Ooni vs Gozney: which pizza oven is best ahead of Black Friday 2024?

Ooni is the biggest pizza oven brand on the planet and its popularity shows no signs of slowing down. Lots of people use the brand's name as a synonym for pizza oven and it can be hard to think of another oven that can compete with them.

However, Gozney has been in the business for about as long as Ooni has, and where Ooni makes some - let's face it - utilitarian, borderline ugly ovens, Gozney's bone-china appliances can elevate any outdoor kitchen, and they dominate our list of the best Ooni alternatives.

I've spent a big chunk of my career testing the best pizza ovens for years, so I know all about the benefits and drawbacks of both brands. While Ooni comes out on top, it's only really due to price, so it's still worth considering Gozney.

Ooni vs Gozney: which is best?

TLDR: Ooni is the winner. Ooni has a wider range of ovens, including an indoor oven and an extra-large oven which can bake two pizzas at once, which is breadth that Gozney can't match. To be brutally honest, I think Ooni is overpriced, but they're still much cheaper than Gozney. I also think Ooni pizza tastes slightly better, with better char, crust, and melted cheese, but the difference between the two brands is tiny.

However, I think Gozney's ovens look much better than Ooni's, which are all monochromatic black appliances. If you want something that looks great on a patio, I'd opt for a Gozney oven, but you're paying a premium for looks and little else.

Buy an Ooni if you:

Buy Ooni if you want the very best pizza. I've been a product tester ever since I left college and after trying dozens of pizza ovens I'm still yet to find a brand that can match Ooni for taste. It sounds like I'm advertising for them, but I promise I'm not - when I've tried blind taste tests with these brands, Ooni is always number one. I don't know if it's how their ovens are shaped, the thickness of the stone, or the efficiency of the heat source, but pizzas made in Oonis have the best crusts, perfectly melted cheese, and delicious smokiness.

You should also buy Ooni for (relatively) good value. This comes with the significant caveat that their ovens are still expensive - our favorite is $799, and doesn't include essential items like a pizza peel - but they're often around $100 cheaper than equivalent ovens. It's hardly a bargain, but it could be a lot worse.

Buy a Gozney pizza oven if you:

Buy a Gozney oven if you want a design statement for your yard. While I love Ooni ovens, they are all monochrome black or silver. Gozneys have a range of different colors and they look much more stylish than Oonis, with, sleek, clean lines that make the ovens look more like tech products than boring appliances. They look much better in an outdoor kitchen than Oonis do.

You should also buy Gozney if you want lots of bonus features to make your experience a little easier. Not all of Ooni's pizza ovens come with thermometers, but every Gozney has one as standard, which takes out all the guesswork. Some Gozneys have notifications to let you know when your oven has reached the right temperature, and the original Dome oven also has a probe thermometer to help you nail calzones and meat dishes.

Head-to-head

Winner: Ooni

The fairest comparison between the two brands is to take their two best ovens - the brand new Ooni Karu 2 Pro vs the Gozney Dome. On paper, they're very evenly matched.

They both make exceptionally good pizza, and both make it with both wood and gas. Our testers found that the Karu 2 Pro makes slightly better pizza, with a better crust, but the difference between the two for flavor is negligible.

Both have digital and probe thermometers, and pro and both can cook pizzas incredibly quickly. The only significant technical difference is that the Karu has a door. It's an obvious point, but this makes it much more heat-efficient and means that in the long run, it uses slightly less fuel. This latest Karu is also much deeper than the Gozney Dome, so it's better for large joints of meat.

The only real difference between the two pizza ovens is price. The Gozney Dome is usually $1200 more expensive than the Ooni Karu and I don't think you get a better oven for your money. I've just laid out that these ovens have very similar features, so you're not paying for anything extra. The only improvement is that the Dome looks better, and I don't think good looks looks are worth $1200 extra.

Ooni vs Gozney: best gas pizza oven

Winner: Ooni

I've used both of these ovens several times, and I think it's a dead heat. Both make similar-sized pizzas at similar speeds, with some minor variations.

The Gozney, however, is slightly faster. The Koda 12 is still incredibly quick, making pizzas in just a minute, but I've seen some pizzas come out of a Gozney in 50 or 40 seconds. The Gozney also has a built-in digital thermometer, which makes it easy to tell when it's reached the right temperature.

However, the Arc takes longer to heat up than the Koda 12 - usually around half an hour or 40 minutes. It's also much more expensive than the Koda 12, usually coming in at $100 more. I can hardly separate the two for taste - I think the Ooni narrowly edges it and makes a better crust, but that's subjective. In the end, a Roccbox means that you're paying $300 more for a thermometer and a 10-second shorter cooking time.

Which is best value?

Winner: Ooni

Ooni wins on value. The Fyra 12 is the oven I recommend to the average user. It's cheap and you get all the fun of making homemade pizzas without spending a small fortune. Gozney's Roccbox is its cheapest offering after the Roccbox but it's still hundreds of dollars more than the Fyra 12.

However, the Roccbox is an incredibly good pizza oven, packed with features that make it easy to use. It has an analog thermometer with markings to let you know when it hits temperature for different styles of pizza, it reaches temperature, an extra-wide mouth to make it easy to maneuver your pizza, and you can fuel it with both gas and wood, which isn't possible with the Fyra 12.

The Fyra 12 has a steep learning curve. One of the first times I tried it was after a hike with friends, and it felt so outdoorsy to come down off the hills and fire up a wood oven for smoky outdoor cooking. However, getting the hang of lighting the fire - especially when it's cold or windy - takes a little getting used to.

If I were to use this oven all the time, I think I'd quickly become annoyed with the rigmarole of tending to the fire. If you want a good pizza oven for cheap, the Fyra 12 is easily the better choice, but it can be frustrating to master.

Pizza oven FAQ

Is everything included in an Ooni or a Gozney?

My biggest pet peeve about these brands is that they don't include essential equipment as standard. With both brands, you'll have to pay extra for a pizza peel so that you can load your pizza into the oven.

For more help with pizza ovens, check out my guide to how to clean a pizza oven, and what else you can cook in a pizza oven.