I’ve done a couple of reviews on Ooni’s portable outdoor pizza ovens so far. I’ll list the links below, but today it’s time to compare the new Ooni Fyra vs Ooni Karu. Both are wood-fired pizza ovens so which one do you choose?
Ooni‘s range of pizza ovens is pretty awesome. They’ve got a pizza oven to suit everyone, from the small Ooni 3 to the professional Ooni Pro. Let’s start with a comparison table of Ooni Fyra vs Ooni Karu, my favorite way of reviewing features.
Ooni Fyra vs Ooni Karu Review
Ooni ships most orders for free, throughout mainland US, UK and Europe. Their ovens come with a 60-day guarantee for true piece of mind. For further details on shipping and returns, visit Ooni’s shipping page! Make sure you check the prices of the pizza ovens on Ooni’s website too. Prices are correct at the time of writing but always subject to change.
One hint… Ooni’s portable pizza ovens sell like hot bread. As I’m writing this, both the Ooni Fyra and the Ooni Karu are out of stock. Not to worry though, enter your email address to be notified once they’re available again and you’ll be first in line to get your hands on one of these!
| OONI FYRA | OONI KARU | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | |||
| Price | $249 | $329 | ||
| Runs on | Wood (pellets) | Real wood or charcoal | ||
| Gas compatible? | No | Yes, with attachment | ||
| Cooking surface | 12" | 13" | ||
| Ready to cook in | 15 minutes | 15 minutes | ||
| Weight | 22lbs | 26.5lbs | ||
| Max temp | 932F | 932F | ||
| Neapolitan pizza in | 60 seconds | 60 seconds | ||
| Dimensions | 29.2 x 15.1 x 28.6″ | 30 x 15 x 31″ | ||
| Construction | Durable, insulated, powder-coated carbon steel shell | Stainless steel body, ceramic fiber-insulated | ||
| Baking board | 0.4″ (10mm) cordierite stone | 0.6″ (15mm) cordierite stone | ||
| Delivery | Free mainland US delivery on orders over $35 | Free mainland US delivery on orders over $35 | ||
| More info | Ooni Fyra | Ooni Karu |
By the way, here’s the other Ooni pizza oven reviews I promised you:
Ooni Fyra vs Karu Pizza Ovens – Differences
Here’s what you’ve got to look out for.
Gas
So, the main question you need to ask yourself is whether you want your pizza oven to run on gas.
The Ooni Fyra does not have a gas option, and from the sounds of it, never will have either. The Karu is incredibly versatile. You can cook on real wood, charcoal, and you can use gas with the gas burner attachment.
This burner attachment is suitable for the Ooni 3 and the Karu, and it attaches to the back. It cooks just as hot on gas as it does on wood and charcoal (in the case of the Karu). Gas pizza cooking, although frowned upon by some pizza aficionados, is clean and easy so this might be something you want.
Karu Wood and Charcoal-Fired Portable Pizza Oven
Pizza Size, Fyra vs Karu
The Fyra has a cooking surface of 12″ vs the Ooni Karu has 13″. It’s only 1″ difference, but compared to the 16″ pizzas you can cook in the Koda 16 and the Ooni Pro, 1″ is better than nothing. Unfortunately, Ooni only has 12″ or 14″ peels. That means that although the Karu has a 13″ cooking surface, you’d still use the same peel as the Fyra. I couldn’t find a 13″ peel on Amazon either, but if you know of one, I’d love to hear about it.
You can cook without a peel of course, and you might even get away with a 12″ peel and a 13″ pizza. That’s only a little bit of overhang on the sides of the peel and it likely won’t cause you any issues.
Fyra Portable Wood-fired Outdoor Pizza Oven
Weight and Portable Pizza Ovens
If you want a super-portable outdoor pizza oven, the Fyra is your best choice. It’s only 22lbs vs Karu’s 26.5lbs. Ooni has carry covers for both Fyra and Karu. Look at you going to the beach for a pizza party!
The Ooni Fyra is very portable, you really can take it anywhere. Here’s Ooni Karu’s cover:
You can see that the Ooni Karu is a lot less portable, especially because the chimney on the Fyra can be removed and stored separately. I’m pretty sure you can remove Karu’s chimney as well, and possibly use the bag like that, but I’m checking with Ooni on this one.
Update 5/2/20: Yes! You can take the chimney off the Karu! From Ooni:
“Yes, you can take the chimney off the Karu and store it in its carry cover.”
Real Wood vs Pellets
The Fyra uses wood pellets but the Ooni Karu cooks on real wood. That counts for something. There’s something about cooking on real wood, so if you’re not looking for portability, I’d go for the Karu. Wood pellets are easy to buy, however, so if you’d rather buy wood pellets, the Fyra is your choice.
Ooni sells premium hardwood pellets, 100% oak. All Ooni’s products that contain wood are responsibly sourced. One thing that confused me though, is that it says 100% beech on the bag, so if you’d rather have one or the other, it’d be worth checking with Ooni if you’re buying oak or beech.
Baking Board
The Fyra comes with a 0.4″ cordierite baking board and the Karu comes with a 0.6″ cordierite baking board. Thicker is stronger but also heavier.
Construction
Both pizza ovens are built for toughness and durability. The Fyra has an insulated, powder-coated carbon steel shell and the Karu has a ceramic fiber insulated stainless steel body.
Ooni Fyra vs Ooni Karu – Which is Best?
As with all Ooni’s outdoor pizza ovens, you can’t really go wrong. The things to keep in mind here are the ability to cook on gas, and portability.
If you want to cook on gas, or you think you might want to in the future, choose the Karu. It’s ultra-versatile with options to cook with real wood, charcoal, and gas (with adaptor).
If you want to take your pizza oven everywhere, go for the Fyra. It’s light and packs into its bag nice and small because of the removable chimney.
My choice? The Karu. I can’t see myself taking a pizza oven with me too often and I love the versatility of wood, charcoal and gas. On the odd occasion that I do take a pizza oven with me, the mere extra 4lbs of the Karu doesn’t stop me.
I hope this has given you an overview review of Ooni Karu vs Ooni Fyra. Let me know which one you’ve decided to buy! And, don’t worry if they’re out of stock, enter your email and Ooni will notify you once they’re back in stock.
