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The 11 Best Pizza Ovens, Tested & Reviewed

We tossed, sauced, and baked SO MANY pies to find our top picks

Assortment of best pizza ovens displayed on table outside

The Spruce Eats / Fred Hardy

Homemade pizza is fun to make and delicious to eat, but a standard kitchen oven can't quite recreate restaurant pizza. For proper pizza, you need temperatures of 700, 800, even 900 degrees. And to get that heat, you need a dedicate pizza oven.

A good pizza oven is able to put out more heat than a regular oven, in a more concentrated way. But a pizza oven is far more versatile than the name implies: It can also be used to achieve perfectly seared steaks, roasted fish with extra-crispy skins, flavorful veggies, and more.

There's a wide range of pizza ovens available today, from brick, gas, or wood-fired outdoor ovens to indoor countertop models. Some are small and portable, and some will make quite a statement in your backyard. After evaluating the market, we chose 21 models to test side by side in our Lab, where we made dozens of pizzas in a variety of styles, evaluating for consistency in results. Here are our favorites.

Deal Alert

March 14—or Pi Day—is an unlikely day of celebration, unless you're thinking pizza instead of math! Luckily, in honor of the day, the makers of one of our favorite options—Solo Stove—is offering 10% off orders of $150, 15% off orders of $300, 20% off orders of $600, and 25% off orders of $1000 on its website until March 18.

Best Overall

Ooni Koda 12 Pizza Oven

Ooni Koda 12 Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven

Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    4.5/5
  • Portability
    5/5
What We Like
  • Cooks pizza in 60 seconds

  • No assembly required

  • Highly portable

What We Don't Like
  • Can be tricky to rotate pizza

Ooni is a major name in pizza ovens so it's no surprise the brand sits at the top of our list. The Koda 12 is one of the brand's less-expensive models, but after thorough testing both in the Lab and at home, we deemed it our best overall choice for a variety of reasons. First, it couldn’t be easier to set up and use: Take it out of the box, unfold the legs, and you're ready to go.

This is an attractive oven with a sleek design, no chimney, and three legs that keep it stable on any surface. The body is powder-coated, cold-rolled steel with stainless steel accents. We found it easy to transport, weighing just under 30 pounds. When it’s time to store or travel, the legs fold down. It comes with a stone baking board for the perfect pizza crust, which can handle pizzas up to 13 inches (the pizza stone is 13.3 inches wide).

During testing, the Koda 12 took 15 minutes to reach the recommended temperature. The manufacturer claims it takes 15 minutes to reach 950 degrees, and although we measured the back of the oven at "just" 830 in that time frame, we felt that was plenty hot, and still one of the quickest preheat times of all the ovens we tried. With super-high heat, this oven can cook a pizza in a minute, which we found true when cooking our whole-wheat pie. The supreme pizza we made took just 30 seconds longer than that.

We were also impressed with its consistency in producing multiple pizzas back-to-back with evenly melted cheese and perfectly cooked toppings. The Koda 12 cooks pretty evenly, but at these high temperatures, you have to turn the pizza every 20 seconds or it'll burn. Getting the hang of turning takes some practice, but it's easy to make pizzas once you do (and we found that a smaller peel helps).

Going beyond pizza, we used it to cook whole fish, steak, lamb chops, pineapple, tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, beets, and other veggies and were happy with all of the results. For pizza and more, this is an exceptional oven at a reasonable price.

It's not fully weatherproof, but it's easy to move out of inclement weather, and cleaning is simple. Ooni offers a three-year warranty if you purchase directly from its site.

If you need more space, this model has a bigger brother, the Ooni Koda 16, that can handle pizzas up to 16 inches and can also be converted to run on a home gas line instead of a propane cylinder. It performed similarly well in Lab testing compared with the Koda 12, but it took longer to heat up and is more expensive.

Temperature Range: Up to 950 degrees | Heat Source: Propane | Max Pizza Size: 13 inches | Weight: 29 pounds | Dimensions: 15.7 x 11.6 x 24.8 inches

Runner-Up, Best Overall

Solo Stove Pi Pizza Oven

Solo Stove Pi Pizza Oven

 Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    5/5
  • Portability
    4/5
What We Like
  • Easy to use

  • Heats quickly

What We Don't Like
  • Expensive

  • Pizza needs frequent turning

  • No front door

Outdoor enthusiasts might be familiar with the Solo brand for its camping stoves, a set of ingenious devices that generate tons of heat using minimal amounts of fuel—or for its warm and comforting fire pits. Solo jumped into the trendy world of home pizza ovens with the Pi, and we're happy to report that this machine makes great pizza.

The Pi is simple to set up: Place it on a stable surface, insert the snug-fitting two-piece pizza stone, and start the fire. (Solo also sells a wheeled stand made to fit the oven for extra portability.) The firebox is fairly small, needing frequent additions of small pieces of wood, but we found that it quickly heated the oven and made for a nice smoky char on the crust. The heat is highest at the back of the oven nearest the fire, which means you need to turn the pizza frequently for even doneness—but honestly, that's part of the art of pizza-making.

If you prefer to use gas, Solo recently released the Pi Prime, which is essentially the same oven but with propane burners instead of a firebox for wood. It came out after our side-by-side Lab tests, but we got great results testing the Prime, too, and it's $100 cheaper than the Pi. The heat is more even and controllable than with the original, and it has an even higher maximum temperature, though you sacrifice some of the distinctive smoky notes of wood-fired pizza. (You can also buy a gas burner attachment for the original Pi that lets you use either type of fuel, but this adds expense.)

When it comes to cleanup, the Pi gets hot enough that anything sticking to the pizza stone or interior will burn to ash, which can simply be brushed away after the oven cools. The firebox is also removable to simply dump out the ash from the cooking fuel. The stainless steel exterior is made to stand up to outdoor storage and just wipes clean with a damp cloth. The pizza stone itself is removable for deep cleaning and can also be flipped over if one side gets stained.

If there's a big design flaw with this oven, it's the lack of a door on the front. The Pi retains enough heat to cook pizzas with no problem, but on a windy day, a gust blasting through the opening can interfere with the fire burning and even potentially blow it out.

In all, this oven performed quite similarly to the Ooni Koda above, with a somewhat higher price. Despite its bulky cylindrical look, it's almost the same in size and weight, too. Solo sells a range of accessories made to work with the Pi, from a bamboo peel to a full pizza kit including dough, sauce, cheese, and pepperoni.

Temperature Range: Up to 850 degrees | Heat Source: Wood (can also use propane with burner sold separately) | Max Pizza Size: 12 inches | Weight: 31 pounds | Dimensions: 20.5 x 15.1 inches

Best for Wood Pellets

Ooni Fyra 12 Pizza Oven

Ooni Fyra 12 Portable Wood-Fired Outdoor Pizza Oven

 Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    4/5
  • Heat Control
    3.5/5
  • Portability
    4.5/5
What We Like
  • Heats quickly

  • Consistent crust browning

  • Easy to assemble

What We Don't Like
  • Learning curve for managing fire

  • Less portable than other Ooni models

As you might have figured out from our list of winners, Ooni makes a lot of great pizza ovens. Its various models have a similar design but use different fuels to cook the pizza, and the Fyra is an excellent choice for the barbecue master who already has a wood pellet–powered grill or smoker. Pellet fuel is designed to start burning easily and heat quickly, and that's indeed what our tests found; after 15 minutes, the Fyra hit the second-highest temperature of all the models we tested, reaching 850 degrees at the back of the oven. That kind of performance yielded beautiful crust, with nice smokiness from the wood fuel.

Like the other Ooni models, the Fyra is simple to assemble and is lightweight enough to move around fairly easily, though its tall chimney and large cylindrical pellet hopper render it somewhat more cumbersome than the Koda. The biggest downside is that managing the wood pellet fire takes some getting used to. The Fyra's attached hopper is self-feeding, but we found that keeping it topped up and the fire burning evenly required constant monitoring. Pellet fuel burns faster, hotter, and more evenly than wood chunks, but it also produces more smoke, so it's a good idea to place your Fyra away from doors and windows.

Temperature Range: Up to 950 degrees | Heat Source: Wood pellets | Max Pizza Size: 12 inches | Weight: 22 pounds | Dimensions: 29.1 x 15.4 x 28.5 inches

Best Budget

Presto Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven

Presto Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven

 Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    3/5
  • Portability
    5/5
What We Like
  • Timer with alert

  • Top and bottom adjustable heating elements

  • Lightweight and portable

What We Don't Like
  • Doesn't cook at very high temperature

If you prefer cooking your pizza indoors but don’t want to heat up your oven and your kitchen, the Presto Pizzazz Plus Rotating Pizza Oven does the job—and it’s fun to watch. The major selling points of this model are its budget-friendly price and portability.

The pizza tray rotates continuously to bake the pizza evenly without burning. It heats from both the top and bottom, and the heating elements can be controlled separately, so if the crust is browned before the cheese is gooey, you can turn up the top heat and turn down the bottom heat.

In tests, it took a while to heat up, and there was some inconsistency in the browning of the crust, but the cheese melted well, and the pepperoni on the frozen pizza cooked up nice and crispy. We like that a timer turns off the heat automatically, so you can walk away without worrying about a burned pizza, and an audible signal will alert you that your pizza is done. The pizza tray is removable and has a nonstick coating for easy cleaning.

(You may notice multiple versions of the Presto Pizzazz for sale when browsing. While the packaging and finishes have changed a bit from time to time, the pizza maker and its controls have stayed essentially the same with every model.)

Temperature Range: Unspecified | Heat Source: Electric | Max Pizza Size: 13 inches | Weight: 7.7 pounds | Dimensions: 15.3 x 14.3 x 10.3 inches

Best Indoor

Breville Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven

Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven

Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    5/5
  • Portability
    4.5/5
What We Like
  • Mimics wood-fired ovens

  • Multiple pizza settings

  • Manual control for infinite options

What We Don't Like
  • Expensive

  • No auto-shutoff

With an indoor pizza oven, you don’t need to worry about the weather, fire, or lighting conditions so it's often easier and more convenient than an outdoor option. This Breville model can reach 750 degrees, the temperature required for authentic pizza. It is well-insulated, so the exterior stays pretty cool to the touch despite the super-high heat, although there will be some smoking.

Like other smart Breville appliances, this has easy-to-use settings, so it’s simple to choose frozen thin-crust pizza, deep dish, or a wood-fired style pizza. It’s also possible to customize the settings to get the perfect results for any pizza style and personal preference. In testing, we successfully baked a frozen pizza in 15 minutes using the oven's preset option and achieved fantastic results—nicely browned crust and golden brown cheese. We also successfully baked everything from frozen pizza to a thin Margherita pizza to a pan pizza layered with cheese and a meaty Bolognese. You won't get quite the same smoky flavor as a wood-fired grill, but for ease and convenience, the Breville cannot be beaten.

The pizza stone is designed to produce the essential char you’d find on wood-fired pizza, while radiant heat provides the attractive leopard-spotted crust; convection heat perfectly cooks the cheese and toppings. Unlike ovens that only allow overall temperature control, this one has separate controls for the top and bottom heating elements for custom cooking options. In fact, we officially dubbed the Breville "the ideal nacho machine." It may be specialized for pizza, but we included the Pizzaiolo in our roundup of overall best countertop ovens because of that customizability.

It comes with a stainless steel pizza peel for sliding pizzas in and out of the oven and a carbon steel pan with a removable handle for thicker pies. While the metal peel works for removing pizzas from the oven and is sufficient for frozen pizzas, we found dough sticks no matter how much cornmeal you use so we recommend a wooden peel. The oven itself is attractive enough to leave on the counter, and while it's on the larger side for a toaster-style oven, it's still simple enough to move or store on a (large) shelf.

Temperature Range: Up to 750 degrees | Heat Source: Electric | Max Pizza Size: 12 inches | Weight: 45.6 pounds | Dimensions: 22.3 x 21.4 x 18.9 inches

Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven displayed on table next to red pepper flakes

The Spruce Eats / Fred Hardy

Best for Wood-Fired Pizza

Ooni Karu 12 Pizza Oven

Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    4.5/5
  • Heat Control
    3.5/5
  • Portability
    4.5/5
What We Like
  • Cooks pizza in under a minute

  • Burns wood or lump charcoal

  • Gas adapter available

What We Don't Like
  • Burns through fuel quickly

  • Needs attention during cooking

  • Can take a while to preheat

There’s something about the flavor of wood-fired cooking that makes it incredibly appealing, and the Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven delivers since it can run on gas, wood, or charcoal, just like many barbecue grills. You can grab some hickory, mesquite, and maple wood for their unique flavors or load it with a bag of charcoal. It can also be used with gas if you purchase the gas burner (sold separately). After extensive testing, we were consistently impressed with the delicious results.

Setup is easy, but because of the multi-fuel feature, there are a few more components to keep track of than other models. The body is stainless steel with ceramic fiber insulation, so it holds in the heat, while the included Ooni baking stone retains heat for a perfect crust every time.

While the manufacturer says this oven can get up to 950 degrees in just 15 minutes, we found it took quite a bit longer. However, once heated, the oven held the temperature well and cooked the pizzas evenly—as long as you turn them often (every 15 seconds). Supreme pizzas, whole wheat pizzas, and veggie pizzas were cooked to perfection in our testing. Pizzas can be cooked in as little as 45 seconds!

A chimney baffle controls the heat by adjusting the oxygen flow for high heat or for low-and-slow cooking. A port on the back makes it easy to add more fuel for longer cooking sessions or to add new wood for different flavors. There's a small learning curve and ways to play around with controlling the temperature, like moving the pizza from the back of the oven to the front, but we found using this oven pure fun. And, if you want to go beyond pizza night, we also successfully baked cornbread and grilled hot dogs in the Karu.

When it’s time to move or store, the legs fold down for a smaller footprint, and it's lightweight enough to move easily. Ooni offers a three-year warranty if you purchase directly from its site.

Before the Ooni Karu, there was the Ooni 3, which offered similar wood-fired pizza capabilities. The Ooni 3 was one of the first cost-effective pizza ovens available to the public, which helped launch the high-quality homemade pizza revolution we see now. It was discontinued at the beginning of 2020 to make way for two more advanced models, the Karu and the Fyra. For those who still own the Ooni 3 and are interested in the gas burner connection, the same attachment can be used as the one for the Karu 12.

Temperature range: Up to 950 degrees | Heat Source: Wood, charcoal, or propane | Max Pizza Size: 12 inches | Weight: 26.4 pounds | Dimensions: 30.31 x 15.75 x 31.5 inches

Pizza cooking inside the Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

Best Splurge

Gozney Dome Dual-Fuel Pizza Oven

Gozney Dome Dual-Fuel Pizza Oven

Gozney

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    4.5/5
  • Heat Control
    2/5
  • Portability
    4/5
What We Like
  • Dual fuel offers cooking options

  • Quality build

  • Built-in thermometer and probe jacks

What We Don't Like
  • Heavy

  • Lengthy preheating time

  • Expensive

When you want a high-end pizza oven but don’t want to build a custom brick oven in the backyard, the Gozney Dome can step up to the plate. It has a wide opening that can handle larger pizzas (15 or 16 inches, although we found the largest pizzas more difficult to place and keep far enough from the flames). The dual-fuel oven can burn wood and gas (there are separate models for wood-and-propane or wood-and-natural-gas), and it has an integrated thermometer that makes it easy to check the internal temperature.

The Gozney Dome is a heavy beast, weighing 128 pounds, so it will take two people to lift it safely onto a table or cart. We'd recommend buying Gozney’s own stand, since it’s built to hold the Dome specifically, and the four caster wheels let you move the oven around easily. The oven comes mostly assembled, but you have to place the included battery in the digital display, and then a short burn-in is required before first use.

In testing, it took 45 minutes to reach max temperature, so you will want to plan ahead with this model. Because the oven is so big, you can play around with where you place your pie depending on how close to the heat you want it. After 45 minutes, it was 750 degrees at the back of the oven, 720 in the front, 900 on the left side, and 700 on the right. Thankfully, the Dome's sizable opening also makes it easy to rotate the pizza for even doneness.

While it takes a while to heat up, our results were worth it. It's definitely a splurge, but seriously fun to use. You can cook a thinner, minimally-topped pizza in just around 30 seconds! Cooking with gas was slightly easier, but we love the smoky flavor that cooking with wood provides. In testing, we saw consistent results from both methods, with all kinds of pizzas.

Not just for pizza, this oven can be used for other baking or roasting projects, and it comes with two probe thermometers that plug into jacks on the front. Gozney also continually introduces new pizza tools and other accessories to make its ovens even more useful.

Temperature Range: Up to 950 degrees | Heat Source: Wood and propane or natural gas | Max Pizza Size: 16 inches | Weight: 128 pounds | Dimensions: 26 x 24.8 x 28.8 inches

Best Grill-Top

Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit

Onlyfire Universal Stainless Steel Pizza Oven Kit

 Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    4/5
  • Portability
    5/5
What We Like
  • Includes 14-inch stone

  • Lightweight

  • Easy to clean

What We Don't Like
  • Not as much char as standard pizza ovens

If you have a gas grill, maybe you don’t need another outdoor appliance just for pizza. The Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit is an insert designed to work inside a grill with the lid open. It provides a perfect space for cooking pizza evenly on the top and bottom, which is something you can't do by simply throwing a pizza directly on the grill grates or on a pizza stone on top of them. The base is 17 inches square, so it’s wise to measure your grill to make sure it'll fit, but assembly couldn't be easier: Pull it out of the box and stick it on the grill.

The insert is made from stainless steel with a double-walled roof to keep the heat in, and it has a thermometer on one corner so you can check the internal temperature easily. Testing showed that this insert provides much better results than cooking a pizza on a grill by itself. It took about 15 minutes to reach 690 degrees at the front of the oven. This is comparatively low-and-slow for pizza, but we found that the stone held heat well. Our cook times were longer than hotter ovens—it took us 9 minutes to cook a supreme pizza—but we found the bake to be consistent, and the results were tasty. But since the Onlyfire relies on the grill for its heat, the maximum temperature (and cook time) will depend on the power of whatever you place it on.

We tested the Onlyfire kit on a Weber grill as well as a smaller pellet grill and had no problems with either. The included pizza stone is 14 inches, and a 13.5-inch-wide pizza peel is also included to get the pie neatly in and out of the oven. It also makes it easy to turn the pizza while cooking. If you're a beginner pizza maker, you might also be disappointed in the lack of directions, though there are lots of online resources available (including right on this here website).

This model is made for gas only, but charcoal grillers, you're not left out! Onlyfire makes a similar oven designed to fit a kettle-style charcoal grill.

Temperature range: Varies | Heat Source: Gas grill | Max Pizza Size: 14 inches | Weight: 10 pounds | Base Dimensions: 17 x 17 inches

Best Multipurpose

Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Oven

Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Oven, Griddle, and Grill

 Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    2.5/5
  • Heat Control
    5/5
  • Portability
    3.5/5
What We Like
  • Can be used as a grill and griddle

  • Easy to use

  • Produces even cooking every time

What We Don't Like
  • Tricky setup

If you are looking to get the most out of your outdoor pizza oven, the Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Oven Plus offers versatility, portability, and performance—and it's one of the more affordable options on this list. In addition to making pizzas with the included 13-inch cordierite pizza stone, this Cuisinart oven functions as a grill with 260 square inches of cooking space or a griddle with 233 square inches of space. Even with all of that functionality, we were most impressed with how easy this model is to use as a pizza oven and the consistency of the final pies.

In testing, it took 15 minutes to reach 600 degrees at the front of the oven. It features a nice oven-style opening with a lid that folds down, and we found it easy to turn the pizzas, which you only have to do once, halfway through cooking. This means there is minimal babysitting needed, but you'll still end up with evenly cooked cheese and crisp crust.

When you want to move on to searing steaks, cooking hamburgers, or frying eggs, there's a dual-hinged lid you can flip up and down to convert between cooking modes and integrated storage space for storing the grill grate and griddle plate.

Our one complaint with this appliance was the complicated setup, but after it was assembled it was incredibly easy to use. While it isn't the lightest pizza oven on our list, you should be able to pack it up in the car for camping trips, tailgating, and more.

Temperature Range: Up to 700 degrees | Heat Source: Propane | Max Pizza Size: 13 inches | Weight: 45 pounds | Dimensions: 25 x 20 x 17.5 inches

Best Electric

Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven

Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven

Amazon

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    5/5
  • Portability
    5/5
What We Like
  • Easy to use

  • Versatile

  • No need to turn the pizza

  • Wood-fired flavor

  • Even cooking

What We Don't Like
  • Can’t view food during cooking

Want wood-fire flavor without the hassle of starting a grill with charcoal or wood? Check. Make pizzeria level pizzas by just turning a dial? Also check. What makes Ninja WoodFire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven truly standout is the advanced technology, the ability to infuse smoky flavor with just a half-cup of wood pellets and the versatility that is packed inside a small but powerful appliance.

Making pizza in the Ninja Woodfire could not be easier. It has preset settings for Neapolitan, thin crust, New York-style, pan pizza, and frozen. You can also customize the time and temperature for your own unique style of pizza. The preheating times were long but not always so—the longest is 25 minutes for Neapolitan-style pizza, which is still pretty good for an electric oven. Depending on which kind of pizza you cook, the oven bakes it in anything from three minutes for Neapolitan to 20 minutes for a frozen one.

The best part of using this oven was that we didn’t need to turn the pizza while it was baking. The pizzas were cooked evenly with a blistered crust and all the cheese evenly melted. Cooking pizzas one after another was also quick. Up to four Neapolitan-style pizzas can cook back-to-back before needing a little time to get the temperature back up. To add smoke while cooking pizza, all you need to do is press the "woodfire" ignition button and it gets to work instantly. The smoky flavor is not intense, but a light lingering taste of fire which we quite liked.

Since the temperatures in the Ninja Woodfire oven can be controlled with a dial, baking various kinds of breads was super easy and produced really good results. We used it to make demi baguettes, bagels, boules, and even flatbreads like naan and kulcha. It is also comes preassembled. The manufacturer recommends using an SJOW extension cord less than 50 meters in length—we used a 14-gauge, 25-feet extension cord that is also suitable for outdoor use.

Temperature Range: 105 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit | Heat Source: Electricity | Max Pizza Size: 12 inches| Weight: 32.4 pounds | Dimensions: 21.5 x 18 x 15.1 inches

Best New Release

Ooni Volt 12 Electric Pizza Oven

Ooni Volt 12 Electric Pizza Oven

Ooni

Our Ratings
  • Assembly
    5/5
  • Heat Control
    4.5/5
  • Portability
    4.5/5
What We Like
  • Works indoors or outdoors

  • Simple controls

  • High heat and excellent results

What We Don't Like
  • Expensive

  • Technique requires practice

  • Runs a little cool

We (and most of the hardcore homemade-pizza fans out there) absolutely love the Ooni brand. Its gas- and wood-powered ovens cook up incredible charred-and-smoky pizza in minutes, and they look really cool doing it. The only problem is that all of Ooni's models were for outdoor use only. Until recently.

The Ooni Volt is the brand's first indoor oven, using electric heating elements above and below the pizza for optimal results. This is no underpowered countertop oven, however: It got the dense, heat-holding pizza stone up to 763 degrees in testing. (That's at the Volt's maximum temperature setting of 850; it ran a little cool in general but still more than hot enough for proper bubbly, charred crust and browned cheese and toppings.)

We made a ton of incredible pizzas with this thing, albeit setting off the fire alarm multiple times with our first few attempts. Shaping, saucing, and topping homemade pizza dough is a tough technique to master, as is wielding a pizza peel, and any sauce, cheese, or topping spills will result in plumes of acrid smoke. (Nonetheless, the pizzas we cooked while spills smoldered still tasted great.)

It's automatic enough for a beginner to use, but the controls of the Volt are also finely adjustable, with a precise temperature control and timer, plus a knob that regulates the balance of power between the top and bottom heating elements. You want the highest heat, all from the top, for thin Neapolitan-style pies, and lower heat, equally balanced between top and bottom, for baking frozen pizza. It's an improvement over other Ooni models, and being able to use it indoors is a big plus, but it's also quite a bit pricier, more than double the cost of the gas-powered Koda that was our overall favorite.

All in all, the Ooni Volt is quite similar in design, performance, and price to the indoor Breville above, with a slight advantage to the Volt for its slightly higher temperature and more straightforward controls. Because this Ooni is such a recent launch, we haven't had the chance to pit them head-to-head directly. Yet.

Temperature Range: 250 to 850 degrees | Heat Source: Electricity | Max Pizza Size: 13 inches | Weight: 39.2 pounds | Dimensions: 24.2 x 20.8 x 10.9 inches

Final Verdict

The Ooni Koda 12 Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven is our top pick because of its one-of-a-kind combination of consistently authentic results, portability, and eye-catching design. It outperformed the other models in Lab testing and comes at a reasonable price. If you're looking for an indoor option, we recommend the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven. It offers versatile temperature control and simple-to-use settings and produced excellent results in both Lab and home testing.

Placing pizza in Ooni Koda 12 Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven outside

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

How We Tested Pizza Ovens

After researching top-rated pizza ovens from popular brands, including newcomers and tried-and-true favorites, we sent 21 models to our dedicated Lab to test side-by-side. We looked at a variety of price points, sizes, and fuel types, and included both indoor and outdoor models in our testing. Additionally, we sent several pizza ovens to our experienced at-home testers so they could put them through further evaluation in their backyards and kitchens.

Pizza being placed in oven and Spruce Eats pizza testing statistics

The Spruce Eats / Jessica Christopher

We Observed

  • Cooking consistency: Following the included directions and using the same amounts of dough, sauce, and mozzarella each time, we cooked three plain cheese pizzas back-to-back in each oven. We evaluated all the pies for color, texture, and flavor, noting whether they were cooked evenly all around, and if there were any significant differences between the first, second, and third test pizzas.
  • Whole wheat pizza performance: We baked a plain cheese pizza with a whole-wheat crust in each oven, using the highest temperature setting. We evaluated how well and how evenly the pizzas cooked, and if the crust got properly crisp at the same time the cheese was fully melted and starting to brown.
  • Supreme pizza performance: To test the ovens' abilities to handle lots of toppings, we cooked a test pizza in each oven piled high with pepperoni (10 slices), olives (1/4 cup), bell pepper (1/2 cup), and mushrooms (1/2 cup). We noted the quality of the finished pizzas, as well as any difficulties with placing them in the oven, turning, or removing.
  • Frozen pizza performance: In each indoor oven, we also cooked a DiGiorno Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza following the package directions. We evaluated color, texture, flavor, and evenness of cooking, and noted whether the cook time needed adjusting for best results matched up with the instructions.

We Rated

  • Ease of assembly and mobility: Some of the tested ovens are pretty much ready to go right out of the box, while others need to be put together. We noted how much assembly is required, how well the directions explain it, and if we needed any extra tools. We also considered how easy it was to move each oven around and whether you'd need to buy a separate stand or cart to hold it.
  • Times and temperatures: We continually measured cook times and oven temperatures throughout the rounds of testing, looking for consistency as well as speed and power. To record a maximum temperature, we let each oven pre-heat until as hot as possible, then used a surface probe thermometer to precisely measure the front, back, top, and sides of the interior in addition to the pizza stone or other baking surface itself. (We also noted how long the pre-heating process took to complete.)
  • Versatility: We looked at features on each oven that make it good for more than just pizza, such as integrated thermometers and smart settings for steaks or roasts, and accessories like racks and baking dishes. We also considered how easy it is to maintain a lower temperature than needed to char a pizza. Our home testers tried out each oven's unique special features on a variety of dishes to decide if they're useful or not.
  • Value: After completing all the other tests, we revealed the retail prices of the ovens to compare to each other and the group average. There was a pretty massive range in the costs of the tested ovens, from $250 to nearly $2,000.

About Our Testers

  • Our Lab team has spent collective decades working in professional kitchens, developing recipes, and testing kitchen gear.
  • Food writer Donna Currie contributes recipes and product reviews to The Spruce Eats and a variety of other publications, and is also the author of "Make Ahead Bread." She tested five of the ovens featured above: the Solo Stove Pi, Breville Pizzaiolo, Ooni Karu 12, Gozney Dome, and OnlyFire kit.
  • Pete Scherer was a baker at several of Los Angeles' top restaurants (and even had his own shop) before becoming a food writer and freelancer for The Spruce Eats. In addition to testing the Ooni Koda for this story, he also created our sourdough pizza crust recipe.
  • Personal chef and culinary instructor Renu Dhar has been writing for The Spruce Eats since 2019. She tested the Ninja Woodfire at home.
  • The Spruce Eats commerce writer Jason Horn tested the Ooni Volt, which came out after our Lab testing had been completed. He has a masters degree in journalism and has been writing about food and drinks for his entire career, for publications including Playboy, The Takeout, Liquor.com, and Serious Eats.

Other Options We Tested

  • Ooni Karu 16: This is the newer, larger version of the Karu 12, our wood-fired fave. The Karu 16 performed well in Lab testing, but it takes much longer to heat up than the Karu 12 due to its size. We also found we got the best results cooking low and slow—with higher temperatures, our results were inconsistent. Because of the additional price and the fact that it takes two people to move, we'd choose the Karu 12 over the 16.
  • Gozney Roccbox: Before Gozney released the Dome, the brand was known for its design-forward Roccbox pizza oven, which can be used with gas or wood. We tested the Roccbox in the Lab, and it received high marks for its heat control and performance. In fact, it took just 15 minutes to reach max temperature, compared with the lengthy 45-minute preheat time of the Dome. At home, we also produced authentic Neapolitan pies in 1-3 minutes, and the results were even and delicious. Its portability, however, is lacking, as it weighs in at over 60 pounds, and the price seems steep for what you're getting. If you really want to splurge and are looking for a sturdily built backyard pizza oven that you don't need to move a lot, we're giving the nod to the Dome. And if you want something smaller and portable, we found there are much more affordable options with equal performance to the Roccbox.
  • Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven: This oven was featured on a previous version of this roundup because it received a rave review after home testing. However, in Lab tests, its performance was lacking compared with the competition. There is a serious learning curve with this oven, and it's very easy to end up with undercooked or burnt sections of pizza. It's also bulky. So while you might be able to make better pizza than you would in your home oven, there are much more effective and easier-to-use pizza ovens on our list.

What to Look for in a Pizza Oven

Ooni Koda 12 Gas-Powered Outdoor Pizza Oven displayed on table
The Spruce Eats / Gwen Squires

Size and Location

Before considering anything else, you should decide whether your pizza oven is for outdoor or indoor use. If you don't have a balcony, yard, or other outdoor space to put it, you won't be able to use any of the gas- or wood-powered ovens above. There are indoor pizza ovens that can achieve appropriately high temperatures and make great crusty pizza, however, and they're a lot more convenient to use when it's raining or snowing. Indoor ovens typically accommodate somewhat smaller pizzas than outdoor ones, and they take up a moderate amount of counter space while in use. 

If you can invest in an outdoor pizza oven, you have a lot more options in terms of fuels and sizes. Most pizza ovens covered here simply require a stable wood, metal, or stone surface large enough to put your oven on without risk of toppling over. A small balcony might not be able to accommodate the largest models, but even an oven that can handle 16-inch pizzas isn't any bigger than a medium-sized gas grill. 

Closeup of Presto Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven cooking pizza

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

Maximum Temperature

When it comes to baking pizza, hotter is almost always better. Authentic Neapolitan pizza is traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven at a minimum of 800 degrees for just 60 to 90 seconds in order to yield puffy, crispy, just short-of-burnt crust and beautifully melted cheese. That's much hotter than a regular oven, which is why you need a specialized pizza oven for great pizza. Outdoor models designed to burn wood are capable of reaching temps of up to 900 degrees, while indoor electric models can't boast quite the same power. That said, our favorite indoor oven managed to reach over 750 degrees, high enough for Neapolitan-style results.

To help retain heat and achieve those high temperatures, many ovens have an insulated or double-layered ceiling to keep heat concentrated in the oven. Some ovens have dual heating elements on both the top and bottom of the oven to help regulate the baking of both the crust and toppings. 

While many pizza ovens claim that heat is distributed perfectly evenly throughout the oven, you will likely still need to rotate the pizza once or twice while it bakes to get even cooking—even for pizzas that only cook for a minute or two. It might take a few tries to get used to handling a pizza peel to move the dough around, but that's part of the art of pizza-making. 

RoccBox Pizza Oven displayed on table

The Spruce Eats / Gwen-Squires

Design

Almost all small- and medium-sized pizza ovens on the market today have a streamlined contemporary look with a stainless steel finish and interior pizza stone baking surface. Some models come in black or gray instead of silver, but most do not have a variety of color options. 

The heat source in smaller pizza ovens is most often at the back of the oven. Ovens with an open flame typically allow the flame to extend part of the way across the oven roof to directly heat a greater portion of the pizza. The oven has a vaulted roof that is meant to imitate the heating pattern of traditional brick ovens. 

Pizza ovens are turned on with an ignition knob for gas-powered ovens, which usually includes a dial to control the flame output. Wood- and charcoal-fired ovens use a starter and are match-lit like their grill cousins. Electric pizza ovens are typically set to a specific time or temperature with a dial and have an indicator light to alert you when it has finished preheating. 

Portability

Smaller pizza oven models have collapsible legs and detachable parts for when you want to make pizzas or barbecue at the park, on a camping trip, or at a friend’s backyard cookout. Portable pizza ovens are designed to quickly assemble and disassemble and usually come with a carrying bag to keep everything together. While the oven you choose may be portable, keep in mind that it might not necessarily be light. Some weigh as little as 25 pounds, while others top the scale at over 50 pounds. Larger, non-portable ovens are too heavy to move around regularly, and some are designed to hook up to your home gas line, making them essentially immobile.

Person pulling pizza from Ooni Koda Pizza Oven

The Spruce Eats / Pete-Scherer

Price

Especially with a high-end model designed to produce professional results, a pizza oven can be a serious investment. There are budget models under $100, but for a model that can reach the seriously high temperatures needed for great pizza, you're looking at a few hundred dollars.

Small gas-powered outdoor ovens cost $300 to $500 for a good-quality model, with wood-burning versions a little higher than that. But for that price, you can expect to get years of use from your oven, similar to investing in a high-quality grill. 

For larger, more design-forward ovens with famous brand names and smart features, the sky's the limit on price. Top-end pizza ovens run well into the thousands of dollars; in addition to making great pizza, one of these will impress your foodie friends and decorate your home.

Warranty

Most pizza ovens come with a one-year warranty, while a few offer extended warranties of up to three years. You can expect your pizza oven to last for many years, but if you find that it needs repair after the warranty expires, some companies offer replacement parts, and local professional kitchen equipment repair services are likely able to help.

Types of Pizza Oven

Propane and Natural Gas

Gas-fueled pizza ovens are generally considered the easiest to use. Gas flames heat the oven faster than wood or electricity and are great at reaching the high temperatures required for pizza-making, no monitoring needed. They're also easier to clean up since there's no wood ash and debris to worry about, but they don't add quite the same smoky flavor as wood-fired pizza ovens. 

Most gas pizza ovens use the same standard propane cylinders as gas grills, with a simple screw-on connector. There are also models that hook up to a household natural gas line; you'll never have to change propane cylinders this way, but you will need a professional to install the gas connection safely and properly. All gas pizza ovens are made to be used outdoors only.

Wood and Charcoal

True Neapolitan pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven, which adds a hint of smoke flavor and unmistakable char to the crust. Cooking pizza with wood is the way to get the best possible results, though controlling the fire to achieve and maintain optimal heat requires constant monitoring. Another nice feature of a wood-burning oven is that you can experiment with different fuels. Maple, hickory, mesquite, and other types of wood will all impart subtly different flavors to pizza or other dishes. On the other hand, starting the fire and getting the oven up to temperature takes longer than gas, and you'll have to clean out the ash and any wood left over after every pizza-making session. Plus, you'll have to keep a supply of wood on hand to use the thing. A pair of super high-heat-resistant gloves, such as Rapicca welding gloves, also couldn't hurt.

Charcoal kind of splits the difference between gas and wood: It's easier to start and maintain a charcoal fire than a wood fire, but charcoal won't contribute quite the same smokiness that wood can. Regardless of whether you choose wood or charcoal, all of these ovens are solely for outdoor use.

Hybrid

Some outdoor ovens come with interchangeable components that allow you to switch between gas and wood for fuel. This is a useful feature, but it comes with a cost, as a hybrid oven is typically more expensive than one that can only use one type of fuel. It's also important to note that you can't use gas and wood at the same time: With a hybrid oven, you choose one or the other for each individual pizza night.

Closeup pizza cooking in Roccbox Portable Wood and Gas Pizza Oven

The Spruce Eats / Gwen Squires

Electric

Indoor countertop pizza ovens use electric heating elements, just like full-size electric ovens or toaster ovens. In order to reach high temperatures and cook both crust and cheese effectively, most models have separate heating elements in the top and bottom of the oven. Many ovens offer separate control of the top and bottom heat sources to perfect doneness on both sides of the pizza. Electric pizza ovens are the only kind that can be used inside, but they typically can't get quite as hot as live-fire outdoor ovens.

Grill Insert

If you already have a gas grill, you can buy a pizza oven that sits right inside it. Grill insert models include a heavy pizza stone base and double-walled roof to help concentrate the grill's heat and retain it throughout the cooking process. These are less expensive than self-contained pizza ovens, but you have to supply your own grill, so it really only makes sense if you already own a grill. The power of a grill insert pizza oven depends entirely on the grill you use it with, and obviously a larger grill will deliver better results.

Person placing pizza in Onlyfire Universal Stainless Steel Pizza Oven Kit on grill

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

Brands

Ooni

Originally launched via Kickstarter in 2012, Scotland-based Ooni makes home pizza ovens and only home pizza ovens. Created by a pizza-obsessed husband and wife, the Ooni name has quickly become legendary among foodies. It now makes several design-forward outdoor ovens and one indoor one, along with a range of branded accessories.

Gozney

Pizza pioneer Tom Gozney got started in the food business making stone ovens for restaurant kitchens before he created the hybrid-fuel Roccbox for home use. The portable Roccbox gained international popularity with its ultra-modern design, versatility, and ability to make incredible pizza. Gozney's more recent and more heavy-duty Dome model offers absolute luxury in pizza-baking, for a luxury price.

RoccBox Pizza Oven back burner view

The Spruce Eats / Gwen-Squires

Breville

Known for luxury espresso machines, juicers, and air fryers, Breville makes a variety of small appliances in its signature brushed-stainless-steel finish. Many of its smart ovens have settings for pizza, and its Pizzaiolo model is specially designed to generate super-high heat in an indoor oven.

OnlyFire

OnlyFire's range of products is focused on making your existing grill more useful. It makes rotisserie and pizza-oven inserts in many styles to fit many sizes and shapes of grill. Under normal circumstances, a gas grill isn't quite hot enough to make pizza, but OnlyFire's equipment changes that.

Ooni Koda PizzaOven displayed with its packaging on wooden table

The Spruce Eats / Pete-Scherer

FAQs

How does a pizza oven work?

Pizza ovens are built differently than conventional home and restaurant ovens. They are typically compact, with a stone base and domed roof. The stone base retains heat to help cook the bottom of the pizza easily, while the tight domed roof conducts heat over and around the top of the pizza to promote even cooking. The design of a pizza oven is meant to optimize heating and retain as much heat as possible, which makes it cook at temperatures much hotter than conventional ovens.

While some pizza ovens may have a closable door on the front to help retain heat, many just have an open slot whose small but wide opening doesn't lose much heat. The high oven temperature makes it possible to cook multiple pizzas in quick succession without losing much heat in between. 

Pizza ovens are heated in a variety of ways, including gas, wood, charcoal, or electricity. Most non-electric home pizza ovens are made for the outdoors, not just because it’s generally safer to use high-heat equipment outside but also because they generate a lot of smoke. 

What can you cook in a pizza oven besides pizza?

Pizza ovens are obviously made for cooking pizzas at very high temperatures, but they’re more versatile than you might expect. Most pizza ovens come with temperature controls, making it possible to cook other foods at high temperatures without scorching them. This can be ideal for anyone interested in baking breads that do well baked fast and hot, like sourdough, fluffy focaccia, or small pastries. 

High-temperature ovens are also great for quickly roasting vegetables, as well as meats including chicken, steaks, ribs, and sausages. A wood-fired pizza oven can impart a lovely smoked flavor to any of these dishes. Anything that's cooked in a cast iron or ceramic skillet is ideal for cooking in a pizza oven, too, as these heavy-duty pans are good at maintaining high heat. You don't want to put foods with lots of oil or fat directly on the surface of the oven to avoid grease seeping into the stone or potentially catching fire.

How do you clean a pizza oven?

Rule No. 1: Let your oven cool completely before cleaning. The nice thing about an oven that gets up to 700 degrees or even hotter is that any spills or spatters will likely be completely incinerated while your pizza cooks, but you don't want to be putting your hands inside while it's still 700 degrees. Ash is just about the only material you'll have to clean out of the inside of a pizza oven, and it's fairly easy to simply sweep out with a brush, sponge or damp cloth. If the pizza stone is removable, it can also be simply wiped down; you should not get a pizza stone soaking wet or submerge it in water, as this can make the stone crack the next time it's heated.

A wood- or charcoal-fired oven will generate a lot more ash, but these models usually have a removable tray or door to make removing it easy. After you remove the ash, but before you throw it in the trash, it's a good idea to give it a thorough stir and make sure there are no glowing embers that could start a fire. If you find any, pour in some water and stir until there's no more glow (the same rules as putting out a campfire).

To clean the outside of a pizza oven, a sponge with soap and water is about all you need. Racks and peels and other accessories might be dishwasher-safe, but you should check the instruction manual for specific cleaning instructions.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Donna Currie is a food writer, product tester, and author of the cookbook "Make Ahead Bread." She's made more than her fair share of pizza—in the oven, on grills, and with dedicated pizza makers—and personally tested the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven, Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven, and Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit for this roundup, in addition to some pizza stones if you're looking for one of those.

This roundup was updated by Jenny Kellerhals, who also wrote the accompanying pizza oven buying guide. After a decade in NYC pastry kitchens, Jenny has finally learned how to balance yeasted dough recipes and baking intuition to perfect her favorite pizza dough.

The Spruce Eats Commerce Writer Jason Horn further updated this roundup. He tested the Ooni Volt 12 for this roundup, setting off his smoke detector many times in the process. A native Chicagoan, his preferred pizza style is deep dish.

Renu Dhar is a personal chef and culinary instructor who is passionate about making cooking approachable, developing easy and nutritious recipes, and finding tools that help make cooking fun and easy for everyone. She tested the Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven for this roundup.

Additional reporting by
Carrie Honaker,
Carrie Honaker The Spruce Eats
Carrie Honaker is a freelance writer specializing in food, wine, travel, and culture. Her work has appeared in Bon Appetit, Wine Enthusiast, Allrecipes, and more.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Marshall Bright,
Marshall Bright
Marshall Bright is a freelance writer covering food and cooking for The Spruce Eats. A self-taught home chef, Marshall is passionate about making home cooking approachable and fun for more people.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Jenny Kellerhals,
Jenny Kellerhals

Jenny Kellerhals is a freelance writer covering food and beverage. She is also a pastry chef and an active recipe developer with more than a decade in the industry.

Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
and
Renu Dhar
Renu Dhar
Renu is a personal chef, culinary instructor, and a food blogger who covers food for The Spruce Eats.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
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