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Pizza Oven Buying Guide: Which One’s Right for You?

pizza oven buying guide

Have you ever noticed that families and friends always seem to gather around food? How often do you make food the center of your gathering? When’s the last time you said, “let’s meet for lunch!” or “we should have you over for dinner!”?

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Looking for an excuse to invite over family, meet the neighbors, or impress a special someone?

Whether your goal is a fun family gathering, a romantic date night, or just a yummy dinner, you will find that owning pizza oven is the perfect excuse to get together!

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

Having trouble finding the right pizza oven for you? Here are the 3 most important questions that you need to ask yourself to help you find your perfect pizza oven.

  1. How much am I willing to spend on a pizza oven?
  2. Do I want a Portable, Countertop, or Built-in pizza oven?
  3. Wood, propane, or both?

Question 1: Personal Budget

Let’s get this part out of the way so we can get to the fun parts.

I’ve coached a lot of people through their pizza oven match, and I learned a long time ago to start with the money question – “what are you willing to spend?” It saves a lot of time.

A good, 12 inch portable pizza oven with proper accessories starts at $500. Ovens that will cook 16 inch pizzas are typically in the $500-1000 range.

If you already know that you will not spend more than $1,000 on a pizza oven, then you can save time by skipping question 2 and jumping straight to question 3. In this case, your budget will only work for a portable pizza oven (unless you already want to dream about how you’ll upgrade your pizza oven in the future!).

Question 2: Portable, Countertop, or Built-in Pizza Oven?

What are you trying to accomplish?

Built-In Traditional
Countertop Modern
Portable Pizza Party

In other words, is the pizza oven an appliance or the centerpiece of your outdoor kitchen?

Looking to build an outdoor kitchen? Pizza ovens are often built into a wall or above an outdoor fireplace.

The terracotta brick or stone face of an Authentic Pizza Oven Pizzaiolo may add just the right rustic, old-world touch.

Or, if you’re thinking more modern, my favorite is the Chicago Brick Oven CBO-750 (also available as a Countertop oven or in a wood AND gas option).

If you already have an outdoor kitchen, a Countertop pizza oven can give you the built-in look without all the work or cost of a remodel. Look to Chicago Brick Oven, Authentic Pizza Ovens, or the new Gozney Dome for our favorite choices.

Portable pizza ovens range from large Countertop pizza ovens on a cart, down to options small enough to take camping – and everywhere in between.

Ooni is the big player in the portable pizza oven space, but Gozney and Bertello have also been around for a while. Solo Stove, Carbon, and others have also been jumping on the bandwagon.

Looking to impress? Or take the party wherever you go? Make your choice and read on – your perfect pizza awaits.

Question 3: Wood, Gas, or Both

Ooni pizza oven lineup

Wood Only

Craving the wood-fired experience? I don’t blame you!

Built-in and Countertop pizza ovens are insulated enough to retain heat so that once you get the oven hot enough, wood is not a worry.

See our choices in question 2 for more detailed recommendations – or just go with the Authentic Pizza Oven Pizzaiolo for Built-in, or Chicago Brick Oven CBO-750 for Countertop.

If you’re going with a portable pizza oven and must have the wood option, we recommend the Ooni Karu 16 or the Solo Stove Pi (for an even more portable option). Both come with a gas burner option in case you ever change your mind.

Wood OR Gas

Wood-fired is fantastic for 1-5 pizzas, but propane is better if you’re cooking more than that.

A good compromise is one that cooks with wood, but also has the option to swap out the wood tray for a gas burner (typically an add-on purchase). These are typically only found in portable pizza ovens.

As mentioned before, the Ooni Karu 16 and Solo Stove Pi both have the gas burner module option, so they remain a great choice here.

Propane or Natural Gas

You can’t beat the Ooni Koda for a gas pizza oven. If you have the budget, the Ooni Koda 16 is worth the upgrade.

Looking for the most bang for your buck under $500? That is easily the Ooni Koda 12 gas pizza oven.

If you want to cook with natural gas, your portable options are the Ooni Karu 16 or Bertello Grande 16 – both offer an optional natural gas module.

Between the two, I’d give the advantage to the Bertello Grande 16 because they have a wood tray that can be used with the gas burner (read more below).

The Gozney Dome is your best choice for natural gas in a Countertop pizza oven. The CBO-750 by Chicago Brick Oven jumps up in price, but is amazing for a Built-in natural gas pizza oven.

Wood AND Gas

Want the convenience of cooking with gas, but still crave the wood-fired flavor?

You are not alone. I hear this all of the time. So, if you want to cook with wood and gas at the same time, we got you covered!

While these options are limited, here are our favorite wood and gas pizza ovens:

For Countertop, the fantastic Gozney Dome is easily the best value. After that, the price point jump up significantly with the CBO-750 to cook with wood and gas.

At the time of this article, Bertello is the only portable oven brand that can cook with wood and gas at the same time.

If you’re looking to stay under $500, go with their original 12 inch pizza oven. But, if you can, the Bertello 16 (inch) is worth the upgrade and still in the sub-$1,000 class.

Conclusion

There is no such thing as a pizza oven that is perfect for everyone. But there is a pizza oven that is perfect for you.

While you may enjoy the search to find your perfect oven, that is only the beginning of the fun!

Want to learn more about these ovens? Check out our other articles below: