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Gas vs Wood vs Electric Pizza Oven: Which Should You Buy?

By David Green, Managing Editor

Updated October 16, 2026

The short answer: buy gas unless you have a reason not to. 7 of our 13 gas ovens score 8 or more out of 10, against 2 of 10 electric and 1 of 9 wood. Buy electric if you want to bake indoors or on a balcony; it is also the easiest to use. Buy wood for the fire itself, and spend enough to get a good one.

Our Pick for Each Fuel

Best gas pizza oven: Gozney Roccbox Pizza Oven | 8.3 out of 10, $399
Best gas pizza oven under $300: Cuisinart Outdoor Pizza Oven CPO-401 | 7.8 out of 10, $148
Best wood fired pizza oven: Ooni Karu 2 Pro Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven | 8.0 out of 10, $849
Best wood fired pizza oven under $300: Big Horn 12-Inch Pellet and Gas Pizza Oven | 7.7 out of 10, $203.29
Best electric pizza oven: Ooni Volt 2 | 8.1 out of 10, $698.95
Best electric pizza oven under $300: Chefman Indoor Pizza Oven | 7.9 out of 10, $199.98

The Three Fuels, Side by Side

We have tested and scored 32 pizza ovens on the same six categories. Each number below is the middle score of that fuel's ovens, so one great or poor oven cannot swing it. The best fuel in each row is marked.

	Gas	Wood	Electric
Overall score	8.0Best	7.3	7.7
Heat	8.2Best	7.3	7.6
Reliability	8.1Best	6.6	6.8
Build	8.2Best	7.7	7.7
Ease of use	7.3	7.3	8.4Best
Value	7.7	8.6Best	8.4
Maintenance	8.4Best	7.8	7.7
Scoring 8+	7 of 13	1 of 9	2 of 10
Prices from	$139	$100	$88
Use indoors	No	No	Yes, 7 of 10

Gas leads on heat, reliability, build and maintenance. Electric wins on ease of use, by a clear margin. Wood scores best on value, because most wood ovens we tested are cheap.

13 tested

Gas Pizza Ovens

Runs on a propane tank, lit with a knob. Most portable ovens sold today are gas.

Gas is the safe choice, and our scores show it. A typical gas oven scores 8.0, the best of the three fuels, and 7 of 13 reach 8. It heats in about 15 to 20 minutes and holds its heat on a dial, so you can bake pizza after pizza.

Reliability is where gas pulls ahead: a middle score of 8.1, against 6.8 for electric and 6.6 for wood. A burner and a steel shell have little to go wrong. The cheapest gas oven we tested that scores 8 or more is the Gozney Roccbox Pizza Oven, at $399.

Choose gas if you want restaurant style pizza outside with the least fuss, or you will cook for a crowd.

Skip gas if you want to cook indoors, or you want the fire to be part of the fun.

Best gas pizza oven

Gozney Roccbox Pizza Oven

Gozney Roccbox on its folding legs on a steel outdoor table, gas burner attached at the side

8.3out of 10

$399 at Amazon Read the review

What we liked: A stainless body under a grippy silicone jacket, legs that fold flat and no assembly at all make it feel like commercial kit shrunk down. Dense two-layer insulation and a low dome hold the floor near 950°F between bakes, though the single rolling flame still demands regular turning.

What we didn't like: The 3.5 inch mouth leaves little room to launch and spin a pie, and 44 lb is heavy work for a carry-anywhere oven.

Best gas pizza oven under $300

Cuisinart Outdoor Pizza Oven CPO-401

Cuisinart CPO-401 red and black gas pizza oven on a wooden table under a pergola, a pizza on the stone

7.8out of 10

$148 at Amazon Read the review

What we liked: The whole lid flips back to bare the stone and the floor, and a replacement stone costs $15.50 from Cuisinart. Piezo start, one knob with a printed PIZZA setting, and a matching zone on the lid gauge make the routine close to foolproof.

What we didn't like: All 15,000 BTU fire from below the stone, so crusts brown first and toppings rely on the lid and a timely knob turn.

9 tested

Wood Pizza Ovens

Burns logs, charcoal or wood pellets. Some multi-fuel models also take a gas burner.

Wood is the fuel people picture, and a good wood oven is as hot as most gas ones. The trouble is the cheap ones. A typical wood oven scores 7.3, the lowest of the three fuels. The 3 we tested at $400 or more score a middle 7.9; the 6 under $400 score 7.3. Gas ovens under $400 hold up better, at 7.9.

A live fire also asks more of you. You feed it, turn the pizza often and clear ash afterwards. Wood ovens score 7.8 on maintenance, against 8.4 for gas. 3 of the wood ovens we tested also take gas, which helps on a weeknight. None of them scores above 7.7.

Choose wood if tending the fire is the point for you, and you will buy a well made oven.

Skip wood if you want dinner on a weeknight with little cleanup, or your budget is under $400.

Best wood fired pizza oven

Ooni Karu 2 Pro Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven

Ooni Karu 2 Pro with chimney and glass door on a wooden table under a pergola

8.0out of 10

$849 at Amazon Read the review

What we liked: Insulated carbon steel shell, stainless legs and base, aluminum noses and a big borosilicate door make it the sturdiest Karu yet. Dense insulation, a tall 5.7 inch chamber and a 25,000 BTU burner option hold 950°F, but a 16 inch pie barely fits the floor.

What we didn't like: $849 buys wood and charcoal only; gas lifts it to $989, close to double what the 12 inch Karu 2 costs.

Best wood fired pizza oven under $300

Big Horn 12-Inch Pellet and Gas Pizza Oven

Big Horn 12-inch stainless pizza oven on a steel table on a deck, a pizza on the stone and its door beside it

7.7out of 10

$203.29 at Amazon Read the review

What we liked: The burner costs nothing extra here: oven and burner bought apart come to $201.98, against $203.29 for this box. A knob replaces the pellet scoop, and fuels swap without tools; no thermometer ships, so a cook must buy one.

What we didn't like: Bare stainless will not blister, yet the burner adds a part near the heat and the 24 month term reads differently by seller.

10 tested

Electric Pizza Ovens

Plugs into the wall. The only kind you can use in a kitchen or on most balconies.

Electric is the easiest pizza oven to own. A typical electric oven scores 8.4 on ease of use, against 7.3 for gas and 7.3 for wood. Only 2 of the 22 gas and wood ovens score that high. You set a dial, wait and bake, with nothing to light and no ash.

The cost is how long they last. Reliability is the weakest category on 5 of 10 electric ovens, mostly because of control boards and fans that must survive the oven's own heat, often under a one year warranty. 7 of the 10 are made for the kitchen counter; the rest are outdoor ovens for a patio or balcony.

Choose electric if you want pizza indoors, all year, or you live where gas and fire are not allowed.

Skip electric if you want the hottest, most charred crust, or the longest lived oven.

Best electric pizza oven

Ooni Volt 2

8.1out of 10

$698.95 at Amazon Read the review

What we liked: Three pizza presets turn a dial and a button into a Neapolitan bake, with no flame, propane or outdoor setup. A G304 stainless inner shell, triple-paned glass door and die cast aluminum nose put real material where the heat lives.

What we didn't like: Around $699 buys one 12-inch pie at a time, and a 3.6 in mouth limits what else it can earn its counter space with.

Best electric pizza oven under $300

Chefman Indoor Pizza Oven

7.9out of 10

$199.98 at Amazon Read the review

What we liked: Around $199.98 on Amazon in October 2026 against $999.95 for the Breville Pizzaiolo, with a higher 800°F top setting. Five presets load floor heat, roof heat and a suggested time in one press, though the timer never switches the elements off.

What we didn't like: Only one year of limited cover protects a fan-cooled control board and a stone Chefman itself calls fragile.

Questions We Get

Is a wood fired pizza oven better than gas?

Not by our scores. The best wood oven we tested, the Ooni Karu 2 Pro Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven, scores 8.0. The best gas oven, the Gozney Roccbox Pizza Oven, scores 8.3. Both are made to reach about 950°F, hot enough to bake a pizza in a minute or two. A pizza spends so little time in the oven that it takes on only a little smoke.

Can you use an electric pizza oven indoors?

Most of them, yes. 7 of the 10 electric ovens we tested are countertop ovens for the kitchen. The others, such as the Ninja Woodfire and Artisan, are outdoor ovens that happen to plug in. Never use a gas or wood oven indoors.

Do electric pizza ovens get hot enough?

The good ones do. Electric ovens score a middle 7.6 on heat, against 8.2 for gas. The best electric oven we tested, the Ooni Volt 2, scores 8.4 on heat, against 8.8 for the best gas oven.

Is a multi-fuel pizza oven worth it?

Only if you will really use both fuels. A multi-fuel oven lets you cook on gas on a weeknight and wood at the weekend. But the 3 we tested that take both in the box score 7.7, 7.4, 7.3, all below a typical gas oven. Ooni's Karu 2 and Karu 2 Pro burn wood or charcoal, and take a gas burner sold separately.

Which pizza oven fuel is cheapest?

To buy, wood and electric start lowest: we found wood ovens from $99.99 and electric from $87.69, against $139 for gas. A cheap oven is rarely a good one, though. Count on spending about $400 for a gas oven that scores 8.

Every Pizza Oven We Have Tested

Why trust us

David Green is the Managing Editor of Avid Griller and has reviewed more than 150 grills. Every oven here is scored on the same six categories, whatever it burns. How we score, and everything David has reviewed.