Ooni – My House of Home Oven Pizza

If you're in the market for a new pizza oven, you've no doubt heard of Ooni and Gozney Roccbox. These two brands are some of the biggest and well known domestic outdoor pizza oven manufactures out there right now. Wondering which oven is best for you between these two? Let me help you figure that out. Ooni and Roccbox are both pizza ovens that support gas, wood and charcoal fueling options. The Roccbox is a pizza oven priced at $499 and large enough for a 12 inch pizza, while Ooni sells a range of pizza ovens priced from $299-$799 with options for 12 inch and 16 inch pizza. The most similar Ooni oven to the Roccbox in terms of features is the Ooni Karu 12 at $349, while the closest Ooni oven in terms of price is the Ooni Koda 16 priced at $499. Bottom-line: For most people, the best pizza oven is going to be one of Ooni's many reasonably priced options compared to the capable but more expensive Roccbox by Gozney. Depending on how you like your pizza, I recommend going with the Ooni Karu 12 or the Ooni Koda 16 for similar features and price to the Roccbox. OvenProsConsRoccbox by Gozney-Multi-fuel support (wood, charcoal, fuel)-Expensive compared to similar Ooni ovens-Makes excellent pizza-Very heavy-Relatively cool outside surface-Only room for 12 inch pizza-Outside thermometer included-Small opening makes rotating pizza difficult-Thick insulation keeps temp consistentOoni Collection-6 ovens to choose from-Lots of overlapping features between ovens-Larger 16 inch options-Baking stone is on the thinner side-Convenient wood pellet loading system-Not all wood ovens use new wood pellet design-Reasonably priced-Larger opening for easy pizza rotatingOoni vs Roccbox: Pros and Cons But this doesn't mean that Ooni is going to be the best choice for everyone. Let's go over which Ooni ovens compare to the Gozney Roccbox, their features, how much they cost and which one is best for you. Ooni Vs Roccbox In Numbers: One of the main differences between Ooni and Roccbox is that Ooni sells 6 different pizza ovens while, currently, Gozney Roccbox only offers one. This makes things simple in terms of having fewer ovens to compare but can still become complicated if you don't know which Ooni ovens are roughly equivalent. To simplify this, I've limited the number of Ooni ovens to just the ones that are the closest equivalents to the Roccbox in terms of price and features. Let's take a look at those ovens now: Price Gozney Roccbox Ooni Karu 12 Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Size (max)12 inches12 inches16 inchesFuel Type(s)Wood, Charcoal, Propane Wood, Charcoal, Propane PropaneWeight (lbs)44lbs26.5lbs40.1Max. Temperature 950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) Baking Surface Area 12.4x12.4 13x13 inches16x16 inchesPrice Per Square Inch (Baking Surface)$3.24$2.06$1.94Price$499$349$499 The Roccbox Is Most Similar To The Ooni Koda 16 and Ooni Karu 12 The two Ooni ovens that immediately come to mind when comparing to the Roccbox is the Ooni Karu 12 and the Ooni Koda 16. As you can see in the table above, the Ooni Karu 12 shares most of the same features as the Roccbox while the Ooni Koda 16 shares the same price with a slightly different set of features. The Ooni Karu 12 has a 13x13 baking surface, room for a 12 inch pizza, and supports multiple fuel types. This makes it the most similar oven to the Gozney Roccbox in terms of features with the major exception being weight. The Roccbox weighs nearly twice as much as the Ooni Karu 12, weighing in at 44lbs compared to 26.5lbs for the Ooni. The Roccbox is a small but hefty pizza oven. The Roccbox is relatively small so all that extra weight mostly comes from the dense insulating layers that help the oven retain heat. This is a nice feature, as the Roccbox definitely does a good job at staying hot, but for most people this isn't going to be a huge concern. Considering a pizza cooks in as little as 90 seconds at 950°F (500°C), retaining heat for extended periods of time is probably not a big selling point for the Roccbox unless you plan on making dozens of pizzas in a row or using it commercially. This is especially true when you consider that the Ooni Karu 12 does all of the same things for a significantly lower price and nearly half the weight. What is nice about having such dense insulating layers, however, is that the outside of the Roccbox remains relatively cool to the touch even at full temperature. It's still hot, and you still want to keep your pets and children away from it, but compared to the Ooni the Roccbox does a better job at keeping the outside surface from reaching skin-scalding temperatures. Gozney Roccbox - One Oven To Rule Them All? The Roccbox by Gozney is a one stop shop in terms of their pizza oven collection. As of writing, Gozney only offers the Roccbox compared to Ooni which currently offers 6 different pizza ovens to choose from. Offering fewer choices can sometimes be helpful for prospective pizza oven buyers because it makes their product line clear and discernible. This is especially true when selecting from a single product! Let's be clear about one thing first: with the Roccbox, you will be able to make top quality pizza as good as anything you can make in an Ooni or any other professional pizza oven. But with this point comes the crux of the issue and the reason why the Roccbox is so difficult to recommend. If a pizza made in a Roccbox is no better or worse than one made in an Ooni, then why wouldn't you buy an Ooni? It's a valid question when you consider how near the Roccbox is in features and how far away it is in price compared to the Ooni Karu 12. The only exception I can see to this, where the Roccbox might be preferable, is in commercial uses. Because the Roccbox is so thick and heavy, it does an excellent job retaining heat which makes it ideal for cooking many pizzas at a time, one after another. The Ooni options, on the other hand, are lighter and less insulated. This means Ooni ovens lose heat more quickly than the Roccbox and so need to be "reheated" for a minute or two between each pizza. However, for most people who will only ever make 1-3 pizzas at a time, the extra insulation won't be as important. Wood Options Are More Difficult With Roccbox While both the Roccbox and select Ooni options support wood, the two aren't completely equal. The Roccbox has a traditional wood burner while the Ooni uses gravity fed wood pellets in addition to traditional wood. The wood pellets used by the Ooni are easier to load and burn more efficiently than the traditional wood-fired Roccbox. The way the Roccbox works is by feeding small pieces of wood into the attached wood burner. Unless you buy your wood in small pieces you will most likely need to chop it up yourself. This task in itself will probably be too much of a hassle, and potentially dangerous, for most people. As the fire continues to burn, you'll need to feed more pieces of wood into the small slot on the back of the burner to keep the flame going. It can sometimes be difficult to cram the pieces in and if they're not cut correctly they simply won't fit in at all. This is Roccbox's wood-burner 2.0. Small pieces of wood are slotted into the upper compartment of the chamber. Once you've sourced appropriately sized pieces of wood and have your fire up and running, however, the burner works great in terms of heating up the Roccbox. As long as you let the flame heat the stone for long enough, you'll have no trouble cooking up a perfectly made pizza. But - again - if the Roccbox and Ooni both make good pizza, what is the incentive to choose Roccbox when it's more expensive and less convenient? To get around some of the inconvenience of using wood, many Roccbox users use propane to get the oven to a nice initially hot temperature then switch to wood at the very end to add a smoky flavor to their pizza. This is a nice little trick but it would be nice if the wood wasn't as much of a pain to get going in the first place. https://youtu.be/6H5UvWiUHCY?t=25 This is what you'll have to do to get your Roccbox cooking with wood. Ooni's Gravity Fed Pellets Are A Better Wood Burning Solution Ooni has two methods for using wood in its ovens. The first is by slotting small pieces of hardwood into a compartment on the top of the unit, such as with the Ooni Karu 12 oven. This is similar to the way the Roccbox works but the wood is easier to load and the opening to slot the pieces in is bigger. The second method Ooni uses is a unique gravity fed wood pellet solution. In my opinion, this is the best and most efficient way to use wood in a pizza oven. The way it works is by simply scooping up some wood pellets and pouring them into the fuel tray. You can top up the pellets by pouring more into the pellet hopper. As the fire burns, extra pellets are gravity fed from the hopper into the fuel tray to keep the flame going as you cook. This is a really innovative and convenient solution that makes cooking with wood much easier than the traditional methods. Currently, this option is only available on the Ooni Frya 12 but I hope they add it to their other wood-fired ovens in the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMexJZg1CbA&t=60s This is how Ooni's gravity fed pellet hopper works. Ooni: 6 Ovens To Choose From Compared to Roccbox with its single oven offering, there are more decisions you'll have to make when buying an Ooni. So far we've mentioned the Ooni Koda 16, Ooni Karu 12 and Ooni Frya 12. Here's what I love about each of those ovens: Related Post: Ooni Pizza Ovens: All 6 Models Compared & Reviewed Ooni Koda 16 The Ooni Koda 16 is a 16 inch oven, meaning it can make up to a 16 inch pizza, and is fueled only by propane. So, if you're looking for something fueled by wood or charcoal like the Roccbox, this oven isn't for you. But I think for most people, propane is going to be a far more convenient option anyways. The Ooni Koda 16 costs the same as the Roccbox but is big enough for a New York City sized pizza (16 inches) and even has the option for using natural gas, something no other pizza oven has. Combined with its compact design and relatively light weight (40.1lbs), this pizza oven puts convenience and size front and center. I recommend the Ooni Koda 16 for anyone who only intends to use gas and wants the ability to make large pizza. Ooni Karu 12 The Ooni Karu 12 is probably the most similar Ooni oven to the Roccbox in terms of features. It's big enough for a 12 inch pizza, standard Neapolitan size, and supports multiple fuel options. The biggest difference between the Ooni Karu 12 and the Roccbox is cost. Priced at $349, the Ooni Karu 12 is around $150 cheaper for a nearly identical set of features and a much lighter weight (26.5lbs vs 44lbs). To top it off, some of the same features shared by the Karu 12 and Roccbox are better designed on the Ooni. For example, the wood burner, as we discussed, has a wider opening and is easier to load wood into than the Roccbox. Between the Ooni Karu 12 and the Roccbox, there is no question that I would recommend the Ooni. Between the Ooni Karu 12 and the Roccbox, there is no question that I would recommend the Ooni. Ooni Frya 12 I only mentioned the Ooni Frya 12 briefly in the section on wood burning, but I think it's worth highlighting further here. The Ooni Frya 12 is the only Ooni oven, or pizza oven in general, that features a unique gravity fed wood pellet system. Rather than slotting individual pieces of wood into your pizza oven, the Ooni Frya 12 allows you to simply scoop wood pellets and pour them into a fuel tray. As the flame gets going, extra wood pellets stored in the hopper are automatically fed back into the fuel tray via gravity as you cook. This is a very innovative solution that makes cooking with wood much more convenient and efficient. If you plan on cooking mainly with wood, I absolutely recommend the Ooni Frya 12 over the Roccbox. At half the price ($299) and with a much more convenient fuel system, it's simply a better pizza oven. All Ooni Pizza Ovens Compared For the rest of Ooni's pizza oven collection, check out the table below. You can also read my full in depth breakdown of all 6 Ooni ovens here. Ooni Koda 12Ooni Koda 16Ooni Frya 12Ooni ProOoni Karu 12Ooni Karu 16Price$349$499$299$599$349$799Pizza Size (Max)12 inches16 inches12 inches16 inches12 inches16 inchesFuel TypePropanePropane, Natural GasWoodWood, Charcoal, PropaneWood, Charcoal, PropaneWood, Charcoal, PropaneWeight (lbs)20.440.12248.526.562.6Max. Temperature950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) 950°F (500°C) Stone Width0.4 inches0.6 inches0.4 inches0.6 inches0.6 inches0.6 inchesBaking Surface Area13x13 inches16x16 inches13x13 inches17.7x17.7 inches13x13 inches16.7x24.5 inchesNatural Gas AttachmentNoYes (sold separately)NoNoNoNoPrice Per Square Inch (Cooking Surface)$2.06$1.94$1.76$1.91$2.06$1.95Ooni Pizza Ovens Compared Conclusions: Final Verdict: The Roccbox is an excellent pizza oven but it's hard for it to compete with the Ooni pizza oven collection because of their robust set of features and relatively inexpensive price. If price is important to you and you don't plan on using it for commercial purposes, I recommend going with Ooni. Other Observations: With six Ooni ovens to choose from, Ooni most likely has a set of features and price that you'll like.Roccbox makes excellent pizza despite not being as competitive in pricing.If you want to make large pizzas using a simple propane oven, your best bet is the Ooni Koda 16.If you only plan on making smaller pizzas (up to 12 inches) using wood I recommend the Ooni Karu 12 or Ooni Frya 12 for the best value.The Roccbox is better suited for commercial purposes due to its thick layers of insulation.The Roccbox works best as a propane oven than as a wood one due to some design limitations with the wood burner. Related Posts: Ooni Pizza Ovens: All 6 Models Compared & ReviewedImproved Ooni Pizza Dough Recipe: 65% Hydration, Double Fermented, No-Knead MethodCan Ooni Pizza Ovens Be Used In The Rain? Yes & No: Here’s WhyWhat’s The Best Flour For Making Pizza?70% Hydration Pizza Dough Recipe – No More Dry CrustHow To Use A Pizza Peel: Prevent Sticking Related Questions: While both the Ooni and Roccbox pizza ovens are capable of making excellent, authentic pizza, the Ooni is a better value. Ooni offers six different pizza ovens with similar features to the Roccbox for, in some cases, a significantly lower price. Ooni and Gozney are both pizza oven manufacturers that carry a range of authentic wood, charcoal and gas fueled ovens. However, Ooni carries 6 different pizza ovens while Gozney currently offers only one. So, while one is not necessarily better than the other, Ooni offers more choices that are likely to satisfy whatever features and price points you're looking for. The Roccbox by Gozney is an excellent multi-fueled pizza oven priced at $499. While the Roccbox is capable of using wood, propane and charcoal, it excels as a propane fueled oven due to its innovative flame dispersing design. The Gozney Roccbox is a multi-fuel pizza oven that can use wood, propane or charcoal. Wood used in the Roccbox must be cut quite small and thin in order to fit into its burner 2.0 unit. The Gozney Roccbox is fully waterproof and can be used during periods of light wind and rain. However, you should avoid using the Gozney Roccbox under extreme weather conditions for safety and mechanical reasons. To fire a Roccbox, first load the top compartment of the wood burner with small approximately 1x5 inch pieces of dry wood. Then, re-attach the burner to the Roccbox and use kindling to light the flame. Add more wood as required but do not remove the burner from the Roccbox when doing so. The Roccbox is a waterproof pizza oven so feel free to use it in mild weather like rain or wind. However, make sure your pizza preparation area, particularly the pizza peel, stays dry so your pizza doesn't stick upon launch into the oven.