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Takeaway pizza is all well and good, but nothing really compares to the smoky taste and perfect texture a flaming hot pizza oven will give you.
Restaurant-quality pizza is possible with the best pizza ovens and we've been testing them since 2020, munching our way through pizza cooked by 15 of the UK's most popular pizza ovens. We've put brands such as Ooni, Aldi, Gozney, La Hacienda, Sage, Burnhard, Dellonda and Igneus through tough tests find out which ones will take your home pizza cooking to the next level.
Our most recent tests were done in April 2022.
The pizza oven you choose makes all the difference. You want it to reach the right temperature, maintain the flames, be easy to clean afterwards and, of course, create delicious pizza. Pizza ovens can cost less than £100 or more than £1,000. Picking the right oven is important if you're considering parting with a lot of money, and we've found you generally do need to pay a bit more to get the best pizza oven.
Along with our full test results below, we've rounded up expert advice on buying a pizza oven to help you on your journey to becoming a pizzaiolo at home.
Read our guide to find out which pizza ovens we recommend, and important things to bear in mind if you decide to shop for the best pizza ovens.
Prices and availability last checked: 7 June 2022.
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Sign up nowOnly logged-in Which? members can view the pizza ovens test results below.
If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of the pizza ovens we tested. Join Which? now to get instant access to our test scores and Best Buy recommendations below.
Only available at Aldi: £129.99 (out of stock).
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Wood-fired
Fuel(s): Wood pellets
Size and weight: 78 x 35 x 74cm (HxWxD), 8.5kg
Maximum pizza size: 10.5 inches
Other key features: 28 x 28cm cordierite pizza stone
As you might expect, this Aldi pizza oven is significantly cheaper than most others we tested. Could it be a bargain route into home pizza cooking, or are you better off paying more?
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Only available at Amazon: £199.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Multi-fuel
Fuel(s): Wood pellets, wood logs, charcoal
Size and weight: 83 x 41 x 81cm (HxWxD), 15kg
Maximum pizza size: 12 inches
Other key features: 10-inch aluminium pizza peel, 36 x 32cm cordierite pizza stone, integrated thermometer
The Burnhard Nero can use charcoal as well as wood to cook, so we tested it separately using wood logs and charcoal briquettes to see what the differences are in how it cooks.
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Cheapest price: £179.98 available at Amazon, Dellonda.
Date tested: April 2022
Type: Multi-fuel
Fuel(s): Wood pellets, wood logs, charcoal
Size and weight: 82 x 44.2 x 74.5cm (HxWxD), 14kg
Maximum pizza size: 12 inches
Other key features: 11-inch pizza peel, 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone, integrated thermometer
The Dellonda DG10 has a thermometer built into the door so you can keep track of the heat inside the oven. In our tests we also used a temperature gun to check the heat of the pizza stone, as it's important the stone stays hot to give your pizzas a crispy base.
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Cheapest price: £399 available at Gozney, also available at Amazon.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Multi-fuel
Fuel(s): Gas, 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
Other key features: 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
The Gozney Roccbox comes with plenty of features, including a carry strap, a pizza peel and even a bottle opener. We fired it up several times using both the gas and wood burners to see if it you'll also get delicious pizza along with all those bells and whistles.
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Cheapest price: £875 available at Igneus, The Pizza Oven Shop.
Date tested: April 2022
Type: Wood-fired
Fuel(s): Wood logs
Size and weight: 103 x 66 x 68cm (HxWxD), 45kg
Maximum pizza size: 22 inches
Other key features: 60 x 60cm cordierite pizza stone, embers rake, integrated thermometer
Pizza ovens don't get much more traditional than the Igneus Classico, which requires you to build and burn your wood fire in the centre of the oven and pushing it back before you start cooking. We tested to see if the traditional cooking method led to better-tasting pizza compared with the modern-style ovens we tested.
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Cheapest price: £299 available at Igneus, The Pizza Oven Shop.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Wood-fired
Fuel(s): Wood logs
Size and weight: 63 x 41 x 49cm (HxWxD), 15kg
Maximum pizza size: 11 inches
Other key features: 11-inch aluminium pizza peel, 30 x 40cm cordierite pizza stone, embers rake
The Igneus Minimo is much smaller than the large Igneus Classico, but has the same traditional design and wood-fired cooking method. Our tests looked at whether this compact oven is easier to use than its larger counterpart, and how their heat-up times compare.
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Cheapest price: £150 available at Amazon, Argos.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Multi-fuel
Fuel(s): Wood logs or charcoal briquettes
Size and weight: 157 x 51 x 38cm (HxWxD), 22.5kg
Maximum pizza size: 11 inches
Other key features: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, built-in thermometer
This La Hacienda pizza oven is one of the largest we tested, but it can also be used as a barbecue, making it arguably one of the biggest space savers. Does the quality of its pizza make it the perfect two-in-one solution for cooking in your garden?
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Cheapest price: £249 available at Amazon, John Lewis, Lakeland, Ooni.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Wood-fired
Fuel(s): Wood pellets
Size and weight: 72 x 39 x 57cm (HxWxD), 10kg
Maximum pizza size: 12 inches
Other key features: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone
The Ooni Fyra 12 is the brand's cheapest pizza oven, costing around £50 less than Ooni's other 12-inch pizza ovens. Our test results reveal whether we think that's money well saved.
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Cheapest price: £299 available at Amazon, John Lewis (out of stock), Lakeland, Ooni.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Multi-fuel
Fuel(s): Wood logs, charcoal briquettes or 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
Other key features: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone
If you can't decide which fuel type you like best, the Ooni Karu 12 will let you experiment with every option available. We tested it using wood logs, charcoal briquettes and propane gas to find out which cooks the tastiest pizzas.
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Cheapest price: £699 available at Amazon, John Lewis, Lakeland, Ooni.
Date tested: April 2022
Type: Multi-fuel
Fuel(s): Wood logs, charcoal or 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
Other key features: 43 x 43cm cordierite pizza stone, digital thermometer
The Ooni Karu 16 is Ooni's premium option and is one of the most expensive pizza ovens we tested. It can cook 16-inch pizzas, has a large, heat-proof glass door to help visibility during cooking and a digital thermometer to help you track the heat. But is it really worth all that cash?
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Cheapest price: £299 available at Amazon, John Lewis, Lakeland, Ooni.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Gas
Fuel(s): Gas (propane)
Size and weight: 30 x 39 x 62cm (HxWxD), 9.25kg
Maximum pizza size: 12 inches
Other key features: 33 x 33cm cordierite pizza stone, gas hose and regulator
If you're put off by the prospect of cleaning up ash and soot when you use your pizza oven, a gas option such as the Ooni Koda 12 could be best for you. We compared it with the wood-fired pizza ovens to see if there's a significant difference in taste.
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Cheapest price: £499 available at Amazon, John Lewis, Lakeland, Ooni.
Date tested: April 2022
Type: Gas
Fuel(s): Gas (propane)
Size and weight: 37.2 x 52 x 63.4cm (HxWxD), 18.2kg
Maximum pizza size: 16 inches
Other key features: 43 x 43cm cordierite pizza stone, gas hose and regulator
If you want a reliable and consistent pizza oven you might be considering the Ooni Koda 16. A long, thin gas burner goes all the way along the back and side to provide constant, low-maintenance flames. We considered this and other key factors when deciding whether to recommend you buy it.
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Cheapest price: £699 available at Lakeland, also available at Harrods, Sage.
Date tested: August 2021
Type: Electric
Fuel(s): Electricity
Size and weight: 27 x 47 x 46cm (HxWxD), 15kg
Maximum pizza size: 11 inches
Other key features: 11-inch aluminium pizza peel, 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, 30 x 30cm pizza pan
This Sage pizza oven is the only one we tested that lives in the kitchen instead of the garden. You can adjust the settings to cook thin, deep pan, wood-fired or even frozen pizzas. We pitted its wood-fired-style pizzas against the real thing to see if electric pizza ovens can compete with traditional wood-fired ones.
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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.
Only available at Amazon: £81.72.
Date tested: May 2020
Type: Barbecue-top
Fuel(s): Charcoal briquettes or gas
Size and weight: 15 x 40 x 35cm (HxWxD), 8.4kg
Maximum pizza size: 11 inches
Other key features: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, built-in thermometer
La Hacienda makes both standalone pizza ovens and barbecue-top-style ones for those with limited space. We tried out the La Hacienda BBQ Pizza Oven to see if you can still get delicious pizza without having to get a full-sized pizza oven.
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Only available at Lidl: £39.99 (in store only, stock varies).
Date tested: May 2020
Type: Barbecue-top
Fuel(s): Charcoal briquettes or gas
Size and weight: 14 x 40 x 35cm (HxWxD), 4kg
Maximum pizza size: 11 inches
Other key features: 30 x 30cm cordierite pizza stone, built-in thermometer
The Lidl Barbecue Pizza Oven is available seasonally in store in the middle aisles of Lidl. If it cooks pizzas as well as the standalone pizza ovens, it could prove to be a fantastic bargain. But can this low-cost pizza oven really compete with the big brands?
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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 and we don't accept gifts, so you can be certain our reviews are unbiased and independent.
Freestanding pizza ovens like those we tested are often billed as portable, so we weighed them and carried them a short distance, taking bulkiness and comfort into account.
It's also very important that an oven that gets as hot as 500°C is perfectly stable, so we checked that the pizza ovens had strong legs and weren't prone to wobbling.
If it's difficult to control the temperature or feed the flames, a struggle to get pizzas out of the oven or to turn them, 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.
Pizza ovens need to reach consistently high temperatures to give a perfectly browned and crispy base to your pizza.
The optimum cooking temperature is between 400°C and 500°C, and it can be frustrating if your pizza oven takes a long time to reach that temperature or fails to reach it at all.
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 couldn't get that hot after an hour.
We cooked three of the most popular types of pizza – margherita, pepperoni and vegetarian – in each pizza oven 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.
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.
Gas, wood-fired and multi-fuel options are available.
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.
If you’re really into pizza, you might want to invest in a purpose-built pizza oven as a feature for your garden.
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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, but 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.
The traditional and most popular type. They require the most patience and skill, as they take longer to reach 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, and where possible we'd suggest buying these as they will have a reduced impact on the planet.
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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