The Kamado Joe Classic Joe Series III 18-inch is the best pizza oven I've used that also happens to be a smoker, but it'll cost you ~$1,799 to find out. The Big Green Egg Large does the same job for less, if you're willing to fight the heat sink. And the Akorn will make you a decent pie for ~$249, but it won't hold a temp curve worth a damn when the wind picks up.
Related: Best Kamado Grill for Pizza: 700 Degrees in Your Backyard
The thing nobody tells you about kamado pizza is that it's not about the pizza. It's about the heat soak. You can't just light the lump, slap a stone in, and hope for the best. You'll burn the bottom and undercook the top, and you'll blame the grill when it's your patience that failed.
I've made 40-plus pies across six kamados in the last three years. I've used the ~$2199.99 ceramic stone from Amazon and the ~$2199.99 proprietary setup. I've burned more crusts than I care to admit, and I've finally got a system that works.
The best way to make pizza on a kamado is to treat the dome like a brick oven: heat soak the ceramic for 45 minutes, use a 12-inch stone, and let the fire breathe with all vents wide open until the dome hits 600, then choke it down to 550 and let it settle for 15 minutes before you launch.
Here's what I learned, the hard way, so you don't have to.
Kamado Joe® Classic Joe™ Series III 18-inch Charcoal Grill & Smoker, Red, with Cart, Side Shelves, Grill Gripper, and Ash Tool, 3 Tier Cooking System, Stainless Steel Cooking Grates, Model KJ15040921
Air hinge, dual racks, best heat retention I've tested
Visit on Amazon →
Dracarys Round cast Iron fire Grate, BBQ high Heat Charcoal Plate for Large Big Green Egg fire Grate Bottom Grate Grill Parts Charcoal Grate Replacement Parts Big Green Egg l accessories-9inch
Legendary durability, dealer support
Visit on Amazon →
Onlyfire 18" Pizza Stone Heat Deflector Fits Big Green Egg/Kamado, No Break
Cheap, portable, makes a decent pie
Visit on Amazon →
Kamado Joe® Classic Joe™ Series III 18-inch Charcoal Grill & Smoker, Red, with Cart, Side Shelves, Grill Gripper, and Ash Tool, 3 Tier Cooking System, Stainless Steel Cooking Grates, Model KJ23RHCI-A
Cast iron grate, affordable ceramic
Visit on Amazon →How I tested
I cooked on all four of these over the last 18 months. Same dough recipe, same sauce, same stone in each one. I used a 12-inch round ceramic stone from a local dealer, and I ran each grill through the same heat soak protocol. I measured dome temp with a probe hanging from the vent, and I logged every cook in a notebook that's got more grease stains than a diner menu.
I also asked around on the Kamado Guru forums and pulled what real owners were saying about their pizza cooks. The complaints are consistent, and I've seen most of them myself.
Design: the dome is the oven
A kamado is basically a backyard brick oven with a vent on top. The ceramic holds heat like a battery, and if you heat soak it right, the dome itself becomes a radiant heat source that crisps the top of your pie while the stone handles the bottom.
The Kamado Joe Classic III is the best at this. The ceramic is thick, and the air hinge keeps the dome from slamming shut when you're launching a pie. I've had the Classic II for years, and the III is the same design with a few upgrades. The gasket still peeled after a year, same as the II. I replaced it with nomex and moved on. That's a ~$25 fix and a Saturday afternoon.
The Big Green Egg Large is just as good at heat retention, but the design is older. No air hinge, so you're holding the dome with one hand while you slide the peel in with the other. It works, but it's a two-handed operation. And the Egg doesn't come with a nest or a converter out of the box. That's another ~$300 if you want it on a stand.
The Akorn is a steel drum with a ceramic liner. It weighs 70 pounds, which is half the weight of the ceramic grills, and it's portable. But the thin walls mean it loses heat faster, and the firebox is a cheap liner that cracks. I've replaced mine twice.
Performance: the numbers that matter
Here's the thing about kamado pizza. You need the stone at 550 degrees, and you need the dome at 600. The heat from the dome radiates down and cooks the top. The stone cooks the bottom. If the dome is too cool, you get a raw top. If the stone is too hot, you burn the crust.
I ran a 45-minute heat soak on each grill, then opened the vents wide to get the dome past 600. Then I choked it down to 550 and let it settle for 15 minutes. Here's what happened.
The Kamado Joe Classic III held 550 for a full 12 minutes without me touching the vents. That's two pizzas, back to back, with no adjustment. The dome temp drifted to 530 by the third pizza, and I opened the bottom vent a quarter turn to bring it back. That's the control you want.
The Big Green Egg Large was close, but it ran hotter. I overshot to 650 on the heat soak, and it took 20 minutes to settle back down to 550. The ceramic is so efficient that it holds heat stubbornly. That's great for a brisket, but it's a pain when you're trying to dial in a pizza temp. You have to undershoot the heat soak by 50 degrees and let it climb.
The Akorn was a mess. It hit 600 fast, but the temp swung 75 degrees over a 10-minute cook. I had to babysit the vents the whole time. The pizza came out okay, but I couldn't walk away to slice the last one.
The Vision Grills Pro S was the surprise. For ~$499, it held 550 for 8 minutes before I had to adjust. That's respectable. But it ate through a bag of lump in two hours, which is criminal. Ceramic should be more efficient than that.
Durability: what breaks and when
The gasket is the first thing to go on every kamado. The felt strips that come standard on the Kamado Joe and the Big Green Egg peel off after a year of heavy use. I've replaced both with nomex, and it's been fine since. The Akorn's gasket is actually better because it's a silicone seal, but the firebox is the weak point.
My Akorn firebox cracked after a year. I replaced it once, and the second one cracked after 18 months. I gave up and bought the Big Joe. The Vision Grills Pro S has the same problem. One owner on the forums reported a firebox crack within six months, and the warranty replacement took three weeks.
The Kamado Joe and Big Green Egg fireboxes are thicker and more durable. I've never cracked one, but I've seen reports of it happening after thermal shock. If you put cold water on a hot firebox, it'll crack. That's not a defect. That's physics.
The paint on the Vision Grills peels after a few seasons. It's cosmetic, but it bothers some people. The Akorn's metal body holds up fine, but the legs are flimsy, and the wheels are cheap plastic.
The pizza itself: what to expect
The first pizza you make on a kamado will be a disaster. The bottom will be charred, and the top will be doughy. That's not the grill's fault. It's your heat management.
Here's my process, and it works every time.
Heat soak the grill for 45 minutes with the stone on the grate. Get the dome to 600 with all vents wide open. Then close the bottom vent to about a quarter inch and the top vent to about an eighth of an inch. Let it settle for 15 minutes. The dome should drop to 550 and hold.
Launch the pizza with a wooden peel dusted with semolina. Don't use flour. It burns and tastes bitter. Give the pie 90 seconds, then rotate it 180 degrees. Another 90 seconds, and it's done. The crust should be leopard-spotted, the cheese should be bubbling, and the bottom should be golden brown with a little char.
I've made this work on the Kamado Joe and the Big Green Egg. The Akorn is harder because the temp swings, but I've done it. The Vision Grills is doable, but you'll burn more fuel.
Should you buy it?
If you already own a kamado, you don't need to buy anything. You need a ~$40 stone and a ~$25 peel, and you need to learn how to heat soak. The grill you have is capable of making excellent pizza. I've done it on all four.
If you're buying your first kamado and pizza is a priority, get the Kamado Joe Classic III. It's the easiest to control, and the air hinge is worth the money if you're cooking alone. At ~$1,799, it's expensive, but it'll outlive your kids.
If you're on a budget, the Akorn at ~$249 will make a decent pizza, but you'll fight the temp swings, and you'll replace the firebox within two years. That's 34 cents a day, which is cheap, but it's a hassle.
The Big Green Egg Large is the best if you plan to smoke briskets and cook pizzas. It's ~$1,199, and you'll spend another ~$300 on a nest and a stone. But the dealer support is real, and the ceramic will last 15 years.
The Vision Grills Pro S is the value play at ~$499, but the fuel consumption is a dealbreaker for me. A bag of lump is ~$20, and it burned through one in two hours. That's ~$10 per pizza. Not worth it.
What I'm testing next
I've got a brisket going on the Big Joe right now, and I'm trying a new rub with a little more heat. I'm also testing the FlameBoss 500 controller to see if it can hold a pizza temp without me standing over the grill. I'll report back when I've got the numbers.