We all love fried food but its usually deep-fried in pools of oil which makes it unhealthy especially for those looking to keep their calories intake down. And that’s where Instant pot vortex and vortex plus air fryers come in. Instant Pot Vortex and Pro are versatile, advanced and premium class air fryers with multiple cooking functions to cater to all your cooking needs.
In this article, we are comparing Instant Pot Vortex vs Vortex plus (4 in 1 vs 6 in 1) side by side to find out the key difference between the two. We will also share our cooking experience while we tested the two in our kitchen. Let’s get to business!
Instant Pot Vortex vs Vortex Plus Comparison Chart
Feature Instant Vortex Instant Vortex Plus
Dimensions 14.92 x 12.36 x 12.83 inches 13.23x13.23x14.37 Inches
Material Plastic Stainless Steel
Color Black Stainless-Steel/Black
Weight 12.8 lbs 18.63 lbs
Cooking Functions 4-in-1 Functionality:
Air Fryer, Bake, Roast & Reheat7-in-1 Functionality:
Air Fryer, Roast, Bake, Broil, Reheat, Dehydrator, Rotisserie
Control Panel Touchscreen / Dial Touchscreen
Cooking Capacity 6 Quart 10 Quart
Heating Element 1700W 1500W
Door Basket Style See-through glass door
Customizable smart programs Chicken Wings, Roasted Veggies, Cinnamon Buns & more... Chicken Wings, Roasted Veggies, Cinnamon Buns & more...
Temperature Range 95F-400F 95F-400F
Safety Features Auto Shut Off, Overheat Protection Auto Shut Off, Overheat Protection
Accessories Cook & Crisp Plate Rotisserie Spit and forks, Rotisserie fetch tool, Rotisserie Basket, Drip pan & 2 Cooking Pans
Dishwasher Safe Yes Yes
User Rating 4.7/5 Star 4.5/5 Star
Check Best Price Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon
Difference Between Instant Pot Vortex Vs Vortex Plus
The main difference between Instant Pot Vortex and Instant Pot Vortex Plus is the number of cooking functions it can perform. Apart from that, we noticed several differences between the two air fryers while testing in our kitchen. Let’s find out.
Appearance & Design
Aesthetic is one of the important factors to consider while buying your first air fryer. Instant pot vortex and vortex plus has sleek, modern look that you wouldn’t mind seeing on your countertop every day. Instant pot vortex has a stylish appearance with shiny black look whereas Instant pot vortex plus boasts a stainless-steel/black outlook that will perfectly fit any kitchen theme.
Made out of BPA free, food grade plastic, Instant pot vortex measures 15x12x13 inches while Instant Vortex plus is designed with durable stainless-steel material and measures at 13x13x14 inches.
There is not any difference in dimensions but the instant vortex weighs about 13 pounds while Instant Vortex plus weighs about 19 pounds, pretty heavy to move around so you’ll require a permanent spot on your countertop.
One of the key differences in design and appearance is that Instant vortex has a basket design whereas instant vortex plus has a mini oven design with glass window.
Both air fryers have intuitive and easy to follow control panels. Instant pot vortex has a touchscreen control panel with a knob placed in the middle to select the desired temperature and cooking program. On the other hand, instant vortex plus also comes with a touchscreen control panel but it doesn’t have any dials like original vortex.
Cooking Functions
The Instant manufactures some of the most versatile kitchen appliances on the market, and the Instant pot vortex and vortex plus are no exception. You can use it to cook a variety of foods, from meats and fish to vegetables and desserts.
Instant vortex (The original vortex) air fryer comes with 4 in 1 cooking functionality and can perform following functions:
- Air Fryer
- Bake
- Roast
- Reheat
On the contrary, Instant Vortex Plus combines 7 cooking appliances in one handy appliance. The functions it offers are as follow:
- Air Fryer
- Bake
- Roast
- Reheat
- Broil
- Dehydrator
- Rotisserie
Broil, dehydrate and rotisserie are 3 additional functions that you get with Instant Vortex plus. Apart from that, both air fryers have customizable cooking programs for chicken wings, roasted veggies, cinnamon buns, and more.
Cooking Capacity
The smaller air fryer models can cook around 2-3 servings while the larger models can cook around 6-8 servings of your favorite foods. Also, keep in mind that the air fryer cooking capacity is affected by the food itself. For example, if you’re air frying chicken wings, they will take up less space than if you’re air frying a whole chicken. So, it really just depends on what you’re wanting to cook as to how many people your Instant Pot can feed.
Instant pot vortex has 6 Quart capacity air frying basket capable of holding about 2 pounds of French fries and a 4-pound chicken. On the other hand, instant vortex plus has generous 10 Quart cooking capacity. It can easily accommodate an 8” pizza, 2-pound French fries, 2 toast slices, and a 4-pound chicken for rotisserie.
Cooking a range of dishes without having a messy countertop is no more dream, Instant pot vortex and vortex plus saves you from the trouble of dirtying multiple pots for cooking various dishes instead, you can use one handy cooking appliance for everything you crave.
Power
More power simply translates into quick cooking and incredible cooking results. Instant Vortex is a 1700-Watt powerful appliance while Instant Vortex Plus is a 1500-Watt air fryer oven. Instant Vortex will simply be quick to preheat with powerful cooking performance in comparison to Vortex Plus.
Cooking Results
We tested Instant Pot Vortex and Vortex Plus in our kitchen to find out which one of these two bad boys has better cooking performance.
We tried one pound of hand-cut potato chips and 2 pounds chicken wings in both instant pot vortex and vortex plus. We drizzled some oil on the hand-chopped potato fries, preheated both air fryers to 380F and cooked for 10 minutes (Flip half-way). The fries came out perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
For chicken wings, we used lemon pepper and garlic salt and a few spoons of olive oil for seasoning. Preheated the air fryer for 400F and cooked for about 8-10 minutes (flipping half-way). Chicken wings came out perfectly and evenly cooked. The crispy outer layer and for perfect inner juiciness you can cook for another one or two minutes if the need be.
Accessories
Air fryer accessories come in handy when you want to cook chicken, fish, or vegetables without having to heat up your oven. Some of my favorite air fryer accessories include a digital thermometer, cook & crisp tray and tongs.
Instant Pot Vortex comes with a cook and crisp plate, an air frying basket. On the other hand, Vortex plus comes with a rotisserie spit and fork, rotisserie fetch tool, rotisserie basket, drip pan, and 2 cooking and baking pans.
The accessories feature nonstick Teflon coating and are dishwasher safe so you don’t have to stress about messy clean ups after you are done with the dinner party.
Popularity
Instant vortex is the original model, and in terms of popularity Instant Vortex takes the lead as well. Instant Vortex is given 4.7/5 Star rating and over ten thousand reviews with 93% content and satisfied users across the world.
On the other hand, Instant Vortex Plus has got 4.5/5 Star rating with humongous twenty-six thousand reviews out of which 89% seems content with the performance of the mini oven.
The numbers are alone taken from Amazon, the original users might go higher than that considering numbers from eBay, Walmart, Macy’s and other stores.
Instant Vortex 6 Quart Air Fryer
Pros √
- 6 Quart cooking space
- Nonstick coated air frying basket and crisper plate
- Touchscreen control panel with digital timer
- Intuitive dial to navigate controls
- Sleek and stylish design
- Stay cool basket handle
Cons ×
- Noisy
- Horrible Chemical smell
- Basket is not dishwasher safe as per manual
Instant Pot Vortex Plus 10 Quart Air Fryer
Pros √
- 10 Quart cooking capacity
- #1 best seller in toaster ovens on Amazon
- Touchscreen controls
- Versatile cooking appliance
- Suitable for large families, gatherings and parties
- Android app for huge cache of recipes
- Dishwasher safe accessories
- Durable stainless-steel construction
Cons ×
- Toxic smell for first few times
- Reports of door glass shattering
- Large footprint
- Heavy
Conclusion: Instant Pot Vortex vs Vortex Plus
Instant vortex and vortex plus are two of the finest and durable air fryers – I call them air fryer plus – with multiple useful features and functions useful to fulfil all your cooking needs. Not just air frying, you can bake, roast, reheat, dehydrate and rotisserie a full chicken.
Choose Instant Vortex air fryer if you are looking for a basic air fryer with a few additional cooking functions. Perfect for folks on budget, it has 4 cooking functions and huge air frying capacity for a small family.
Choose Instant Vortex Plus if you are looking for style and versatility. You get 7 cooking functions in a stylish and well thought out cooking appliance for a very reasonable price.
As far as the cooking results of the two air fryers go, the toxic burnt plastic smell is the main issue you’d face. Apart from that, air fryers are pretty noisy due to the convection fan that circulates heated air around the food.
What would you choose and why? Let us know your thoughts on your favorite air fryer in the comment section below.
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