Difference between Toaster Oven and Electric Oven

Key Difference: Toaster ovens are ovens that are small electric ovens that have a front door, removable wire rack and removable baking pan. These ovens are often larger than toasters, but smaller than conventional ovens. Electric ovens or stoves run on, well as the name suggests, electricity. It converts the electricity into heat in order to cook or bake.

Toaster ovens and electric ovens are two types of ovens that are available in the market. These ovens are different from each other and are used for different purposes. Toaster ovens are used for toasting, baking small cakes, small amount of cookies and various other products, while electric ovens are the big ovens that are found in kitchens and are used for basic cooking, baking, broiling and in general for feeding purposes. With the availability of new technology, many different types of stoves and ovens are available with the purpose of trying to make cooking easier, provide a much even heating, easier temperature control. However, when it comes to oven, cooking fanatics often decide based on a unit based on usage, type of cooking that is needed to be done, how the device cooks the food and the type of flavors that need to given to the food.

Toaster ovens are ovens that are small electric ovens that have a front door, removable wire rack and removable baking pan. These ovens are often larger than toasters, but smaller than conventional ovens. Most of these toaster ovens are known as OTG or Oven, Toaster and Griller as it has the ability to perform all three actions. It can be called as a pint-sized, portable oven. It can easily be shifted to any counter or platform and does not require any additional set-up to work. Toaster ovens work on electricity.

Toaster ovens have various different settings such as toast, bake and broil along with temperature gauge and timer to select the desired temperature and the time. The toaster oven can be used for baking goods such as small cakes, cookies, bread, etc. as well as have a broil setting for roasting meat, fish, eggs, etc. One setback for the toaster oven is that it cannot be used for anything that requires boiling, such as making rice or other food items. Once the food that is placed in the oven is done, the oven will automatically turn off. The person would have to manually open the door and take the food out.

Electric ovens or stoves run on, well as the name suggests, electricity. It converts the electricity into heat in order to cook or bake. Electric ovens are more modern compared gas ovens and were invented in the late 19th century by Canadian inventor Thomas Ahearn. The popularity of the electric stove was slow to pick up due to the high prices of electricity. By 1930s, when electricity became cheaper, electric stoves started gaining popularity.

Cost a main factor for people when considering purchases. Though, electric ovens have fewer installation charges, depending on how much a person will cook or bake, running electricity in the long run may become more expensive. The electric oven is praised for its ability to provide even heating, as it provides heat from top, bottom and sides. It is also easy to clean and less susceptible to rusting, as it runs on electricity, which produces dry heat. Major drawbacks of an electric oven are that it is costly, it takes longer to heat up initially, and managing temperature is difficult. Electric ovens are also much easier to repair as only the defective parts need replacing, but the new parts may be more costly.

Toaster ovens can actually be considered as mini electric ovens. They are small ovens that also run on electricity. However, toaster ovens can limit the things that a person can cook because of their size. Also since toaster ovens are small, they can end up burning the food if kept on a high temperature. Toaster ovens use less power compared to electric ovens, this is also because of their size. They do not require a lot of energy to turn it into heat because of the small space. Toaster ovens are best when trying to toast bread or bread products, or heating up food in a small casserole dish. However, when it comes to baking meat, cooking properly or baking cakes, it is best to use the big oven.

	Toaster Oven	Electric Ovens
Runs on	Runs on electricity	Runs on electricity
Price	It is almost in the same range as the microwave. It is a plug-and-use appliance.	It is a bit expensive, depending on the type of range bought. Initial set up cost is less.
Uses	For toasting, baking, grilling and broiling.	Baking, cooking, grilling, boiling, etc.
Heating	Heating is a bit as the electric coils take time to heat up.	Heats up slower compared to gas ovens
Cooking Time	Toaster ovens take a little while to cook, similar to conventional ovens.	Electric ovens take a while to cook.
Economical	Toasters are economical as it works on electricity. It does not consume too much electricity. However, economical ability varies depending on the usage of the device.	More expensive in the long run as it consumes electricity. However, the cost of per unit of electricity depends on usage.
Heat distribution	Toasters do not provide even heat. They do not have a fan to provide even distribution. Toasters have more heat where the coils are.	Electric ovens have a more even heat distribution due to coils being placed on to top, bottom and sides.
Temperature Management	Temperature is managed using temperature controls. The heat can be set to desired temperature, depending on what is going to be cooked.	Harder to manage temperature.
Burners	Toaster ovens have electric coils for creating heat.	Runs on coils or glass tops.
Benefits	Toaster ovens are similar to cheaper and more compact versions of conventional ovens. They are perfect for baking, broiling, roasting and toasting. It is also quite cheap compared to the big conventional oven.	Even oven temperature, easy-to-clean, cheaper installation, cheap repairs.
Limitations	Toasters can make only limited amount of food (for example, only small cakes can be made as the oven is small); takes time to heat up and cook. It also has uneven heat distribution. Toaster ovens are also unable to make foods such as rice or boiling.	Expensive in the long run, slow heating, useless during power outage.