Quick Answer: The Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven is worth buying in 2026 for cooks who want both gas convenience and real wood-fired flavor without paying a premium. This dual-fuel oven reaches over 930°F and bakes a Neapolitan pizza in under two minutes, per Bertello, and its patented SimulFIRE system is the only one in this price class that lets you burn gas and wood at the same time. It starts around $250-$329 — cheaper than most rivals — and the brand has topped $10 million in sales since its Shark Tank deal. The catch: the standard model tops out at a ~12-inch pizza and, like all live-fire ovens, demands some fire management, so crowd-cookers should look at the 16-inch Bertello Grande instead.
If you’ve seen the “As Seen on Shark Tank” badge, this is that oven. Bertello pitched on Shark Tank Season 11 and closed a deal with Kevin O’Leary for $120,000 at 25% equity, then grew to more than $10 million in cumulative sales by 2024 — so this is an established brand, not a one-hit gadget. We ran it against the Ooni and Solo Stove ovens it competes with; here’s the honest verdict.
Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven (SimulFIRE)
- Over 930°F ceiling bakes a Neapolitan pizza in under two minutes, per Bertello.
- SimulFIRE: burns gas and wood at the same time — convenience plus smoky flavor.
- Portable 12.5-inch brick-style oven; the famous "As Seen on Shark Tank" pick.
Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven at a glance
| Spec | Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven |
|---|---|
| Max temperature | 930°F+ / 500°C (per Bertello) |
| Fuel | Gas, wood, charcoal, or pellets — including gas + wood at once (SimulFIRE) |
| Cooking surface | 12.5" wide × 13.5" deep |
| Max pizza size | ~12 inches |
| Cook time (pizza) | Under 2 minutes |
| Portability | Lightweight, removable legs |
| Notable | Shark Tank S11 (Kevin O'Leary, $120k/25%); $10M+ sales |
| Price | ~$250-$329 (bundles higher) |
| Rating | ★★★★☆ |
How it performs on pizza
The headline numbers hold up: Bertello rates the oven at over 930°F (500°C), and it cooks a pizza in under two minutes. That puts it firmly in true-Neapolitan territory — the AVPN, the body that defines authentic Neapolitan pizza, specifies a deck of roughly 905°F with a 60-90 second bake, and the Bertello clears that bar. For context, a home oven tops out near 550°F per the U.S. Department of Energy’s typical range, so this is a completely different class of heat from anything you can do indoors.
In practice you preheat with the gas burner (or get the wood tray going), launch the pizza onto the stone, and turn it once or twice during the short bake — like every single-source-of-heat oven, the rear runs hottest. Where the Bertello earns its keep is the flavor: drop a couple of wood chunks in alongside the running gas burner and you get the leopard-spotted char and faint smoke of a wood-fired pie without babysitting a wood-only fire. The cooking floor is a refractory stone similar to the cordierite we recommend in our best pizza stone guide — it stores enough heat for a crisp, evenly browned base.
SimulFIRE: the feature that sets Bertello apart
Most outdoor ovens make you choose a lane. Gas ovens like the Solo Stove Pi Prime and Ooni Koda are convenient but flavorless; wood-only ovens deliver flavor but demand fire-tending. Bertello’s patented SimulFIRE design splits the difference by letting you burn gas and wood simultaneously — the gas does the heavy lifting on temperature and stability while a handful of wood adds smoke and char. You can also run it as a pure gas oven on a weeknight, or full wood/charcoal on a weekend, from the same unit. That fuel flexibility, at this price, is genuinely rare and is the single best reason to choose a Bertello over a rival.
Standard Bertello vs Bertello Grande
Bertello sells two sizes. The original has a 12.5-inch-wide cooking surface and bakes a roughly 12-inch pizza — ideal for couples, small families, and tight patios. The Bertello Grande, launched in 2022, widens the floor to 16 inches so you can cook larger pies or turn out pizzas faster for a group. Both use the same SimulFIRE system and 930°F+ ceiling, so the choice is purely about pizza size, footprint, and budget.
| Model | Cooking surface | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bertello Outdoor (standard) | 12.5" wide | Couples, small patios, beginners | ~$250-$329 |
| Bertello Grande | 16" wide | Families, entertaining, larger pizzas | ~$399-$449 |
Bertello vs Ooni Koda 12 vs Solo Stove Pi Prime
| Spec | Bertello Outdoor | Ooni Koda 12 | Solo Stove Pi Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Gas + wood + charcoal (SimulFIRE) | Gas only | Gas only |
| Max temp | 930°F+ | ~950°F | 950°F+ |
| Cook time | Under 2 min | ~60 sec | ~90 sec |
| Max pizza | ~12 in | 12 in | 12 in |
| Wood-fired flavor | Yes | No | No |
| Price | ~$250-$329 | ~$399 | ~$349 |
The Ooni Koda 12 is the most refined and quickest to temperature, and the Solo Stove Pi Prime is the simplest gas oven to live with. But neither can touch wood, and both cost more than a standard Bertello. If fuel flexibility and price matter most, Bertello wins; if you only want set-and-forget gas, see our best gas pizza oven guide.
Who should buy the Bertello
- Buy it if you want one affordable oven that does both convenient gas and real wood-fired flavor, or if you like the idea of experimenting with fuels.
- Buy the Grande instead if you regularly cook for more than two people or want 16-inch pizzas.
- Skip it if you only ever want gas convenience (a Solo Stove Pi Prime or Ooni Koda is more polished) or if you need a fully hands-off electric oven for indoor use — see our best electric pizza oven picks.
A solid infrared thermometer is the one accessory we’d add on day one with any live-fire oven — the Bertello has no built-in gauge, and knowing your stone is actually at 800-900°F before you launch is the difference between a leopard-spotted crust and a pale, soggy one.
Recommended add-ons
- Bertello Grande 16" — the larger model for families and entertaining.
- Infrared thermometer — confirm your stone hits 800-900°F before launching.
The verdict
The Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven is the rare budget oven that doesn’t make you choose between convenience and flavor. SimulFIRE dual-fuel cooking, a genuine 930°F+ ceiling, and a starting price under most rivals make it one of the best values in 2026 — and the $10M+ in sales since Shark Tank show plenty of cooks agree. It’s not as fuss-free as a pure gas oven and the standard model is sized for ~12-inch pizzas, but for the money, the flexibility is unmatched. Cross-shopping the whole field? Start with our best outdoor pizza oven roundup, or compare brands head-to-head in Ooni vs Gozney.