredible in an outdoor kitchen, but it's overkill for almost any family and you're paying a premium for a few extra inches of room. 

How much should I spend on a combo?

Combos are where things get a lot more complicated. My fellow product tester Emilia Hitching says that 'combination ovens can run off both gas and wood pellets, which is a great feature; you have the convenience of gas if you just want a quick pizza after work but the more complex flavor of wood smoke if you want to impress your guests.'

I think $500 is a good price for a small 12" combo pizza oven. Unfortunately, this type of oven has a big jump up in price between sizes, because these tend to be flagship models with fancy digital thermometers and glass doors. Because of the extra tech, expect to spend around $1000-$1500 for a full-size 16" combination gas and wood pellet oven. 

How much should I spend on an indoor pizza oven?

My honest advice is that you shouldn't buy an indoor pizza oven. You'll see lots of cheap countertop ovens like this advertised on Amazon, but my experience tells me that they're a bad idea. They're cheap, and I'm sure some of them work fine, but they're ultimately no different to an air fryer or an oven, which totally defeats the point of using a pizza oven. 

Unfortunately, I also think that indoor ovens from large manufacturers aren't worth buying. Don't get me wrong, they can be great; the Ooni Volt 12, available at Ooni, is packed with intriguing features, and the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, available at QVC,  has dedicated settings to help you cook different styles of pizza. However, the point of a pizza oven is that it cooks a pizza with flame in a way that the usual kitchen oven can't match. While I've made some good pizza with indoor ovens over the years, it's not much different from baking a pizza in an oven. 

If you are tight for space and still interested in an indoor oven, I wouldn't spend more than $350. I recommend this Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven, available at Cuisinart. I'm partway through testing it, but it's about as good as the Ooni and the Breville, despite being hundreds of dollars cheaper. 

How much should I spend on a grill-top pizza oven?

Again, my honest advice is to steer clear of these ovens. I covered this when I dove into the debate between pizza ovens vs grill-top pizza ovens, but grill-top ovens aren't true pizza ovens. 

They're heated from the bottom and don't cook with flames, so not only are they no different from using an oven, but actually worse, because it's hard to cook the top of the pizza. If you still think it's worth considering, I recommend that you spend no more than $150. 

How much should I spend if I'm on a budget?

If money is tight, you need a cheap wood-burning pizza oven. Wood burners are cheaper than gas ovens because they don't have gas pipes or gas connectors. You don't need a fancy brand, either. They're definitely better - my favorite is the Ooni Fyra 12 - but places like Amazon have some gems that won't break the bank. If the $350 Ooni is too steep, my best advice is to grab an oven like this Aidpiza oven from  Amazon.

In full transparency, I haven't tested that particular model, but I've tested lots of similar Chinese-made ovens from Amazon which have since been discontinued. None are as good as a fancier oven from Ooni, but all cook delicious, smoky pizza. They all make better pizza than you'd make in a kitchen oven. 

The only drawbacks are that these ovens don't have customer service, so you're in trouble if anything goes wrong. It may not be the case for the oven above, but lots of the cheaper ovens I've tested from Amazon have slightly sketchy safety features, like poorly-balanced doors and insufficient heatproofing. However, they make excellent pizza. 

FAQs

What's a good warranty for a pizza oven?

A good warranty for a pizza oven is around 5 years. However, make sure to check the fine print, because sometimes this warranty only applies to the pizza stone, not the whole pizza oven. 

If you want to know even more, the team and I have covered the best wood for a pizza oven and how to light a pizza oven.

As the hot weather returns, we're seeing lots of new domestic pizza ovens. Big brands and new, upstart players are all competing for a slice of the market, and I'm seeing new innovations every week.

However, even the best pizza ovens are very expensive. When a good oven costs more than $700, it's wise to mull over the merits of a pizza oven vs a regular oven. If you can make a decent pizza in your oven at home, why bother with a different appliance?

I'm a professional product tester and I worked on outdoor appliances for years. I've seen lots of pizza ovens up close, so I know all the benefits and drawbacks. Better yet, I chatted to a chef about whether or not a backyard pizza oven really makes a difference. 

What's the point of a pizza oven?

The point of a domestic pizza oven is to replicate a traditional brick oven. Unlike a normal oven, a pizza oven reaches incredibly hot temperatures. This means that the pizzas cook incredibly quickly, usually under two minutes. 

Most pizza ovens use open flames, which gives the crust distinctive leopard spots of delicious, smoky char. It makes for a restaurant-quality pizza that tastes much better than a pizza from a normal kitchen oven. 

Which is cheaper to run?

A standard domestic oven is by far the cheaper option. You only need to pay your regular gas or electric bill. Cooking pizza won't make any more of a dent in your monthly payments than any other type of food. Unless you're buying a new oven, you don't need to spend any money to make homemade pizza in a domestic oven. 

This isn't the case for pizza ovens. These are expensive. Doing some back-of-a-napkin math, the average price for a pizza oven across the three biggest brands in the US (Ooni, Gozney, and Breville) is $795. 

That's a lot to spend on pizza, and worst of all, it doesn't even include essential accessories like a pizza peel or thermometer. Add in fuel on top of the extras and you're looking at around $1000 before you've even baked a pie. The running costs for years of use mount up too, because you need to buy replacement gas or wood pellets. 

Which is fastest?

Pizza ovens are a lot faster than regular ovens. Chef Serge Krikorian told me that 'most home ovens max out at around 500°F', which is half the temperature a domestic pizza oven can reach. I've seen pizza ovens reach more than 950°F, and some claim to max out at 1100°F. That sort of heat will turn raw dough into a perfectly cooked pizza in less than a minute. 

A regular oven, on the other hand, will probably take around 12 minutes to cook a pizza. It's hardly a long wait, but a proper pizza oven is 12 times faster. This is what contributes to the delicious flavor of pizzas cooked in a pizza oven. 

Chef Krikorian told me that 'The shorter cooking time helps retain the freshness of the toppings and maintain a crisp crust.'  Where an oven will bake everything, losing some moisture from vegetables, a pizza oven will give them a delicious char while maintaining bright, light freshness. 

Which is easiest to use?

An oven is much easier to use than a pizza oven. You just switch it on and wait for it to heat up: that's it. The only type of pizza oven this is true for is an electric pizza oven, but to be honest there's very little difference between an electric pizza oven and a normal oven. I'm in the middle of testing Cuisinart's electric pizza oven, available at QVC, and while it's cheap and fun to use, it doesn't taste any different from a pizza cooked in a standard domestic oven.

A gas pizza oven is more straightforward because technically all you need to do is hook up a tank of propane. However, that then introduces all the issues of propane - how to store it safely, the errand of refilling the tank, and the ongoing cost of the gas. 

The hardest oven of all to use is a wood-fired pizza oven. These taste better than anything else, but you need to master setting fire to your pellets or kindling and then maintaining the temperature. Like propane, wood or pellets is an ongoing cost. 

Which is most versatile?

Ovens are more versatile than pizza ovens, but pizza ovens aren't one-trick ponies. We've used pizza ovens to cook chicken, peppers, lamb, and even sweet treats like brownies. Hypothetically, anything you cook in an oven can be cooked in a pizza oven, but the limiting factor is time and size. 

It would take a lot of kindling or pellets to keep the average pizza oven at roasting temperature for hours. What's more most pizza ovens have a small opening that won't fit a whole chicken or tenderloin. The smokiness is nice for some desserts, but too savory for some. On top of that, most pizza pizza ovens can only be used outside, so if you live somewhere cold, it will be out of action for a few months of the year. 

Buy a pizza oven if...

• You want the best tasting pizza possible 
• You love to host pizza parties

Stick to an oven if....

• You're on a budget
• You don't have room outdoors

FAQs

What's the cheapest type of pizza oven?

The cheapest type of pizza oven is a wood-fired pizza oven, which usually cost between $200-400. 

I've tested a lot of pizza ovens over the years, and the team and I have put out plenty of coverage from how to light a pizza oven to the best wood for a pizza oven.

It's almost unquestioned that Ooni makes the best pizza ovens around. I've tried several models and they all deliver top-quality pizza. There's a reason Ooni takes up two of the top three spots in my guide to the best pizza ovens. However, there are a couple of big drawbacks to the brand.

Ooni ovens are incredibly expensive; their costliest is more than $800. Unlike lots of other brands, their ovens don't include essentials like a pizza peel and pizza cutter. You have to pay extra for accessories, so if you want our favorite ever pizza oven, the Ooni Karu 16, be prepared to spend more than $1300.

That's why I've brought together a list of the best Ooni alternatives. If you want to save a little money, you'll find some good options here, as well as some top-line models that don't get quite the same attention as the big brand. I've been a product tester for years and examined plenty of the best pizza ovens. I've after taking into account cook time, ease of assembly, price, and the all-important taste test, these are the best Ooni alternatives.

The quick list

We'll dig into the specifics further down. For now, these are all the best pizza ovens at a glance.

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Best Ooni alternatives 2026

Best budget pizza oven

Solo Stove's Pi Pizza oven is one of the cheapest we've tested, but it stands up to Ooni ovens nearly three times the price. It's a great option for beginners, too, because it has an obvious but incredibly helpful feature. There's a guard at the back of the oven which will stop you throwing your pizza into the flames. This means that even a total novice can make a good pizza.

It runs on both gas and wood, so you can switch between convenient gas and authentic, smoky wood. The pizzas we made on this tasted incredible and are comparable to those we've tried in Oonis.

However, it can be a little complicated. If you're cooking with wood, you need to use wood exactly one inch wide, and five inches long. You'll also need a small fire starter to start the flames. It's also tricky to top up your fuel once the fire is going.

While a compact oven is great, the Pi makes pretty small pizzas. We found that we could only really make 10" pizzas, which is fine for single portions but small if you're making a lot of pizzas to feed a crowd.

You can find more details in our Solo Stove Pi Pizza Oven review.

Best gas

The Gozney Arc had some incredibly high praise from our tester, Laura. She used to work at a pizza place and has made thousands of pizzas, but thinks this oven helped her make better pizzas than any of them.

Unlike the larger Gozney domes, this oven has a small footprint and a sleek profile that's great for smaller homes. However, it still fits a 14" pizza, so it's great for bigger portions and feeding a crowd.

It makes delicious pizza, a pretty good calozone, and it also excelled in our more left-field tests, making excellent roast peppers, chicken, and even a brownie.

The drawback is that it only runs on gas, so you won't get the full smokiness of a wood-fired oven. Like Ooni ovens, it can be expensive to buy all of the add-ons.

There's more detail in our full Gozney Arc review

Best indoor pizza oven

Pizza ovens are usually restricted to outdoor cooking, so we were pleased to see Breville's Pizzaiolo come onto the market. This oven is rated for indoor use, so it's worth considering if you live in an apartment and want homemade pizza.

I've had a look at this oven a few times and by far my favorite feature is the dedicated pizza settings. Unlike other pizza ovens that take a little mastery, this has a simple dial that will set your oven to the precise temperature of a wide range of different pizza styles.

However, this oven is fuelled by electricity, which means it can't replicate the flavor of a gas-fired oven, and even further away from the smokiness of a wood-fired oven. It's also one of the most expensive ovens out there; even combination gas and wood ovens don't cost so much.

You can find more details in our Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo review.

Best-looking pizza oven

The S1 is an update to the original Gozney Dome; unlike the original, it's a little smaller and only runs on gas. However, the idea is that the S1 is cheaper than its predecessor. That sounds like a bargain, but it's still around $1500, so it's not the cheapest.

It turns out huge 16" pizzas in under two minutes, but our tester found that you can easily fit two 8" pizzas, which is good if you want to turn out a lot of pizza relatively quickly. Unlike a wood-fired oven, it's incredibly easy to control and maintain temperature. This made for delicious pizzas and a fantastic calzone.

However, it's very expensive, and the starting price is higher than most Ooni ovens. Like Ooni products, you have to spend extra to get vital equipment like a pizza peel.

There are more details in our Gozney Dome S1 review.

Fastest pizza oven

The Roccbox is Gozney's most affordable oven, usually coming in at around $500. Unlike other ovens, it also includes an essential pizza peel. It hits 950°F, among the highest temperatures on the test. It also means that the Roccbox cooks the fastest of any oven on the test, finishing a pizza in little over a minute. What's more, all the pizza we made was delicious, with great leopard-spotting.

A friend of mine happens to have one of these and I was over the other week. It made an incredible flatbread, and it's also great for a delicious pizza bianca with goat's cheese.

The marketing materials for this claim that it's a 'portable' oven, and that's not exactly true. It's easier to move around the yard than other pizza ovens I've seen, but you can't exactly take it to work. We also found the wood hopper a little lacking, and it can't match the blistering temperatures of gas.

You can find more detail in our Gozney Roccbox review.

Best large pizza oven

If you want a truly authentic pizza, the Alfa Nano is probably as close as you can get without building your own clay or brick oven. It has a huge capacity which can hold two pizzas at once. There are other, even bigger models - I'm thinking of the Alfa Moderno, available at BBQ Guys - but it's very expensive.

It makes delicious pizzas, but like other wood-fired ovens, it takes a little time to master. That said, our tester achieved a fantastic crust and well-cooked toppings.

It might be called the 'nano', but if you have a small yard, this is definitely overkill. It's also very simple for such an expensive oven, lacking a digital thermometer or any bonus features.

You can find more details in our ALFA Nano Pizza Oven review.

How we test

We tested these pizza ovens on a huge range of pizza styles. We've tried traditional Neapolitan pizzas, New York style, Chicago deep dish, and calzone. We've also tested the ovens on a range of different breads, including garlic bread, focaccia, and naan.

We then pushed these ovens beyond just dough. We've roasted chicken, lamb, and a wide range of vegetables to test their versatility. We've even tested sweet treats like brownies.

In every test, we timed how long it took each oven to reach temperature and cook a pizza so that we could assess their energy efficiency, as well as the ease of ignition.

As we cook, we pay close attention to the appearance of each oven to see which spaces it will suit. We also consider the boring but essential details like assembly, storage, and maneuverability. We evaluate all of this against price and warranty, to make absolutely sure that the ovens we recommend are the best value for money.

You can find more information on our testing process in our How We Test guide.

Meet the team

FAQs

What's the cheapest Ooni?

The cheapest Ooni is also my favorite: the Ooni Fyra, available at Ooni. It costs $349, though that doesn't include a pizza peel or slicer.

Final thoughts

If you're just starting out with a pizza oven, it's worth learning how to light a pizza oven. If you have a wood-burning oven, it's important to invest in the best wood for a pizza oven.

These alternatives are good options, but for my money, Ooni still makes many of the best pizza ovens on the market. If you know you want an Ooni, take a look at my dive in to the best Ooni pizza ovens.

Oprah's Favorite Things have landed, bringing you the rundown on a wide range of gifts from one of America's best-loved public figures. There's a little something for everyone this year, but I was especially pleased to see one of the best pizza ovens you can buy make the cut. 

This year, Oprah recommends the Ooni Volt 12, which we loved when we put it to the test. It's the only pizza oven in the world that works both indoors and outdoors, and we found it makes fast, delicious pizza that's pretty close to restaurant-quality. 

However, while we loved the taste, this is one of the most expensive pizza ovens on the market. It'll cost you a thousand dollars, which is why we had to see if it lives up to the hype. 

The short answer is that if you have the money to spend, it's definitely worth it, but if you don't have a thousand dollars lying spare, there are other contenders for the best pizza oven to consider. That's if you even want a pizza oven - there are some other picks from Oprah's Favorite Things that won't break the bank.

What are Oprah's favorite things?

Oprah's Favorite Things are exactly as they sound. It's a list of all the products Oprah and her team have loved that year. There are big companies like Ooni on the list but also a range of smaller producers too, and lots of the businesses are BIPOC, women, and veteran-owned. It's a pretty varied list - there's everything from headwraps  to bubble bath to cheese. All of the products are available on Amazon, but you can go direct to the retailers too if you'd prefer to shop directly. 

This year, there's a purple theme, a nod to Oprah's Oscar-nominated role in The Color Purple, the 1985 film adaptation of the novel by Alice Walker. However, Oprah is also producing a movie version of the musical, which releases on Christmas Day this year. With this in mind, some of Orpah's favorite things are gift tickets to the film and a coffee-table book, Purple Rising, about the history of the novel and its adaptations.

We love a few things on here. There's the Purple Love luxury candle from one of our favorite tried-and-tested chandlers, the Harlem Candle Co., and the Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Electric Kettle, loved by our resident barista Laura for making pour-over. There's plenty in the list for everyone, and while we're particularly pleased to see the Volt 12 get the nod, you should bear in mind that it's very expensive.

The Ooni Volt 12

Oprah is right to include the Bolt 12 in her list of favorite things. It's a world first and so far the only pizza oven that's safe to use both indoors and outdoors. That's a huge step. Until now, the choice was gas or wood pellet outdoor ovens, which are no fun to use as the winter draws in and the weather gets colder. The other option was a handful of indoor electric pizza ovens. These don't quite make the same smoky flavor, and it can be annoying to ferry pizzas from the kitchen to your yard if you're hosting a party in the summer. This oven offers the best of both. 

On test, we found it really easy to use. You just plug it into an outlet and you're ready to cook. It reaches temperature in about 15 minutes, and it has a brilliant 'boost' button. A common complaint with pizza ovens is that they lose heat when you open the door to remove a pizza, slowing down the pizza party. This oven doesn't have that problem. Hitting 'boost' ramps up the heat, so you can turn out pie after pie. 

While Oprah says it makes pizza 'worthy of the Old Country', it's missing a little of the authentic Neapolitan flavor of wood or gas ovens. It emulates a little of the leopard spotting but it's not quite the same, and it's certainly missing the crucial smokiness. However, the cordierite baking stone means that it's far closer to the real thing than slinging a frozen pizza in a regular old induction oven.

However, the big catch with this pizza oven is the cost. It will cost you $999, which is a lot of money for a pizza. To be fair, the competition is similarly priced - a Breville Pizzaiolo indoor pizza oven, available at QVC, also costs $999. Nevertheless, a grand is a lot to spend on anything, let alone a pizza oven. Sure, you can use it for other things. On test, we turned out some pretty good roasted vegetables and chicken thighs in similar Ooni products. Yet however you cut it, that's a lot of money to spend on pizza oven. 

Another issue is that while it's a unique indoor/outdoor oven, it's not easy to move or store. It takes up more than three feet square, so you need to devote some countertop space or store it in a cupboard or garage. Weighing in at nearly 40 lbs, you might find it a little unwieldy when it comes time to move it between indoors and outdoors. 

There's more detail in our full Ooni Volt 12 review.

Is there anything better?

At these prices, you maty be wondering if there is anything better than Oprah's pick. These are our favorites after rounds of testing. 

FAQs

Oprah's Favorite things are all well and good but we're starting to see some big discounts at major retailers ahead of Black Friday, too. Amazon hasn't officially announced anything, but there's still some deals if you know where to look, and I've found that Best Buy, QVC and Walmart have cut already hundreds of dollars off some of my favorite tested brands like KitchenAid, Shark, Ninja, and Dyson. If you're already Christmas shopping, you might be better off shopping around. 

The first Woody Pizza Oven Kit landed on the scene in the summer of 2021. Pizza-loving friends James and John saw the popularity of other well-known ovens while people were spending more time at home — but spotted a problem. A lot of the best home pizza ovens were very expensive. Even if you splashed the cash, you didn't get everything you needed to be able to make pizza right away, often having to add peels and more at checkout to be ready to cook.

Their aim was simple: offer a complete pizza oven kit at an affordable price point. When we tested the first Woody for our sister titles, we were pleased with the results, but the team knew they could improve the product. 

Since the first oven, they have tweaked it to have better heat retention in the body and door; a stone that sits flush with the oven floor offering more cooking height; and added a gas attachment option for those who find woodfired ovens hard to use.

When we were given the chance to re-test the oven, in its new, improved form, we were keen. Find out if this affordable pizza oven passes the much revered Homes & Gardens quality standards, and whether it is the right one for you.

Product specification

Unboxing the Woody Oven

When you purchase the Woody Pizza Oven Kit, all you need to buy is fuel to get started. The box contains the oven, a cover (which doubles as a carry case), and a peel for sliding your pizza in and out with ease. This is why they advertise themselves as a kit, because the peel and cover are not included with many other pizza oven brands.

There is an upgrade price to add a gas attachment to your oven, which makes it super versatile. You can also buy wood pellets, kindling and natural firelighters on the Woody site. They sent me these with my kit for review, as well as their handy digital thermometer — again, that can be picked up on their online store.

I have built this Woody's predecessors, so setup was pretty easy for me. Luckily, even if you aren't an old hand at building pizza ovens, there is a leaflet in the box with a QR code to scan to find the guides online. You will see a mix of written instructions and videos, so everything was really accessible. The kit also includes all of the tools you need (a small wrench and two hex keys), apart from a crosshead screwdriver which is required for securing the gas hose if you went for the gas option.

The instructions are thorough, but those using gas might be a bit confused when they have to follow the woodfired setup first. This is because the setup is the same, until you get to the point where you remove the hopper and fire tray to fit the gas attachment. This is still relatively straightforward, but I advise reading through the whole process to see where you need to remove the hopper from to attach a blanking plate for gas.

The basic build takes about 10 minutes, with the most time-consuming part being fitting handles to the door, hopper and peel, and screwing the thermometer into place. Other testers have remarked they found it a bit hard to work out some of the handle attachments, so approach with patience. 

The pizza stone drops into a depression in the oven floor, the chimney is a simple drop-and-turn fitting and then the legs just need unfolding. Once this is set up, you just need a further five minutes to fit the gas attachment and blanking plate, or fit the hopper and fuel tray if using wood.

What's it like to use?

Whether you are using the gas attachment or wood, you have to first cure the stone by lighting the oven and running it for 30 minutes. This is standard when cooking with a pizza oven and burns off any chemicals from the manufacturing process. It also makes the stone less likely to crack in the future. We did this using gas and let the oven cool fully before our first cook.

Cooking pizza with gas

The first time we cooked pizza in the oven was with the gas attachment. This is really easy to ignite. You simply open the valve on your gas canister, and operate the oven like you would a gas grill, using the ignition knob. The door must be open on ignition, but you can use it to help the oven reach temperature, as handily indicated by the on-door thermometer. We found we reached the required 750°F for cooking in around 10 minutes, and checked it with the heat gun aimed at the center of the stone which had a higher reading of over 840°F.

With the oven ready to cook, we dashed inside to build a pizza, making sure we used plenty of semolina on the peel to help slide it onto the stone with ease. I put the pizza in the oven, turning it after 20 to 30 seconds for an even cook. It was ready in just under a minute, albeit slightly burned on one edge. That taught me to turn the gas down a little: you want to cook with a yellow flame as blue means incomplete combustion which is too hot for pizza cooking and generates soot (see my notes on cleaning).

The pizza Margherita we made was delicious, with a bubbly crust, though the cheese hadn't had a chance to catch before the crust burned. 

I made four pizzas in total, replacing the door between each to maintain the temperature (though I didn't really need to do that and it probably contributed to the soot). Each was slightly better than the last as I honed my technique, tempering the flame and turning at the right moment. Overall it was really easy to use and would be my preferred method if catering for a group of people, or making speedy pizzas on a weeknight.

Cooking with wood

Woody was originally launched as a wood-only option, hence the name (though you can use charcoal too in the fuel tray). Wood is my preferred fuel source for pizza ovens as you get the best taste, but it does take a little practice to keep the fire going. Luckily, Woody has a larger fuel tray so you can load up a mix of pellets and kindling to get a strong fire roaring (which is what I did).

You need to use natural firelighters to make sure your fuel catches, then put the tray in the oven to bring it to cooking temperature. I have found this takes around 20 minutes to hit over 800°F but you can get a temperature ready for cooking in about 15. It is also more vulnerable to cross winds when cooking with wood, so do bear that in mind if you don't have a sheltered outdoor space to use it by.

On wood, it cooks your pizza in a little over a minute, though gas does offer a more furious flame that guarantees a quick cook. That said, the flame you get with wood gives what I think is a more even cook, giving you time to turn your pizza, brown the cheese and not burn the crust as easily. If you use the best wood for pizza ovens, you increase your chances of success.

Wood is harder work — as is the case with any pizza oven. My method is to get a nice hot flame, then top up between pizzas with pellets via the hopper, meaning a little bit more reheat time between each. Because wood is more involved, gas is better suited to hosting. Though wood is more fun, and more authentic.

What really stands out about this pizza oven is how well it maintains heat between pizzas. Many competitors don't have a door, so you face losing a lot of heat when monitoring your flame.

Flexible cooking

We also cooked potatoes in the oven. With wood this took around 15 minutes, having par-boiled them first. I think gas would be quicker, but we loved the smokey flavor from the wood. Other Woody owners have cooked meat, bread, and more in their ovens. Just note that you always have to use a skillet on the stone for any wet or greasy ingredients.

The 13-inch cordierite Woody stone is really easy to remove. This was really useful when we had prepared to cook pizza, then got rained off. We simply removed the stone (before we had heated the oven of course) and used it in the oven in the house. The results weren't as good as in the oven with a wood flame, but we still got a delicious pizza at the end. As with the pizza oven, you must heat the stone with the oven to prevent cracking, should you choose to use it inside.

Cleaning

Cleaning is very similar to any other pizza oven. You simply blast the heat for 20 to 30 minutes, turning any food residue to ash. This can then be swept out of the oven once cool. I tend to do this at the end of my cook, then clean down before storage. That way, it is ready for my next use.

Any stubborn food residue can be scraped with a wire brush, and then the only other thing you have to do to clean the oven, is sweep out any soot. I found when I used it on gas and had the temperature too high, it did generate a lot of soot in the chimney and roof of the oven. This is normal with pizza ovens and can be remedied by reducing the temperature and allowing good air flow.

The stone should never be soaked. If it does get wet it needs drying thoroughly or water inside the porous material will expand and cause it to crack. You can buy spare stones on their website, so if you do use them frequently, you can have one clean and ready to go. The industrial-look exterior just needs a wipe-down with a damp cloth.

Storage and maintenance

Woody comes with a protective carry case. In good weather, you can use this to keep the oven clean and dry. It will need storing in a shed or garage through fall and winter, when inclement weather is more common. Note that you may need to store some parts separately, but I find the fuel tray fits neatly inside of the oven and you just have to turn the door the other way round or remove the handle to make it fit.

The cover also doubles as a carry case, that clips over the oven for portability. It weighs nearly 30 lbs, so I wouldn't be able to carry it any distance, but it is easy to carry from home to car, and car to beach. If you love to camp or use a holiday home with outdoor space, it is easy to transport for days away.

How does it rate online?

Woody has only just launched in the US but has been in the UK for around three years now. The brand has a good reputation, and though this version of the oven was only launched in June, it has a 4.4 star rating on Amazon and the company has a 4.6 star rating on Trust Pilot.

Reviewers agree it is good value for money, heats quickly and is fun to use. Those who had issues with delivery or parts found the customer service was prompt and sorted their issues with no fuss.

Other publications also gave Woody a minimum of four stars. The affordability, multifunctionality, and durability were all listed as good reasons to buy.

How does it compare to similar pizza ovens?

The well-known Ooni Karu 12G is the obvious competitor. It is also multifuel and features a fancy glass door that retains heat and allows you to keep an eye on your pizza. Therefore one advantage over the Woody is that you can see your pizza cook more easily than you can through Woody's peephole.

However, the Ooni Karu 12G is not a pizza oven kit. When you spend the $429 to buy it, all you get is the oven. The gas attachment is a further $99.99, the carry case £39.99 and the peel $49.99. The Woody includes all but the gas attachment, which is much better value.

Affordability has been a major USP for Woody since it launched. They certainly are the cheapest pizza oven of this quality that we have tested. There are a few similar looking models on Amazon, for a similar pricepoint, but all seem to be either wood only, or don't have a door and the heat retention properties the Woody offers.

In terms of looks Ooni does have a certain finesse that people love. But, we're also fond of the pit master vibes of the Woody. It has a fun curved top that would make it look at home alongside your smoker or charcoal grill. If you like that cookout vibe, the Woody is certainly for you. Not to mention, it has a sturdiness that speaks to its durability.

Should you buy the Woody Pizza Oven?

I would definitely recommend the Woody Pizza Oven Kit for anyone who wants to create a backyard pizzeria without the price tag. You get everything you need with it, apart from fuel, so with that sorted you can be cooking homemade pizza in less time than it takes to pick, order and receive takeout on a busy Saturday night. Because you get the cover included, once you've had your fun, it is easy to store away for the next pizza party.

Upgrading to the gas attachment for even easier at-home pizza is a small additional cost for lots of additional flexibility — we advise you do this to get even more use from your oven. 

How we tested this pizza oven

This oven was sent to me, free of charge, for testing in early May. This means I have been able to use it (weather permitting) for over four months. With all our pizza ovens, we make sure we cook a classic cheese pizza, before trying out a variety of toppings. Then, if the pizza oven is designed for other uses, we cook further recipes like roast meats and vegetables. I am vegetarian so kept my testing meat-free, but if the opportunity arises to cook for others, I will try roasting a joint and update the review with my results. 

Of course, we also test multifuel ovens with as many fuel options as we can. I am yet to try this oven with charcoal, but have used a mix of wood and pellets, and used it with gas. Each time, I have made a note of how long it took to heat, how long it took to cook and how easy it was to clean afterwards.

I have been allowed to keep the oven, meaning I can put it through its paces in different situations. For the first week of the review I was house sitting for my sister, so got to put the oven's portability to the test. Then, back home, I have used it in both good and bad weather, so I really gave its durability a run for its money.

The Ooni Volt 12 is Ooni's first indoor/outdoor pizza oven, but this landmark oven is now the brand's most expensive product, retailing at an eye-watering $999.99. Before this was released, one of the things I like best about Ooni is that they offer something for almost every budget. I tested and loved the Karu 12, so when I heard that the brand was releasing a new oven at triple the price, I knew it'd have to seriously wow me to seem worth it. 

To put the Ooni Volt 12 through its paces, I invited over a group of friends for a pizza party. Some had used a pizza oven before, but others had never handled a pizza peel, meaning I was able to gauge how beginner-friendly this oven is.  We took turns cooking Neapolitan-style pies, and were all impressed by how fast and evenly the Ooni Volt 12 cooked our pizzas. 

Based on how well it held up in testing, I certainly feel that the Volt deserves a spot in our guide to the best pizza ovens. 

Ooni Volt 12 specifications

Unboxing and setting up the Ooni Koda 12

Setup was easy, but lifting the Ooni Volt 12 onto my counters was a two-person job. Inside the box, you'll find the fully assembled Volt, which is ready to be plugged in for instant cooking. The pizza stone comes in a well-protected pouch, and slides into place inside the oven in seconds. 

Although it weighs nearly 40 pounds, the Volt comes with a handle and a groove at the back to make carrying it that little bit easier. This oven is by no means portable,  which means that it's taken up pretty much permanent residence on my kitchen countertops. Ideally, I'd have liked to be able to lift it into place and put it away before and after each use. 

Inside the box, there was also a pretty comprehensive manual, and an essentials guide to get you started.

Given the dimensions of the oven, I was struck by how small the actual cooking surface seemed. It's 13.27” x 13.27”, which is standard for a pizza oven, but it goes to show that a lot of space is taken up by the heating elements on either side and to the back of the oven.

The controls are pretty straightforward, although you must familiarise yourself with the manual to understand what they mean. The power button is touch-controlled, which took me a few seconds to realize, and there is a rear switch you'll need to turn on in order to start the power. The rest of the buttons are dial-controlled and confirmed with a press, all of which feel very high-quality. 

The first dial is the timer dial, which is totally optional. I didn't use it for my first test but have used it since for cooking pre-made pizzas. This goes up to 20 minutes; it's unlikely that many pies will take that long to cook, but it's good for other options like flatbreads or grilling vegetables. 

Second, is the temperature dial, which goes from 250°F (150°C) to 850°F (450°C). The third dial is the balance dial, which toggles where the heat in the oven comes from. You can split this evenly from the top and bottom of the oven, or change depending on your toppings or what you're cooking. This is the most tricky one to wrap your head around, but it's a mechanism similar to a toaster oven. If you're totally lost, the quick start guide offers different suggestions depending on the type of pizza. 

Making pizza in the Ooni Volt 12

I started by making the pre-made pizza dough mix that Ooni sent, which came out really well. This is the most time-consuming part of making a pizza, but you can also buy pre-made dough which reduces the entire process to just a few minutes. Since first testing the oven, I've used pre-made dough a number of times to make speedy 15-minute dinners, which is something I'd never thought I'd say about a pizza oven.

Ooni claims that the pre-heat time is 20 minutes, but I found that it was actually closer to 15 even when I turned the temperature up to the very highest setting. I simply let it heat up and got on with preparing my ingredients. 

The convenience of this is undeniable, but you do get the trade-off of no wood-fired flavor and a lot less charm than you'll get with a more traditional outdoor pizza oven. For me, someone who lives in a colder climate and has a smaller outdoor space, I'd much rather have the option of using a pizza oven indoors and outdoors, and I'm confident that this will mean I use the oven a lot more than I'd use an outdoor one. 

The biggest problem we had in testing was the pizza sticking to the peel before we were able to place it into the oven. Even with this oven, there's a knack involved in getting it right. 

You can watch your pizza cooking through the triple-paned borosilicate door. It started to rise and bubble after the first minute or so of cooking, and we then used the peel to remove it and spin the pizza around to cook every side evenly. 

With most of the pizza ovens I've tested, there's been a 'first pancake' effect, where the first pie I've made has always gone wrong. This is the first time I've tried a pizza oven that hasn't done this, much to the relief of my friend whose pizza went in first.

There are some hacks to making the most of this oven. If you twist the middle dial completely back on itself between uses, it boosts the temperature of the bottom heating element to bring your pizza stone back to its desired temperature faster. This means you can cook pizzas back-to-back really easily, as opposed to waiting a few minutes between uses while the pizzas you've already cooked go cold. 

Using the Ooni Volt 12 indoors

Hitting 850°F, I was concerned that the Ooni Volt 12 would turn my kitchen into a sauna. The risk of smoke is also pretty high when you're using such a powerful bit of kit. As recommended, I removed anything flammable from the immediate area around the Ooni and opened a window to get some ventilation in anticipation of any burning. 

We were using the oven for around an hour, so the kitchen became pretty hot, but I was really surprised that the exterior stayed at a safe temperature. There was also a distinct lack of smoke, even when we did overcook our pizzas a bit. The fire alarm was not in the least perturbed, which was a pleasant surprise. 

Using the Ooni Volt 12 outdoors

I've not used the Volt outdoors yet, but as soon as the weather picks up I'll be sure to take it for a spin on my patio table. A friend of mine mentioned that she'd be worried to place it on her outdoor furniture in case it caused damage, which is totally understandable. And while you can buy a stand for Ooni ovens, it takes up an awful lot of space. 

From my experience using the Volt on my kitchen counter, it didn't cause any damage whatsoever from the underside of the oven, despite having no legs to lift it away from the surface. I'll keep this review updated when I do manage to use the Volt outdoors, but I'm confident that it won't damage my patio set. My main concern is actually using electricals outdoors, but we're seeing more and more of this with the launch of electric grills such as the Ninja Woodfire anyway.   

How to clean the Ooni Volt 12

The Ooni Volt 12 is marketed as being an indoor/outdoor pizza oven, but you'll have to store it indoors. You have to order a cover separately, which is a bit of a shame given the up-front price, and you're also advised not to store anything on top of or inside the oven when not in use. 

With many pizza ovens you'll find that the pizza stone discolors after the first use, and that's also the case with the Volt. You're not meant to get pizza stones wet, so the best way to keep your pizza stone clean is to flip it between uses. This means the most recently used side will face down, toward the heating element, and any debris will be burned away from the stone. 

I was impressed that the glass door didn't steam up in use, which meant I could check on my pizza while it cooked. It did get flecked with bits of flour from the peel though, and Ooni suggests wiping this with a dry cloth to keep the door free of debris. As with all electricals, you should be very careful when cleaning with water. 

How does it compare?

First launched in 2021, the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo is actually one of the first pizza ovens I tested when I started working at Homes & Gardens. In my review I called it 'unbeatable', so let's see if that's the case. There aren't many indoor pizza ovens on the market, so if you're considering buying one, it's likely a choice between the Pizzaiolo and the Volt. 

Looks: This one depends on your preferences, but the Breville is the one I'd go for based on looks alone. It's a little bit smaller and I enjoy the stainless steel finish.

Price: They're both expensive, but the Breville is a little cheaper than the Ooni. 

Ease of use: This one goes to the Ooni. In the Breville, I actually had a couple of (small) fires inside the oven. They were never dangerous, but they did make me feel more wary of the oven, and it's definitely a bit less user-friendly. The Breville's controls also felt a lot less user-friendly and took longer to pre-heat. 

Taste: Something about the Breville felt a little more authentic than the Ooni. The crusts got that classic leopard-spotted finish that you'll find in a wood-fired oven. Although, that might've been because of the literal fire I managed to start inside of the oven. 

Versatility: Both are designed to cook pizzas, and it's likely that you have an actual oven in your kitchen that you can use to cook other things, so I can see why there's less of a push to experiment with both ovens. That said, you can definitely stick a skillet under the Ooni in a way you might struggle with in the Breville. This is because the pizza stone lifts toward you when you open the door, so all of your cooking will need to be done with the door closed. 

I'm not afraid to hold my hands up and admit when I'm wrong, and I think I'd have to retract my earlier statement that the Pizzaiolo was unbeatable. If I got to have only one of these ovens in my kitchen, I'd go for the Ooni. 

Should you buy the Ooni Volt 12?

If you can spare the money, the Ooni Volt 12 definitely lives up to all its claims. It's a smart countertop pizza oven that can make pizza in just a couple of minutes. With that being said, you lose some of the charm of more rustic Ooni ovens such as the Ooni Fyra 12 when you opt for an electric model, so the trade-off for all that convenience and ease of use is a less authentic and novel experience, and a slightly less smokey wood-fired flavor.

Is it worth it? To me, yes. I don't live in the kind of climate that would allow me to cook outside all through the year, so the Volt effectively means I can now cook homemade, authentic pizza indoors and outdoors, year-round. It reheats a lot faster, cooks more evenly, and allows you to actually talk to your friends when you're having a pizza party as opposed to constantly tending to a fire and turning your pies while they cook. 

Ooni are the most popular pizza oven in the world and the hype keeps building. With so much marketing and press coverage you'd be forgiven for thinking that Ooni pizza ovens are little more than hype. Are they really the best appliances for cooking our favorite pizza recipes?

Well, there's a reason Ooni takes up the top three spots in our guide to the best pizza ovens. I wanted to hate it but their most recent oven rocketed to the top of our guide to the best pizza ovens. Unless there are some big shake-ups over the next few months, our tests have shown that they're quite simply the best pizza oven brand around.

I've been a product tester for years and tried all of the best pizza ovens pitched some of Ooni's top ovens against each other to reveal which Ooni oven is best.

The quick list

Which Ooni should I buy? 

The best Ooni overall

The Ooni Karu 2 Pro came out late last year, and we were among the first publishers to test it. After trying the oven on six different pizzas, including a gluten-free pizza, a calzone, chicken thighs, and brownies, I found the best pizza oven I've ever tested. Its predecessor, the Ooni Karu 16, had been our favorite pizza oven for years, but the Karu 2 instantly replaced it.

The most important feature is that this oven has a glass door that sets it apart from most other ovens on the market. The glass door helps to retain a little extra moisture within the dough, making for a much lighter, chewier crust than comparable ovens like the Gozney Dome. Every pizza I tested in this oven was restaurant-quality, with golden, melted cheese and perfectly cooked sauce.

It's one of the fastest pizza ovens I've ever tested and it can top 950°F in just 15 minutes, three times faster than other pizzas on the market. It can cook a cheese pizza in just under a minute.

The new digital thermometer is a big improvement on the original segmented digital display. The former only showed temperature, but it now offers a color-coded system to let you know when the oven is ready to use, as well as a probe thermometer.

That probe thermometer means this oven also excelled at cooking foods other than just pizza. The chicken thighs I cooked in a cast iron skillet were exceptional, and the probe thermometer made it easy to check that the meat was safe to eat.

There are a handful of caveats, but they're nitpicking rather than real problems. It takes up a lot of room on a table, and it can be hard to read the thermometer when the pizza oven door is open because of the screen refracting through the glass. However, these are tiny issues - the pizzas from this oven are the best you can get.

Read more: Ooni Karu 2 Pro review.

The fastest Ooni

This was our favorite pizza oven for years. It was the industry standard, one because this is one of few ovens officially endorsed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana - the True Neapolitan Pizza Association.

That was before it was surpassed by the new Ooni Karu 2. However, this is still an incredibly good pizza oven.

Our Managing Director Jason Orme says that there is 'nothing like the pizzas that come out of the Karu 16'. It makes perfect pizzas with charred crusts and gooey melted cheese. Most importantly, like the Karu 2 Pro, it's incredibly fast to heat up and cook pizzas. It heats up quickly and cooks entire pizzas in just under a minute, so it's well worth considering.

It has a huge 16-inch capacity and runs off both gas and wood fuel, delivering both the speed and convenience of gas cooking or the smoky flavors of a traditional wood-fired pizza. There's a responsive digital thermometer and a see-through door so you can check your pizza as it cooks.

While it cooks on two different fuels, gas fuel isn't fitted as standard, so it's an extra expense. We also aren't fans of the fact that essential accessories like pizza peels and pizza cutters aren't included. The door is harder to use than in the new Karu 2 Pro, and the thermometer is a simple segmented digital display, which looks a little old-school compared to more recent appliances.

Read more: Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven review

The best wood-fired Ooni

If you want your pizza journey to achieve absolute authenticity, you need a wood-fired oven. They make pizzas that taste like a different product to store-bought pies and, if we're being critical, they taste a little better than pizzas from gas ovens too. Cooking with flames means that you char the crust, create leopard spots on the base, and can beautifully brown cheese.

At the risk of sounding like an Ooni sponsor, we give the Fyra our 'best wood-fired pizza oven' accolade, against all other brands, in a heartbeat. It easily overcomes the common complications faced with other wood-fired pizza ovens: it's easy to set up because the instructions are clear and the app is loaded with tips for your everything from pizza wood pellets to dough. It's simple to add wood and control the temperature, and the fast heat-up time means it's ready to go in just 15 minutes.

When it came to the all-important taste test, this was unbelievable. The pizzas our experts made looked the part, with spotting, browning, and charring in all the right places. Even better, it tasted the part too, each bite was packed with intense, smoky flavors.

It's worth noting that the Fyra, just like the Karu, doesn't come with a pizza peel or slicer. Other pizza ovens include these as extras almost by default, because you won't get far without either.

Read more: Ooni Fyra 12 review

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The best gas Ooni

The Koda 12 is the easiest Ooni to use. You save on all the hassle of swapping fuel types or lighting charcoal and just plug in your propane. After that, it heats up in 15 minutes and can cook a pizza in a respectable two minutes.

It excelled on test, making near-perfect cheese and tomato and pepperoni pizzas, as well as an indulgent garlic bread. The worry with gas ovens is that you can't achieve a good crust, but this model achieved excellent charring.

This lightweight oven is one of Ooni's lighter ovens, so it's easy to move around the garden and store.

The only thing preventing this oven from a perfect taste test is the problem of all gas-fuelled outdoor cooking. By comparison with charcoal, this oven tastes almost sterile. It's wonderfully charred but it's missing the je ne sais quoi of smoky flavour you get with wood pellets. This model would also hugely benefit from a door. It makes it easier to load the pizza but means that it's easy to drop heat.

Read more: Ooni Koda 12 review

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The best indoor Ooni

There was only one indoor pizza oven on the market until this launched last year - the Breville Pizzaiolo. In my preview of the Volt 12, I compared the specs on both machines and found that the Volt reaches a higher temperature. It also has an innovative 'boost' function which hikes up the temperature when you open the oven door, preventing any sudden loss of heat and making it much faster to turn around lots of pizza in one go.

When we finally got it on test, it made delicious pizzas, and we found the boost button helpful for hosting pizza parties. They're a little sanitized compared to the rest of the market, but it's about as close as you can get to flame-licked leopard spotting you get in a wood or gas oven.

However, the biggest draw is that this oven works both indoors and outdoors. No other pizza oven on the market can do that. It brings an unparalleled versatility to entertaining that other ovens - even the Karu 16 - won't be able to match.

However, this is the most expensive Ooni oven available. You'll also need a lot of counter space, because the 24.2” x ” x 20.8” x 10.9” dimensions take up plenty of room.

Read more: Ooni Volt 12 review.

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Comparison table

Ooni alternatives

If this all feels too much like advertising, don't worry. We've tested lots of other brands of pizza ovens. We recommend:

How to choose the best Ooni pizza oven for you:

Pizza ovens are brilliant ways to cook food in a more artisanal way. Although the name suggests that they only suit pizzas, you can cook meats, breads, and other slow-roast foods in them. Before leaping into a purchase, you'll want to think about a few aspects:

Fuel source
Ooni ovens use a range of sources. They can use fire, electricity, or gas to cook your food. Electricity is the most simple method, but it limits where you can place your oven. Gas gives more versatility and more control, but won't deliver the same flavors as a wood-fired model. Cooking with flames creates a whole new world of flavors. They'll char and brown your food, enhancing smoky and intense flavors. Flames are harder to control, but they're the best option for artisanal chefs.

Size
Consider the space that you're willing to dedicate to a pizza oven. There are portable options that you can pack up and take with you. Some are safe for kitchens, but others are outdoor only.

Price and accessories
The ovens that have a smaller retail price often don't come with a peel, paddle, or slicer. If you already own these, you can save money and opt for a cheaper model. If you don't, you'll want to evaluate the total cost, because buying a bundle might save you overall.

How we tested these Ooni pizza ovens

Our team of experts tests every single product we recommend. We used these Oonis to make pizzas, because they're a good litmus test for the base heat across the whole oven, how thorough the heat is to the oven's roof, and how well it browns ingredients too.

Then, we'll test the limits of every oven. Our experts make flatbreads, focaccia, chicken, and vegetables. The best ovens are those that are versatile and quick to cook these ingredients, but we also want them to be energy-efficient.

We make notes on every aspect of these ovens, so we can let you know which spaces these suit. This largely depends on size, assembly, storage, and maneuverability. Balanced with price and warranty, we can give you a good overview of which ovens are best for which homes.

You can find more information on our testing process in our How We Test guide.

Ooni FAQs

Is Ooni the best pizza oven?

Our tests have shown that Ooni is the best pizza oven brand. The Karu 16 is the best pizza oven you can buy - period - followed by the Fyra 12 as the best wood-fired pizza oven and the Koda 12 as the best gas-fuelled pizza oven. If you want the very best pizza oven, Ooni is the way to go.

However, there are plenty of other brands out there. We're also big fans of Gozney, which tends to be a little more design-forward than Ooni.

Can you use an Ooni indoors?

You can't use Ooni ovens indoors, except for the Volt 12, which is specifically designed to be used indoors. Using any other Ooni indoors risks a fire hazard, and in the case of the wood-fired models, the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Can you leave an Ooni outdoors?

Yes, but think of it like a grill. Ooni pizza ovens are designed to be used outside, and you can leave them out, but if they're exposed to rain too often they'll rust. The best move is to buy a waterproof cover from Ooni, or a cheaper cover on Amazon.

Ooni can be great but they aren't the only option on the market. It's worth weighing up Ooni vs Gozney to see which brand is the best option for your home, or comparing Ooni vs Solo Stove, another popular pizza oven brand.

Pizza is always a winner when you’re feeding a crowd. But making pizzas at home can be hit and miss. The best pizzas need to cook fast at super high temperatures and that’s where pizza ovens come in. Ooni is one of the brands at the forefront of the new trend of backyard pizza ovens, and with a great range of gas as well as wood fired models, it’s easy to see why.

The Ooni Koda is a gas fired pizza oven. I tried the Koda 12 which can cook pizzas up to 12 inches, though there is a 16 inch model, for those with the skills to create bigger pizzas. I reviewed it alongside the Ooni Fyra 12 which is its wood fired sibling and it was interesting to compare the two.

Personally I like to cook on wood and charcoal when I’m cooking outdoors and I usually shun gas. So I will admit that I went into this review thinking that the Ooni Koda would leave me craving the more rustic and smoky experience that you get from wood or charcoal. But I was surprised, not only at how much I enjoyed the Koda, but also that the pizzas were just as good as in the wood fired Fyra.

Ooni Koda 12 specifications

Unboxing and setting up the Ooni Koda 12

My Ooni Koda arrived ready to go. The set up involved little more than sliding the pizza stone into position and unfolding the legs. What’s more, the packaging is virtually all cardboard, so it’s easy to recycle and won’t end up in landfill.

The gas hose is already fitted to the pizza oven, so I just had to connect it to my propane canister and it was ready to start up. However, it’s worth putting some thought into where you intend to position the pizza oven in your backyard. Make sure you have a heat proof table that’s convenient to stand and cook at.

The gas controls are very simple, a gas flow knob that includes automatic ignition is positioned at the back of the pizza oven. The gas flow and therefore flame, can be turned up or down which gives you instant control in a way that you don’t get with a wood pizza oven such as the Ooni Fyra.

The Koda 12 is a streamlined and compact pizza oven that doesn’t take up too much space. So not only is it perfect for smaller spaces, but it’s also portable, you can even buy a carry case so you can take it camping or to a friend's house.

There are several things I learnt along the way that are worth knowing before you start making pizza in your Ooni. Firstly, there are some must-have accessories that you will need. They don’t come with the oven unless you buy a bundle, which I would recommend considering. The first is an infrared thermometer, which allows you to check the temperature of the pizza stone and is crucial for knowing when it’s hot enough to add your pizza. The other essential accessory is a pizza peel, as getting your pizza in and out of the Ooni will be very impossible without one.

My next tip is to do some research. Download the Ooni app, which includes recipes as well as a helpful dough calculator tool. Then head to the Ooni website and watch some of the YouTube tutorials on making and stretching dough, as well as launching pizzas into the pizza oven. Spending just a small amount of time learning before your first cook will enhance your experience.

When it comes to making your pizzas, don’t overload on toppings, as this makes the pizza harder to handle. Nor should you try to cook several pizzas back-to-back. Allow the temperature of the pizza stone to rise between each pizza — I learnt this the hard way. 

Making pizza in the Ooni Koda 12

Despite a passion for sourdough pizzas, I started by making the classic pizza dough recipe on the Ooni website. The dough is easy to make and stretches into a round pizza shape without too much trouble.

Once the pizza oven is fired up, it takes around 15 minutes to preheat. You’ll be looking for a temperature of around 750-950°F on the pizza stone. Unlike the Ooni Fyra, the Koda doesn’t have a door that you can close to keep the heat in, so I noticed that on a windy day it struggled to maintain a hot enough temperature and needed to be in a more sheltered spot.

Launching the pizza off the peel and onto the hot pizza stone can feel a bit daunting at first, but the action becomes second nature once you’ve done it a few times. And I think it’s easier if you dust the peel with semolina instead of flour. Once it’s in the oven, you’ll need to turn the pizza every 20-30 seconds to ensure the crust crisps and browns the whole way around.

Ooni says your pizza can cook in as little as 60 seconds, but mine took around two minutes, which still feels super quick. Some of my creations included a classic margarita which I made a few times as well as pepperoni, and a cheesy garlic pizza bread.

Even from the very first pizza I made in the Ooni Koda, the quality and flavor of my pizzas far exceeds anything I’ve made in a regular oven. The crisp base and puffed-up crust with its charred bubbles tasted superb. I was very impressed with how quickly and easily I could make professional style pizzas, and the results were comparable to the wood fired Ooni Fyra.

It’s worth noting at this stage that even if you’re not much of a cook, you can still enjoy an outdoor pizza oven. Ooni sells frozen pizza dough online, so all you need to do is stretch it out, add some toppings and get cooking.

Making chicken in the Ooni Koda 12

It took me by surprise that a pizza oven could be used to cook foods other than pizza. But a quick browse of the Ooni recipes online had me inspired to give it a go. Fortunately, I had a cast iron skillet that fit inside the Ooni Koda as this is the best thing to use since you can’t cook meats and vegetables directly on the pizza stone.

I preheated my skillet before adding chicken thighs. They started to char quite quickly, but after I turned down the gas, they began cooking more evenly. The heat inside is fierce and there was a lot of smoking and spitting, so I turned them frequently. After around 15 minutes, the meat was cooked through and the outside of the thighs was charred and crisp and absolutely delicious, with a slight smoky flavor.

Making roasted vegetables in the Ooni Koda 12

Cooking on the skillet got me thinking that this would be the perfect way to cook up a sizzling vegetable fajita mix. I preheated the skillet once again but this time added chopped bell peppers and onions coated in oil and my favorite fajita spice mix. Within 10 minutes I had the perfect sizzling charred vegetables that were far superior to those I usually cook on my stove. 

Cleaning and packing away the Ooni Koda 12

 Pizza stones don’t require regular washing, as they get sanitized by the high heat inside the pizza oven, which also burns away any residue. The most I did was brush off some ash that had collected on the stone once it had cooled. I also wiped the outside if there was any grease on it, but really there’s not much cleaning to do.

My Ooni was cool enough to move and store away within an hour of cooking my last pizza. It should be it should be kept out of harsh weather, so you should store it indoors if possible; a garage is ideal. The legs fold flat for neater, more compact storage, or you can buy a carry case and store it inside that.

How does it compare?

If you’re craving a wood fired pizza oven, but unsure about whether it’s worth the hassle, the Ooni Fyra is an excellent choice. It’s designed to burn tiny wood pellets that are clean and easy to use, and it heats up just as fast as the Koda. The only difference is that you need to keep an eye on the fire and load it up with more pellets when needed so that it continues to burn hot. And while it does require a little more attention, it’s arguably more rewarding, as well as being more portable since you don’t need to take a gas canister with it.

For those that are undecided and don’t mind upping the budget, the Ooni Karu 16 is the top-of-the-range Ooni. It’s a multi fuel model, so you can choose to burn either gas, charcoal, or wood, depending on what you prefer. Plus this larger capacity model has space for bigger 16 inch pizzas as well as a built in thermometer. If you’re looking for the best Ooni has to offer, this is it. 

Should you buy the Ooni Koda 12?

For just under $400 the Ooni Koda offers exceptional value for money. It really will elevate your homemade pizzas to the next level and it’s great fun to use. As someone who isn’t usually a fan of outdoor cooking on gas, I was mightily impressed with its ability to produce charred crisp pizzas just like the wood fired version, albeit without any wood smoke flavor.

This compact and portable pizza oven is so versatile it’ll not only reinvigorate your backyard cooking, but you can take it just about anywhere and cook exciting meals in minutes. So if firing up a wood pizza oven doesn’t sound like your thing, you’ll love the ease of this gas model.

While we adore a good pizza oven, they suffer from a simple problem that's easy to overlook. Most domestic pizza ovens need to be used outdoors. If you live somewhere warm and sunny, that's not a problem. If you've stuck out the wintry weather of the past few weeks, you might think differently. For a lot of the world,  pizza ovens present a big investment that can't be used for a decent chunk of the year.

Though we love Ooni - believe me, there's a reason they take up both #1 and #2 spots in our guide to the best pizza ovens - there's been one big problem with their ovens: all of them need to be used outdoors. Until recently, there's only been one indoor pizza oven worth buying. Breville got a head-start on the competition with their Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, currently sitting pretty at #3 in our rankings.  

Enter the Ooni Volt 12, Ooni's first combination indoor/outdoor pizza oven. Kristian Tapaninaho, Ooni's founder and Co-CEO, says that 'this oven embodies a decade of pizza oven product development, and delivers a superior pizza-making experience.' In this preview, I'll investigate this claim, giving you a first look at the Ooni Volt 12 and whether or not it stacks up to the competition. 

What's new?

The obvious innovation of the Ooni Volt 12 is that it uses a new fuel source. Where other Ooni products need wood fuel or gas, which can be fiddly to set up, the Volt 12 just plugs into a power socket. It's that simple, and it could be game changing. Other than getting the hang of launching pizzas onto the stone, the biggest critique of pizza ovens is that you have to practice the knack of lighting wood pellets or hooking up the gas. Plugging straight into mains takes seconds, and in the long run saves you the cost and bother of buying gas or pellets.

This new fuel source therefore means that you don't need any outside space to use the Ooni Volt 12. That's a big deal if you live in an apartment block or a small home without a garden or front porch. Ooni Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Darina Garland says the Volt is a way to 'offer the Ooni experience to a new group of fellow pizza-lovers'. Ooni's products have previously been limited to backyards, which means they've largely kept to the suburbs. An indoor oven means you can make high-quality pizza right in the middle of a city. 

However, this also means a new price point. Deep breath: the Volt costs $999.99. To be fair, this is the same as Breville's Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, and an indoor pizza oven was never going to be cheap, but it's a little eye watering. When you compare it to our Ooni Karu 16 (see our review), our current favorite, it's $200 more expensive, and a whopping $650 more expensive than the Ooni Fyra 12 (see our review), our runner-up.

The Ooni Volt 12 full specs are below:

• Dimensions: 24.2” x ” x 20.8” x 10.9” (61.7cm x 52.9cm x 27.9cm)
• Weight: 39.2lbs (17.8kg)
• Cooking surface area: 13.27” x 13.27” (33.7cm x 33.7cm)
• Cooking surface: 0.4” thick (10mm) cordierite baking stone
• Materials: Oven body made of powder-coated carbon steel and stainless steel
• Max temperature: 850°F/450°C
• Heating time: 20 minutes

How does it compare?

You can see above that there's not much separating the two. Both are electric, both cook 12-inch pizzas. However, it it looks like the Volt 12 might just edge it. It's slightly lighter to carry around, and it reaches 100°F hotter than the Breville, which should mean faster cooker times. 

However, a big factor in Breville's corner is the number of settings. The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo has 7 dedicated settings to make it easy to use. It can sit at 350°F or 750°F, and has settings for frozen, pan, New York, thin and crispy, and wood-fired pizzas. You can also set the lightness and darkness of the leopard-spotting on your pizza, which is control that the Volt 12 may not offer. 

The Volt 12 has just one extra setting - boost. This isn't a pizza setting, but could be an important innovation. It means that you can boost the heat in the oven after you open the door. A minor hitch with most pizza ovens is that you lose a lot of heat when you open the oven, which takes a while to come back. This boost function should get that heat back in under a minute. 

The biggest difference, however, is that Ooni's oven can be used outdoors, and Breville's can't. If you've got a back garden, you don't want to be ferrying pizzas from the kitchen to the garden every time you want to eat. The Volt 12 offers the best of both worlds — pizzas outside in summer and inside in winter when the weather turns. It's an advantage over every other oven on the market. 

Expert opinions

I'm a huge fan of Ooni ovens, and have enjoyed testing and using the Ooni Fyra over the last two years,' says Beth Murton, Head of Gardens at Homes & Gardens. 'However, there have been times when as much as we've wanted to cook in the pizza oven, the weather just hasn't been on our side. Cooking in the rain and cold just doesn't have the same appeal, no matter how much you want that pizza! So having the option of a pizza oven that can be used both indoors and out is a winner in my book, especially if you live in a climate that isn't blessed with year-round good weather. As the new Ooni Volt is electric, I wonder if it will deliver the same amazingly authentic pizza taste as the wood-fired Fyra, but Homes & Gardens will be putting it to the test soon to see if it's up to the job.'

My first slight quibble with the specs is Ooni's claim that it 'weighs just 18kg' so you can 'easily move around the home'. 18kg is about 40lbs; gym goers will know that that weighs a little under a plate, and bakers will know that that's a little heavier than a stand mixer. While it's hardly a ton, I wouldn't call it lightweight. If you have mobility issues like arthritis, this could be tricky to take in and out of storage, or move from your kitchen to your deck or patio. 

While we're on the topic, I also predict storage might be an issue with the Volt 12. It measures 24.2” x ” x 20.8” x 10.9”, which is a pretty large footprint for a kitchen appliance. I measured it up against my kitchen, and if I wanted it out on the countertop year-round it would mean sacrificing my kettle and multi-cooker. If you drink as much instant coffee as I do, that's a no-go. What's more, it would only barely fit in a single one of my kitchen drawers, and only if I moved all of my pots and pans out of the way first.

However, while I didn't test it for H&G, I've tested Breville's Smart Oven Pizzaiolo for another publication, and all those potential criticisms of the Volt 12 are also true for the Pizzaiolo, so they're flaws of indoor ovens in general, not the Volt specifically. If it's anything like Ooni's other ovens, it will be a formidable appliance.

Verdict

To wrap up, I need to reiterate that this is just a preview - our full review of the Volt 12 is coming ASAP. With that said, it looks like a very good pizza oven. I'm not sure that it'll take top spot, but it could knock Breville out of #3. That would mean Ooni take the entire podium of our best pizza ovens, which is very rare indeed. Until we've  reviewed it, I wouldn't advise buying it, but if you can't wait, it's a gamble that could pay off. 

You can buy the Ooni Volt 12 at Ooni. 

If the explosion in the popularity of backyard pizza ovens has got you wondering whether you’re missing out, the answer is, you probably are. Creating authentic style pizzas in your regular kitchen oven is hard, but with a pizza oven outside, it’s not only a fun experience that you can share with friends, but the pizza is amazing too. 

Ooni is one of the biggest pizza oven brands and its range includes gas as well as wood fired models. The Ooni Fyra 12 is the smallest wood fired Ooni, which means it’s very portable and works well if you don’t have much outside space. But don’t be fooled into thinking a compact pizza oven isn’t up to the job. Its fire burns fiercely, creating the perfect heat level to cook pizza to perfection.

I tried it out in my own backyard during February in England and despite having my first Ooni experience during a British winter, I’m still hooked. I’ve made the best pizzas of my life and can’t wait to explore different toppings and styles of pizza. But I was surprised I could also use it to cook other foods like meat and vegetables too, with amazing results. Learning to use it is simple and the wood pellets are so easy they’ll convert even the most reluctant fire starter to cook on real wood.

Ooni Fyra 12 product specifications

• Fuel: wood
• Weight: 22 lbs.
• Pizza size: 12 inch
• Preheat time: 15 minutes
• Dimensions: 29.1 x 15.4 x 28.5 inches
• Warranty: 3 years

Who will the Ooni Fyra 12 suit?

 People looking to make authentic pizza. Cooking pizza in a wood fired pizza oven will give you excellent flavor as well as a crisp base and crust that just isn’t achievable in a standard oven. 

Anyone looking for a portable pizza oven. Not only is this compact pizza oven easy to move around, but if you invest in the carry case, it becomes even more portable. What’s more, the small wood pellets are easy to pack in your backpack and don’t weigh too much either.

People who are happy to tend to a wood fire. There’s no denying that the gas fired Ooni requires a little less focus, but if you’re willing to put in slightly more work loading up the hopper and keeping an eye on the fire, the Ooni Fyra can feel more rewarding. 

Unboxing and setting up the Ooni Fyra 12

The Ooni Fyra doesn’t come with any accessories, since these are all sold separately. So in the box there was simply the pizza oven with its component parts. Most of the packaging is cardboard, so I was able to recycle it, which is great. And happily, there’s very little I needed to do to assemble it. 

The chimney comes in two pieces, these simply slot together, then it twists into position on top of the oven. Likewise, the wood hopper pushes into position. Both the chimney and the hopper are designed to be easily removed for transportation and storage, which means there are no permanent fixings like screws to worry about.

The legs unfold and a small fuel tray and fuel grate slot into the back. Then the pizza stone slides in through the front and a small metal part called the flame keeper slots into the top of the oven on the inside. This was the fiddliest part of the assembly, but only because at first, I couldn’t see where it goes.

The chimney has a cap that helpfully, doubles as a scoop for the wood pellets. Plus, there’s a vent halfway up that can be used to control the flame or increase the smokiness inside the oven. I also love that the door has a little peep hole so that you can check the flame without letting any heat out. And when tending to your pizza, the door can be hooked onto the bottom of the oven to keep it close by.

The Fyra is uncomplicated to use and the manual lays everything out very well, but there are a few things worth knowing before you get started. First up, as I already mentioned, it doesn’t come with any accessories and there are some absolute essentials that you need to have, otherwise your first experience will be frustrating.

An infrared thermometer allows you to take the temperature of the pizza stone and really is the best way of working out when the oven is hot enough. You’ll also need a peel, otherwise I’m not sure how you would get the pizza in and out again. A cast iron skillet will allow you to cook other foods aside from pizza, and don’t forget to get yourself a bag of Ooni wood pellets and natural firelighters. All of these things are available through Ooni and there are bundles available with your oven so it’s worth checking these out.

My next piece of advice is to download the Ooni app for the handy dough calculator and recipe inspiration, but also take a look at the YouTube tutorials available on the Ooni website. I watched several of these before my Ooni even arrived, and they gave me a head start on things like launching the pizza into the oven and stretching the dough.

I’d suggest using the Ooni recipe for dough, at least for your first couple of tries, it’s a reliable dough that’s easy to handle and stretch and it’ll give you the confidence to attempt other recipes such as sourdough later down the line. I’d also say that for me, using semolina instead of flour on the peel was a game changer and I found it much easier to stop the base sticking to the peel with semolina and it slid easily into the oven.

Testing pizza in the Ooni Fyra 12

 Having watched a video that gave advice on lighting the pellets, I managed this part quite easily. The slightly trickier skill comes in knowing when to add more pellets, because if the fire isn’t burning very well, adding more pellets can snuff it out. So once it was burning ferociously, I gradually added a scoop at a time, until eventually the hopper was filling up with pellets. Then the full hopper will gravity feed them into the fire and all you need to do is keep the hopper topped up.

I left it to heat up with the door on and the chimney vent open and after 15 minutes I used my infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the pizza stone. It should be around 932°F before you even think about putting your pizza in. Mine took closer to 20 minutes to heat up, but the British winter may have had something to do with that.

Having stretched my dough, I put it in the peel before loading with toppings. Less is definitely more when it comes to toppings on a thin pizza, so I stuck to this advice and started with a simple margarita. I was a little nervous about whether I could launch it off the peel and into the oven successfully, but it went well. It’s the cooking part that requires your full focus, the pizza needs turning every 20-30 seconds and it’ll burn quickly if you get distracted.

Mine cooked in around two minutes, which is very fast and even from the get-go the results were delicious. It had a crispy puffed-up crust that had lightly charred patches and a crisp base too. But don’t do what I did and add your next pizza too soon. The pizza stone needs five minutes or so to get suitably hot enough for the next pizza and if you don’t wait, you risk a disappointing result. With that in mind I’d suggest you go for crowd pleasing toppings, this way everyone can share the first pizza while you wait for it to heat up enough to cook the next.

I also tried a very yummy pepperoni pizza as well as a cheesy garlic pizza bread, both of which were great. There are some skills required in making the dough and stretching it, but I think even a novice cook will be able to achieve good results. And if you want to make life super easy, you can buy frozen dough balls from Ooni.

Testing other recipes in the Ooni Fyra 12

 It wasn’t until I started browsing the Ooni website and app that I realized the breadth of meals that can be cooked in a pizza oven. It would never have occurred to me to cook anything other than pizza or a calzone in a pizza oven. Fortunately, I already owned a skillet that fit inside, since you can’t cook things like meat and vegetables directly on the pizza stone.

First I tried baby potatoes, and because I didn’t know how fast they would crisp up, I boiled them first to make sure they were fully cooked. Then I threw them into my preheated skillet with some garlic and butter. I turned them frequently and after 15 minutes I enjoyed crispy roasted smokey garlic potatoes. In fact, this may be my new favorite way to cook potatoes.

You can cook any kind of vegetables in the skillet and I had great success with asparagus and broccoli. This time I didn’t pre-cook them and they cooked well without burning or becoming soggy. I also tried cooking lamb chops, which only needed three minutes on each side. This was enough to char and render the fat layer, whilst leaving the meat moist and pink and juicy inside.

There’s so much potential to cook tasty meals and side dishes in the Ooni, the wood smoke adds a whole extra depth of flavor to the food and the intense heat allows you to create results that are hard to create otherwise.

How does the Ooni Fyra 12 compare?

If the idea of lighting the wood pellets and tending to the fire just sounds like too much work, I’d highly recommend the Ooni Koda 12. The Koda is the gas version of the Fyra, it’s a similar capacity pizza oven but instead of wood pellets, it simply connects to your gas canister just like an outdoor grill. It’s slightly more expensive than the Fyra, but the lack of a chimney and hopper mean it’s neater and more streamlined. What’s more, it doesn’t compromise on the end result and makes pizza that can easily rival that made in the Fyra. Plus, there’s a 16 inch Koda that’s worth considering if you’re worried the 12 inch will be a bit too small.

For anyone who can’t figure out whether they want gas or wood, there’s the Ooni Karu. This multi-fuel pizza oven gives you the best of both worlds and is the top of its class in the Ooni range. With its large cooking area and built-in thermometer, combined with a glass door so you can watch that delicious crust puff up, this is the ultimate Ooni pizza oven. It’s double the price of the Karu or the Fyra, but if you really want to get serious about pizza, it’s a good investment. 

Should you buy the Ooni Fyra 12?

Personally, I love the Ooni Fyra, the wood pellets are really convenient to use and mess free, and they burn very well. So it’s super easy to get the fire going and more importantly, keep it burning hot. It’s amazing to be able to cook pizza in a wood fired oven within 15 minutes of lighting it, which is just as fast as the gas Ooni.

I was very impressed with the quality of the pizzas I made in the Ooni Fyra, but I also enjoyed using it to create other wood-fired smokey foods and it’s far more versatile than I expected. I think if you want a pizza oven that you can also take on adventures, you’ll love the portability of the Ooni Fyra. Having said all that, if you’re a fan of grilling on gas and you want a predictable, adjustable flame, you should definitely look at the Ooni Koda, which I was also very impressed with.

What's that? You're a big pizza lover but you don't have a pizza oven yet? Seriously, you're still shelling out $$$$s on the same old takeouts? I thought you said you were serious about the slice of pie. 

If this is the kind of abuse you're receiving from pizza-oven-owning friends (or worse, family), then Black Friday is a good chance to get them off your back and get sorted for next Spring. And luckily, there's a great deal on an oven that I think might just be the big cheese.

Having taken the top spot on our list of best pizza ovens after my review, the Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fiel Pizza Oven is on sale on the manufacturer's site for only $639.20 and continues to be one of the best domestic pizza ovens I have had the chance to play around with, albeit an initially challenging endeavor.

So, while the price may still be on the higher side for some, it is hard to deny the gratifying learning curve the oven offers, never mind the satisfying pizza at the end of it all. The discount just makes it a sweeter deal. 

While this is not the most straightforward pizza oven to get the hang of, as I reflected on in my full Ooni Karu 16 review, I found it to be one of the more rewarding models on the market – once you have gotten your head around the process, that is. After that, however, I cannot deny that the Ooni Karu pizza oven is truly a smart appliance that delivers on many levels. 

While I could go on and on about my educational experience testing out the oven, it is probably best that I explain some of the basics: the oven itself, despite the daunting box size, only takes around 15 minutes to set up and get going, it takes around 20 minutes to get up to temperature when using wood for fuel, and the pizzas themselves only take approximately 90 seconds to cook through – ideal when you have been waiting for your snack to rise for an hour or so beforehand. 

The Ooni Karu 16 is the big brother of the smaller 12" model, which you may find yourself leaning towards if you are looking for a pizza oven to take on the go (in your RV, let's say, not so much to take with you to the office to whip up some lunch). The 16" design is certainly one to consider for an ultimate backyard setup, however, with the much larger viewing window and higher specs. 

It is important to note when embarking on your homemade pizza journey, however, that despite being a multi-fuel cooker, the Ooni Karu 16 needs you to purchase the gas burner separately. The good news is that the Gas Burner for the Ooni Karu 16 is also on sale for $79.99, down from $99.99. 

The proof is in the pudding (or pizza, I should say) with this oven. It creates undoubtedly delicious dishes and simply gets easier the more you use it. 

Months later, I am happy to report that I still love my Ooni Karu 16 model, and I would highly recommend this pizza oven to anyone and everyone. 

There are two ways to enjoy great pizza at home. One is to try every local pizzeria until you've found one worthy of your regular business, and exclusively order in from said pizzeria through eternity. The other is the Ooni Karu 16.

Both satisfy the pizza craving, in very different ways – but only one lets you hone your craft as a pizzaiolo (i.e. one who makes pizzas) until you've reached a level of pizza perfection you might never have experienced otherwise. I'll let you infer which is which. The more I use the Ooni Karu 16, and more importantly the more I eat the pizzas it creates (in a matter of seconds – the cooking, not the eating), the better it gets. But – full disclosure – don’t expect an easy ride.

A relationship with the Karu 16 requires its owner to overcome self-doubt, read quite a lot of instructions, rebuild lost confidence and, above all, be totally engaged with the process. I’m still in the learning phase (having tried out the Karu half a dozen or so times), but I will say I've made strides that have given me confidence that perfection is on the near horizon. I’ve also tried a fair few competing pizza ovens and can tell you that the Karu is by far the smartest, most rewarding and best-equipped pizza oven of all. 

Keep reading to hear more, then take a look at our list of  best pizza ovens to compare the Ooni Karu 16 with other top-performing outdoor ovens for your backyard.

Ooni Karu 16 product spec:

• Fuel type: wood or charcoal, or use gas with the Ooni Karu 16 gas burner (sold separately) 
• Pizza size: up to 16"
• Oven temperature: up to 950°F (500°C)
• Cooking surface: 16.7 x 16.7″ (42.42 x 42.42 cm)
• Unboxed dimensions: 33 x 32 x 20″ (50 x 81.5 x 83.7 cm)
• Unboxed weight: 62.6 lbs (28.4 kg)

Top tips for cooking the perfect pizza

The three things that no-one ever tells you about using a top pizza oven: 

It takes time to master.

You won’t get your pizzas right first time. Or the second time. There are lots of parts of the process that can go wrong – many not the fault of the pizza oven, per-se, but still a key thing to consider when you’re shelling out a serious amount of money to become your own pizza chef. 

Firstly, you'll need to hone your dough recipe, because that will be the thing that makes the pizza bad, good or amazing. Secondly, there isn’t a home pizza maker in the world who hasn’t suffered from peel-stick. Get your plan (and plenty of semolina) in place before you get the temperature up. The more you do this, the easier it will get – like with any cooking experience.

Timing is everything.

The odd thing about cooking on a pizza oven is that it messes with your usual approach to cooking. Regular cooking is usually rich in prep, followed immediately by cooking the food so that everything slowly comes together at the end. 

Using a pizza oven is mad in this regard. You’ll prepare the dough a few hours before you want to eat, then do something else. And then almost all of the actual ‘cooking’ time is actually getting the pizza oven up to temperature – before the actual cooking, which typically takes no more than a minute or two. And then you’re into the quick, intense production line of pizza cooking. This last bit – there’s no doubt – can be quite stressful. You realize that you’ve been making the pizza for half an hour, and actually cooking for about five minute.

Temperature is (also) everything.

The success of a good pizza cook lies entirely in both the temperature of the type of flame. If you can’t control the temperature then you can’t make a good pizza. And this, ultimately, is why the Ooni Karu 16 is the best pizza oven I’ve ever tried. 

There are two main reasons the Karu succeeds here. Firstly, the Karu 16 is easy to fill – the wooden fuel hatch has a removable cover and you can easily fill the grate with wood as you need – it takes five seconds (the Karu also comes with an optional gas burner). But secondly, and best of all, it comes with a digital thermometer display on the front of the oven, which takes all the guesswork – and stress – out of the whole process. 

When you know you’ve got to get the oven to 750˚F, all you have to do is watch the numbers go up – and when they go down, add some more wood in. It’s transformational.

We tried a fair number of recipes – both for pizzas and my favorite, calzone. The oven can do a lot more, but let’s master the basics first. As the dough got better and we regulated the temperature more easily – and kept it high – the pizza got better and better, and the process got easier and less intense. That’s why it pays to work at it, and get through the difficult times, and be willing to make mistakes. 

This pizza oven delivers on many levels – but don’t expect you to get through the education process without getting covered in flour (I managed to get flour in my eye on one occasion); find yourself racing through the kitchen to get another pizza in before the temperature falls and, as I mentioned, getting a base stuck on the peel just as you open the door.

Put off yet? I hope not. Because there really is nothing like the pizzas you’ll make. Ooni advertises its pizza ovens as part of the process of making childhood memories, which is a bit of a stretch – but the Karu 16 is the ultimate culinary addition to an outdoor living experience and if mastered, can be a regular part of your summer evenings.

Setting up the Ooni Karu 16 

I went straight out of the box to set up in around 15 minutes. The oven is heavy (28kg / 61lbs) and barely portable, but with decent instructions was a breeze to get into shape. All of the elements fit together quickly. Setting it up entails putting together the nine different elements – chimney, the main body of the oven, the glass door, etc. – and felt intuitive and easy to follow. 

Using the Ooni Karu 16

Unlike some other pizza ovens, Ooni’s Karu 16 is a breeze to use. We tried the multi-fuel option but owing to a shortage of propane in our area, we’ve been using wood. The fuel hatch is at the back of the oven and after chucking in a couple of firelighters and 2-3 bits of wood to get things going, you’ll quickly build a flame. You’ll need a flameproof glove to access the hatch safely as the flames can flare up when you remove the hatch to add more wood, which you’ll need to do every 5-10 minutes or so to get it up to temperature.

The oven itself is very heavy and designed for external storage rather than a truly mobile cooking/camping experience like some of Ooni’s other products. Ooni sells a pretty good-value range of tables, as well as covers. The body itself is well insulated and sturdy. The clear-view glass on the door is a big win, and enables you to check on the progress of your pizza without having to open the door, which inevitably reduces the temperature.

Once lit, the oven took around 20 minutes to get to temperature. The low and slow approach to getting to temperature definitely pays off, but you could easily meet the 15-minute target Ooni set by putting more wood in early.

We started to cook the pizzas once the oven reached 750˚F. The pizzas took approximately 90 second to cook and, well, were delicious – the crispy, bubbled base you dream of.

Once used, the oven cooled down quickly and needed little maintenance. Our glass door blackened up a bit, but it’s easy to wipe down with damp newspaper or paper towels.

How does the Karu 16 compare to Ooni’s other ovens?

Ooni has a range of ovens – the Karu, Koda, Fyra and Pro. Of the 12” (meaning you can cook a 12” pizza in them) ovens, the Fyra is the entry-level model – it uses wood pellets. Only the Karu and Pro are multi-fuel (wood and propane), and deliver 16” pizzas. The Karu 16 is the premier option, with a bigger viewing door and easier accessibility. In other words, it’s the highest-spec, although not suitable for anyone looking to live the cooking-pizza-by-the-camper-van dream – the 12” models are better for that.

Our verdict

Pizza ovens take a bit of getting used to, and reward a bit of effort. Make sure you have a handful of goes to try it out before inviting your friends over for the pizza party you’ve been dreaming about. When they come, they’ll see that Oonu’s Karu 16 is by some distance the leading pizza oven of its type available. For a pizza oven of this size and spec – a real crossover between the pro models and consumer-friendly versions – it’s very intuitive and easy to use, with some smart features (not least the digital thermometer). It’s not a portable model, but for summer afternoons on the patio, it really can be the center point of an al fresco lifestyle.

About our review – and our reviewer

Jason Orme is one of the UK's leading homes and property experts. He has worked in homes media for over 20 years, appearing in all the mainstream national newspapers as well as many specialist magazines, including Homebuilding & Renovating, which he edited for 12 years. Author of The Self Build Dream, he gives advice to hundreds of homeowners looking to renovate and build their own home each year, and has renovated and built houses from scratch.

He was sent this product to test at home in the backyard, which is how we like to test all pizza ovens and BBQs. We are not given any compensation for our reviews, but may be allowed to keep the product, meaning we can test it over a greater length of time.