Best outdoor pizza ovens 2024: Tested and rated

The best outdoor pizza ovens let you make delicious pies in minutes, right from the comfort of your backyard. Just like you'll find in a pizzeria, these ovens can reach temperatures of up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, so you get crispy, leoparded crusts with chewy insides, and nice, bubbling cheese and tomato sauce in less time than it takes to order takeout.  

Ever since the first Ooni arrived on the scene, pizza ovens have soared in popularity; now, you can find models that run on wood pellets, charcoal, electric, and gas — and in various sizes and features. 

We've tested over a dozen pizza ovens, slinging pie after pie into each, to see how easy they are to set up, how quickly they get up to temperature, and how well they can cook up pizzas, bread, calzones, and even steaks and other food. 

Interested in tossing some dough at an outdoor pizza oven? Let’s slice and dice through the best models that we've tested. 

The quick list

The best outdoor pizza oven

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With its large cooking area, ability to use a variety of fuel sources and general overall excellence, the Ooni Karu 16 is the best outdoor pizza oven we've tested. At $800, it's not cheap — though not the most expensive model we've tested — but it's the most versatile oven we've used. (If you want a deeper dive into Ooni's models,  check out which Ooni pizza oven is best for you.) The larger chamber of the Karu 16 also means you can cook stuff other than pizza, such as bread or other taller items.

We found it was easy to load wood into the Karu 16's fire box and keep the oven humming along at 900 degrees Fahrenheit, and the built-in thermometer made it easy to keep tabs on how hot it was inside. The Karu 16's glass door also let us check at a glance how our pizzas were cooking, another nice touch. There's really not much we didn't like about the Karu 16 — it's on the heavy side, so you won't want to move it around a lot — but you should be as pleased with the results as we were.

Read our full Ooni Karu 16 review.

Best budget pizza oven

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If you want to make excellent pizzas in your backyard, but don't want to spend more than $300, the Ooni Fyra is the best pizza oven to get. It runs on wood pellets — the same as used in grills like the Traeger Ironwood 650 — but can still reach temperatures upwards of 950 degrees (we measured more than 1,000 degrees on occasion). And, its small size and 22-pound weight make it easy to pack up and take with you virtually anywhere.

A feed tube in the back of the oven lets you pour in pellets to keep the fire going. It’s a little harder to control the temperature than with propane-powered ovens — you have to nudge the flue damper tiny bits to get the temperature you want — but the Fyra turned out nicely leoparded Neapolitan-style pizzas in around 90 seconds. 

The Fyra is also the least expensive of Ooni's ovens — and one of the cheapest pizza ovens overall — so it won't burn a hole through your wallet while it's cooking your pies.

Read our Ooni Fyra review.

Best for beginners

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If you're new to making your own pizzas, you want an oven that's easy to use and doesn't cost too much; that's why we think the Solo Stove Pi Prime is the best pizza oven for beginners. At $349, it's one of the cheaper ovens around, and it's incredibly simple to set up and operate. Simply place the stone inside the oven and connect a propane tank, and you're ready to go. 

We liked that its gas control knob was on the front, so you could adjust the flame without fuss. It gets really hot — It could bake a pizza in as little as 90 seconds, yet you can dial the temperature down enough to sear steaks so that they're perfectly charred on the outside, with a nice medium rare finish on the inside. While more advanced pizzaiolos may prefer the versatility of ovens that can use wood and charcoal, those just starting on their journey will appreciate the Pi Prime's simplicity, as we did.

Read our full Solo Stove Pi Prime review.

Best propane-only oven

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Ooni has seen booming business for its line of outdoor pizza ovens, some of which operate on gas, and others a combination of gas and wood. The Koda 16 is the larger of its two propane-powered Koda models — with a 16-inch cooking area vs. the Koda 12’s 12-inch cooking area — and for its ease of setup, relatively lightweight construction, no-fuss functionality, large cooking space, and powerful L-shaped flame, we felt it’s the most versatile, family-friendly model for cooks who might want to experiment with different pie sizes, as well as cooking other non-pizza items in the oven. That why it took home the Tom's Guide 2022 Award for Best pizza oven. 

Because of the L-shaped heat source, pizzas cooked near the back left corner of the oven took only a couple of minutes to come out perfectly charred and bubbly. And unlike other ovens with a singular flame or radiant heat, you really only need a turn or two of a pie to get an evenly cooked crust.

Read our full Ooni Koda 16 review.

Great for parties

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Gozney is known for its professional-grade pizza ovens — and the Roccbox puts the pro-level know-how to use for home cooks. Its sleek, modern, almost space-age shape and choice of two exterior colors (slate gray or olive green) make it the top choice for design lovers. Because the Roccobx doesn’t take up a lot of space, it’s a powerful option for those with a smaller outdoor patio and limited storage space — and because it just looks cool, it’s a also great option for impressing guests at pizza parties.

By putting the gas source at the back of the dome-shaped oven, pizzas get a nice char both on the top and the bottom, cooking in only a matter of minutes. We also really liked the height of the dome, which made it easy to see inside without bending down, and the compact, perfectly shaped stainless steel peel made sliding pies in and out of the oven relatively effortless.

Read our full Gozney Roccbox review.

Best grill attachment

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The BakerStone Pizza Oven Box pulls double duty: Since it was originally designed as a box to place on a grill, you can actually detach the top portion from the bottom “firebox” and do your pizza-cooking on a grill. The interior of the oven, composed of five sides of pizza stones, performed surprisingly well when up against the open-flame Ooni Koda and Gozney Roccbox. Because the five stones maintain and radiate a lot of heat, the pizzas we made came out with a good amount of char and were cooked evenly.

We also liked that there are two gas burners within the firebox, which each have their own knob, so you can really experiment with the heat of each side of the oven. Gaze into a hole on either side of the firebox, and you can see the flames flickering away, giving a good idea of the heat they’re generating. Plus, an easy-to-read thermometer on top of the pizza box lets you keep an eye on your temperature levels while you’re cooking.

Read our full BakerStone Pizza Oven review.

Best dual-fuel oven

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The Gozney Dome is the much larger, much more versatile, and much more expensive brother to the company's Roccbox. Weighing in at 128 pounds and retailing for $1,499 ($1,799 for the dual-fuel option), this pizza oven can't be moved easily, but it can cook with both wood and propane, and its large opening means you can cook more than just pizzas in this oven.

Despite its size, we liked the look of the Gozney Dome, as well as the fact that it could get up to scorching hot temperatures and stay there for as long as we were slinging pies. And, the pizzas it made were impressive: great charring all around, and just two minutes from start to finish. If you can swing the price, it's worth the dough. 

Read our full Gozney Dome review.

Best-looking oven

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The Alfa Nano pizza oven bakes pies as good as it looks, which is to say, excellente. You can order this pizza oven to use either wood or gas — though not both at the same time, as with the Gozney Dome. It heats up to searingly high temperatures, so we were able to cook our pies in around two minutes. The large interior space inside the oven also made it a cinch to turn them to make sure all sides were being cooked evenly. The Nano's large opening also made it easy to see what was going on inside, too.

The Nano's temperature control allowed us to precisely adjust the flame inside the oven, but the knob did get hot to the touch. Also, this is a heavy and expensive oven, so once you set it up in your yard, you're not going to want to move it, unlike some of the more portable options from Ooni and others. But, it's a good option if you're looking for a pizza oven that will be the centerpiece of your outdoor kitchen.

Read our full Alfa Nano review.

Best fire pit attachment

While Solo Stove already makes a standalone pizza oven, it has also come out with the Pi Fire, an accessory that fits atop one of the best fire pits. The Pi Fire is small and light, and has two handles at the top to let you place it atop and remove it from your Solo Stove.

Unlike the other pizza ovens on this list, the Pi Fire cooks pizzas at a much lower temperature, so it takes longer until it's ready to eat — 5 to 10 minutes, versus as little as 90 seconds. We also found that if you let the fire get too big, your pizza will get sooty — yuck! But, if you don't mind its more leisurely pace, the Pi Fire is a fun addition to your Solo Stove. 

Read our full Solo Pi Fire review.

Best electric oven

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While the Ninja Woodfire oven doesn't get as hot as some of the other models on this list — it won't be as easy to make those Neapolitan-style pies — the Woodfire's larger interior area and electronic temperature controls does give you a lot more versatility; in addition to pizza, we were able to make corn, chicken, even dessert in the oven. It can even let you smoke foods, thanks to its smoke box for wood pellets. 

Our biggest issue with the Woodfire was its size; if you want to cook for a crowd, you're going to want something bigger. But, if you're only making dinner for yourself and a few others, it should do the trick. And, it's a cinch to clean too.

If you don't mind splurging — and only want to cook pizzas — then you should also check out the Ooni Volt, an electric oven from the company that popularized pizza ovens. The Volt can reach temperatures of up to 800 degrees, but it costs $1,000 — more than twice as much as the Woodfire.

Read our full Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven review.

Outdoor pizza ovens compared

Here's a quick rundown of all of the pizza ovens in this guide; keep in mind that the prices of each may vary. 

How we test the best pizza ovens

To test each oven, we followed its manual for instructions on assembly, setup, ignition, cooking, and cool-down. In order to get the most authentic experience, we also only used the peels, tools, etc. that came with that particular oven. We also wanted to see how each oven would perform with a variety of types of dough. 

For each oven, we made several pies, using at least one of each of the following pizza doughs: homemade, store-bought refrigerated (Trader Joe’s), store-bought frozen (Wegman’s), and dough purchased from a local pizzeria that specializes in thin-crust pies. 

But to also keep things simple (and fair), we tested each oven with Margherita pizzas topped only with tomato sauce and hand-torn mozzarella, with a little basil and olive oil drizzled on after cooking.

In addition to its cooking performance, we also evaluated each oven on its ease of setup, how hot the oven got (both on the inside and outside), and how easy it was to control the temperature. For wood or wood pellet models, we also looked at the ease with which we could add fuel.

What to look for in a pizza oven

Fuel source

Outside of price, the biggest factor to consider when buying a pizza oven is the fuel source. Ovens can be heated by either propane, charcoal, or wood pellets (there are also electric options for indoor models). Before choosing an outdoor pizza oven, decide which heat source is right for you. In our tests, the propane ovens were easier to control, but pizza ovens that used either wood, wood pellets, or charcoal gave the pies a smoky flavor reminiscent of good grills. Plus, it's easier to carry a bag of charcoal or wood pellets than it is a tank of propane, especially if you're planning to bring your pizza oven to a camping trip or tailgate.

The ovens’ ceramic pizza stones, when heated, can hold very high temperatures, giving your pie a nice char on the bottom. The main differentiator in our tests was the heat source and how it affected the cooking on top of the pie; without a high temperature, you won’t get the dotted char known in the industry as “leoparding” (because it looks like a leopard, get it?). We found that the gas ovens with an exposed flame — the Ooni Koda 16 and the Gozney Roccbox — were best for getting a nice char.

Oven size

You’ll also want to think about the size of the oven itself. The majority of outdoor pizza ovens can make pies that are about 12 inches in diameter, but some can make larger, 16-inch pizzas, which may be the better option if you’re looking to feed a crowd. Some have a taller interior, which makes them better suited for baking other types of food, such as bread. 

Lastly, one thing to consider before you buy an outdoor pizza oven is whether you have the proper space for it. These ovens should be set up at a standalone table at least a couple of feet away from any other structure, and most recommend not setting them up underneath another enclosure (an upstairs deck, for instance). Make sure you follow our steps on how to use a pizza oven safely.

Pro tips for pizza making

Every oven is slightly different; we highly recommend thoroughly reading through the setup manual to ensure proper safety precautions and usage. Every propane-fueled oven we tested recommended doing a soapy water test to make sure there were no leaks, and a few stressed the importance of running the oven for up to 30 minutes on its first use to burn off any impurities. Give yourself time to get acquainted with the oven — and keep in mind that chances are you won’t be a master pizzaiolo immediately. With pizza, as with many things in life, practice makes perfect.

Each time you use the pizza oven, you’ll want to start it at least 15 minutes before throwing a pie into the oven; you need to give the pizza stone at the bottom of the oven time to heat up, so you get that nice char on the bottom. And, you’ll want to let it “recharge” between each pizza, too.

Another note on becoming a pizzaiolo. Even if you’re not an expert at making pizza dough — we certainly weren’t! — you’re better off trying your hand at making homemade dough or buying dough from a local pizzeria that specializes in thin-crust pies than buying store-bought refrigerated or frozen dough. In our tests, both store-bought doughs we tested (Trader Joe’s for refrigerated, Wegman’s for frozen) were difficult to roll out to a desired thinness, and had a tendency to burn on the outside while not getting fully cooked inside. If you do use store-bought dough in one of these ovens, a good rule of thumb is to use a floured rolling pin to try to get it as thin as possible before cooking. (But really, avoid it if you can.)

One pizza-making book we like is Mastering Pizza by Marc Vetri ($17.59, Amazon). It has recipes for a number of different style pies, from Neapolitan to focaccia and more, and they're all very easy to follow.

If you're a fan of take out instead, check out how to reheat pizza properly. 

Other tools you'll need to make pizza

Pizza Peel

A pizza peel are those long, flat wooden shovels you see that are designed to glide the pizza in and out of the oven (others are sold separately). Don’t try to make pizza without one. We’d recommend sticking with the peel that comes with your oven, as they’re sized correctly for the cooking area. 

If you want to get more gear, then you can also pick up a "turning" peel. These are smaller than a traditional peel, and are usually made of a flat, circular piece of metal. Typically, they're a smaller diameter than the pizza itself, so that you can easily rotate the pizza while it's still in the oven. It takes some practice to use it properly. 

Whether you’re working with a stainless steel or wooden peel, we found that flouring the surface (semolina flour works best, especially for hotter ovens) and building the pizza right on the peel, then sliding it into the oven, led to the best results. You’ll also have to use a peel to pull out your pizza and turn it while it’s cooking, because you want a nice, even char. So get comfortable with your peel — it’s your pizza’s BFF!

Infrared Thermometer

Another thing that might be worth investing in is an infrared or laser thermometer to measure the temperature of your stone (Ooni makes a good one); you’ll want one that can measure temperatures up to 1,000 degrees F if you plan on making Neapolitan-style pies. 

Pizza Cutter

You’ll also want a few wooden peels or boards for cutting/serving, and a good pizza cutter. Many of these companies sell quality accessories that will make living your best #pizzalife that much easier.

Kitchen scale

If you're planning to make your own dough, you'll need a kitchen scale to properly weigh out the ingredients. Measuring cups aren't as accurate, which could throw off the proportions.

Mixer

Yes, you can knead dough by hand, but one of the best stand mixers makes the job go a lot easier. If you plan on making large batches of dough, just be sure to get a mixer whose motor is powerful enough to stand up to all that mixing.  

Other gear for outdoor entertaining

There's nothing like an outdoor pizza party, but you need to have more than just 'za. Check out our other outdoor buying guides for other gear to liven up your backyard.

• Best grills 
• Best coolers
• Best patio heaters
• Best inflatable hot tubs
• Best solar lights
• Best Bluetooth speakers