Versatility vs. Simplicity. Find out if the Ooni Pro or the Koda 12 is the right pizza oven for you.
I have spent many wonderful hours with family and friends making and eating pizza on both my 16 and Ooni Koda 12 pizza ovens. As I continue to use both of them extensively, there is one setup that I prefer above the other.
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My review will be based on 5 factors; Versatility, Portability, Performance, Ease of Use and Price Point
Versatility
The Ooni Pro pizza oven gets the nod here. It allows you to cook with wood, charcoal, wood pellets, or propane (the gas burner attachment is sold separately). The Ooni Koda 12 can only cook with gas. This isn’t a bad thing, but if you’re looking to cook with wood or gas, you need to look for another oven. Both the Ooni Koda and Ooni Pro can only be used outdoors.
If you’re looking to cook anything other than pizza, you can with both ovens. Ooni claims you can bake bread, sear steaks, or grill a wide variety of other foods. In my opinion, you are going to be able to cook more things in the Ooni Pro since it’s bigger both in height and area.
Portability
The Ooni Koda 12 definitely wins this battle. It weighs just over twenty pounds and is 24 ½ inches long by 15 ½ inches wide by 11 ¾ inches tall. The one caveat to this is that you have to lug around a propane tank in addition to the oven. If you would like to minimize the extra weight and space of the propane tank you can use a small propane tank with the addition of a portable tank adapter.
The Ooni Pro is more than twice as heavy, weighing in at 48 ½ pounds. It’s also a little more awkward to carry since it is 28 ¾ inches long by 19 inches wide by 30 ¾ inches tall (including the chimney). And even though you don’t have to carry a propane tank if you’re using wood or charcoal, you still have to carry the fuel you plan on using.
Performance
You could argue this is the most important thing to consider when buying a pizza oven and I would agree. What’s the point of having a pizza oven if it isn’t good at cooking pizza?
Since the Ooni Pro uses multiple fuels to cook, you could get different results with each type of fuel depending on your skill level. The difference here is the learning curve and margin for error. If you want better results faster, the Ooni Pro is easier to learn how to use. The Ooni Pro also has a thicker baking stone so it retains heat longer. This is important when considering how many pizzas you are cooking. A hot stone will insure that the bottom of the pizza is cooked well and evenly.
The Ooni Koda is no slouch. It’s flame projects from the back to the front keeping the oven around 900 degrees Fahrenheit. If you plan on cooking lots of pizzas, be prepared to take a break after a few. Since the stone is heated from above the temperature of the stone decreases significantly if you don’t allow some time between cooking pizzas to let it heat back up.
Ease of Use
To answer the question “Which oven is easier to use, the Ooni Koda 12 or the Ooni Pro?” you need to give it more context. The answer depends on which fuel you are using for the Ooni Pro. Cooking with gas is always easier, in my opinion.
So if you put the Ooni Koda 12 up against a wood fired Ooni Pro the answer is the Ooni Koda 12 is easier to use. Part of this is due to the fact that the cleanup is also easier when using gas. When you cook with wood or charcoal you will need to clean the ash out of the tray in addition to cleaning the pizza stone.
If you are using gas to cook with both ovens, the Ooni Pro is easier to use. Why? Because you have more space in the oven to work with. The interior cooking surface of the Ooni Pro is 17 ¾ inches wide by 17 ¾ inches deep with an opening height of a little more than 6 inches. This gives you ample room to slide the pizza in, position it on the stone, and pull it out.
The Ooni Koda has a cooking area of 13 inches wide by 13″ deep with an opening height of 3 ¼ inches tall. There is a much smaller margin for error with the smaller footprint. If you put the pizza in too far back you can burn it. Putting the pizza in not far enough can burn it as well since the flame is projected to the front of the oven. Maneuvering the pizza oven is also a harder chore with a smaller opening.
The Ooni Pro is better at making dishes other than pizza.
Because of its size and the insulation of the door, I have been able to cook other dishes, such as shrimp and apple crisp, in a cast iron skillet.
[Left] After making a bunch of pizzas, I turned down the heat and cooked a peach cobber! Nobody objected.
Price
The trade-off for going with the Ooni Pro over the Ooni Koda is the cost.
The gas burner adds an extra cost of the Ooni Pro – which is already more expensive than the .
With either one of them you will need to buy some accessories as well.
Conclusion : Ooni Pro vs Ooni Koda 12
The Ooni Pro bundled with the Gas Burner Module is a better experience than cooking with the Ooni Koda 12. If you don’t plan on ever cooking with wood or charcoal, check out my review of the Ooni Koda 16.
Ooni Pro Advantages & Disadvantages
Pros
Cons
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Ooni Koda 12 Advantages & Disadvantages
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Cons
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Tim is a self proclaimed social eater – so it’s not surprise that he’s obsessed making pizzas with his kids, friends, his kids friends, close family, extended family, people with the same last name but aren’t actually family, neighbors, random people in the neighborhood, and complete strangers!
There’s nothing quite like helping other people embrace their creative side as they make their own pizza masterpieces!
