One of the best things about pizza is that you can call up the local pizzeria (or use an app, this is the 21st century after all) and have a hot fresh pizza to your door in just a few minutes. As convenient as that is, sometimes there’s nothing quite like a hot fresh pizza cooked right in the comfort of your own home, and the Gozney Arc will have you churching our professional-grade pizza pies in as little as sixty seconds.
There's certainly no shortage of great pizza ovens out there, but the ones from Gozney really go above and beyond to stand out from the rest. Their beautiful design and professional-grade features are second to none and will no doubt help to elevate your pizza nights.
I used mine on my back porch for the better part of a month, cooking a variety of different pizzas using my wife’s homemade dough, and sharing with as many friends and family as I could find. Keep scrolling to find out how it performed then, check out our guide to the best pizza ovens to see how it stacks up against the competition.
Gozney Arc Pizza Oven: First Impressions
The first thing that hit me about the Gozney Arc was that it almost feels like the “Rolls Royce” of pizza ovens, especially considering the unboxing experience. In addition to the Arc itself, I received the Arc Stand, Arc Cover, Turning Peel, Placement Peel, Pizza Rocker (highly recommend picking this up by the way; it’s a game changer for cutting pizza), and Pizza Cutter.
A few days after it shipped, I was contacted by a local freight company to schedule the delivery. A crew showed up at my house, unloaded it off the truck, and fully assembled it right in my garage in about half an hour. I was pleased to see there wasn’t much Styrofoam in the packaging. Nearly everything in the boxes, except for some plastic bags for the smaller parts, was cardboard which was nice to see.
As convenient as it was to have our unit delivered and setup for us, unfortunately the experience was not as good as it could have been. For starters, the delivery company accidentally took the instruction manual with them when they left, so I had to contact Gozney directly to get the user manual (Gozney was very quick to respond so props to them). Also, I noticed after they left that one of the wheels on the stand and the folding side trays had been installed incorrectly so I had to fix that myself. It didn’t take long and nothing was broken or missing, but it is important to note.
For better or worse, the personal setup and delivery is not available for customers, but unless you get the stand with it, there’s really not much setup involved anyway so you’re not missing much. First of all, it’s a bit heavy so I highly recommend getting some help to move it. Once in place, you simply adjust the stone with the included adjustment tool if needed, then slide the flue and burner guard in place.
Next, put two AA batteries in the digital temperature display and snap in magnetically into the front of the base. After that, simply hook up the included hose to your propane tank and you’re good to go.
The Arc looks gorgeous once it’s all setup and it works amazingly well. It’s certainly the most premium pizza oven, and aside from our Diletta Bello Espresso Machine, the most premium appliance I’ve even owned.
Gozney Arc Pizza Oven: Price & availability
“Premium” is certainly the name of the game with the Gozney Arc as it starts a $699 for just the oven itself.
You can purchase it directly from Gozney as well as on Amazon, or even your local Ace Hardware. We’ve also seen it from other smaller, local retailers for as low as $599 at time of writing.
There’s also an XL model for $799 that will cook up to 16” pizzas. It’s available from Gozney, Amazon, Ace Hardware, and Walmart as well. While white is the only available color, the XL version did have a limited edition Off Black color available but it’s currently sold out at time of writing.
Score: 3 out of 5
Gozney Arc Pizza Oven: Design
The design of the Gozney Arc is one of it’s coolest features. Everyone who came over commented on the design and how nice it looks. It honestly looks like a shrunk-down version of a professional pizza oven. If the Cuisinart Pizza Oven I reviewed recently is meant to blend in on a kitchen counter, the Gozney Arc is absolutely meant to stand out on your back porch.
The first thing that struck me is that there’s no door or covering for the opening of the oven, which is also a bit small in my opinion. I know most similar professional pizza ovens don’t have doors, but they also aren’t meant to live outside so I thought that was a bit odd. Thankfully, there is a cover available for it, but it’s not included in the box which I think is a bit miss. For an oven that’s this expensive which is, again, meant to live outside, it really should come with the cover included. I’m perfectly fine with the larger cover meant for both the Arc and the stand being sold separately, but the oven by itself should really come with one.
As the Arc is gas-powered, there’s no need for a smoke stack as on the other Gozney ovens. There is a small vent on the front which is great for reducing soot build up, and the base it sits on houses the digital thermometer and the temperature control knob. The gas hookup sticks out of the back of the base and the included hose has a quick-release nozzle making it easy to get up and running quickly.
Even though there’s a matchstick holder included with the Arc, that’s meant as a backup as the oven is self-lighting. Hidden behind the digital thermometer is another small compartment that houses a AAA battery. Once installed, simply turn the temperature knob to the fire symbol and it should light after a click or two.
Setting up the stand is quite simple as well. The included instructions are easy to follow and after a few screws, you’re ready to go. Just remember to lock the wheels in place before trying to use the Arc.
Gozney also includes tools to adjust the pizza stone up against the edges if it ever moves, and you can even remove the bottom cover of the Arc to clean out underneath if it gets dirty. Keep in mind, burnt bits and charring is perfectly normal to see on the pizza stone and it even adds some extra flavor to the crust so don’t worry about getting it spotlessly clean every time.
In addition to the Arc itself, I received the Arc Stand, Arc Cover, placement peel, turning peel, pizza server, pizza rocker (which I highly recommend), and pizza cutter. Each of these accessories are very high quality and honestly better than any other pizza oven accessories I’ve tried.
The coolest part of the Arc, and the entire selling point, is really the design itself. Due to the rounded top of the oven, the flame ‘arcs’ across the top in order to give an even heat across the pizza as it cooks.
I do wish the vent wasn’t on the front of the oven as it sort of breaks the aesthetic, and the lack of a door or included covering for it is a miss in my opinion, but other than that it’s a great design.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Gozney Arc Pizza Oven: Key specs
Gozney Arc Pizza Oven: Performance
Gozney recommends that the first time you fire up the oven, set it at a medium heat (400-450°) for 30 minutes to let it fully cure before setting it to the desired cooking temperature. Even after curing, however, you’ll still need to allow 30-45 minutes for it to fully preheat every time before cooking. In my testing, it sometimes even took a full hour to get it up to its peak temperature.
One of the things that I was most interested to try out was the cooking time; Gozney says at the highest temperature, you can cook a thin crust pizza in 60 seconds. And honestly, that’s no joke. We started with a home-made, thin crust cheeze pizza and it was ready to go in under a minute flat. It was fascinating to watch it cook so fast.
Once the pizza is in the oven, you’ll need to keep an eye on it and turn it every 10 seconds or so to ensure it gets a full cook to your desired preference. If you don’t have a pizza turning peel, you’ll need to pick one up.
Of course, the best part was tasting the pizza. The thin crust came out beautifully crispy on the bottom with a delicious, airy crust. The cheese had that perfect melt with just a touch of golden brown on top.
We then tried a three-cheese thin crust pizza which again cooked in about a minute and tasted delicious. We added toppings like pepperoni, basil, mushrooms and most other typical pizza toppings but my favorite was the pepperoni. We could literally watch the edges of the pepperonis as they got that nice, crisp edge that is just so good.
The crust of each pizza came out nice and fluffy as well which really added another layer of taste to it. Gozney has different temperature recommendations for different types of pizza, but we mostly just stuck with thin crust.
One of Gozney’s biggest claims about the Arc is how well it regulates the temperature and how easy it is to control. In reality, I found this to be a bit of a challenge. While the dome is fantastic at keeping the heat in, it’s a bit challenging to control and maintain the temperature precisely, at least in my experience. We would try to dial in the heat right where we wanted it, but it seemed to fluctuate quite a bit from where we’d set it.
Now, due to physics, it would be impossible to get set the Arc and keep it at an exact single temperature, but even keeping in within a 25-50 degree range was a bit of a challenge. And precisely because it’s so good at retaining heat, you really have to wait a bit if you want it to change much. Basically, if you’re going to cook different pizzas that require different temperatures, be sure to start cooking at the lower temps first, then be prepared to wait a few minutes while it heats up.
Because of the design, Gozney claims you can cook much more than just pizza in the Arc (there’s a recipe for lamb and potatoes that looks absolutely incredible). We tested out cooking a skirt steak along with some veggies and even a tortilla for taco night and it turned out fabulous.
Some things to remember as your get ready for pizza night with the Arc:
- Allow plenty of time for it to preheat (as much as an hour for thin crust pizza)
- You’ll need a pizza turning peel
- Keep an eye on the pizzas as they cook and be ready at hand to turn them
- The Arc is outdoor only
Score: 4 out of 5
Gozney Arc: user reviews
Looking on the Gozney site, the Arc has been awarded 5-out-5 stars by customers. While there are only eight reviews, each one of those speak very highly about the Gozney Arc. One reviewer says "This is a champ! I love it, looking for a lot of experimenting with its capabilities this Spring!!, while another says "First time used and pizza was cooked to perfection and really did only take 60 seconds turned once half way through".
The user reviews on ACE Hardware are slightly different though. While there are only three reviews on this reseller site, it has been given a total of 4.3-out-of-5 stars. One reviewers says "We love our Gozney arc! Set up was easy and it looks great. Our first pizzas were delicious! Highly recommend!!". However, some slight flaws have been identified by others; "...the cord that goes into the battery compartment likes to come loose and fall inside the unit". Another mentioned that they returned their Gozney Arc after having too many issues with it lighting and staying lit.
This issue is echoed by one-of-two customers on Home Depot who says that it takes several tries to ignite the flame. They also mention that a slight breeze causes the oven to go out.
Note: at the time of writing the Arc has only been available to buy for a couple of months so the number of user reviews were limited.
Should you buy the Gozney Arc?
But it if...
Don't buy it if...
How does the Gozney Arc Pizza Oven compare?
The Gozney Arc is certainly on the premium end of pizza ovens out there. The premium design, versatility, and fast cooking speeds mean it’s a few steps ahead of most other ovens we’ve tested.
That being said, it’s quite expensive and there are plenty of other pizza ovens out there that make great pizza. The Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven is almost half the price, makes great-tasting pizza, and can sit on your kitchen counter.
How I tested the Gozney Arc pizza oven
I used this pizza oven in my own backyard for about four weeks. I cooked more than a dozen pizzas in it, most with a variety of toppings. Aside from my immediate family (including a picky toddler), I served these pizzas to friends, family, and neighbors to gather a variety of feedback. My father-in-law specifically called it the best pizza he’d ever had.
We cooked Neopolitan and thin-crust style pizza using our own dough and sauce recipes with a wide range of toppings including cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach, pepperoni, basil, chicken, and others.
Every pizza was cooked using Gozney accessories including the turning peel, the placement peel, the pizza rocker, and pizza cutter.
Learn more about how we test.
First reviewed March 2024
