With our favorite pizza oven picks, you won’t be ordering delivery any time soon.
Laura Denby is a food writer and chef with six years of professional culinary experience. Find her work in Real Simple, Food Network, Better Homes & Gardens and more. Golden Goblet
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Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Making pizza at home is one of the most interactive ways to enjoy dinner with family and friends. Whether you're throwing a pizza party or slinging a weeknight specialty pie, homemade pizza just tastes better when it's made with the right equipment. Pizza ovens are an efficient way to achieve high-quality pizza at home, and they're the perfect accessory for any well-stocked outdoor kitchen. There are several types to choose between these days, from built-in brick or wood-fired models to portable gas-powered pizza ovens that can fire up anywhere. The key to any good pizza oven is high heat— if you're not reaching at least 700 degrees on the cooking surface, it's difficult to get the correct bake on your dough. Traditional ovens will do fine for pizza in a pinch, but great at-home pizza ovens can take them to that restaurant-level result right in your own backyard.
If you're looking to improve your at-home pizzeria, look for an oven that's hot, portable, and easy to assemble or set up. To help you find the best pizza oven available, we tested some of the leading models for weeks, comparing 21 popular indoor and outdoor pizza ovens. We cooked up tons of pizzas back-to-back to assess everything from pre-heating time to temperature consistency to general convenience, and our favorites have remained excellent options to this day.
The larger opening on this model allows for easy access while cooking and produced perfectly crispy crusts and melty cheese.
This oven is lightweight but still on the larger side. Make sure you have ample space to use and store it.
The Ooni Koda 16, now almost synonymous with tabletop pizza ovens, is the most reliable and user-friendly pizza oven we've tested after dozens of products and hundreds of pizzas. It's one of the easiest to use and assemble of all the models we tried — simply take it out of the box and open the legs. Once hooked up and ignited with the gas switch, we found that heat was consistent from the back of the oven to the front (a tall order for most ovens). It took about 25 minutes to heat up to the ideal temperature and cooked our pizzas in a lightning-fast 1 minute 15 seconds, which is right under the 90 seconds that Ooni touts for average cook time.
One caveat for this model is you'll need to be mindful about turning the pizza (those flames are HOT hot), but the large oven opening makes it easy to maneuver the pies as needed. We had far more control over the finished product with the Ooni Koda than all other models we tried, which is critical for a quality pizza oven. Though it's a heavy-duty gadget, it's still lightweight enough for one person to move it on their own. It's a fantastic option for pizza enthusiasts looking for their next favorite gadget, and its convenience is undeniable for everyday use. For that speed combined with heating power, crust consistency, and ease of use, all for a relatively good price tag, nothing else quite compares to the Koda 16.
Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
This large-scale oven holds its temperature well and produces perfectly cooked, restaurant-quality pizzas at home.
Since this oven is on the larger side, it takes a long time to heat up and isn't portable.
Now for the true big unit: the Gozney Dome. We love that this sizeable oven gives us plenty of space to make multiple pies. Extra space also means more control over direct heat exposure because it provides the user with the option to keep the pizza near the fire or to move it to a slightly cooler part of the oven. A digital thermometer gives precise temperature readings throughout the cooking process, and regulated air flow controls allow for proper ventilation. The water-resistant, UV-stable, ceramic-bonded outer coating is durable enough for outdoor use in all types of weather.
Despite its size, we found this oven very easy to use and assemble. Though it takes a long time to heat up, it easily retains a consistent temperature throughout the cooking process. This oven produced pizzas with melted toppings and crisp crusts all around. Keep in mind that this is not a portable option—if you want to be able to move it freely, you'll need to purchase the stand separately. The price is equally sizeable but if you're serious about your pizzas and outdoor kitchen it's a true upgrade compared to everything else.
Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food and Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
This lightweight oven heats up quickly and produces nicely puffed golden pizzas at an affordable price.
The small opening doesn't leave much space to turn the pizza and works best with a small peel.
Our Best Overall pick's little sibling, the Ooni Koda 12, is a professional-quality pizza oven that comes at a much more affordable price than some of its counterparts. One of the lighter pizza ovens we tested, it's incredibly easy to assemble and maneuver. We found that it holds heat well and produces pizzas with a golden, crispy crust and melty cheese. Pizzas cooked quickly; we also love that the foldable legs have non-slip feet for added security.
Though we found it to be convenient overall, this model does take some getting used to. We noticed that the smaller opening can make properly turning the pizza challenging because there isn't enough space to rotate it. For best results, opt for a smaller pizza peel that can work more efficiently. It's still just as consistent and reliable as the Koda 16, and great for households with less storage space or beginners who want to try out a pizza oven for the first time.
Food & Wine / Morgan Hunt Glaze
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
Retractable legs, detachable burners, and a silicone outer body make this portable pizza oven easy to transport.
Although this oven is equipped with features that make it more portable, it's still on the heavier side.
The Gozney Roccbox pizza oven is easy to use, thanks to the large opening and the smaller pizza peel that comes included. The smaller peel fits easily into the oven, which makes rotating pies simple and efficient. This oven heats quickly and retains heat for consistent cooking throughout. Although it takes slightly longer than some other ovens to cook each pizza, it did so evenly and efficiently, resulting in pies that were golden brown and nicely melted. This oven operates on gas for convenience, but users can purchase a detachable wood burner for added flavor.
When it comes to portability, we love that the retractable legs and detachable burners make this oven easy to pack up and transport. The silicone outer body means it's safer to touch than other metal-bodied options, too. This pizza oven can perch just about anywhere, and it's a great option for cooks who love camping or vacationing in the great outdoors.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
This indoor pizza oven requires no assembly and heats evenly and efficiently right on your countertop.
This gadget is a bit pricier than your average indoor pizza oven, and won't impart that wood-fired flavor.
We made crispy pizzas right from our countertop with Breville's Smart Pizza Oven. Although indoor pizza ovens can't reach the same temperatures as outdoor ovens, this oven still yielded golden brown crusts regardless. We found that it heated up evenly and efficiently, and we love that it requires no assembly. Simply take it out of the box, plug it in, and select from one of the machine's preset options like "Wood Fired," "Thin and Crispy," or "Pan Pizza."
If you prefer a little more control over the ebbs and flows of the baking process, the Breville's manual mode offers greater control over the heating style — allowing you to individually manipulate the radiant heat, conductive heat, and convective heat. Radiant heat is an intense, direct heat designed to give a spotted crust, conductive heat controls the heated base that gives a charred bottom, and convective heat ensures that perfectly melted cheese. We were consistently impressed by how evenly each pizza cooked and recommend this model for quick, efficient pizza indoors.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
The ultimate pick for a compact footprint combined with the versatility of multiple fuel sources.
Can take some time to reach the correct temperature when using charcoal, so build in a little cushion before dinner.
"I fell in love with this 26-pound rectangular marvel of stainless steel and ceramic fiber during the first firing with charcoal and wood," says Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief Hunter Lewis. This nifty pizza oven from Ooni is small enough to be portable and can operate on wood, charcoal, or natural gas, so you can customize your cooking experience based on your preferred fuel source. For both wood and charcoal, the fuel tray encourages airflow, allowing the oven to reach and maintain high temperatures. Gas, of course, is still the fastest route to cooked pizza. "Within 30 minutes, my infrared thermometer clocked the pizza stone at 900 degrees," says Lewis, "After I dialed down the power of the wood flame that licked the roof of the oven and washed over the dough, the machine turned out gorgeously charred pizzas with crispy bottoms and bubbly crusts in less than 90 seconds."
Keep in mind that because of the hybrid fuel feature, we did find that the Karu requires some extra assembly up front. After the initial setup, it's a breeze to operate. We've also tested the larger sibling to this model, the Ooni Karu 16, and found that it's equally efficient and a delight to use, especially if you're interested in firing up slightly larger pies. For the added flexibility of speedy propane with the option to take it slow with a charcoal char, the Karu range can't be beat.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
This portable, easy-to-use gadget turns any gas grill into a pizza oven.
It isn't dedicated pizza oven, so we found that it had some hot spots.
This kit has a 15-inch pizza stone, wooden peel, and stainless steel lid that transforms any gas grill into a pizza oven. If you want to try your hand at pizza-making but don't have room for another big gadget, this kit is a great way to do it. Unlike an actual oven, it's easy to store when not in use and produces similar results to some of the full ovens we tested. We found it easy to set up and bring to a relatively consistent heat, with a few minor hot spots. The angle of the lid helps direct heat down, so it cooks the top of the pizza as well as the bottom. The large opening makes it easy to turn the pizzas, and we found that cooking pizzas with the grill lid closed produced the best results.
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
Food & Wine / Stacey K. Allen
Food & Wine / Fred Hardy
Overall, our tests found that the best pizza ovens were easy to set up, heat, and use. We love that the Ooni Koda 16 can produce restaurant-quality pizzas at home, thanks to its strong, even heating and large opening that allows for more user control. If you want to upgrade your outdoor kitchen, this is our top pick.
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
In order to test the best pizza ovens, we assessed them on ease of assembly, portability, performance, and temperature control. To do so, we first conducted a pre-heating test and general temperature assessment using an infrared thermometer to evaluate how long each oven took to reach the recommended temperature. It also allowed us to test how hot each oven was from front to back and side to side, revealing hot spots, cold spots, and other heating inconsistencies.
Next, we assessed consistency by cooking three pizzas back-to-back. We examined the quality from start to finish and noted if the resulting pizzas varied from each other. We cooked two types of pizzas—one with whole wheat dough and one with regular dough and loaded toppings—to see if the ovens could handle different styles of dough and assortments of toppings. We assessed how each oven performed and whether or not it could achieve a crispy, golden crust with nicely melted toppings. Lastly, we examined how portable each oven is. We considered weight, cooldown time, and necessary accessories that could make storage more challenging. Ultimately our top picks exceeded our expectations in most, if not all, areas, from the quality of the pizza results to the ease of use of the oven itself.
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
There are several pizza ovens on the market for home use, and they tend to fall into four categories: wood-fired, pellet-fired, propane or gas-fired, and dual-fuel. Choosing the right one for you has a lot to do with how you intend to use it. If you want wood-fired flavor, an oven that can accommodate wood or pellets is your best bet. They take longer to come to temp and require some practice to get the hang of maintaining heat and feeding the fire, but the results will be as close to professional as you can get. Also keep in mind that both wood and pellet ovens take longer to cool down after use, and require cleanup to remove ashes safely.
Gas or propane units heat faster and give consistent heat, require minimal cleanup, and cool down faster after use, which can be helpful if you are not planning on a permanent location since they can be packed up more quickly. They won't produce the same wood-fired flavor or smoke as the others, but they will still give you good char and excellent cooking results. If you're looking for flexibility, go for a dual-fuel option where gas, wood, or a combination of both is an option. A hybrid model like the Ooni Karu will be easier to light and maintain heat when using wood but will also give you fast and easy results when you don't have time to tend to a fire and coals.
Size is a major factor in deciding which pizza oven is best for you. Depending on the size of pizzas you like to make, and your skill as a pizzaiolo, it can be better to opt for a larger oven like the Gozney Dome or the Ooni Koda 16. Larger ovens have larger openings, which is ideal for beginners because they can be easier to maneuver. They can also accommodate larger pies, which is great for serving a crowd. Although larger ovens are typically more expensive and require more fuel, if you have the room and the budget they can be a good investment. Smaller ovens usually max out at a 12" pizza, which is ideal for couples or small families and will take up a smaller footprint and use slightly less fuel.
Some home pizza ovens can be installed permanently in place, some can be moved around, and some are designed to be portable (like the Gozney Roccbox) so that you can easily take them with you on the go. Before purchasing a pizza oven, assess how frequently you'll use it and your options for storage. If you have a vacation home or like to travel, you may want to consider the portable units which can be a terrific thing to have when on vacation or for weekend getaways.
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
"Thankfully, pizza ovens can be quite small," says former pizzaiolo and food writer Dennis Lee. "Many home pizza ovens are standalone units that are small enough to fit on top of an outdoor patio table. You can usually dismantle them for easy storage, too. The small home ovens can cook pizzas from 12 to 16 inches in diameter but must be used outside for safety and ventilation purposes. Those ovens don't need a ton of clearance, either, enough to accommodate the chimney in the back without being in direct contact with some sort of ceiling."
"It all comes down to the fuel," Lee tells us. "A wood oven is fired by burning hardwood—like oak—while a gas pizza oven uses a fuel source like a propane tank or natural gas. Wood-fired pizza ovens are an interesting tool because the sole source of heat comes from burning wood, which is a unique and rustic way to cook anything, but the method can be tricky. Flames are almost like living creatures, and you have to keep a constant eye on whether or not the oven is at the temperature you're looking for and adjust by adding more wood or by letting the fire coast for a bit. These ovens take a while to heat up, and you need to maintain them by brushing out soot and ash after every time you use them."
"The flame in gas ovens is a little easier to manage, since it's stationary (as opposed to the chaotic nature of wood fire), and it heats up much more quickly than a wood-fired oven, which needs to gradually come up to temperature. In terms of end results, you still get fantastic pizzas out of either style of oven. Some people swear by the char you can get from a wood fire, along with a slight smokiness from the burning wood and a bit of ash imparted on the bottom crust, but a gas oven can pretty much give you the same result with a slightly cleaner bake," says Lee.
"Turning a pizza can be tricky for a lot of people. You can only turn a pizza efficiently with a peel. After you lay down the pizza, let it sit in place until the bottom has set (the time can vary widely depending on the temperature of the oven and the style of dough). Once you've noticed that the pizza is starting to brown a little on one side of the crust, place the peel beneath the pizza, with about a 1/3 of the crust still resting on the deck of the oven (either the left or right side, doesn't matter which), tilt the peel up by about 45 degrees, and gently pull back. You'll find that the pizza will rotate naturally from the friction of the crust and the angle of your pizza peel. This takes a lot of practice and muscle memory, so prepare to practice quite a bit until you get the hang of it."
Pizza ovens can offer amazing results for anything you'd also cook on a cast iron pan or on ceramic: breads like focaccia or sourdough, vegetables, meats such as steak or sausage. Always use a temperature-resistant vessel like cast iron to protect the surface of the pizza oven from oils and fat since there is a risk of uncontrolled fire if those oils or grease seep out while flames are burning.
Only Fire Universal Stainless Steel Pizza Oven Kit
This set is a good value for the money and produces puffed, crispy pizza dough. It's easy to use and produces consistent pizzas from start to finish. However, we noticed it took slightly longer to cook the pizzas fully, and some crusts came out darker than we would've liked.
Unlike the other Ooni models, this portable oven relies on hardwood pellets as its main fuel source. As a result, we found the Ooni Fyra 12 slightly more complicated to set up and a bit more difficult to use. However, we were pleased with the quality overall and were able to make some beautiful pizzas. Keep in mind that this model comes with a chimney, which makes it a little more cumbersome.
BakerStone Portable Gas Series Pizza Oven Box
Though BakerStone calls this oven portable, we found it to be pretty bulky, heavy, and difficult to move. Despite the lack of portability, we still love how easy it is to use and how perfectly each pizza came out. The pies were evenly cooked with a crisp bottom, and charred crust with nicely melted cheese. Thanks to superior heat retention, it cooked pizzas evenly and efficiently.
We tested several other pizza ovens, and the others that didn't make the cut had a few shortcomings in common: inconsistent results (charring or undercooked pies), inefficient or cumbersome for heat control, or lack of interior space for personal-sized pies. The best pizza ovens should be both efficient and convenient to use at home, so those factors were paramount for our top picks.
Food & Wine / Stacy K. Allen
This piece was written by Laura Denby, a food writer and former chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education. Laura uses her years of experience cooking in professional kitchens to guide her expert product reviews, which can be found at FoodNetwork.com, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, and more. Recipe testers Elizabeth Mervosh and Marianne Williams spent hours in the test kitchen making multiple pizzas on each machine. For additional expertise, we spoke to former pizzaiolo and food writer Dennis Lee. Dennis is a Chicago-based food writer whose work can be found in Serious Eats, Thrillist, and The Onion's A.V. Club.
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