Best pizza ovens

Restaurant-quality pizza is possible at home with the best pizza ovens – and we've found price isn't always an indicator of quality. 

Some cheaper pizza ovens will make you wish you'd ordered out for takeaway pizza, but we've found a Great Value pick that costs less than £200 and several Best Buys that aren't the priciest pizza ovens out there.

We've put brands such as Burnhard, Dellonda, Gozney, Igneus, La Hacienda, Ooni and Sage through tough tests to find out which ones will take your home-pizza cooking to the next level.

Along with our full test results below, Which? members can see examples of pizzas we cooked with each oven plus expert advice to help you on your journey to becoming a 'pizzaiolo' at home.

The best pizza ovens

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The pizza ovens we tested

All the pizza ovens we've tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best pizza ovens from our tests. 

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Argos Home Table Top Pizza Oven

Typical price: £150

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Date tested: October 2022

Type and fuel(s): Wood-fired; wood pellets only

Size and weight: 65 x 36 x 76.5cm (HxWxD), 8.5kg

Maximum pizza size: 10.5 inches

Need to know: 28 x 28cm cordierite pizza stone

Burnhard Nero Pizza Oven

Typical price: £199

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood pellets, wood logs and/or charcoal

Size and weight: 83 x 41 x 81cm (HxWxD), 15kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 10-inch aluminium pizza peel, 36 x 32cm cordierite pizza stone, integrated thermometer

Dellonda DG10 Pizza Oven

Typical price: £180

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Date tested: April 2022

Type and fuel(s): Wood-fired; wood pellets and/or wood logs

Size and weight: 82 x 44.2 x 74.5cm (HxWxD), 14kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 11-inch pizza peel, 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone, integrated thermometer

Fresh Grills Pizza Oven

Typical price: £179.99

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Date tested: October 2022

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood pellets, wood logs and/or charcoal

Size and weight: 72 x 44 x 67cm (HxWxD), 14kg

Maximum pizza size: 10.5 inches

Need to know: 28 x 28cm cordierite pizza stone, 11 x 11inch pizza peel, integrated thermometer

Gozney Dome Pizza Oven

Typical price: £1,499 (wood-fired); £1,799 (dual-fuel)

Where to buy: Gozney The Pizza Oven Shop

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Date tested: October 2022

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood logs or propane gas (dual-fuel version only, £1,799)

Size and weight: 66 x 73.2 x 63cm (HxWxD), 58kg

Maximum pizza size: Approx. 18 inches

Need to know: 47 x 55cm cordierite pizza stone, digital thermometer, 2x temperature probes, gas hose and regulator (dual-fuel version only)

Gozney Roccbox Pizza Oven

Typical price: £399

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; propane gas or wood logs (requires Roccbox Wood Burner 2.0, £100, available at Gozney)

Size and weight: 47 x 41 x 53cm (HxWxD), 20kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 12-inch perforated aluminium pizza peel, 31.5 x 34cm cordierite pizza stone, detachable gas burner, hose and regulator, bottle opener, carry strap, integrated thermometer

Igneus Classico Pizza Oven

Typical price: £949

Where to buy: Igneus The Pizza Oven Shop

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Date tested: April 2022

Type and fuel(s): Wood-fired; wood logs only

Size and weight: 103 x 66 x 68cm (HxWxD), 45kg

Maximum pizza size: 22 inches

Need to know: 60 x 60cm cordierite pizza stone, embers rake, integrated thermometer

Igneus Minimo Pizza Oven

Typical price: £299

Where to buy: Igneus The Pizza Oven Shop

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Wood-fired; wood logs only

Size and weight: 63 x 41 x 49cm (HxWxD), 15kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 11-inch aluminium pizza peel, 30 x 40cm cordierite pizza stone, embers rake

La Hacienda Steel Multi-function Pizza Oven 56173

Typical price: £179.99

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood logs and/or charcoal briquettes

Size and weight: 157 x 51 x 38cm (HxWxD), 22.5kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, built-in thermometer

Le Feu Turtle Gas Pizza Oven

Typical price: £800

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Date tested: October 2022

Type and fuel(s): Gas; propane only

Size and weight: 20 x 50 x 50cm (HxWxD), 18kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone, gas hose and regulator

Ooni Fyra 12 Wood Pellet Pizza Oven

Typical price: £249

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Wood-fired; wood pellets only

Size and weight: 72 x 39 x 57cm (HxWxD), 10kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone

Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

Typical price: £299

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood logs and/or charcoal briquettes, or propane gas (requires Ooni Gas Burner, £79.99, available at Ooni)

Size and weight: 77 x 40 x 85cm (HxWxD), 12kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone

Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

Typical price: £699

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Date tested: April 2022

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood logs and/or charcoal, or propane gas (requires Ooni Gas Burner, £79.99, available at Ooni)

Size and weight: 83.7 x 19.6 x 81.5cm (HxWxD), 28.4kg

Maximum pizza size: 16 inches

Need to know: 43 x 43cm cordierite pizza stone, digital thermometer

Ooni Koda 12 Gas Powered Pizza Oven

Typical price: £299

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Gas; propane only

Size and weight: 30 x 39 x 62cm (HxWxD), 9.25kg

Maximum pizza size: 12 inches

Need to know: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone, gas hose and regulator

Ooni Koda 16 Gas Powered Pizza Oven

Typical price: £499

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Date tested: April 2022

Type and fuel(s): Gas; propane only

Size and weight: 37.2 x 52 x 63.4cm (HxWxD), 18.2kg

Maximum pizza size: 16 inches

Need to know: 43 x 43cm cordierite pizza stone, gas hose and regulator

Pizzello 4-in-1 Outdoor Pizza Oven

Typical price: £99.99

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Date tested: October 2022

Type and fuel(s): Dual-fuel; wood logs and/or charcoal briquettes

Size and weight: 42.4 x 39.7 x 23.8cm (HxWxD), 12kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, 9.5-inch pizza peel, waterproof cover, grill

Sage The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo

Typical price: £699.99

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Date tested: August 2021

Type and fuel(s): Electric

Size and weight: 27 x 47 x 46cm (HxWxD), 15kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 11-inch aluminium pizza peel, 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, 30 x 30cm pizza pan

Vonhaus Outdoor Pizza Oven

Typical price: £169.99

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Date tested: October 2022

Type and fuel(s): Wood-fired; wood pellets only

Size and weight: 71 x 36 x 83.5cm (HxWxD), 11.5kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone

Barbecue-top pizza ovens

As well as putting wood-fired, gas and electric pizza ovens through our full tests, we tried out a couple of popular barbecue-top pizza ovens to see if you can still get delicious pizza without shelling out for a full oven.

La Hacienda BBQ Pizza Oven

Typical price: £58.99

Where to buy: Amazon

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Date tested: May 2020

Type and fuel(s): Barbecue-top; charcoal briquettes or gas

Size and weight: 15 x 40 x 35cm (HxWxD), 8.4kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, built-in thermometer

Lidl Barbecue Pizza Oven

Typical price: £39.99

Where to buy: Lidl (in store only, stock varies)

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Date tested: May 2020

Type and fuel(s): Barbecue-top; charcoal briquettes or gas

Size and weight: 14 x 40 x 35cm (HxWxD), 4kg

Maximum pizza size: 11 inches

Need to know: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, built-in thermometer

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How we tested pizza ovens

We selected the UK's bestselling pizza ovens and cooked more than 50 pizzas to find out which ovens are the easiest to use and which cook the best pizza.

We bought every pizza oven we tested.

Portability and stability

• Freestanding pizza ovens are often billed as portable, so we weighed them and carried them a short distance, taking bulkiness and comfort into account.
• It's also crucial that an oven that gets as hot as 500°C is stable, so we checked that the pizza ovens had strong legs and weren't prone to wobbling.

Ease of use

If it's difficult to control the temperature, feed the flames, get pizzas in and out of the oven or turn them around – or if it's hard to see what you're doing – cooking pizzas can quickly become a stressful experience. 

When getting the flames going, heating the oven to temperature and cooking pizzas, we noted any design elements or features that impacted our cooking experience.

Time to reach cooking temperature

We used a temperature gun to record the surface temperature of the pizza stone in the oven, and timed how long it took to reach 400°C. 

Some pizza ovens took as little as 15 minutes to heat, whereas others struggled to get that hot even after an hour.

Pizza quality

• In each pizza oven we cooked three of the most popular types of pizza – margherita, pepperoni and vegetarian – so we could compare the textures and flavours.
• We used the same method and recipe to prepare the dough, allowed it to proof for the same amount of time (24 hours), and used exactly the same method and ingredients to prepare and cook each pizza.
• We photographed and tasted every pizza we cooked, checking for evenness of cooking, the texture of the crust and base, and any flavours that were especially present or lacking.

Cleaning

After cooking with each pizza oven, we allowed it to cool fully before cleaning it. Pizza ovens can be messy if there's leftover flour, stuck-on bits or areas where ash can collect, so we took note when the pizza ovens we tested were especially hard to clean.

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Types of pizza oven

Freestanding pizza ovens

Gas, wood-fired and dual-fuel options are available.

• Cost between £200-£700 A considerable investment but way below premium pizza ovens that go into four figures.
• Portable Although their size and weight can still be considerable, this type of pizza oven is usually designed to be set up and used anywhere, so you could take it camping or to the beach if you wanted.
• Mainly cook one at a time It's rare for portable pizza ovens of this type to have room for more than one pizza at a time. Most of those we've tested can fit pizzas of around 11 or 12 inches maximum, but there are a few that can cook 16-inch pizzas.

Barbecue-top pizza ovens

These are often made up of a simple metal box with a pizza stone inside. They sit on top of a barbecue and are heated from below using the grill.

• Check size Your barbecue grill area needs to be large enough to accommodate the pizza oven you’re interested in buying. Make sure to measure it.
• Slower to cook There’s no overhead heat like there is with a portable pizza oven, so they cook more slowly, but you’ll still need to keep an eye on them to avoid them burning your pizzas.
• Gas is easiest In our experience, these ovens are more straightforward to use with a gas barbecue, because it’s easier to maintain a consistent temperature.

Brick or clay pizza ovens

If you’re really into pizza, you might want to invest in a purpose-built pizza oven as a feature for your garden.

• Ready made or build your own You can either buy a ready-made oven or make your own using a pre-built model with assembly required, such as the Gozney Stone Core.
• Wood fired Most models are wood fired, so they take a bit of skill and patience in handling the cooking temperature to get the best out of them.
• Cook for a crowd These pizza ovens usually have large chambers to fit a roaring fire and several pizzas, so you can cook for family and friends at once and have an area inside to keep your pizzas warm.

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What's the difference between charcoal, gas and wood-fired pizza ovens?

Gas pizza ovens

Just like with barbecues, gas pizza ovens are for those who value convenience over authenticity.

Gas pizza ovens heat up quickly and are mess-free, thanks to there being no ash or leftover fuel. However, the smokeless flames can leave your pizzas without the complex flavours you'd get with a wood-fired oven.

Propane burns hotter than butane, and is therefore the preferred gas for use with pizza ovens.

Wood-fired pizza ovens

The traditional and most popular type. They require the most patience and skill, as they take longer to reach a cooking temperature than gas, and need constant attention to get the flames to the right size and consistency.

They do, however, usually produce the tastiest pizza, as the wood smoke infuses additional flavours into the crust and base.

The dryer the wood you use, the better. Avoiding moisture and sap will help your wood to burn cleanly, and prevent the smoke from being too thick and pale. Offcuts of silver birch or similar hardwoods are ideal, and you'll want logs six or seven inches long for smaller pizza ovens.

Sustainably sourced wood logs are available. Where possible, we'd suggest buying these for a reduced environmental impact.

Charcoal pizza ovens

Charcoal pizza ovens have a similar process to charcoal barbecues.

Some pizza ovens only take fast-burning charcoal briquettes, whereas others can take lump charcoal too.

You'll need to load up the grate and let the coals burn white to get the oven ready for cooking. Pizza ovens with larger grates are best for charcoal, as smaller grates will struggle to produce enough heat to get the oven up to temperature.

Cooking with charcoal can be frustrating, as there's no guarantee the coals will get the oven consistently hot enough. Topping up the coals will effectively restart the heating process. We'd recommend mixing wood logs in with the charcoal to help it burn at a hotter, more consistent temperature.

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What tools do you need to use a pizza oven?

• Temperature gun or built-in thermometer It's key that you can keep track of how hot your pizza oven is, to ensure it stays at the right temperature. Between 400°C and 500°C is ideal, so a temperature gun or a built-in thermometer (if your oven has one) is essential for knowing when your pizza oven is ready to cook. Using both is best, as temperature guns tell you how hot the pizza stone is – built-in thermometers don't. And a hot pizza stone is essential for a crispy base.
• Pizza peel You'll need a paddle to take your pizza in and out of the oven safely. You can get aluminium or wood pizza peels, and while the aluminium ones are easier to clean and maintain, they're more prone to sticking. Dusting the peel with flour or semolina will help to prevent your pizza sticking to the peel.
• Turning peel This smaller paddle has a rounded edge to help you slide it under one side of the pizza and turn it while it's cooking, without the need to take it out. This peel is a handy tool, but it's not essential like the standard pizza peel.
• Pizza stone These are the cooking surface, and are usually made from moisture-absorbent cordierite. They're fantastic for retaining heat and are key for crisping up the base of your pizza. Most pizza ovens come with a pizza stone included.
• Pizza cutter A good pizza cutter is key for slicing up and serving your pizza. The larger the circular blade, the better. This prevents the pizza cutter from moving your toppings around, and makes it easier to cut through extra-puffy pizza crusts. 
• Bristle brush Especially useful for wood-fired ovens where ash is likely, a tough bristle brush is handy for removing ash from the pizza stone ready for cooking, as well as for cleaning out your oven after use.

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Six tips for cooking with a pizza oven

• Keep a consistent temperature 400-500°C is ideal for cooking pizza, but some ovens can reach 800°C or more. A consistent heat will cook your pizzas evenly and keep them from burning unexpectedly.
• Dust your peel with flour Pizza dough sticks very easily, so dusting your peel with flour will help it to slide on and off. Be careful not to overdo it, though, as too much flour underneath will burn and taste bitter.
• Assemble your pizza on the peel Save yourself the stress of trying to slide the peel underneath the squishy dough and avoid ruining the shape of your pizza. The peel is the perfect assembly station, as long as you dust it first and remember to give it a shake every 30 seconds to stop the pizza sticking.
• Rotate it regularly The strongest heat comes from one direction, especially in gas and wood-fired pizza ovens. You'll want to rotate your pizza a few times during cooking to make sure it cooks evenly. Once every 30 seconds is a good rule of thumb. 
• Try other dishes too Pizza isn't the only thing a pizza oven is good for. If you have cookware that can handle the heat, there are endless possibilities – try roasting a joint of beef or even steaming a pot of mussels.
• Don't overdo it with toppings Less is definitely more when cooking with a pizza oven. Too many toppings will leave you with a soggy base and watery top. The crust cooks and burns very quickly during cooking, so be minimal with your toppings to ensure they cook just as fast.

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