Head-to-head comparisons
Ooni Karu 12 vs Ooni Karu 2
Two generations of the same oven, both still on sale. The peak is identical, the floor is identical, the pizza is the same size. One of them lets you see the fire.
The short answer
Buy the Karu 2 if you are going to burn wood, and the Karu 12 if you are mostly going to run the gas burner. They publish the same 950 F, the same 0.6 in cordierite floor and the same 12 in maximum pizza. The Karu 2 adds a borosilicate glass door with a thermometer in it; the Karu 12 is 7.1 lb lighter and sold by Ooni at a first-generation discount. On a wood fire, the door is worth the difference. On gas, much less so.
Worth clearing up first: the Karu 12 is not discontinued. Ooni's product page sells it as "Karu 12 - 1st Generation" at a reduced price with an add-to-cart, checked on 27 September 2026. That is a different situation from the Koda 12, whose Ooni product URL returns a 404.
The published figures, side by side
| Oven | Fuel | Max pizza | Peak temp | Stone | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ooni Karu 12 | Multi-fuel | 12" | 950 F | 0.6" | 26.5 lb |
| Ooni Karu 2 | Multi-fuel | 12" | 950 F | 0.6" | 33.6 lb |
Published specifications only, from Ooni's own product pages.
| Karu 12 | Karu 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Door | Solid — no window | Borosilicate glass, ClearView |
| Thermometer | Not built in | Built into the door |
| Weight | 26.5 lb | 33.6 lb |
| External size | 31.5" L x 15.8" W x 30.3" H | 28.3" L x 16.5" W x 30.3" H |
| Stone | 0.6 in (15 mm) | 13.3 in, 0.6 in (15 mm) |
| Preheat | 850 F in as little as 15 min | not published |
| Ooni's status | Sold as 1st Generation, reduced | Current generation |
Where they actually differ. Everything else is the same.
Almost nothing separates them on paper
This is unusual and it is the point of the page. Same peak temperature. Same floor thickness — the specification this site ranks on above peak, because it decides the second and third bake. Same maximum pizza. Same fuels, with the gas burner sold separately for both.
Generational upgrades in this category usually move a number. Here Ooni changed how you interact with the oven rather than what it can do.
The door is the whole argument
A wood fire is a thing you manage. You are judging when to add a log, whether the flame has rolled far enough across the crown, and whether the stone is hot enough to launch onto.
With a glass door you make those calls by looking. Without one you make them by opening the oven, and every time you do that you vent the chamber you have spent fifteen minutes heating. On a gas oven this barely matters because the flame is constant and there is nothing to feed. On wood it is the difference between managing the fire and interrupting it.
Quick picks
Ranked for fit, not for hype. Every figure below is the maker’s own published number, and “n/p” means they do not publish it — which is itself worth knowing. Tap a row for the full write-up, or go straight to the listing.
| # | Oven | Best for | Max pizza | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ooni Karu 12The previous-generation Karu, and Ooni is still selling it: the product page lists it as Karu 12 - 1st Generation at... | The previous-generation multi-fuel, at a discount | 12" | 26.5 lb | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 |  Ooni Karu 2The Karu 2 Pro's idea at 33.6 lb: wood and charcoal standard, optional gas burner, glass door, built-in thermometer,... | Wood-fired without the mass | 12" | 33.6 lb | $448.95 · Check on Amazon |
Max pizza and weight are the makers’ published figures, sourced on each write-up below. Neither is a measurement we took, and no column here is a score — we have not cooked on these ovens and will not pretend otherwise.
Top pick · The previous-generation multi-fuel, at a discount
Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Outdoor Pizza Oven
Ooni · Multi-fuel
The previous-generation Karu, and Ooni is still selling it: the product page lists it as Karu 12 - 1st Generation at a reduced price. It is the lightest oven in the Karu family at 26.5 lb, on the same 0.6 in stone as the Karu 2, and what you give up is the glass door.
Published specification
- Max temperature
- 950 F, 12 in pizzas in about 60 seconds
- Preheat
- 850 F in as little as 15 minutes, per Ooni
- Stone
- 0.6 in (15 mm) cordierite — the same thickness as the Karu 2
- Weight
- 26.5 lb (12 kg) unboxed
- External size
- 31.5" L x 15.8" W x 30.3" H
- Fuel
- Wood or charcoal; propane with the separate Karu burner
- Status
- Still sold by Ooni, listed as Karu 12 - 1st Generation at a reduced price, checked 2026-09-27
What it does well
- Multi-fuel at the lowest price in the Karu family, and Ooni is discounting it as a previous generation rather than clearing it out quietly
- 26.5 lb is the lightest oven in the Karu family — 7.1 lb under the Karu 2 and 36.1 lb under the Karu 2 Pro
- Same 0.6 in cordierite floor as the Karu 2, so the specification that governs consecutive bakes is unchanged
- Well-supported after several years of volume — stones, covers and burners are easy to find
What you give up
- No glass door, so fire management means opening the oven and losing heat — the single clearest difference from the Karu 2
- No built-in thermometer, where the Karu 2 has one in the door
- Superseded, and Ooni's own page labels it first generation. Accessories and support will thin out over time
- At 31.5 in long it is not shorter than the Karu 2, only lighter — it does not save bench space
Buy it if
A clearance buyer who wants wood capability and knows what they are giving up.
Skip it if
Anyone paying current-generation money.
Pick 2 · Wood-fired without the mass
Ooni Karu 2 Multi-Fuel Outdoor Pizza Oven
Ooni · Multi-fuel
The Karu 2 Pro's idea at 33.6 lb: wood and charcoal standard, optional gas burner, glass door, built-in thermometer, 13.3 in stone. The most portable real wood oven here.
Published specification
- Max temperature
- 950 F (500 C)
- Stone
- 13.3 in cordierite, 0.6 in (15 mm)
- Max pizza
- 12 in; also takes a medium Detroit pan
- External size
- 28.3" L x 16.5" W x 30.3" H
- Weight
- 33.6 lb unboxed, 45.8 lb boxed
- Fuel
- Wood or charcoal standard; gas burner sold separately
- Door
- Borosilicate glass with ClearView, built-in thermometer
What it does well
- 33.6 lb makes it the only wood-capable oven here that is genuinely portable
- A glass door at this size and weight is the standout feature — you watch the fire instead of opening the oven and losing it
- The 13.3 in stone takes a Detroit pan, which very few 12 in ovens do
What you give up
- 12 in pizzas in a 13.3 in chamber: turning room is tight and the one-side burn problem is real here
- Gas burner sold separately, again
- Wood in a small chamber means feeding the fire often — small ovens have small fuel trays
Buy it if
A small patio where wood flavor matters more than pizza diameter.
Skip it if
Anyone cooking for six, or anyone who wanted the simplicity of a dial.
Where these numbers came from
Seven pounds, and one surprise about size
The Karu 12 is 26.5 lb against the Karu 2's 33.6 lb, which makes it the lightest oven in the family and one of the lightest on this site.
The surprise is that it is not smaller. Ooni publishes 31.5 in of length for the Karu 12 and 28.3 in for the Karu 2 — the newer oven is three inches shorter and seven pounds heavier. So the older one saves you weight and costs you bench space, which is the opposite of what most people assume about a previous generation.
The gas-burner case changes the answer
Both ovens need the Karu gas burner bought separately to run on propane. If that is how you intend to use it most of the time — and for a lot of people it is, because gas is the fuel that produces repetitions — then the door is doing much less work.
A gas flame does not need feeding or watching. In that scenario you are paying the Karu 2 premium for a window onto something that does not change, and the discounted Karu 12 on the same floor at the same peak is straightforwardly the better buy. Wood, charcoal or gas is the page for deciding which you will actually use.
Which one, for which buyer
- Wood is the reason you are buying a multi-fuel oven — Karu 2. The door and the thermometer are what you are paying for and they earn it.
- You will mostly run the gas burner — Karu 12, at the first-generation price. Same floor, same peak, seven pounds lighter.
- You want the biggest multi-fuel Ooni makes — neither. Karu 2 against the Karu 2 Pro is that decision.
- You want the cheapest oven on the site and do not care about wood — the budget roundup has gas options below both of these.
How these picks were made
We did not cook on these ovens. Every figure on this page is the maker’s or the listing’s published specification, cited on each write-up so you can check it in one click. The ranking comes from matching those published capabilities to a stated use case — space, pizza size, fuel, and how many pizzas you cook in a row. Where a maker does not publish a number, we say so instead of estimating one.
The full version of that argument, including what we deliberately do not claim, is on our methodology page.
Questions people actually ask
+Is the Ooni Karu 12 still available?
+What changed between the Karu 12 and the Karu 2?
+Is the Karu 2 worth the extra over a discounted Karu 12?
+Which is smaller?
+Do both need a separate gas burner?
Sources for this page
