If you’re a pizza lover and you’re looking for the best way to take your cooking to the next level, then you can’t go wrong with a wood-fired pizza oven. Instead of using a heating coil, these ovens use the heat generated by burning wood to rapidly cook the pizza. The result is a pizza that has superior flavor, taste, and texture to a boring electric oven-cooked pizza! How much do these wood-fired pizza ovens cost, though?
A small, portable wood-fired pizza oven can be bought for around $350. If you want to build your own, it will cost around $3500.The final cost of the wood fired oven will depend on the size and materials used.
If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should purchase or buy that wood-fired pizza oven that you’ve always wanted, I’m here to help you clarify some of the common questions about the costs.
Below, I’ll explain the difference between the different types of wood-fired pizza ovens and break down the average cost of each type, so that you can decide which type of oven is best for your needs.
Cost Factors For A Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
At its core, a wood-fired pizza oven is incredibly simple. There’s no fancy technology or electronics required for these ovens.
Essentially, they’re just an insulated dome with a space in the back for a small wood fire. There’s a large opening at the front of the oven to place your pizza in with a pizza peel and there’s usually a chimney to help redirect the smoke as well.
The main difference in cost comes from two main factors:
- The type of wood-fired pizza oven you purchase.
- Whether or not it’s a DIY project or you hire a professional.
The Type of Oven You Want
The cheapest option is to purchase one of the small, portable wood-fire ovens like an Ooni.
However, those who have a bit more money and a larger outdoor porch space may prefer to build a larger brick or concrete pizza oven.
Let’s take a few minutes to look at each of these different options, their unique benefits, and the average price to own or build one.
Portable Pizza Oven
Portable pizza ovens are all the rage and became massively popular as people started cooking from home more during the pandemic.
There are multiple brands, but the two most popular brands are Ooni and Roccbox. These ovens are made using ultra-high-quality stainless steel that’s heavily insulated to keep the heat inside.
They typically feature four legs, a large open chamber with space for wood in the back, and a tall chimney to ventilate all of the smoke away from your food.
The key advantage of these ovens is that they’re both affordable and portable. The price varies between $350 and $500, depending on whether you purchase the 12-inch or 16-inch version.
The best part about these portable pizza ovens is that they don’t require any additional construction or expensive materials.
You can place them on the ground or on a table top, as the extendable legs keep the surface safe from the hot temperature of the oven.
Average Cost: $350
Premade Pizza Oven
If you’re looking for a larger oven but you still want to avoid the hassle of the construction, then you can purchase a premade pizza oven or a pizza oven DIY kit.
The premade ovens are listed as “ready to finish” and come with a completely finished dome. All you’ll need to do is build or buy a simple foundation or tabletop to place the oven on top of it.
The DIY kits are similar. They’ll usually come with a simple premade oven and will usually include all of the materials that you need to build a foundation.
The advantage of these premade ovens and DIY kits is that you don’t have to worry about taking precise measurements and sourcing hard-to-find materials.
Additionally, you don’t need to have any experience doing masonry projects. The one downside is that these premade pizza ovens and DIY kits can be very expensive.
Average Cost: $2,000
DIY Clay/Concrete Pizza Oven
If you have previous experience working with concrete or masonry, then you might consider a DIY clay and concrete pizza oven.
These pizza ovens are built using concrete for the main dome structure that’s coated in a thick layer of clay to help insulate the oven and hold the concrete together.
These ovens don’t always look the prettiest, but they’re durable, functional, and produce the same results as a more expensive brick oven.
Average Cost: $400-500
DIY Brick Pizza Oven
If you’re a talented mason and you’ve got an eye for precision and detail, then you may consider building a brick pizza oven. These ovens are similar in size to clay and concrete ovens.
However, instead of concrete, these ovens use high-quality fire bricks and insulated concrete pizza hearth/stone for the cooking surface.
If you don’t have the skills to build one, then you can hire a professional mason to design and build one for you.
Average Cost: $1,400 (DIY) or $3,500 (If you hire a professional builder).
Portable Pizza Oven Vs. Professionally Built Pizza Oven Vs. DIY Pizza Oven
If you don’t have any experience with masonry or building, then I would personally suggest purchasing a portable pizza oven like the Ooni. They’re affordable, simple to set up, are made with high-quality materials, and you can take them with you anywhere!
Another benefit to these portable ovens is that they heat up quicker than a larger brick oven.
What Type of Wood-Fired Pizza Oven Makes The Best Pizza?
If you’re a fan of smoky-flavored pizza, then I would say that traditional brick pizza ovens produce the best flavor.
There’s something about the way that the bricks perfectly heat the crust and give it that unique crunchy texture that you can only get from a brick pizza oven.
However, I would also argue that you can achieve the same effect by using a high-quality pizza stone with a portable oven.