This is my
The Ooni Karu pizza oven is the smaller of the two ovens. It’s best for portability, weighing only 26.5 lbs. The Ooni Pro oven is the perfect heavy-duty backyard pizza oven for family pizza nights.
Both come with a 3-year guarantee if you register your oven with
Ooni Pro Comparison
As always, I’ve created a comparison table of the two pizza ovens. Tables make it easy to see the features of each
Here’s my Ooni Karu pizza oven vs Ooni Pro pizza oven comparison:
Easily figure out which Ooni pizza oven is best for you, with comparisons of price, pizza size, fuel type, weight, fuel consumption, gas consumption, and much more.
Ooni Pro Differences
Let’s look at the differences first to determine which pizza oven suits us best.
The price difference between the
That’s nearly double the price. Let’s look at each pizza oven’s features to see if we can figure out why.
Ooni Pro Pizza Oven Review
The video below explains the features of the
The
The Pro oven has a chimney vent and a ceiling vent. Closing the ceiling vent allows the heat and smoke to billow around the front of the oven, before going out via the side channels and the open chimney.
This allows you to cook at slower, lower temperatures. For high-temperature pizza cooking, keep both vents open for maximum heat.
You can cook a huge range of dishes in the
The Pro actually fits 2 of Ooni’s cast iron sizzle pans in it, so you can bake bread and vegetables at the same time.
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The temperatures you can reach in the Pro are extremely high. It goes up to 932F, twice as hot as a normal oven.
It has a high-grade stainless steel body with thick insulation so you’re keeping the heat in. The chimney draws flames and heat forward and right through the oven so you get even heat distribution.
- Check out the Ooni pizza oven bundles before you buy an oven, you can get bundles with gas attachment and peels for a great price!
Yep! Bundles are back! Get in quick before they disappear (again). Read our review before you buy - not all bundles are worth it and some may have changed what's included.
These starter bundles make it super easy to start cooking restaurant-grade pizzas in your own backyard!
The
Although it’s almost twice the weight of the
Get the free Ooni pizza cooking book, “Cooking with Fire”!
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Ooni Karu Pizza Oven Review
Let’s look at the
The
You can still cook with real wood, charcoal, or gas (with the attachment), but this oven is half the weight of the
The chimney is detachable with the quick-release hitch (just like the Pro) and the legs fold up. You can then get the carry bag for it to make it even easier to take with you.
The first and only pizza oven to be ‘Recommended for Domestic Use’ by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. Cook with wood or charcoal out of the box, or use gas with the Ooni Karu 16 Gas Burner (sold separately). Reaches 950°F (500°C) in just 15 minutes. Restaurant quality 16" pizza in your own backyard!
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It still reaches extremely high temperatures, just like the Pro. The Karu also has a chimney vent so you can adjust the airflow and temperature inside the oven. It’s self-cleaning due to the high temperatures it reaches, but this is exactly the same as the Pro.
You still get that authentic wood-fired pizza flavor and it heats up quicker than the Pro by 5 minutes. That’s not a lot, but when you have hungry kids, every minute counts. Pizzas aren’t the only thing you can cook in the Karu, you can use the cast iron sizzle pans in it too, for meat, fish, nachos, wings, and vegetable dishes.
The Karu pizza oven does have a smaller cooking surface, so a 13″ pizza is the max you can cook inside. It comes with the same high-quality cordierite baking boards. A Neapolitan pizza takes 60 seconds in either pizza oven, so there’s no difference in speed.
The difference in price seems to mainly come from the construction. The Pro is twice the weight and that weight has to come from somewhere. It’d be safe to assume the extra weight comes from the quality of the construction materials and the strength of it.
- The Karu oven is a fantastic choice if you want portability.
- If you want a pizza oven for your backyard and you’re going to cook for hours on end, go for the Pro oven.
Which Pizza Oven is Better – Ooni Karu or Pro?
- If you’re looking for ultimate portability with the versatility of cooking on wood, charcoal, or gas, the Karu oven is your pizza oven. You can’t beat the weight of this pizza oven, weighing only 26.5 lbs. With the removable chimney and foldable legs, it fits anywhere, the back of the car, in your RV, or store it in the shed over winter.
- For a more heavy-duty, backyard, family pizza oven, go for the Pro oven. You can’t beat the extra space for cooking more stuff at the same time and bigger, 16″ pizzas. This is your go-to if you want to park it in the backyard for family pizza night or flame-grilled steak.
Which
Easily figure out which Ooni pizza oven is best for you, with comparisons of price, pizza size, fuel type, weight, fuel consumption, gas consumption, and much more.
