Indoor pizza ovens are notoriously expensive. The Ooni Volt 12 costs nearly $1000, and it's a lot of money to spend on pizza.
If you want to save some money, it's smart to consider the Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven. It's hundreds of dollars less expensive than the Ooni oven and includes some free utensils.
However, I've tested all the best pizza ovens and found that the Ooni Volt 12 is worth the price tag. It makes far better pizza than the Cuisinart oven. However, it's up to you if that difference is worth $500.
Head to Head
First of all, a direct comparison of both ovens. You can see in the stats and comparison table below that the Ooni oven is much better than the Cuisinart for speed and the quality of the pizza. However, the Cusinart oven is much smaller and easier to store.
Which oven makes the best tasting pizza?
Winner: Ooni
Taste is subjective, but the Ooni oven makes a better pizza than the Cuisinart. The cheese is more thoroughly cooked, the crust is crisper without burning, and there's no wet sauce or uncooked dough, which are all problems I found with the Cuisinart oven.
There are a few reasons for this, but temperature is the big difference. The Cuisinart oven can reach 700°F, which is fairly hot, a lot hotter than a domestic oven, but the Ooni can reach 850°F, which is much hotter again. It sounds pedantic, but it makes a huge difference.
These high temperatures are what makes the difference between baking a pizza in a regular oven and using a dedicated pizza oven. In true brick pizza ovens - which often reach more than 1100°F - the extreme heat instantly crisps up the crust, cooks the dough, and melts the cheese. In restaurant and outdoor pizza ovens, a pizza will only take around a minute or two, and the same is true for the Ooni Volt.
That isn't the case with the Cuisinart oven. It takes around 7 minutes to cook, so it doesn't have the instant reaction of a true pizza oven. It's a small technical difference, but it means that the pizzas I've tested in the Cuisinart oven don't taste as good. The crust is slightly overcooked, but the middle is wet and doughy.
Which oven is easier to use?
Winner: Ooni - with a big caveat
Ooni's oven is amazing for making pizza en masse. Unlike any other pizza oven on the market, it has a 'boost' function. This increases the temperature of the oven when the door is open, so when you take out a pizza you don't lose as much heat. This means that you can make four pizzas for the family much faster than most other pizza ovens.
However, my biggest gripe with Ooni over the years is that it doesn't include essential tools like pizza peels. If you don't spend a little extra to buy a bundle deal, your oven won't be ready to go out of the box. That isn't the case with the Cuisinart oven, which includes a free pizza peel, mezzaluna pizza cutter, and a deep dish for Chicago-style pizzas and other meals.
Which oven is cheaper?
Winner: Cuisinart
There's no contest here. The Cuisinart oven is $500 cheaper than the Ooni, and the Cuisinart oven is often on sale, so it's really more like $600 cheaper.
On top of that, it has lots of bonus equipment included, unlike the Ooni where you must pay an extra $10 for a pizza peel or an extra $160 for a bundle with a pizza peel, cover, and thermometer.
Which is best for storage?
Winner: Cuisinart - unless you have outdoor space
The image above is from Ooni, and even in a staged press shot you can see that the Volt 12 is enormous. It completely dominates a countertop, leaving no room for anything else. It's hard to store in most kitchen cabinets, too, so you can't tuck it out of sight when you're not using it.
The Cuisinart oven is smaller than the Ooni, and the pizza peel included can collapse into the oven, further saving space.
However, I don't want to give the impression that the Cuisinart Oven is small. It still takes up more than a foot square, and it looked ridiculous in my little apartment kitchen, swallowing up a third of the space.
If you have outdoor space, however, the Ooni might be a better option. It's the only oven in the world that's safe to use both indoors and outdoors, so it's safe to store in garages and sheds when you aren't using it.
Which is better looking?
Just like taste, good looks are subjective, but I think the Cuisinart oven will work better in most homes. I'm a fan of Ooni ovens but they've always looked more like UFOs than stylish kitchen appliances. The Cuisinart oven is hardly a showstopper but it's a competent, low-profile appliance that will blend into almost any style of kitchen.
Buy Ooni Volt 12 if...
- You want the very best pizza
- You want fast pizza
- You want to make lots of pizza
Buy Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven if...
- You want to save (a lot of) money
- You want a neutral-looking appliance
- You have a smaller kitchen
Before you buy either of these models, bear in mind that indoor pizza ovens are poor compared to outdoor pizza ovens. It's worth considering the merits of indoor pizza ovens vs outdoor pizza ovens; outdoor models aren't as easy to use, but they taste a lot better.
