Picture a perfect summer afternoon, your family and friends lounging and laughing on your outdoor patio as delicious aromas drift out of your wood-fired pizza oven. Whether it’s gourmet pizza, steak, and potatoes, or a whole roasted chicken, your outdoor oven is sure to have everyone ready for seconds before they take their first bite.

Fun and easy to use and easier to clean, an outdoor pizza oven is a must-have for your outdoor cooking area. But which model is the best fit to invest in? We’ve served up two of our favorites- the Ooni Pro and the Roccbox- to help guide you on your quest to make the perfect pie.

Related: Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

Why Outdoor Pizza Ovens

Outdoor pizza ovens are an easy, low-cost way to experience perfectly cooked, gourmet pizza in the comfort of your own backyard.

Pizza oven features, design, and cost vary. The most versatile option is a portable model that can be heated with charcoal, gas, wood pellets, or wood chips. These models are generally more prominent and more expensive, but worth it! Plus, the portability allows you to cook up your culinary favorites at almost any outdoor excursion- from tailgate parties to backyard barbeques to an epic day at the beach.

Both the Roccbox and Ooni Pro are top-of-the-line. But depending on what you need and want, there are specific pros and cons to each you will want to consider.

Here’s what you need to know.

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Roccbox

In keeping with its mission, Gozney developed the Roccbox pizza oven so its customers could benefit from the latest technology while enjoying the ancient art of stone-fire cooking in their own backyard. And they did not disappoint! The Roccbox advanced design and features deliver perfectly baked, artisan pizzas that will transport you to your favorite pizzeria time and again.

Looking for a great gas fired pizza oven? Check out this awesome grill.

Benefits

If you want to use your oven inside your kitchen and outdoors, the Roccbox portable pizza oven is definitely your best choice. The Roccbox uses gas as a primary fuel source- a hassle-free, convenient way to build up the heat you need to bake up your favorite homemade pizza in less than a minute. Plus, the built-in thermometer and deep heat insulation allow for better heat retention and easy temperature monitoring.

And, if you happen to run out of gas or just prefer the aromatic flavor unique to a wood-fired pizza, you can easily switch out the fuel extensions and connect the wood-fire attachment available for purchase.

The Roccbox comes ready to go straight out of the box- just unfold the legs, connect your gas burner (or wood-fire attachment) to a fitting hose. The retractable legs and detachable burners also make it easy to break down, store, and transport to your outdoor venue of choice.

We especially love the bonus Safe-touch feature- a unique silicone jacket that protects you and your loved ones from high heat and potential skin burns.

Some additional bonus features include a pizza peel, hopper tool manual access to a library of delicious recipes, how-to videos, guest chef interviews, and inspirational cooking sessions.

Drawbacks

This Roccbox pizza is set up for gas only. And if you want to achieve the same rustic, aromatic flavor you get with a wood fire, you will have to purchase the Roccbox wood burner attachment.

And you want to keep in mind that the attachment takes 40 minutes to heat to the optimal temperature for pizza-baking, while the Ooni Pro only takes 20 minutes to heat up fully.

The more compact design of the Roccbox makes it easy to store and carry around. However, the smaller oven space limits your pizza size to no more than 12”.

Ooni Pro

The Ooni Pro is one of the most versatile outdoor ovens we’ve seen, and we’ve seen them all! True to the Ooni brand, this portable wood-fire oven produces the ultimate gourmet pizza- a perfectly baked crust that’s crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and infused with that signature wood-fire flavor.

Benefits

Double the size of its petite predecessor, the Ooni Pro can bake up to 16” pizzas to perfection, as well as any signature fish, vegetable, or slow-roast recipe that your heart desires.

The Ooni Pro will reach 932°F in just 20 minutes, the perfect temperature to produce an authentic Neapolitan-style pizza in just 60 seconds. And the cordierite baking stone retains the heat, so you can keep delighting your guests until they’ve had their fill. Not in the mood for pizza? The spacious cooking surface will accommodate almost any size and shape of cookware you need for your signature recipes.

The Ooni Pro comes with a wood and charcoal burner (pellet burner and propane gas burner sold separately). The multi-fuel feature allows you to use charcoal to maintain a consistent base temperature, using the dual airflow control to adjust the temperature as needed. And to get that irresistible wood-fired flavor, you just add some wood kindling to the mix.

The featured chimney directs the smoke out, so your cooking environment stays clean, and the chimney clip makes it easier to store or take along on your next culinary adventure.

The Ooni Pro comes with four stone baking boards, glass doors with a built-in thermometer, wood and charcoal burner, safety gloves, and an instruction manual.

Drawbacks

While the larger size of the Ooni Pro allows for bigger pizzas and a broader range of recipes, it is less fuel-efficient, using more resources than the Roccbox. It is also a bit heavier and cumbersome to move around than the Roccbox.

And although the multi-fuel option is excellent, the only options included are charcoal or wood. If you want to use gas, you need to purchase the gas burner extension. And if you're going to cook with pellets, you need to buy the pellet burner extension.

Related: Which is the Best Ooni Pizza Oven for You

Conclusion

The Roccbox and the Ooni Pro are both top-of-the-line pizza ovens that won’t disappoint. Ultimately, your selection comes down to preference. The Ooni Pro can make various dishes and larger pizzas and is perfect for a backyard setting. At the same time, the Roccbox can be used inside and is an easier companion to take on outdoor excursions.

It’s also important to consider whether you prefer using wood, charcoal, or gas when making your choice. Regardless of which pizza oven you choose, rest assured, your kitchen or outdoor patio will feel like a legit Italian-style pizzeria in a manner of minutes!

Are you ready to start cooking the best pizza you can? Williams has everything you need.