Kevin Hansen
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Derek and I have done hundreds of hours of hands-on testing of over 50 different pizza ovens. A dozen of these ovens are currently priced at $350 or less. Here are my rankings of the best ones.
Got questions about pizza ovens? Ask me in the comments below, I like to talk about them!
I recently reviewed the Granitestone Piezano. It is the cheapest pizza oven we’ve ever reviewed, costing around $120. In my YouTube comments, somebody thanked me for reviewing such a low-cost oven. This feedback got me thinking about how there must be other aspiring pizza makers out there wondering how best to stretch their limited funds. My rankings below will tell you which products are worth your hard-earned dollars, and what trade-offs you will be making when choosing among the lowest priced ovens available. But first, let’s start with the advice that I always give to anybody considering a pizza oven purchase. (Or skip to the ranked list of ovens if you prefer!)
Standard Pizza Oven Advice
Other than your budget, you need to figure out your answers to these questions:
- Are you looking for an indoor oven or an outdoor one? Most pizza ovens are outdoor ovens.
- If you’re buying an outdoor oven, what type of fuel do you want to use? Gas (propane or natural gas) is the most common option and also the most convenient. However, some people like the idea of wood or charcoal and the smokey flavors that those fuels might provide.
- What kind(s) of pizza are you looking to make? Neapolitan? New York? Detroit? All of the above?
- Is portability important to you? Will you be taking your oven camping or tailgating?
You might not know the answers yet, but be thinking about these questions as you research your options.
The cheapest possibility is to use your regular home oven if you have one, so let’s talk about that next. But if you already know that you want to buy a dedicated pizza oven, feel free to skip to the rankings.
When Is a Dedicated Pizza Oven Better Than a Regular Home Oven?
Do you have an oven in your kitchen with a broiler that can reach 550°F? If so, then you already have most of what you need to make a fairly successful Detroit- or New York-style pizza. If you are interested in Detroit pizzas, check out our guide to making Detroit style at home. If New York style is more appealing, then I highly recommend buying a pizza steel to get the best results. Here’s our guide to the best pizza steels.
Unlike your regular home oven, the best dedicated pizza ovens can reach temperatures well above 550°F. These higher temperatures can lead to better results for many types of pizzas, but high temps are absolutely critical for Neapolitans. Neapolitans generally require cooking temperatures of about 850°F or above, so if you want to make Neapolitans, a dedicated pizza oven is a must.
Indoor pizza ovens that can make Neapolitans start at around $800, so if you have a smaller budget and want to make Neapolitans, then you will need to look strictly at outdoor options. Luckily, there are a lot more pizza ovens to choose from in the outdoor category.
But enough chit-chat, let’s look at the rankings.
The Best Budget Pizza Ovens
My top 3 ranked most affordable ovens are all Neapolitan-capable outdoor ovens. The links below will give you more information about each oven from its manufacturer, or keep scrolling down for a more detailed look at each oven based on our testing.
- Solo Pi Prime. This propane-fueled oven makes fantastic Neapolitans and is beginner-friendly, too.
- Ooni Fyra 12. This well-built oven is highly portable and great for camping, but it has a steep learning curve caused by its wood pellet fueling mechanism.
- Pizzello Forte. This Alibaba-sourced oven has questionable build quality, but decent Neapolitans are possible AND you have a choice between wood and propane.
The ovens below cannot make Neapolitans, but they are worth considering if Neapolitan-level heat is not a requirement for you.
- Ninja Woodfire. This high-quality outdoor oven not only makes great NY-style pizza, it also functions as a smoker and a grill.
- Chefman. It’s not perfect, but this indoor oven is comparable to the (much more expensive) Ooni Volt if you are only making New York style. This oven is frequently on sale for 40-50% off retail.
The following ovens did not make my best budget ovens list, but they are not bad products. These are listed in no particular order.
- Piezano. This oven does one thing reasonably well (make New York style pizzas) but the pizzas are tiny, and the peel that comes with it is terrible.
- Big Horn. AÂ wood-pellet-fueled oven that is inferior to the Ooni Fyra.
- Gemelli. An indoor oven that is identical to the Chefman in performance, but with awful controls.
The following ovens had poor performance in our tests and are not recommended.
- Blackstone Leggero. Not built well, loses heat easily, and can’t cook Neapolitans.
- Cuisinart. An indoor oven that takes a while to preheat. Top burner is weak. Heat is not well-contained.
- Nexgrill Ora. Pizzas burn far too easily. Turntable gets stuck.
- Mont Alpi. Struggles to get much over 550°F.
(By the way, make sure that you look at the Honorable Mentions tab above, especially if you need an indoor oven or don’t care about making Neapolitans.)
For most people serious about pizza, I think the Pi Prime is your best bet. However, the other two top-ranked options are cheaper—at least at the moment—so they are worth considering if the Pi Prime is a stretch financially. The Fyra might also be the best choice for you if portability is a high priority.
Solo Pi Prime Pizza Oven
- The Pi Prime can make Instagram-worth Neapolitans complete with leoparding. (Leoparding is the pattern of char spots on the crust.)
- Convenient propane fuel that is easy to use.
- Weight – 30lbs
- Max pizza size – 12 inches
- Max heat – 950°F
Ooni Fyra 12 Pizza Oven
- Super portable and fantastic for camping.
- Wood pellet fuel can be tricky to use, and clean up time is longer.
- Manufacturer is one of the best in the business.
- Weight — 22 pounds
- Max pizza size — 12 inches
- Max heat — 932°F
Pizzello Forte Pizza Oven
- Choice of wood pellets or propane.
- Some corners were cut when manufacturing this oven.
- Nevertheless, you can make pretty good pizzas in this oven with practice.
- Weight – 38.5 pounds
- Max pizza size — 12 inches. (We haven’t tested the 16-inch version.)
- Max heat — 850°F
If you’d like more info about the honorable mention ovens, check out the full reviews of the Ninja Woodfire and the Chefman.
What Features Am I Sacrificing By Purchasing a Budget Oven?
There are always trade-offs in life, and pizza ovens are no exception. So you might be wondering what you will be giving up by buying a $100-$350 oven instead of a more expensive option. Here’s what spending more money can potentially get you:
- The ability to make larger pizzas. Twelve inch pizza ovens are large enough to feed a few people (and true Neapolitans are 12 inches by definition!), but the ability to make 16-inch pizzas is super useful when entertaining a larger group.Â
- More successful pizzas with less fuss. The easiest, most successful pizzas I’ve ever made were in the $850 Arc XL. That being said, I have made pizzas that were just as tasty and attractive in the Pi Prime—they just required slightly more effort.
- Higher oven build quality. As you can imagine, expensive ovens are (at least sometimes!) built with better, more durable materials. You can partially compensate for lower quality materials by carefully sheltering your budget oven from the elements.
If you’d like to explore other ovens at higher price points, check out our guides to the best outdoor or indoor pizza ovens.
If you purchased a budget pizza oven, please let me know in the comments whether you were happy with it for the price.
