What we’d leave:
You can keep the Volt outside, but if you’re putting a pizza oven outside we think you’re better off with gas. So, assuming you’re keeping this one indoors, the one downside is that takes up a lot of space. With a footprint of 24” x 21” it could eat up part of your counter.
How we tested and evaluated pizza ovens
We made a lot of pizza. For each oven, we started by cooking a basic Neapolitan-style Margherita at the maximum temperature of each oven (between 900-1000 degrees), as well as a simple New York-style pepperoni cooked between 600-700 degrees. From there, we played with a variety of different pizza doughs (e.g. sourdough, pre-frozen, gluten-free, etc.), temperatures, and toppings to determine overall ease of use, quality of the finished product, and relative value for the price.
What to look for in a pizza oven
The thing that makes a pizza oven different from your regular old oven is that it can get almost twice as hot. At least it can if it’s a good pizza oven. We looked for ovens that could hit close to 900℉ relatively quickly.
Though any individual neapolitan pizza will only need about 90 seconds of cook time, we want an oven that will hold the temperature on its stone.
It should be possible to adjust the temperature of the oven relatively easily, because we don’t always want to be cooking with the heat of 1000 suns.
Pizza ovens can be frustrating to use. We looked for versions with smart features like a wide opening to easily accommodate pies or burners oriented for consistent cooking.
Should you get a gas or wood burning oven?
Our top picks are all gas pizza ovens (except for the electric Volt) and that’s because they’re just so much easier to use than wood burning ovens. For versatility sake and the likelihood you’ll actually use them on a regular basis we think gas is the way to go. There are some good wood burning ovens below, but just know they’re much more of a commitment to cook with.
A note on cost
In terms of cost, you need to budget quite a bit more than just the cost of the oven itself. At the very least, you’re going to need a table or stand capable of supporting the considerable weight. And a cover to protect your new outdoor pizza oven from the elements. And a pizza peel, turning peel, serving peel, oven brush …you get the idea. To fully equip your new oven, plan on spending about 50% of the price of the actual oven on related accessories.
Other Pizza Ovens We Tested
Gozney Tread
The idea of traveling with a pizza oven may seem a bit ridiculous, but the new Gonzey Tread (an evolution of the original Gozney Roccbox portable oven) almost has us convinced that a portable pizza oven could be a thing. Almost. With Tread, Gozney promises “pizza in places you never thought possible.” According to the company’s promotional imagery, this includes beaches, deserts, and snow-covered mountain peaks. At only 30 pounds, this seems somewhat feasible, until you add a sturdy carrying bag, telescoping stand, top rack, propane tank, and accessories to the scale. Nevertheless, every element of the Tread is sturdy and well designed, and it’s not hard to imagine taking the oven along for tailgating, car camping, or a day at the beach. Wherever you take it, the Tread is fully capable of cooking a perfectly charred, leopard spotted 12-inch pizza. It gets hot fast, retains heat well, and just as important for portability, cools to the touch in less than 30 minutes. Even if you never take it anywhere but your back patio, the Gozney Tread is one of our favorite small outdoor pizza ovens. And it should be, considering it’ll cost you more than $1,000 once fully accessorized.
Gozney Arc XL
Obviously, you want your outdoor pizza oven to make great pizza. At the same time, if you’re going to spend more than $1,000 on something that’s going to take up permanent residence on your patio or deck, it should look nice, too. Fortunately, you get both form and function with the Gozney Arc XL. While the stone took nearly 40 minutes to reach 900 degrees, it retained heat better than most ovens tested and produced a perfectly blistered Neapolitan-style crust in just over one minute. It won’t work as well without the optional stand ($250), which features a steel platform below for your propane tank, large castor wheels, and two foldable wood wings for ingredients and tools. So if you’re considering this one we’d highly recommend it.
Ooni Karu 2 Pro
Can’t decide between the ease of gas and the smoky flavor of wood? The Ooni Karu 2 Pro gives you both, sort of. Like the other two multi-fuel ovens in Ooni’s lineup, the Karu 2 Pro (a larger version of the 12-inch Karu 12 and essentially the new version of the Ooni Karu 16) is inherently a wood-fired pizza oven, and it excels as such. As with any wood-burning oven, it takes some practice to master temperature control, though multiple dampers and a glass door on the front offer several levers for managing heat. However, we found the Karu 2 to be problematic when converted to propane or natural gas. Due to the overhead position of the burner, it was challenging to keep the toppings scorched before the crust was done. With quite a bit of practice, we were able to find the balance, though it was far more challenging than with other ovens tested. If you want a well-made, easy-to-use wood-fired pizza oven, we highly recommend the Ooni Karu 2. If you think you’re more likely to use the gas functionality, there are far better pizza ovens for less money. (Specifically, the Ooni Koda 16.)
Halo Versa
At first glance, the Halo Versa pizza oven is intriguing, featuring dual two-level burners and a rotating stone “allowing for hands-free pizza making.” However, upon closer inspection, it’s a bit of an over-engineered mess. Even at comparable temperatures, pizzas take twice as long to cook on the Versa, and at times, we couldn’t get the rotating stone to stop. (Yes, trying to slide raw dough onto a spinning stone is as perilous as you’d think.) To be fair, you can produce a fine pizza with the Halo Versa, though it’s well worth the extra $100 to upgrade to our overall pick, the Ooni Koda 16.
Gozney Dome
Gozney’s top-of-the line oven is an excellent performer. It heats up quickly, has a generous mouth to accommodate full-sized pizzas, and dual fuel capabilities let you choose between the ease of gas or the hands-on and more flavorful option of wood. This is a heavy oven though—nearly 130 pounds—and should be elevated for comfortable use. To that end, it’s a little disappointing that the stand is sold separately (and costs an extra $350), especially when the price tag of the oven itself is quite high. But if you’re in the market for a pro-quality home pizza oven, you’ll be happy with the Dome.
Breeo Live Fire
The first thing to know about the Breeo pizza oven is that it is not a stand alone pizza oven. It’s an addition to either one of Breeo’s smokeless fire pits or to its newer live fire grill. In one way that offers you some versatility, but the pizza oven is heavy to be putting on and taking off all the time, 60 plus pounds even without the two piece stone. It’s particularly good atop the live fire grill because that puts it nearly four feet off the ground, a comfortable height to slide pizzas around. The Breeo reached temperature incredibly quickly: The temperature of the pizza stone was nearly 800 degrees in less than 25 minutes. But the temperature would drop rapidly if the fire didn’t have regular feeding. We did love the size of the Breeo, which can accommodate a pizza 14-inches in diameter. Once it’s set up, this is a good, user-friendly choice for a wood-only oven.
