We recommend pizza ovens with a CHOICE Expert Rating of at least 70%.

For larger pizza ovens, we conduct a roasting test by seeing how well they can roast a chicken (a non-uniform food containing bones and a centre cavity that can dry out as some parts cook faster than others).

The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of performance (50%) and ease of use (50%).

We cook thin-crust and thick-crust pizzas to assess the ability of the pizza oven to evenly cook a fresh pizza with differing base thicknesses to achieve a crisp, firm golden-brown base with evenly cooked toppings that are moist and not dried out, all within a short period of time. 

The cooking performance score is determined by how well the pizza oven cooks thin-crust pizza, thick-crust pizza and where applicable, roasting scores (weighted equally).

We assess how easy it is to cook in the pizza oven. We also check how easy the pizza oven is to move around and how stable it is when sitting on the bench or floor, as well as how easy it is to ignite, use the controls and clean.

This is the recommended retail price, as of March 2022.

Yearly running costs are based on using the oven for one hour per week over a year. Wood-fired pizza ovens run longer than an hour as that's the amount of fuel needed to get the oven to 400°C. For these ovens, the cost of wood is also factored into the running cost.

How many pizzas can the oven cook at one time?

Does the pizza oven come with a pizza stone? A pizza stone conducts and holds heat and keeps the oven temperature stable when the pizza is added. It also helps with evenness of cooking and getting the base crispy.

Some pizza ovens have a temperature gauge to let you know the temperature inside when you're cooking. However, note that these gauges may not always be accurate.

Does the pizza oven have an indicator to let you know that it's preheated and ready to cook?

Is the pizza oven portable?