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There is no official size for a mini oven, and makers tend to say "compact" or "portable" instead. As a working rule, we treat a small gas pizza oven as one that takes a 12 to 14-inch pizza and weighs under about 18kg, so one person can lift it and find room for it on a garden table.
That rule matters because the pizza size alone can mislead. The Witt Piccolo Rotante has a 13-inch stone but weighs 26kg, more than twice as much as an Ooni Koda 12 that cooks almost the same size of pizza. Look at the weight and outer dimensions before you look at anything else.
These are the genuinely small models from our range. The numbers come from the product listings, but listings can be wrong, so where a UK retailer, the maker or a published test disagreed (the Koda 2, Diavolo and Tread), we've used that figure instead. Check the details before you buy.
| Oven | Pizza | Weight | Size (cm) | Max temp | Heat-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ooni Koda 12 | 12-inch | 9.25kg | 62 x 39 x 29 | 500°C | 15-20 mins |
| Delivita Diavolo | 12-inch | 10.5kg | 46 x 62 x 32 | 500°C | 20 mins |
| Gozney Arc Lite | 12-inch | 12kg | 43 x 48 x 30 | 500°C | About 20 mins |
| Gozney Tread | 12-inch | About 13kg | 41.8 x 48.4 x 32 | 500°C | 15-25 mins |
| Ooni Koda 2 | 14-inch | About 16kg | 54.5 x 47.2 x 33.3 | 500°C | 15 mins |
| Morsø Forno Spin | Not listed | 17kg | 53 x 57 x 35 | 400°C | 20 mins |
| Gino D'Acampo Modena | 14-inch | 18kg | 44 x 65 x 35 | 500°C | 15 mins |
| Ooni Koda 16 (for scale) | 16-inch | 18.2kg | 64 x 59 x 37 | 500°C | 20 mins |
Two things stand out. The jump from 12 to 14 inches adds several kilos, and the top temperature barely changes across the group, so a smaller body rarely means less heat. The Forno Spin is the exception at 400°C, though BBC Gardeners' World still rated it their best gas pizza oven, and its stone turns for you so there's less to do mid-cook. Heat-up figures in real use can run longer than the listing: the same test took 25 minutes to bring a Tread up to temperature.
A compact outdoor pizza oven on a solid table is all you need. Gardeners' World picked the Arc Lite as its best pizza oven for small spaces, saying it takes up little more room than a typical air fryer. It arrives assembled, so you slot in the stone, connect the gas and start cooking.
Carrying weight and fuel matter most here. The lightweight Diavolo comes with a carry bag, a folding pizza peel and a temperature gun, plus a second regulator for camping-style gas canisters, so you aren't tied to a full-size bottle. The 9.25kg Ooni is lighter still but needs a propane bottle. If you travel often, read our guide to portable pizza ovens too.
One pizza at a time sounds limiting, but you can cook a pizza in 60-90 seconds on most of these models, so the queue moves quickly. Cooking for a bigger crowd is where a 14-inch oven, or one of our extra large pizza ovens, starts to earn the extra space.
A 12-inch stone is the natural size for a mini oven and pairs well with our 12-inch pizza makers. It's light and quick, but the margin for error is small: a pizza that's slightly too wide can touch the burner side and catch. A 14-inch model gives you more room to turn the pizza and to launch it without hitting the walls, which beginners tend to appreciate. Its listing puts the cooking area at around 20% larger than the Koda 12's.
Our suggestion: go for 12 inches if you'll carry your portable pizza oven around or store it on a shelf. Go for 14 inches if it will mostly stay in the garden, and you can manage the extra kilos.
Mini gas pizza ovens look alike in photos, so the details below do most of the sorting.
Use propane, sold in the UK as patio gas, unless your manual says otherwise. Butane stops vaporising at around 0°C, so it can struggle on a cold evening, while propane copes with any British winter. Ooni and Gozney gas ovens are built for propane. The Diavolo also runs on camping gas, which makes it a flexible portable pizza oven for trips away.
UK propane appliances usually run at 37 mbar. Many ovens sold here include the right regulator and hose, but check the listing, as some leave them out and others are imports set up for other countries. The Cozze 17-inch in this range, for instance, lists 50 mbar and says it's optimised for Germany and Austria. Also check how the regulator fits your bottle, as cylinders from Calor and other suppliers don't all use the same connection.
Less than you might think. Ooni quotes around 0.39kg of propane for 10 pizzas on the Koda 2, or 0.78kg on the larger Koda 2 Pro. Going by that figure, a 5kg bottle would cover more than 100 pizzas on the Koda 2, although long preheats and cold weather will reduce it.
Gas is the easy fuel for a small pizza oven: turn the dial, wait around 20 minutes, cook, then switch off. The flavour question divides people. BBC Good Food says the smoke from a wood-fired pizza oven can't be matched on gas, while Ooni, which sells both, calls the difference minimal because the cook is so short. If authentic pizza to you means real smoke and tending a fire, gas may not satisfy you. If you want dinner on a Tuesday, it probably will.
Pizza isn't the only option, either. Gozney and Delivita both promote their ovens for roasting and baking, and vegetables or fish in a cast-iron pan work well at lower heat. A compact chamber does limit what fits inside, so measure your pans first.
Mini gas pizza ovens are for outdoor use only, however small and tidy they look. Ooni says this plainly about its own range. Burning gas in a garage, tent or awning risks a build-up of carbon monoxide, and the NHS warns it's colourless and doesn't smell, so you can't tell it's around you.
Cleaning is simple. The heat burns off most residue, so you only need to brush the pizza stone once it's cool. Don't use soap, as it soaks into the porous surface. Unlike a wood fired pizza oven, there's no ash to clear.
Ooni and Gozney make most of the best-known small ovens, and both list warranties of up to five years. Delivita is a strong portable pizza oven choice, and Gino D'Acampo, Morsø, Witt and Forneza offer different takes on the same idea. For a look at the wider ranges, browse our Ooni pizza ovens and Delivita gas and electric pizza ovens.
Only if your manual, your lease and your building's rules all allow it, as some flats restrict bottled gas and open flames. It also needs plenty of open air and clear space around it. If gas isn't allowed, look at an electric model.
No. An outdoor pizza oven on gas needs open air because of the fumes and heat. For cooking indoors, choose an electric pizza oven the maker says is safe for it.
Not usually. A solid table or worktop that can take the weight and heat is enough, and most models sit on built-in or folding legs. A stand is handy if you have no suitable surface, or want a permanent spot.
Yes, within reason. Flatbreads, steak, vegetables and fish in a small pan all work. Just check the door opening and the internal height first.
Most reach the same 500°C as larger ovens, and a Neapolitan-style pizza can take as little as 60 seconds. The trade-off is less stone mass, so temperature drops a little sooner between pizzas.
