Pizza Styles, Ranked

The original from Naples, whose craft — the 'Art of the Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo' — was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017. Baked in roughly 60-90 seconds in an ~900°F wood-fired oven, it earns a soft, blistered, leopard-spotted cornicione. Its EU-protected STG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) recipe of San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil is the benchmark all others chase.

Large, thin, foldable slices with a crisp-yet-chewy crust from high-gluten flour, popularly (if unprovably) credited to NYC's tap water. It's among the most replicated pizzas on Earth for good reason.

The Neapolitan classic said to have been created in 1889 by pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito to honor Queen Margherita, its tomato-mozzarella-basil echoing the red-white-green of the Italian flag. The story is likely embellished, but it remains the purest expression of pizza there is.

Coal-fired, oblong, and charred to a smoky crisp, with the legendary white clam pie from Frank Pepe's (est. 1925) as its crown jewel. Connecticut's cult classic is worshipped by pizza obsessives.

A thick, square, focaccia-like pie descended from Sicily's sfincione, with a spongy interior and a fried-crisp bottom from the oiled pan. The airy crumb-to-sauce ratio is nearly unbeatable.

Originated at Buddy's in 1946 and baked in blue steel pans repurposed from the auto industry, it delivers caramelized, lacy cheese edges (frico) and racing stripes of sauce laid on top. The crispy-buttery bottom has made it a national obsession.

A thin, home-style Long Island sheet-pan pizza pressed into oiled steel, with a shorter proof than Sicilian and garlicky crushed tomatoes. Underrated, crisp, and endlessly craveable.

Rectangular, super-high-hydration Roman pizza sold by weight, with an open, airy crumb and shatteringly crisp base. Rome's Gabriele Bonci elevated it into an art form of long fermentation.

A buttery, tall-walled pie built inverted with cheese below and chunky tomato on top, requiring a fork and a long bake. Genuinely delicious, but many purists argue it's closer to a casserole.

New England's Greek-American diner staple, baked in a shallow oiled pan for a chewy, spongy, olive-oil-fried crust and a tangy, oregano-heavy sauce. A regional workhorse that quietly delivers.

The gourmet innovation popularized by Ed LaDou and Wolfgang Puck at Spago, piling non-traditional toppings like BBQ chicken, goat cheese, or smoked salmon on a thin base. Creative and fresh, if occasionally chaotic.

Turin's small, thick pan pizza (also called al tegamino) with a soft interior and crisp fried edges, essentially a personal-sized Italian deep pan. A cozy northern-Italian gem.

A cracker-thin, yeastless crust topped with the polarizing processed Provel cheese and cut into party squares. Divisive even in Missouri, but a genuine regional identity.

A folded, sealed half-moon of pizza dough stuffed with ricotta and fillings, then baked. Satisfying, but it trades the crisp-crust-to-topping ratio that makes flat pizza great.

Deep dish's even heftier sibling, sealed with a second layer of dough over the cheese and topped with sauce. Impressive engineering, but the dough-to-flavor payoff drops off fast.

Invented by Sam Panopoulos in Chatham, Ontario, Canada in 1962, its ham and canned pineapple remain the most argued-about pizza on the planet. The sweet-savory combo has passionate defenders but violates Neapolitan orthodoxy.

A split bagel smeared with jarred sauce and shredded cheese, broiled or microwaved. A nostalgic snack, but calling this frozen-aisle convenience food a pizza style is a stretch.

A viral novelty stacking multiple pizza layers into a towering cake, prioritizing shock value over edibility. All gimmick, soggy middle, no soul.