Nespresso Vertuo Pop vs. Vertuo Pop+: Which Should You Buy?

The Plus Sign Hides More Than It Advertises

A lot of people assume the Vertuo Pop+ is just the Pop in a different color, priced a little higher for no real reason. That's not quite right. The two machines share the same brewing core and the same capsule system, but Nespresso changed two specific things between them — how you open the lid and whether the machine talks to your phone — and depending on your habits, either one can matter more than the price gap suggests.

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The Core Difference in One Paragraph

The Vertuo Pop is Nespresso's smallest, simplest Vertuo machine: a manual, two-handed lid you lift and lock by hand, a smaller water tank, and no app connectivity at all. The Vertuo Pop+ keeps the same compact body and the same barcode-guided brewing technology, but adds an automatic lid that opens and closes with a single tap, a larger water reservoir so you refill less often, and Bluetooth pairing to the Nespresso app for recipe control from your phone.

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Quick Picks

• Best if you want the lowest possible price on a Vertuo machine: Vertuo Pop
• Best if you want one-tap brewing and don't want to touch the lid: Vertuo Pop+
• Best for gifting or a first Nespresso machine on a budget: Vertuo Pop
• Best if you like controlling brew settings from your phone: Vertuo Pop+

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Vertuo Pop — Best for Budget and Simplicity

The Pop is Nespresso's entry point into the Vertuo lineup, and it's built to keep the price down without cutting the part that actually matters: the coffee itself.

What we like:

• The lowest price of any current Vertuo machine, often the cheapest way into Nespresso's Vertuo pod system
• Same barcode-reading technology as every other Vertuo machine — cup quality and capsule compatibility aren't compromised to hit the price
• Wide color range at launch, popular as a gift pick for exactly that reason
• Fewer moving parts (no motorized lid, no Bluetooth radio) means fewer things that can fail down the line

Where it falls short:

• The manual lid genuinely is a two-handed operation — lift, insert capsule, lock down — which some people find fiddly compared to a one-tap machine
• Smaller water tank than the Pop+, so more frequent refills if you're brewing several cups a day
• No app connectivity at all, even as an option

Price range: $79-109 depending on sales and bundle offers

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Vertuo Pop+ — Best for Convenience

The Pop+ is aimed squarely at people who liked the Pop's size and price but wanted the machine to feel less like a manual gadget and more like an appliance that does the work for you.

What we like:

• Automatic lid opens and closes with a single tap — insert the capsule, tap, done
• Larger water reservoir than the base Pop, meaningfully reducing refill frequency
• Bluetooth pairing to the Nespresso app lets you name capsule recipes and track brew history from your phone
• Same compact footprint as the Pop despite the added hardware

Where it falls short:

• Costs more than the base Pop for what amounts to convenience features rather than a coffee-quality upgrade
• The motorized lid and Bluetooth radio are both new failure points the simpler Pop doesn't have — see the Pop+ app not connecting guide if pairing gives you trouble
• Brewing temperature runs slightly cooler than some other Vertuo models, which can pull back on extraction sweetness in a way a few reviewers noted

Price range: $99-149 depending on sales and bundles

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Reliability: What Actually Breaks

Both machines share the same core brewing mechanism, so capsule-related issues (barcode not reading, weak extraction) show up on both at similar rates. Where they diverge:

• Vertuo Pop issues are almost entirely capsule-related — barcode reader smudges, or the manual lid not seating fully closed before a brew starts
• Vertuo Pop+ adds two categories the Pop doesn't have: the automatic lid mechanism occasionally needs a reset if it stops opening cleanly, and the Bluetooth app connection can drop or fail to pair, particularly after a phone OS update

Neither pattern is common enough to call one machine "less reliable" outright — the Pop+ simply carries a couple of extra failure modes tied directly to the features that make it more convenient.

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Does the Larger Tank Actually Change Daily Use?

Yes, more than the automatic lid does for most households. If you're the only one drinking Nespresso and you're refilling a small tank after every second or third cup, that adds up over a week. The Pop+'s larger reservoir is the upgrade that shows up daily; the automatic lid is a nice touch you notice for the first week and then stop thinking about. If your household drinks more than 2-3 cups a day, the tank size alone is worth the price difference.

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Can You Go Wrong Either Way?

Both machines pull from the same Vertuo capsule range and produce essentially identical coffee — this isn't a quality decision, it's a convenience-versus-price one. Buying the Pop expecting app control will disappoint you immediately; buying the Pop+ purely to save money defeats the point, since the base Pop exists for exactly that buyer. Match the machine to whether you actually want the phone app and the auto-lid, not to which one "sounds" newer.

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FAQ

Is the coffee quality different between the Pop and Pop+?

No — both use the same barcode-guided Vertuo brewing technology and pull from the same capsule lineup, so cup quality is essentially identical between them.

Do I need the Nespresso app to use the Pop+?

No, the app is optional. The Pop+ brews fine with just the physical buttons; the app adds recipe naming and brew history tracking on top, not a requirement to make coffee.

Which one has the smaller footprint?

They're nearly identical in footprint — the Pop+'s larger tank adds a small amount of depth, but both remain among the most compact machines in Nespresso's lineup.

Is the Vertuo Pop+ the same thing as the VertuoPlus?

No, and this trips people up constantly. The Vertuo Pop+ is the upgraded version of the compact Pop covered in this guide. The VertuoPlus is a separate, larger, older model with its own bigger reservoir and different body style — different machine entirely, not related by name coincidence alone.

Can I upgrade a base Pop to Pop+ features later?

No — the automatic lid and Bluetooth hardware are built into the Pop+ at the factory. There's no add-on kit to retrofit a base Pop.

Which one is better for a small apartment kitchen?

Either works well given their near-identical footprint, but the Pop+'s larger tank means less frequent trips to the sink for a refill — a bigger deal in small kitchens where the machine might be a step or two from the nearest faucet.