My family runs a pizza business - these are the 9 ovens actually impressed us

Nothing gets people outside and gathered together quite like a pizza oven. My family started using them when I was 13, so it’s safe to say I’ve grown up cooking with flames — and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s one of the many reasons why I think every garden, balcony, and even kitchen should have a pizza oven.

For years, pizza ovens followed a fairly predictable format, but recently the market has exploded with innovation. Electric models now offer a fuss-free, air fryer–like experience, while gas ovens give you precise control — especially those clever ones with rotating pizza stones, perfect for beginners. And of course, there’s the timeless charm of wood-fired ovens, delivering that unbeatable smoky flavour.

With summer on the horizon, I’ve been putting the best pizza ovens to the test — roping in my family (who’ve run a pizza business for over a decade) to help me assess everything from big names like Ninja to pizza-specialist brands like Gozney and Ooni. So whether you’re just getting started with outdoor cooking or you’re ready to take your homemade pizzas to the next level, here’s everything you need to know to choose the right oven.

The quick list

The best pizza ovens, tested by industry experts

I put all our pizza ovens through the same series of tests to get a good gauge of who they'll be best suited to. Not only did I cook many, many pizzas in each oven, I also experimented with nachos, vegetable skillets, cookies, and other recipes that brands recommended that we tested out. To see the results of my top picks, keep scrolling.

Best pizza oven for enthusiasts

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Any research into the world of pizza ovens will have shone a spotlight on Gozney. These pizza ovens are the crème de la creme for build quality, cooking capacity, aesthetics, and user-experience. My family — the ones that run the pizza business — cook on Gozney's commercial ovens and the Arc is just a mini version of those. In the summer, I swear I don’t touch my oven. I cook exclusively in here.

I’ll work from the outside in. Gozney’s ovens are beautiful. They look like something from a glossy Scandinavian magazine. They’re easy to set up and the extra features — such as an exterior thermometer and pizza stand — are seamlessly stylish. Setting them up is easy and cooking in the Gozney Arc is just as lovely. I made delicious, evenly cooked pizzas in here and have continued to use the Arc for almost two years in my garden, where I've hosted Mexican nights (you can cook wraps and fillings in the oven); tapas nights (falafels work really well in here too); and I've even made a roast dinner in here.

That all goes to say that if you have the money to spend, this is a smart investment. It’ll last you for a long time and you’ll get the admiration of all your friends. The one catch is that some of the smart accessories (the stand, cover, and peel) are all sold separately, so you need to buy these separately. It could blow your budget, but if you'll use this as much as I do, it's worth investing in them. My final piece of advice is to check out Gozney’s recipes too — you’ll be making peanut butter brownies, nachos, wraps, and curries in no time.

You can find out more in my full review.

Best pizza oven for beginners

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The place that everyone trips up with pizza ovens is turning the pizza. It’s very easy to thrust your perfect pizza into the flames at the back or the side of the oven — or to get distracted by guests and burn one half of the pizza. The simple solution that opens up pizza ovens for everyone from beginners to experts is Morsø's rotating pizza stone. Most pizza ovens that have this feature still require you to manually turn the stone, but the Forno Spin has an electric control, that you can leave to work its magic, freeing up brain space to enjoy the outdoors whilst your oven cooks the perfect pizza.

Not only is the Morsø Forno Spin attractive — following Gozney in the pebble-like look of the pizza oven — it’s lovely to use. I cooked even, delicious pizza in here with almost no error. I also made brownies, nachos, bread, wraps, grilled vegetables, and more in the Morsø Forno Spin. The sheer simplicity made it really motivating to return to time and time again. I found myself excited to cook in here.

My friends, who had never cooked in a pizza oven before, were able to match my decade of training thanks to the quality and ease of design that is so intrinsic to Morsø . To top it all off, this is a great price. It’s not the cheapest pizza oven, but if you want quality, this is one of the best places you can spend your money.

The only downside is that the oven is gas powered, but the wheel is electric. You’ll need a socket and gas cylinder nearby to have it working at full capacity, which limits where you’ll put it outside.

You can find out more in my full review.

Best wood fired pizza oven

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Some people want to enjoy pizza ovens as they were intended: cooked by wood-fired flames, the Italian way. Going back to the roots might take more time and investment: you need to watch your fire constantly and learn special tricks, but with the DeliVita, it pays off.

Not only is this a gorgeous oven — I’ve never seen one with such personality, especially with all the colour options — it’s totally heat proof, so you could sit it anywhere in your garden without a care in the world. Mine was placed on an IKEA bistro table and, Marco, DeliVita’s expert, assured me that his has sat on the exact same table without a hitch for months upon months.

Flavour-wise, the DeliVita is hard to beat. The fire gives food flavour and character like no other pizza oven. If I closed my eyes, the pizza I made in the DeliVita could have been slid onto my table in authentic pizzeria in Naples. I also made some delicious Italian classics, including a vegetable bruschetta and veggie skillet, but could nail the more left-field tasks that I set it (including making a deliciously soft, sweet cookie) too.

The only downside of a wood-fired oven is that you have to buy kiln-dried wood and even then it’ll smoke a lot. I live in a zone where we can’t actually have outdoor fires, which meant I had to travel around to get this set up and tested. It’s worth it if you’re willing to learn the tricks of the wood fired trade — and will certainly wow guests with the flavours — but might not suit shy beginners.

You can find out more in my full review

Best electric pizza oven

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I love Ninja. I think they make some of the best air fryers and other kitchen appliances, but did I think they would be shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Gozney? No. Was I totally wrong? Yes.

The Ninja Artisan Pizza Oven well and truly knocked me off my feet. It warmed up in fifteen minutes and cooked my pizzas perfectly in just three more minutes. There's a handy timer and even controls that would let you play around with the temperature and time, but you won't need to. Ninja serves-up simple perfection on a plate, or should I say pizza stone? I'm serious though. This made some of the best pizzas on test, which I didn't expect. The crusts puffed up, the sauce was sweet, and my cheese was golden brown and stringy. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it again.

You've also got an air fryer function (which is good for an outdoor air fryer, but not as good as Ninja's dedicated models), as well as a prove and bake setting. That makes this one of the most obviously versatile ways to cook more than pizza outside. To the Ninja Artisan's credit, I made some impressive focaccia, cookies, nachos, and veggies in here and I really enjoyed the level of control that an electric oven has to offer.

The other boon of having an electric oven like this is that it can sit on balconies and patios, unlike gas and wood-fired alternatives. That makes it much more accessible for lots of homes. The only downside is that this isn't quite as beautiful as some of the more expensive models, but with the pizzas that this churned out, I'm willing to overlook a boxy design.

You can find out more in my full review.

Best gas pizza oven

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I could fill a whole guide with Gozney: the Dome S1 is a stellar example of why. It’s slightly bigger than the Arc, so you could squeeze a couple of pizza in, or generally enjoy a more spacious cooking environment for all your fire-powered foods.

I’ve found the Dome to be really durable — it’s an oven that you can leave in the garden and not worry about — and really it's also really forgiving if you're not yet smooth with how you shuffle your pizzas around in the oven.

The Gozney Dome S1 warms up quickly; you’ll be able to cook lots of creative dishes in here; and it looks great too. My latest success in this was a curry night: I slow cooked curry in the day and made some sensational naan breads when my guests arrived. I've also made a bigger roast dinner in here (I tested that in the Gozney Arc too) as well as some amazing tray bakes.

As with all Gozney pizza ovens, you’re paying a little more than the likes of Ninja or Ooni, but I don’t know a single person who regrets their purchase. Gozney owners are proud and I’ve had lots of confessions from owners of less expensive ovens saying that they wished they had splurged on one as substantial as this.

You can find out more in my full review

Best multi-fuel pizza oven

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You won’t find a pizza oven that’s actually worth buying for any cheaper than this. Actually, you won’t find a triple fuel pizza oven that’s cheaper or smaller than this. So, if you are new to pizza making, or you want the flexibility to mix up the furl you use, this is a brilliant place to start.

The beauty of the Woody Pizza Oven is that it comes as a kit. You get your cover, your pizza peel, and all your attachments included, so the price of the oven on the Woody site is exactly what you’ll pay. Woody also provides lots of helpful videos for how to set the Woody up, because it's a little more fiddly with all the different attachments, but once you've dedicated about 30 minutes to getting it in place, you'll be proud of your work. You have to admit, it looks pretty good too, especially for the price.

I made some nice pizza, as well as grilled vegetables and cookies in the Woody. I think anyone would be suitably impressed with it, especially in the context of its price tag. Having cooked on the Gozney and Morso, I know that there are sleeker designs, more sensitive thermometers, and more robust builds. However, for a novice, that doesn’t really matter. This does everything you’d need.

You can find out more in my full review.

Best budget pizza oven

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Jamie Oliver is the king of casual cooking and his pizza oven is a brilliant example of why. Reasonably priced, with a neat, rotating pizza stone in the base, it’s a brilliant entry-level option for anyone new to the world of pizza ovens.

Given that I've just talked about what exceptional value the Woody pizza oven is, you might wonder why this (a £50 more expensive one) is my budget choice. I gave this Jamie Oliver Tefal oven the award, because it comes with simplicity as well as a great price tag. The Woody is great, but it can be fiddly and I think that deters people that don't fancy playing around with the different fuel types. Jamie's oven, on the other hand, is super simple.

Another aspect of Tefal's easy, breezy design is the dial. This is connected to the pizza stone and it'll let you rotate the pizza inside the oven without needing the skills of an Italian pizza chef. There are some ovens that can do this automatically, but it’s actually nice to have some control — it lets you focus on cooking your pizzas exactly where you want them.

I made delicious dishes — from a classic pizza through to cookies and nachos — in good time in here. My only caveats are that you need to set aside a couple of hours the first time that you use it — the instructions ask for a lot of heating. The oven also gets quite hot, so keep it high up and away from children. Aside from that, it's good fun, great value, and a really accessible model. Of course. It’s Jamie Oliver after all.

You can find out more in my full review.

Fastest pizza oven

The iconic Karu is one you'll recognise from just about everywhere. This powerhouse is a favourite amongst influencers and it doesn't take much to work out why. The compact design weighs in at 16 kgs, making it easy to pick up and pop on a heat-proof table outdoors, but you could also take it camping or on your travels.

The impressive oven can reach 500 °C, promising to cook pizza in 60 seconds. I'm in the process of writing up a formal review for this model, but have taken this for a spin at my friend's place and it really is every bit as speedy as it promises to be. And that doesn't leave your ingredients raw — it actually crisps the bases and chars the veggies to absolute perfection.

You've got the benefit of cooking with wood, charcoal, or gas when it comes to the Karu 2, although the gas attachment is sold separately, so don't get caught out if you want to use both. I love the spacious grate, which makes it easy to stack wood into and it actually makes cleaning up the ashes really easy.

Lots of people love the clear glass door that lets you watch the pizza cook, whilst keeping all the heat inside, hence the speedy cheffing. And if you're worried about it fogging up, the team has integrated special technology that has been endlessly praised online, It doesn't mist up.

I am still formally testing the Karu 2, but these are some initial thoughts. I'll update you with a proper review once I've got the pizza sauce off my hands.

Best indoor outdoor pizza oven

The weather can be unpredictable (at the best of times), so if you're planning a pizza party and the clouds come over, it's really helpful to have a pizza oven that works indoors and outdoors. I'd argue that it's more helpful than a guest willing to hold an umbrella over the poor dedicated pizza chef all evening. For this precise reason, I love the Volt 12.

Ooni makes exceptionally good pizza ovens and this is their first foray into the all-electric world. Customers all agree that it delivers on its promise to produce perfect pizza in 90 seconds, which is really speedy. It warms up to 450°C in 20 minutes, which is bang on average for a pizza oven. Whilst some might spot that 450°C is a little lower for a maximum temperature in an oven, I wouldn't recommend cooking a pizza over 350°C, so you're not losing out.

Beginners seem to love the programmed, which help you to pick the perfect temperature for the kind of pizza you're cooking (a Detroit pizza will need more heat than a Neapolitan, for example), but if you're confident, you can scrap the pre-sets all together.

One of the stand-out extras seemed to be the 13" cooking area, which gives you room to roll an unusually shaped pizza (I would aim for a 10-12 inch base). You'll need to wait for it to cool and dry before you move it, so it's worth investing in an oven cover, if you want yours to really last out its warranty period.

I'm still testing the Volt 12, so these are my initial thoughts. You'll get a full update as soon as I am finished.

How we test pizza ovens

I’ve been leading the testing at woman&home because my family is in the business of pizza. That means that my weekends, evenings, and school holidays were dominated by cooking in pizza ovens (and, to be honest, they still are).

I have tested all of these with my family, so that we have cast our commercial, expert eyes on the pizza ovens. I've also made sure to test alongside some friends who have never cooked in pizza ovens before, because not everyone approaches pizza ovens from a commercial perspective and I want to see how and where each oven appeals to total beginners. I don’t normally have a crowd for testing, but people seem to come out of the woodwork when they catch a whiff of pizza. Can you blame them?

My tests cover all the basics — making endless pizzas — through to vegetable skillets, nachos, cookies and brownies. I like to test the versatility of a pizza oven, which means determining whether it can do speedy and slow cooking. In my reviews, I’ll also talk about what a pizza oven is like to set up, clean up after, and I’ll compare it to other models on the market. That way, you’ll get a really comprehensive idea of what these ovens are like to live with.

If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to email me. I’m always happy to chat about these, possibly over a slice of pizza. Don't forget that you can read more about how we test pizza ovens on our dedicated page.

How to choose a pizza oven

When you’re buying a pizza oven, there are a few factors to take into consideration. I’ll talk you through these here, with some of my insights into how to find the right one for you.

Price: if you want a pizza oven that's decent, your budget will need to start around £250. These ovens might not be pretty, or they might be flimsy in some places, but they're a great place to start and will definitely show you whether pizza ovens are your thing. As you get more serious, you'll see the price creep up. I'd expect a nice electric oven to come up to £500 and your gas ovens might be around here too. Then, when you're looking at bigger, well-made ovens, you'll see these come into the realms of £1,000. I wouldn't recommend spending more than this unless you have borderline commercial needs.

Size and capacity: this will determine what you cook in your pizza oven, how many you can cater for, and where you can store it too. Most ovens can only take one pizza at a time, so if you know you want to cook more than one at once (very fancy) you'll want a Gozney Dome S1. the others might have quirks, such as chimneys, or heat sensitive bases that will affect where you put your pizza oven. These are all things you'll need to keep in mind when choosing.

Fuel type: most pizza ovens are single fuel, although some can cover multiple different options, but it’s good idea to gauge which you want. Electric pizza ovens are some of the most balcony friendly options and can often be used under cover. They’re reliable, perhaps not as authentic, but they get the job done on a very basic level. Next up, you have gas. This is still pretty easy to control, but you get the joys of a flame. This is a little more authentic and fun — you can play with holding food up to the flame — but gas can be expensive and a little ugly to store. The other classic fuel type is wood. This delivers an authentic, smoky flavour, but it’s a lot more high maintenance. You need a lot more time to heat the oven, you need ti tend to the fire, and it’s a lot less consistent. You also can’t use any old wood — it needs to be kiln dried. Some pizza ovens also take charcoal, which sits somewhere between gas and wood. It’s not really exciting and flavourful, nor is it as consistent as gas.

Special features: pizza ovens are generally really straight forward, but you'll get some nice extras in some models. That might be a rotating stone (handy if you've never cooked a pizza oven before), temperature gauge (really helpful for knowing when to cook), converter for different furl types, or, in the case of some electric models, you might get functions, such as air frying.

Included accessories: some air fryers come with their accessories included and others will require you to buy them separately. To get started, you really want a stand and a pizza peel, so check whether that's included in the price and then account for it depending on what you find. Then, you might be thinking about covers, pizza cutters, and other accessories. These are rarely included, but if you know you want them, it's worth looking out for a package deal, for example.

FAQs

What's better, Ooni or Ninja?

This will really depend on what you want from your pizza oven. I've just finished my tests of the Ninja Artisan Electric Pizza Oven and was really impressed both with the quality and versatility. If you want an oven that can air fry and bake, I'd go for the Ninja. Ooni, on the other hand, are more specialised, so they'll give you more nuanced, expertly tailored pizza ovens. The Volt, for example, works better both indoors and outdoors, whereas I wouldn't take the Ninja inside.

What's the best pizza oven for home?

This will depend on your skill. I love Gozney ovens, but they're more of an investment than a Ninja, for example. If you know you'll use yours a lot, go for a Gozney. They make commercial ovens (my family use them in the restaurant), so they know what good quality looks like). If this is the kind of thing you might buy and use a few times, go for a more entry-level friendly model, such as the Ninja, Tefal, or Woody instead.

What fuel type is best for a pizza oven?

The best fuel type for a pizza oven depends on the cooking style and flavour you’re after, but many pizza enthusiasts favuor wood as it imparts a traditional, smoky flavour and allows the oven to reach very high temperatures quickly. However, gas-fired ovens offer greater convenience, easier temperature control, and faster start-up times, making them a popular choice for home cooks. Some modern ovens are multi-fuel, allowing you to switch between wood, gas, or even charcoal for added versatility.

Personally, I always thought wood-fired was the way to go, because they're the ovens that I was raised on. However, at home, I really love gas. It's a lot easier, lower maintenance, and you still get great flavours.