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I think it’s safe to say pizza oven and BBQ season is well and truly upon us. The sun is (mostly) shining and it’s getting warmer every week. If you haven’t yet experienced the joy of using a pizza oven, I can tell you now, you’re missing out.
Unlike other trendy kitchen purchases that might end up collecting dust at the back of your cupboard, I've found the pizza oven to be one I don't regret spending on, and find myself reaching for quite frequently. I cook pizza from scratch all year round, and the spring months are generally my favourite time to cook outdoors. There’s less wind to contend with, it’s not unbearably hot and it’s a great excuse to get the friends and family over for some drinks and food.
Whether you’re looking to purchase your first pizza oven or want to upgrade from a less grown-up model, I’ve got you covered. I’ve been testing pizza ovens for years and have reviewed some of the best for every skill level including the Gozney Arc Lite and Ooni Koda 2 - as well those that are best avoided if you want properly good pizza at home.
Below is a quick list of all the favourites reviewed by myself and the Daily Mail team or read on for our in-depth reviews. Crisp results in 60 seconds with the Koda 2 - I have a more is more approach to toppings
Best pizza oven: Quick list
- Best gas pizza oven: Ooni Koda 2
- Best portable pizza oven: Gozney Arc Lite
- Best electric pizza oven: Ninja Artisan electric pizza oven
- Best indoor pizza oven: Ooni Volt 2
How we test
I test every pizza oven I review in the same way. Initially I look at ease of setup - is it heavy? Could it be placed easily in a garden and moved around if needed? Does it require a lot of space?
I’ll then measure how long it takes to heat up using a digital thermometer (including any initial prep time for the first use) and how this compares to ovens in a similar price range. I also consider how quickly the stone loses heat in between bakes by measuring it throughout cooking. Testing the temperature of the Gozney Arc Lite stone
If it’s a multi-fuel oven (eg. gas and wood) I’ll test how long it takes to heat up in both instances.
I’ll then look at how quickly and evenly each pizza cooks and once again, compare it to other ovens I’ve tested. I’ve been reviewing pizza ovens for a long time now, so I have a good idea of how well an oven should cook, even when it claims otherwise.
Finally I assess how easy clean up is, as well as storage and general design factors.
Importantly, I test these ovens multiple times to ensure any issues have time to make an appearance. All of this allows me to get a well rounded view of the pizza oven, helping you to make an informed buying decision. 12in pizza has plenty of room to move around in the Arc Lite
Read more about how we test kitchen appliances and home products.
The best pizza ovens to buy right now
1. Best gas pizza oven: Ooni Koda 2
The Ooni Koda 2 in testing - good heat up times and excellent pizza awaits
Ooni Koda 2 ★★★★★ £399
£399 from Ooni £399 from John Lewis £399 from Lakeland
Product Specs
- Cooking area: 14in
- Assembly required? Yes
- Dimensions: 545mm x 472mm x 333mm
- Fuel type: Gas
- Weight: 16kg
What we love
- Ease of use
- Spacious interior means it is good for beginners
- Performance
- Heats up in 20-30 minutes and cooks in 60 seconds
What could be better
- Heat loss
- Open mouth means stone cools quicker
Review
The Koda 2 is part of Ooni’s second generation of outdoor pizza ovens. It’s a gas-only model that heats and cooks quickly. It’s also supremely easy to use and can accommodate pizzas up to 14in.
Typically smaller ovens have a max capacity of 12in and this extra bit of wiggle room, as well as the Koda’s wide mouth, is what really sets it apart from similar sized ovens. The larger capacity also makes it a great choice for first time pizza oven users with a little bit more money to spare, as the extra space makes it easier to turn your pizza.
The internal temperature of the oven can reach 500 degrees celsius in around 20 minutes but the actual stone temperature takes a bit longer to reach this - closer to 30 minutes. That’s still relatively speedy though, given how much internal space this oven has.
Ooni doesn’t include a pizza peel or pizza turner with the oven - which are pretty much essential to the pizza making process. This isn’t that unusual, Gozney doesn’t include these bits either, but doesn’t make it any easier to stomach, as these additions will set you back another £50+ depending on what brand you buy.
Despite this, I still think the Koda 2 is one of the best mid-range ovens you can buy in terms of pure performance and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
£399 £399 from Ooni £399 from John Lewis £399 from Lakeland
Read our full Ooni Koda 2 review now for more details.
2. Best portable pizza oven: Gozney Arc Lite
I put the Gozney Arc Lite through its paces and it seriously impressed
Gozney Arc Lite ★★★★★ £349.99
£349.99 from John Lewis £349.99 from Lakeland £349.99 from Gozney
Product Specs
- Cooking area: 12in
- Assembly required? No
- Dimensions: 430mm x 481mm x 297mm
- Fuel type: Gas
- Weight: 12kg
What we love
- Price
- Affordable for a pizza oven of this calibre
- Performance
- Cooks pizza in just a couple of minutes despite having one small burner
What could be better
- Size
- Not ideal for family sized pizzas
Review
Having found a couple of Gozney’s older models a little middling, I was hugely impressed with the Arc Lite. Since the popularity of the brand’s portable oven - The Tread - it's clear there’s an appetite for smaller, more portable style pizza ovens that actually still cook well.
The Arc Lite is a superb example of how to do this right.
First of all - it’s supremely light and easy to set up. Even though I have little to no muscle mass in my arms I found it easy to lift the 12kg Gozney onto my outdoor worktop. There’s no fiddly feel to screw in either. Simple pop in the stone and you’re ready to go.
The gas is easy to attach onto the oven and there’s a simple dial at the front to control the flame size. Unlike Ooni models, the Arc Lite has a single small gas burner on one side. This initially made me a little sceptical of how well and quickly it could cook.
I needn’t have worried though, this oven cooked pizza even faster than the five to six minutes stated by Gozney. With proper preheating (around 30 minutes) I could easily cook a 12in pizza in two minutes - pretty decent for an oven this size and price.
The heat of the stone dropped in between each pizza but could recover within a couple of minutes, though I managed to cook three pizzas back to back without it having much of an impact on the results.
This is a great little oven if you’re hesitant about spending £500+ on a pizza oven but still want something that offers really good performance.
£349.99 £349.99 from John Lewis £349.99 from Lakeland £349.99 from Gozney
Read our full Gozney Arc Lite review for more details
3. Best electric pizza oven: Ninja Artisan
I tried out a homemade pizza dough topped with a tomato base, pepperoni and red onion
Ninja Artisan electric oven ★★★★★ £299.99
£299.99 from Ninja £299.99 from Argos £299.99 from AO
Product Specs
- Cooking area: 12in
- Assembly required? No
- Dimensions: 320mm x 420mm x 590mm
- Fuel type: Electric
- Weight: 14kg
What we love
- Performance
- Great performance when making pizza, air fryer could be better
- Accessories
- Comes with a good range of accessories, unlike others on the list
What could be better
- Authenticity
- Pizza isn't quite the same as you get with gas or wood
Review
Want to make pizza outdoors but don’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on wood and gas fuel - the Ninja Artisan can help with that. In true Ninja Style, this is a fully electric pizza oven that combines the convenience of electricity with the joy of outdoor cooking - and of course, it does more than cook pizza.
There are four outdoor cooking options to choose from - pizza, bake, air fry and prove. It also comes with a separate basket that’s ideal with things like chips, as well as a tray for all your other oven favourites.
The pizza is where it really shines though. It’s not as fast as a gas powered oven but it will still cook a 12in pizza in around five minutes. I was genuinely impressed with how well it cooks.
It also has settings for different styles of pizza including Artisan, Thin Crust, New York and Pan, allowing you to get the perfect crisp base, no matter the thickness of your pizza.
What also might appeal to a lot of people is the price. At just shy of £300, this is a great value bit of kit. It’s multifunctional, cooks quickly enough and is fairly compact. It’s not going to give you quite the same experience as a traditional oven but it does a pretty good job of replicating it.
£299.99 £299.99 from Ninja £299.99 from Argos £299.99 from AO
Read our full Ninja Artisan review for more details.
4. Best indoor pizza oven: Ooni Volt 2
Ooni Volt 2 ★★★★★ £499
£499 from Ooni £499 from Lakeland £499 from John Lewis
Product Specs
- Cooking area: 12in
- Assembly required? No
- Dimensions: 545 x 442 x 263 mm
- Fuel type: Electric
- Weight: 17.6kg
What we love
- Heating element
- Improved design, more even heating
- Functionality
- Can be used to prove dough as well as cook and heat pizza
What could be better
- Price
- Quite expensive for an indoor-only oven
Review
The Ooni Volt 2 is the brand’s highly anticipated upgrade to the original Volt indoor pizza oven. I’ve been using the original Volt for a few years now and I’m still always really impressed with how well it cooks.
One of the biggest upgrades to the Volt 2 is upgraded heating elements which are larger and allow you to get a better authentic woodfired style crust on top.
The Volt 2 also swaps dials for a mostly touchscreen experience - which I like but it might not be for everyone.
Unlike the original Volt, which only had one setting, the Volt 2 has a dough proofing setting, which holds the oven at a low temp to help your homemade dough rise.
It also has adaptive temperature technology, which automatically adjusts the temperature to prevent hotspots and allow for more even cooking.
We’ve not had the opportunity to properly test the Volt 2 just yet, so you’ll need to wait a few more weeks for our full verdict. However, if it’s anything like the original we’re in for a treat.
£499 £499 from Ooni £499 from Lakeland £499 from John Lewis
Our full Ooni Volt 2 review coming soon.
The pizza ovens that didn’t make the cut
We also tested the Delivita Diavolo pizza oven but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to our expectations. While it was tempting with its incredibly low price (which includes all the accessories you could ever need), it just didn’t live up to expectations. It took ages to cook our pizza and struggled to stay hot.
You can read our full Delivita Diavolo pizza oven review for more details.
When it comes to pizza ovens, you really do get what you pay for, which is why I’d always recommend spending at least £300 on your oven, even as a first time user.
Our verdict
Those fantasising about pizza parties but who aren’t quite ready to commit spending serious money will love the Gozney Arc Lite. At £350 it’s one of the more affordable options out there but its performance goes above and beyond what you’d expect given its size. It’s also incredibly compact and stylish, making it the ideal choice for gardens of any size.
Those with larger kitchens and bit more cash to spare should consider the Ooni Volt 2. Having an indoor pizza oven might seem mad but this actually gets way more use than my outdoor one because it can be used all year round.
For a great allrounder that’s compact but seriously powerful, the Ooni Koda 2 is my choice. It cooks pizza in 60 seconds, holds its heat well and is easy to use.
Why trust us
Danielle has been reviewing kitchen appliances, like pizza ovens, for seven years. She’s a meticulous tester and enjoys looking at both the technical and practical elements of a product, to ensure it lives up to what it claims. All of her reviews are honest, unbiased and can’t be bought - if something isn’t right for you, she'll tell you. All of this allows her to produce reviews that will help you make an informed buying decision about the products you love.
FAQs
Are woodfired pizza ovens better than gas ovens?
Not necessarily. Many people argue that the flavour and smoke you get from a wood oven is more authentic and adds flavour to the pizza. However, I’ve personally found that gas ovens offer a similar flavour once the stone has been seasoned (used a few times).
Much like a cast iron pan, your pizza stone can get better with age. High heat cooks and burns any residue from previous sessions, some of which ends up as additional smoky flavour in subsequent pizzas. The Arc Lite produces a lovely char on the crust, with pizzas ready in just a couple of minutes
With gas, you’re still cooking with a real flame, it’s just not as smoky. You also get a more consistent heat and flame with gas, which can lead to a more evenly cooked pizza.
That being said, cooking with wood is fun and if you’re happy to spend the time tending to it to ensure the temperature doesn’t drop, it can be a nice way to cook outdoors.
What can I cook in a pizza oven besides pizza?
Traditional outdoor ovens with a stone are great at cooking pizza and other dough based goods at a very high heat.
However, if your oven allows for temperature control (easier with gas), you can also use it alongside cast iron cookware to cook other things such as meats and vegetables. As long as your pans and trays can withstand the high temperature of your oven, you’re good to go. The open flame is ideal for charring quick cook steaks and blistering padron peppers - perfect for BBQ season.
Of course, if you happen to buy a multifunctional oven, such as the Ninja Artisan, this already has accessories included to help you cook things like chips and other oven-based goods, without burning them.
