The 9 Best Pizza Stones and Steels of 2023

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three pizza stones on blue and green background — Photo: Allrecipes Illustration

The difference between a doughy pizza with a soggy bottom and a crisp, pizzeria-quality pie comes down to one thing: heat. And because most home ovens max out around 550 degrees F, the only way to achieve the rapid, high heat that's unique to commercial or wood-fired ovens is with a pizza stone or steel.

These slabs can be ceramic, cast iron, or even steel—but more on that later. What's important to know now is that pizza stones and steels can transform homemade pizzas into ones that resemble your favorite pizza place's. They can even be used to upgrade frozen pizzas, bake bread, or sear meats and veggies.

To help you find the best one for your kitchen, we asked our veteran tester, Sarah Zorn to put the top options on the market to the test. She considered each pizza stone's functionality, versatility, ease of use, durability, and value.

With these features in mind, she found that the FibraMent Pizza Stone was the very best.

Read on to discover the best pizza stones, according to our testing.

Best Pizza Stones and Steels at a Glance

Best Overall Pizza Stone: FibraMent Pizza Stone
Best Budget Pizza Stone: Pizzacraft Thermabond Stone
Best Overall Pizza Steel: The Original Baking Steel
Best Budget Pizza Steel: Dough-Joe Samurai Baking Steel
Best for Beginners: Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Pizza Pan
Most Attractive: Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone

What To Consider When Buying a Pizza Stone or Steel

Pizza Stones vs. Pizza Steels

Pizza stones, sometimes called baking stones, are meant to imitate the conditions of a professional pizza oven. Most are made from a material known as cordierite ceramic, which works well for baking because it's relatively tolerant to rapid changes in temperature.

You may also find pizza stones made from cast iron, which is favored for its excellent heat retention. In both cases, pizza stones work by transferring the heat from your oven directly to your dough to ensure even cooking and a crisp crust. Because pizza stones transfer heat more moderately than pizza steels, they can also be used to bake delicate goods like breads and pastries without torching the bottoms. All this being said, pizza stones are not indestructible — cracking or chipping is a real possibility.

Pizza steels, or baking steels, are made entirely from steel, which is going to provide much more rapid and intense conduction than ceramic and/or cast iron. Plus, they're nearly indestructible (although they can be heavy and unwieldy to use). Pizza steels are going to deliver the fastest cook times, but also the highest price tags.

Size and Shape

The majority of pizza stones and steels on this list are rectangular — those tend to be preferred as they maximize space and give you opportunity to use your stone or steel for more than just pizza. But if you're short on oven space, you may choose to go with a smaller, circular stone or steel.

Versatility

While the oven is where you'll most likely use your pizza stone or steel, some are also compatible with the grill and/or stovetop, acting as somewhat of a griddle. Consider whether or not you want these capabilities in your pizza stone or steel, and whether or not you'd like to use yours for more than just pizza before purchasing.

The Best Pizza Stones and Steels of 2022

Best Overall Pizza Stone: FibraMent(R) Pizza Stone

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We love this FibraMent(R) stone because it's versatile, durable, and well worth the cost. These impenetrable stones are fully customizable and can be cut to order, depending on the size of your oven, as well as selected for preferred shape (rectangular or round).

Crafted from patented composite materials, the stones are designed to provide ideal heat transfer and an even bake; as evidenced by the perfectly browned and puffed pizzas it produced in record time. They're also built to withstand even the highest temperatures without cracking or breaking, and are safe to use in gas, electric, or convection ovens as well as wood-burning, charcoal, or electric grills (as long as they're propped on an optional metal flame diverter pan).

The stones stay hot enough to cook multiple pizzas back to back—ideal for a party—yet don't get as seriously incendiary as a steel. This makes the FibraMent(R) a versatile choice for creating more delicate items such as cookies or goodies that benefit from a slow and steady bake, like bread.

The only thing that may give you pause is the price—but keep in mind that the FibraMent comes with a 10-year warranty.

Buy it: FibraMent(R) Pizza Stone, $135; Amazon

Best Budget Pizza Stone: Pizzacraft Thermabond Stone

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Although this stone lacks the customizability of the FibraMent, and didn't quite measure up when it came to performance (our pizzas took a touch longer), there are definite upsides — including the heat transfer pattern embedded on the bottom of the stone, which allows air to effectively circulate.

It also slightly elevates the stone, which definitely helps when trying to maneuver it in and out of the oven. And, it's significantly less expensive than a FibraMent, which is a compelling reason to make this your stone of choice.

Buy it: Pizzacraft Thermabond Stone, $32; Amazon

Best Overall Pizza Steel: The Original Baking Steel

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Steel is a superior material when it comes to conducting heat — which is why these sizzling slabs are a reliable favorite of at-home pizzaiolos, looking to recreate the white hot conditions of professional pizza ovens at home.

And there's a reason this OG steel is consistently ranked best in class. When pre-heated to 500 degrees F, it equals the surface temperature of a wood-fired oven registering 900 degrees F. That means it's equally capable of producing black blistered, airy cornicioned, Neapolitan-style pies in minutes — and hey, you can even sear off a steak while you're at it.

Essentially indestructible (just try not to drop it on your foot), the USA-made steel can live in your oven without becoming remotely damaged by fluctuations in cold and heat. But it can also sit directly on barbecues and grills (including open flames), and even on your stovetop, performing double duty as a griddle. You know, one that transfers heat like a beast.

Buy it: The Original Baking Steel, $99; Amazon

Best Budget Pizza Steel: Dough-Joe Samurai Baking Steel

dough joe baking sheet with pizza — Amazon

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The Dough-Joe was only slightly over-performed by the Original Baking Steel. It's also a square instead of a rectangle, which means it sat a bit awkwardly in our oven, and was a tad more difficult to lift. That said, it does boast a convenient hole in the corner for hanging (just make sure you install super heavy duty hooks), and is significantly more affordable. Dare we say it's a steal?

Buy it: Dough-Joe Samurai Baking Steel, $65; Amazon

Best for Beginners: Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron Pizza Pan

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As any cast iron aficionado will tell you, the conductivity and versatility of the time-honored material is practically unparalleled. And it's easy to care for with incredible longevity — proved time and again by ancient, rusted out pans that have been lovingly brought back from the dead.

Lodge's pre-seasoned pizza pans boast all of those benefits, including the fact that they can be seamlessly shuttled from oven to grill and even stovetop. They retain heat beautifully and disperse it evenly, which will help the most novice pizza maker masquerade as a total pro.

The pans release food smoothly, which aids in cleanup, and are crafted with two handles — the convenience of which cannot be overstated when you are attempting to access incredibly hot cookware from the bottom of your oven, or from flaming barbeque grates.

Buy it: Lodge Pro-Logic Cast Iron Pizza Pan, $61; Amazon

Most Attractive: Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone

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While stones and steels may not look like much, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for one of the better performers. That's why it's nice to know that you can get away with shelling out around $50, for an especially good looking product that still turns out a delicious pie.

Crafted from high performance, scratch-proof ceramic (which means you can cut directly on them), Emile Henry's pizza stones come in jazzy burgundy as well as basic black, and can be purchased either rectangular or round, ribbed or smooth. They're safe to use on a grill (being heat-resistant up to 930 degrees F) as well as in an oven or under a broiler. Although they'd be plenty cute simply used as a serving dish!

And they're definitely one of the easier to manipulate stones we tried, being comparatively lightweight, and featuring two raised handles. Oh, and did we mention they're dishwasher safe?

Buy it: Emile Henry Flame Top Pizza Stone, $50; Amazon

Other Pizza Stones We Tested

Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Pizza Crisper Pan

Granted, the Wilton pizza pan is only $20. But we still say, don't waste your time or money, if you already have a baking sheet of any sort lying around. Pizzas cooked paaaainfully slowly on this so-called crisper. With no evidence of developing a satisfactorily browned crust any time soon, we eventually gave up and finished our pie on the FibraMent — which accomplished in one minute what the Wilton failed to do in 15. It's also not suitable for grills or open flames, so it's pretty much a one-trick pony when it comes to (sort of) making pizza.

Buy it: Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Pizza Crisper Pan, $20; Walmart

Solido Pizza Stone

The Solido sits in the "perfectly fine" territory. We liked the spiral design for distributing heat, as well as feet for ease of use and stability. As expected for a middle-of-the-road ranking, however, it exhibited a middle-of-the-road performance, producing pies a few minutes behind our winners, with decently browned bottoms, but a few unevenly cooked spots.

Buy it: Solido Pizza Stone, $50; Amazon

Honey-Can-Do Old Stone Oven Rectangular Pizza Stone

This cordierite stone has developed a faithful fan base over the years. But clearly, we believe there are significantly superior models currently on the market. Our pies took 5 to 7 minutes longer on average than they did on comparable stones, and even after that time, we found the bottoms unevenly splotchy, with a thick line of undercooked dough circling the inside crust. The fact that it traps less heat makes it a better vessel for baking pastries and cookies, but needless to say, is less than ideal for pizza.

Buy it: Honey-Can-Do Old Stone Oven Rectangular Pizza Stone, $50; Amazon

How We Tested Each Pizza Stone or Steel

Allrecipes product tester Sarah Zorn rounded up a collection of top-rated pizza stones and steels, testing each three different ways:

By baking a pizza in the oven.
By grilling a pizza (when applicable).
By preparing non-pizza items like breads, pastries, meats, and even vegetables.

Sarah paid special attention to the following metrics:

Functionality: (Does pizza/food cook quickly and evenly? How well does it conduct heat?)
Versatility: (Can it go in the oven and on the grill? Is it effective at cooking foods beyond pizza?)
Ease of Use: (Can you maneuver it, store it, and/or clean it easily? Does it fit into standard ovens? Does it come pre-seasoned/ready to use, or does it require advanced preparation? Do you need to have prior knowledge of/skill with pizza making to be successful?)
Durability: (How heat-safe is it? Will it break or crack easily? Stain? Is there a warranty?
Value: Is it worth the money you've either spent or saved?)

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