Portable pizza ovens are all the rage amongst balcony grillers and vanlife adventurers – or anyone who wants to inject a little bella Italia into their life. They take up next to no space but deliver results normally reserved for Naples. Our pizza oven review focuses on compact models that can handle everyday urban life: small enough for a balcony, yet powerful enough for authentic Pizza Napoletana with partially charred leopard spotting on the crust.
By the way, if you’re looking to size up, check out our review of the Gozney Arc XL Pizza Oven – we already put it through its paces!
Table of Contents
- 3 small pizza ovens in comparison – the test field
- Our test criteria in our pizza oven review
- How we tested the small pizza ovens
- Pizza oven review: Heat-up time and stone sizes of the ovens
- Insights from our pizza oven review
- Which pizza oven would we buy?
Our aim in the pizza oven review: authentic pizza on a small footprint that delivers maximum wow effect. When the flames roll across the dome and the dough rises in seconds, it doesn’t just look spectacular, it tastes good too.
3 Compact Pizza Ovens in Comparison – the Test Field
We examined three gas powered ovens in the pizza oven review, all with stone baking surfaces, all compact enough for urban settings, but each with its own character:
The no-frills purist, fast and robust
(Burnhard TONY review)
The premium mobile oven that oozes style
(Gozney Tread review)
The spacious beginner-friendly model
(Ooni Koda 2 review)
We tested in realistic conditions, using the same dough recipe, the same setup, and a team that tried all three ovens side by side at various office events. The differences that emerged in the pizza oven review aren’t just evidenced by the numbers but can also be felt.
| Brand | Model | Dimensions (mm) | Pizza stone (mm) | Flame type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnhard | TONY | 585 × 477 × 248 | 330 × 330 × 15 | L-flame | € 249 |
| Gozney | Tread | 484 × 418 × 320 | 380 × 310 × 12 | Side burne | € 499 |
| Ooni | Koda 2 | 544 × 472 × 330 | 370 × 360 × 15 | Rear burner | € 449 |
Our Compact Pizza Oven Test Criteria
What really matters? We defined the following criteria for our pizza oven review:
- Baking result: the hallmark of Pizza Napoletana – a light and airy crust with leopard spotting
- Heat-up time: how fast do they reach the 450 °C mark?
- Heat consistency: can they bake multiple pizzas in a row without a loss in quality?
- Handling & everyday usability: how intuitive is it to use?
- Equipment & accessories basic kit vs. modular customisability
- Value for money: how well is the overall package priced?
Our Compact Pizza Oven Test Methodology
All of the ovens were put through their paces over the course of several weeks on real-life balconies – with dough that had rested for 24 hours in the fridge. In addition, we placed them side by side at three different events. This allowed testers without prior experience to try all the ovens, which quickly brought differences in learning curves and usability to light.
- Heat-up time: Starting from cold, we measured temperatures every five minutes with an infrared thermometer. At 20 minutes, all three had reached the magic 450 °C mark – the baseline for real Pizza Napoletana.
- Temperature consistency: The key metric here was how reliably the ovens produced multiple pizzas in succession.
- Working height & handling: A small detail with big effect – ovens that stand too low make it harder to see inside.
Pizza Oven Review: Heat-Up Time and Baking Stone Sizes
The size of the baking stone doesn’t just determine how much room there is you have for inserting and turning pizzas, but also heat retention and whether you can successfully bake several pizzas in a row. Thicker stones retain heat for longer, whereas thinner ones heat up quicker but also cool down more quickly.
Alongside the heat-up time, the baking stone dimensions (depth × width × height) also played a key role in our pizza oven review:
| Time | Burnhard (330 × 330 × 15 mm) |
Gozney (380 × 310 × 12 mm) |
Ooni (370 × 360 × 15 mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 290 °C | 262 °C | 255 °C |
| 10 min | 394 °C | 379 °C | 350 °C |
| 15 min | 461 °C | 450 °C | 419 °C |
| 20 min | 530 °C | 484 °C | 449 °C |
Pizza Oven Review 2025: What We Learned
All three pizza ovens are capable of producing pizza at a quality comparable to good Italian restaurants. The differences lie in their individual characters and the learning curve required to master them. The Burnhard is fast and robust, whereas the Ooni is beginner-friendly, and the Gozney is playful and design-focused. To get perfect results, you have to learn to read your oven as each behaves differently.
More important than the pizza oven, however, is the dough. Our test proved that a day in the fridge makes the difference. We ran out of dough at one of our office sessions and had to buy some from a local pizzeria. The result: far inferior to our own. Our dough was soft without sticking, easy to shape, and the cust rose beautifully. The store-bought dough felt dense and stiff. Airy crusts? Not a chance.
Another crucial aspect we hadn’t expected at first is the working height. It decides whether you can work comfortably or constantly have to crouch in front of the oven to peek inside. And of course: beginner mistakes are part of the process. Those who expect perfection with their first pizza will quickly give up in frustration. Better to embrace a learning mindset – or resign themselves early to making Calzone instead.
Pizza Oven Review 2025: Which Pizza Oven Would We Buy?
All three ovens on our pizza oven review 2025 are capable of producing fantastic pizza – picking a single test winner would be nonsense. Each has its strengths and appeals to a certain target group:
- Burnhard TONY: fastest oven on test, robust build, fair price – ideal for purists and enthusiasts with a big appetite and little patience.
- Gozney Tread: stylish, portable, with a wide range accessories – the lifestyle choice for those who love tinkering and baking pizza in unusual places.
- Ooni Koda 2: slowest to heat up, but consistent and with a large opening – the friendly all-rounder for beginners.
Read our individual, in-depth reviews for all the details, our hands-on experiences, and lists of pros & cons.
Oh, and it fits perfectly: We didn’t just test pizza – we paired it with alcohol-free bubbly!
Words: Jonny Grapentin Photos: Lars Engmann
