Nespresso Vertuo Plus vs Nespresso Vertuo Up

Nespresso Vertuo Plus

• ✓Incredibly simple to use
• ✓Consistent results every time
• ✓Multiple brew sizes
• ✓Fast

• ✗Locked to Nespresso capsules
• ✗Ongoing pod cost
• ✗No milk steamer
• ✗Not real espresso pressure

Nespresso Vertuo Up

• ✓Ready to brew in about 3 seconds - among the fastest startups of any capsule machine
• ✓Coffee Creations button brews a more concentrated shot designed to stand up to ice
• ✓47 oz water tank rotates to the back or either side to fit tight counters
• ✓App lets you tweak cup size and temperature per capsule, a first for entry Vertuo machines

• ✗Centrifugal spinning instead of a 19-bar pump - frothy crema, not true espresso
• ✗At $229 it costs nearly double the Vertuo Pop+ for the same core brewing
• ✗Locked into Nespresso's pricier Vertuo capsules with no third-party options
• ✗No milk frothing on board - lattes require a separate Aeroccino or frother

Nespresso Vertuo Plus

The Vertuo Plus is one of the most widely owned machines in this catalogue, and the reason is straightforward: it is inexpensive, it is simple, and it makes larger coffees than the espresso-focused Original Line does. At $180 it is priced to get you into the system, which owners are entirely clear-eyed about — the business model is a cheap machine and proprietary capsules, and the capsules are where the money is. Whether that is a problem depends on what you are comparing it with. Owners doing the arithmetic against café prices are unapologetic: at roughly a dollar a capsule against seven or eight dollars for a large drink with syrup and a tip, the machine pays for itself quickly and nobody waits in a queue. Against grinding your own beans, the calculation goes the other way entirely. Full owner insights →

Nespresso Vertuo Up

The Vertuo Up is the newest machine in Nespresso's larger-format capsule line, launched at $229, and it has landed well. Owners upgrading from the Vertuo Next — the machine with the weakest reputation in the range — describe it as feeling miles better, and the enthusiasm in early ownership posts is unusually consistent for a pod machine. A good deal of that is design: it comes in finishes people choose deliberately to match their kitchens, and more than one owner says outright that the purchase was aesthetic. Functionally the notable addition is an adjustable pour, letting you lengthen or shorten a drink by roughly an ounce. It is worth understanding what that does and does not give you: extending the pour produces a taller, more dilute drink rather than a stronger one, so it is a volume control, not a way to get a bigger dose of coffee. Full owner insights →