Solo Stove Pi Prime.

The Gavler Review.

Solo Stove Pi Prime Review: The Easiest Pizza Oven to Recommend

The Solo Stove Pi Prime ranks No. 6 on Gavler's Best Outdoor Pizza Ovens list with a score of 8.6 — the budget benchmark that Tom's Guide named its Editor's Choice for beginners, writing plainly: "The Solo Stove Pi Prime is the best pizza oven for those looking for an easy to use and inexpensive propane-powered oven." At $349, and frequently discounted below that, it hits over 900°F in under 20 minutes and cooks a 12-inch pizza in about 90 seconds. The catch is narrow but real: it's propane-only, so there's no wood-fired flavor option, and the propane hose is shorter than reviewers would like.

What it is

The Pi Prime is a 12-inch propane pizza oven built around ease of use rather than fuel flexibility or maximum build refinement. It ships ready-to-cook out of the box — insert the two-piece cordierite stone, connect a propane tank, and you're set up, without the handle- and leg-assembly some competing ovens require. Weighing just under 30 lbs, it's genuinely portable for a backyard or balcony setup, and the front-and-center gas control knob (moved from the rear on the original Solo Stove Pi) makes temperature adjustment easy to reach mid-cook.

At its hottest, the oven reaches roughly 900°F, enough to cook a Neapolitan-style pie with proper leoparding on the crust and a well-charred bottom in about 90 seconds — competitive with far pricier ovens on raw cooking speed.

In use

Tom's Guide's Mike Prospero put the oven through an extended hands-on test, baking about 10 pies with a 60-percent-hydration Neapolitan-style dough, and the results were consistently strong: "All of the pizzas turned out great, with nice leoparding along the top and a charred crust on the bottom." Setup matched Solo Stove's promise of simplicity — "There's very little to setting up the Pi Prime; all you have to do is place the two pieces of the pizza stone inside the oven, and then attach your propane tank" — and the ignition knob's built-in lighter reliably caught with one or two sparks.

The one real critique from that testing was the propane hose: "About the only critique I have with the Pi Prime is that the hose for connecting it to a propane tank could be longer; because of the configuration of my deck, I had to place my propane tank next to the oven, when I'd prefer to have it on the ground." That's a layout-dependent annoyance rather than a dealbreaker, but it's worth planning around before your first cook. The same review also flagged that at full 900°F heat, pizzas need active attention: "I let one pie go a little too long, and the crust quickly turned to ashes" — a turning peel and steady attention during the roughly 90-second cook are non-negotiable at this oven's top temperature.

Strengths

Ease of use is the Pi Prime's entire reason for being on this list, and it delivers on that promise consistently across independent testing. CNN Underscored's assessment was similarly blunt: "The Pi Prime has very few flaws." The ready-to-cook-out-of-the-box setup, the accessible front-mounted control knob, and the two-piece cordierite stone that's simple to lift out for cleaning all point toward the same conclusion — this is the pizza oven built for someone's first season of outdoor pizza-making, not for someone who wants to fuss over equipment.

The price is also a genuine strength relative to the cooking performance on offer. Solo Stove's regular discounting frequently pushes the effective price below the $349 list, and even at full price it undercuts closely comparable propane-only ovens like the Ooni Koda 12, which weighs about 9 lbs less but costs roughly $50 more.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

The single fuel source is the most defining limitation: this is a propane-only oven, full stop, with no wood or charcoal option and no adapter path to add one. Buyers who specifically want the flavor of wood-fired cooking, or who want the flexibility to switch fuel sources depending on the occasion, need to look at a multi-fuel oven like the Ooni Karu line instead.

The build refinement gap versus premium competitors like the Gozney Roccbox or Koda 2 Pro is the other honest trade-off: the Pi Prime isn't as plush in the hand and doesn't have the engineering polish of Gozney's double-walled steel construction, and it likely won't hold up to as many seasons of heavy abuse. For getting a first-time buyer to excellent home pizza for the least money and hassle, though, nothing else matches it.

How it compares

One rank above on the same Gavler list, the Ooni Karu 2 takes the multi-fuel route the Pi Prime skips entirely — wood and charcoal cooking with gas available as an optional add-on, reaching the same roughly 950°F ceiling. TechGearLab noted its pedigree directly: "The authority on Neapolitan pizza, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, recommends this redesigned multi-fuel oven for good reason." At $499, it costs $150 more than the Pi Prime, and that premium buys fuel flexibility rather than faster or better cooking at the propane setting alone.

One rank below, the Gozney Arc is the step up in build quality and capacity: a 14-inch propane oven at $599 that inherits the Arc family's signature even bake and stone-and-flame balance, with a built-in thermometer that the Pi Prime lacks. It's $250 more than the Pi Prime for a larger cooking surface and noticeably more refined construction — the right upgrade path for buyers who outgrow the Pi Prime's 12-inch ceiling or who prioritize build quality enough to pay for it.

The Gavler verdict

The Solo Stove Pi Prime earns its place as the budget benchmark on this list by nailing the fundamentals a first-time pizza-oven buyer actually needs: fast, reliable heat; genuinely simple setup; and consistently good pizza across extended testing, all for $349 or less. The propane hose could be longer, the oven demands attention once it's at full temperature to avoid a burnt crust, and there's no path to wood-fired flavor if that's what you're after — but for turning most people into confident home pizza-makers with the least money and the least fuss, nothing else on the market comes close.

Common Questions

Is the Solo Stove Pi Prime worth it in 2026?

At $349 (often discounted lower), it scores 8.6 on Gavler's Best Outdoor Pizza Ovens list, ranked No. 6. Tom's Guide's Editor's Choice verdict: 'The Solo Stove Pi Prime is the best pizza oven for those looking for an easy to use and inexpensive propane-powered oven.'

How long does the Solo Stove Pi Prime take to heat up and cook a pizza?

Roughly 15 to 20 minutes to preheat, reaching over 900°F, and about 90 seconds to cook a 12-inch pizza once it's hot — though Tom's Guide's tester noted a pizza left in too long can burn quickly at that temperature, so a turning peel and attention during the cook matter.

What's the main complaint about the Solo Stove Pi Prime?

Tom's Guide's only real critique after extensive testing was the propane hose length: 'the hose for connecting it to a propane tank could be longer,' which can force the propane tank to sit right next to the oven rather than further away on the ground, depending on your deck or patio layout.