Outdoor Cooking: Ninja Woodfire vs Ninja Artisan: Which Should You Buy?

Outdoor cooking has moved far beyond the traditional charcoal or gas barbecue.

Electric outdoor cooking appliances make it possible to grill, smoke, bake, air fry and even cook restaurant-style pizza outside, without needing gas bottles or bags of charcoal.

Two interesting options from Ninja are the Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor BBQ Grill & Smoker OG701UK and the Ninja Artisan 12” 4-in-1 Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven & Air Fryer MO201UK.

But despite both being electric outdoor cookers, they're actually designed for quite different jobs.

The Ninja Woodfire is primarily an outdoor grill and smoker, making it ideal for traditional BBQ food and adding authentic smoky flavour.

The Ninja Artisan is primarily an outdoor pizza oven, reaching high temperatures for pizza while also offering additional outdoor baking, air frying and cooking functions.

So which one should you buy?

In this guide, we'll compare the Ninja Woodfire and Ninja Artisan to explain what each does best – and help you decide which one makes more sense for the way you like to cook outdoors.

Ninja Woodfire vs Ninja Artisan at a Glance

The most important thing to understand is that there isn't really a winner here.

Instead, the question is:

Do you want an electric BBQ and smoker, or an outdoor pizza oven?

Ninja Woodfire OG701UK – Best for BBQ & Smoking

The Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor BBQ Grill & Smoker OG701UK is designed for people who love traditional outdoor BBQ cooking but want the simplicity of electricity.

Plug it in and you can grill burgers, sausages, steaks, chicken, vegetables and more without needing charcoal or gas.

Where the Woodfire becomes particularly interesting is Ninja's Woodfire Technology.

Real wood pellets are used to add smoky flavour to your food, while the appliance itself remains electrically powered. The pellets are there for flavour rather than as the primary heat source.

That means you get the convenience and temperature control of electric cooking combined with the characteristic flavour associated with outdoor smoking.

Seven Cooking Functions

The Ninja Woodfire isn't limited to grilling.

Its seven cooking functions are:

• Grill
• Smoker
• Air Fry
• Roast
• Bake
• Reheat
• Dehydrate

That makes it considerably more versatile than a conventional BBQ.

You could grill burgers for dinner, smoke a joint of meat, air fry chips or roast vegetables – all using the same outdoor appliance.

Ninja Artisan MO201UK – Best for Pizza & Outdoor Oven Cooking

The Ninja Artisan 12” 4-in-1 Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven & Air Fryer MO201UK is designed around a different style of outdoor cooking.

Its speciality is pizza.

Capable of reaching temperatures of up to 370°C, the Artisan can cook 12-inch pizzas outdoors, with dedicated settings for different pizza styles.

But it's not simply a pizza oven.

Its four main cooking functions are:

• Pizza
• Bake
• Air Fry
• Prove

This makes it more like a compact outdoor oven than a traditional BBQ.

You can use it for pizza nights, baked dishes, breads, side dishes and air-fried food while keeping the cooking outside.

Which Is Better for Air Frying?

Interestingly, both can air fry.

The Woodfire allows you to air fry outdoors using its crisper basket, making it easy to prepare chips, wedges and other sides alongside your BBQ food.

The Artisan also features an Air Fry function and can be used with its included air fry basket.

So if outdoor air frying is important to you, you don't necessarily have to choose one over the other on that basis alone.

Instead, look at what you'll be cooking alongside those air-fried foods.

BBQ + air-fried sides → Ninja Woodfire

Pizza/baked food + air-fried sides → Ninja Artisan

Which Is Better for Entertaining?

This is a much closer contest.

The Ninja Woodfire is probably the better choice for a traditional summer BBQ.

You can grill batches of burgers, sausages and chicken while also experimenting with smoked food and side dishes.

But the Ninja Artisan offers a completely different kind of entertaining.

An outdoor pizza night where everyone chooses their own toppings and pizzas are cooked one after another can be great for families and groups of friends.

So we'd call this one a draw.

Choose Woodfire for a BBQ.

Choose Artisan for a pizza night.

Which Is More Versatile?

On paper, the Ninja Woodfire has more cooking functions – seven compared with four on the Artisan.

And for general outdoor cooking, we'd probably give the Woodfire the advantage.

It can grill, smoke, air fry, roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate.

But the Artisan does something the Woodfire isn't specifically designed to do: operate as a high-temperature outdoor pizza oven.

So while the Woodfire offers broader general versatility, the Artisan provides more specialised high-temperature oven cooking.

Most versatile overall: Ninja Woodfire

Most specialised: Ninja Artisan

Which Is Better if You Already Own a BBQ?

This is where the Ninja Artisan becomes particularly appealing.

If you already own a good gas or charcoal BBQ and enjoy using it, buying another appliance primarily for grilling may create unnecessary overlap.

The Artisan adds something genuinely different to your outdoor cooking setup: a dedicated high-temperature pizza oven that can also bake, prove and air fry.

You could use your existing BBQ for steaks, burgers and sausages while the Ninja Artisan handles pizza, breads and sides.

Winner: Ninja Artisan

Which Is Better if You Don't Own a BBQ?

We'd lean towards the Ninja Woodfire.

It gives you many of the foods and cooking techniques associated with traditional BBQ cooking without requiring gas or charcoal.

You also gain smoking, roasting, baking and air frying in the same appliance.

For someone starting an outdoor cooking setup from scratch, the Woodfire is arguably the more versatile first purchase.

Winner: Ninja Woodfire

Which Is Easier to Use?

Both have a major advantage over traditional outdoor cooking appliances: they're electric.

There's no charcoal to light and no gas bottle to replace.

Plug the appliance into a suitable outdoor electrical supply, select your cooking function and set the required temperature and time.

The Artisan also provides dedicated pizza programmes, helping take some of the guesswork out of achieving the right temperature and cooking time for different pizza styles.

For someone who likes the idea of outdoor cooking but doesn't particularly enjoy managing charcoal or gas, either Ninja offers a very convenient alternative.

Can You Use Them Indoors?

No.

Despite being electric, both appliances are designed for outdoor use only.

They should be used outdoors in accordance with Ninja's operating and safety instructions.

The fact that they're electrically powered shouldn't be confused with them being indoor countertop appliances.

Do You Need Gas or Charcoal?

No.

Both the Ninja Woodfire and Ninja Artisan are electric outdoor appliances.

The Woodfire does use real wood pellets when you want to add smoky flavour, but these aren't its primary heat source.

The electricity generates the cooking heat, while the pellets create smoke and flavour.

The Ninja Artisan doesn't require pellets.

Could You Own Both?

Actually, yes.

Normally when comparing two appliances, buying both would create a lot of unnecessary duplication.

That's less true here.

The Woodfire could become your outdoor BBQ and smoker, while the Artisan becomes your outdoor pizza oven.

They overlap slightly through functions such as air frying and baking, but their core purposes remain quite different.

For someone who cooks outdoors regularly and has the space, owning both could create a very capable outdoor cooking setup.

For everyone else, we'd choose based on the food you make most often.

Final Verdict

So, which is better: the Ninja Woodfire or Ninja Artisan?

There isn't really a universal winner because they aren't designed to do the same job.

The Ninja Woodfire OG701UK is the better choice for BBQ lovers. Its combination of electric grilling, smoking and Woodfire Technology gives you a convenient alternative to a traditional BBQ while still allowing you to add genuine wood-smoke flavour.

The Ninja Artisan MO201UK is the better choice for pizza lovers. Its high-temperature outdoor oven, 12-inch pizza capacity and dedicated pizza settings make it the more specialised choice for homemade pizza and outdoor baking.

If you're buying your first outdoor cooking appliance and want maximum versatility, we'd lean towards the Ninja Woodfire.

If you already own a BBQ or pizza is the main attraction, we'd choose the Ninja Artisan.

And if you're serious about outdoor cooking, the two can actually complement each other rather well: Woodfire for the BBQ, Artisan for the pizza.

At Foy's Electrical, you can explore both Ninja outdoor cooking options and choose the appliance that best suits the way you like to cook and entertain outdoors.