Quick Answer: The Ooni Karu 2 is the second-generation 12-inch multi-fuel Ooni — the oven previously sold as the Karu 12G — and at a $449 list price it is the multi-fuel oven most home cooks should buy. It burns wood and charcoal out of the box, hits 950°F (500°C) for a 60-second Neapolitan bake, and reaches a workable 850°F in about 15 minutes, per Ooni. It weighs just under 34 lb, so it still travels. The catch worth knowing before you buy: the gas burner is a separate accessory, so “multi-fuel” is not what $449 gets you. Want 16-inch pizzas? That is the Karu 2 Pro at roughly $849 and 63 lb — a different class of oven.
Ooni’s 2026 lineup is easier to read than it used to be. The confusing Karu 12 / 12G / 16 naming has been replaced by Karu 2 and Karu 2 Pro, and the second generation is more than a sticker change. What has not changed is the reason to buy a Karu at all: it is the Ooni that burns real wood.
Ooni Karu 2 by the numbers
- 950°F (500°C): the Karu 2’s rated ceiling, per Ooni — a 60-second Neapolitan bake, and above the ~905°F (485°C) deck temperature the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana specifies for certified Neapolitan pizza. A typical home oven stops near 550°F, per the U.S. Department of Energy.
- 15 minutes to 850°F (450°C): Ooni’s stated preheat to a workable baking temperature. This is the number that actually shapes a weeknight, not the 950°F headline.
- Just under 34 lb: the Karu 2’s weight, per Ooni. The Karu 2 Pro is about 63 lb — nearly double, and past the point most people carry an oven anywhere.
- 45% larger solid-fuel tray and a gas burner Ooni says runs 36% more efficiently than the previous generation: the two substantive second-generation upgrades.
- 15mm cordierite stone: the baking floor, thick enough to recover between back-to-back pies at 12-inch sizes.
Ooni Karu 2
- Burns wood and charcoal out of the box; gas burner sold separately.
- 950°F peak for 60-second pizza; 850°F in about 15 minutes, per Ooni.
- ClearView borosilicate glass door — read the flame without opening the oven.
- Just under 34 lb, so it genuinely travels.
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Ooni Karu 2 at a glance
| Spec | Ooni Karu 2 |
|---|---|
| Max temperature | 950°F (500°C) |
| Preheat | ~15 min to 850°F (450°C) |
| Fuel | Wood + charcoal included; gas via separate burner |
| Max pizza size | 12 inches |
| Baking stone | 15mm cordierite |
| Weight | Just under 34 lb |
| Door | ClearView borosilicate glass, hinged |
| Cook time (pizza) | ~60 seconds at full heat |
| Price | ~$449 list (seen at ~$349 on sale) |
| Rating | ★★★★½ |
What the second generation actually changed
The Karu 2 is the Karu 12G renamed, and that framing undersells it slightly. Two changes are real.
The solid-fuel tray is 45% larger, which matters more than it sounds. The failure mode of a small wood-fired oven is a fire that burns hot for four minutes and then sags — you get one great pizza and three mediocre ones. A bigger tray holds more fuel toward the back of the chamber and gives a steadier flame across a session. The second change is the gas burner running 36% more efficiently than on the previous Karu, per Ooni, which slows how fast a 20 lb propane tank disappears.
What did not change is peak temperature. The Karu 2, the Karu 2 Pro, the Ooni Koda 16, and even a Gozney Dome at four times the price all top out around 950°F. Peak heat is not a differentiator anywhere in this category — fuel, pizza size, and how much fire management you want are.
The glass door is the reason to pick this over the Karu 12
The cheaper first-generation Karu 12 has an open mouth and no door. That sounds like a minor difference until you cook on both. With wood, you are constantly deciding whether the fire needs feeding and whether the crust is ready to turn — and on an open oven, the only way to check is to look in and let heat out.
The Karu 2’s hinged ClearView borosilicate door lets you watch the flame lick the ceiling and the cornicione color up without opening anything. Ooni’s ClearView treatment is specifically meant to limit the sooty film that otherwise blinds a glass door two bakes into a wood fire, which was the obvious objection to putting glass on a wood oven in the first place. If you are choosing between the Karu 12 and the Karu 2, the door is the upgrade you will feel every single cook.
The price you should actually budget
The Karu 2 lists at $449, and it has been seen as low as ~$349 during major sale events. Both of those are the solid-fuel price. The gas burner is a separate accessory that fits to the back of the oven, and it is what turns a wood oven into the multi-fuel oven the marketing describes.
This is the honest fork in the decision:
- You want smoke and live fire. Buy the Karu 2 alone. Add kiln-dried hardwood and skip the burner entirely.
- You want gas most nights, wood occasionally. Price the Karu 2 plus burner against a gas-only Ooni Koda 16 at ~$599, which gives you 16-inch pizzas and zero fire management for similar money.
- You will only ever use gas. Do not buy a Karu. See our best gas pizza oven picks instead.
Karu 2 vs the alternatives
| Oven | Price | Fuel | Max pizza | Weight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ooni Karu 2 | ~$449 | Wood / charcoal (gas optional) | 12" | ~34 lb | Multi-fuel for most people |
| Ooni Karu 2 Pro | ~$849 | Wood / charcoal (gas optional) | 16" | ~63 lb | Crowds, cooking beyond pizza |
| Ooni Karu 12 | ~$349 | Wood / charcoal (gas optional) | 12" | ~27 lb | Cheapest way into wood fire |
| Ooni Koda 16 | ~$599 | Gas | 16" | ~40 lb | Big pizzas, no fire management |
| Gozney Roccbox | ~$499 | Gas (+ wood kit) | 12" | ~44 lb | Premium portable build |
| Gozney Dome | ~$1,999 | Wood + gas | 16" | ~128 lb | Outdoor-kitchen centerpiece |
The row worth staring at is the Karu 2 Pro. It nearly doubles the price and nearly doubles the weight, and in exchange you get a 17-inch cooking floor, a 5.7-inch ceiling — the tallest of any Ooni oven — and a Bluetooth Ooni Connect temperature hub that reads air temperature for you. Those are genuine capability upgrades, not trim. But 63 lb is a stay-put oven, and if 12-inch pizzas feed your household, the standard Karu 2 does the same thing for $400 less. Our Ooni Karu 12 vs 16 breakdown covers the size question in more depth, and Ooni Koda vs Karu settles the gas-versus-wood side.
What you will want alongside it
A 12-inch oven with a 60-second bake is unforgiving about two things: launching and reading temperature. A pizza peel sized for a 12-inch pie is non-negotiable, and an infrared thermometer is how you confirm the stone is saturated instead of guessing — the glass door tells you about the flame, not the floor.
Infrared Thermometer
- Confirms the stone is at launch temperature, not just the air above it.
- A cold floor is the reason a pizza sticks or comes out pale underneath.
- Carries over to any oven you upgrade to later.
Who should skip the Karu 2
Skip it if you have no interest in tending a fire — a gas oven will make you happier and you will use it more. Skip it if you regularly feed more than four people, because 12-inch pizzas become a production line; step to the Karu 2 Pro or a 16-inch oven. And skip it if you are buying primarily to roast and bake beyond pizza, where the low 12-inch chamber is the wrong tool.
The bottom line
The Ooni Karu 2 is the multi-fuel oven we would put in most backyards. It gives you real wood and charcoal fire, 950°F, a 15-minute preheat to workable heat, and a glass door that makes fire management legible — all in something under 34 lb that you can still move. Just buy it with clear eyes: $449 is the wood-and-charcoal price, and adding gas is a separate decision with a separate cost. If that fork bothers you, the honest alternatives are the gas-only Ooni Koda 16 or the bigger Karu 2 Pro. For where the Karu 2 sits in Ooni’s full lineup, see our best Ooni pizza oven rankings, and for wood-fired ovens generally, our best wood-fired pizza oven guide.
Specs and prices cited from Ooni product information (July 2026); temperature benchmarks from the AVPN and the U.S. Department of Energy. Prices are list figures and are frequently discounted — check current pricing before you buy.