The Inverter-based welding machines offer many advantages over conventional transformer-based devices:

Weight and size

This is the most significant and impressive advantage an inverter welder has over conventional machines. For example, an inverter weighing around 10 kg, small like a suitcase.

Efficiency: 

Quality inverter welders will have an efficiency rating of about 80-90% while conventional ones have a significantly lower efficiency of about 50%, thanks to lower resistance, resulting in loss of less power (or energy) through heat dissipation.

Performance

The performance of quality inverter-based welders is substantially superior to that of conventional welders. This is mainly due to the ability of inverter machines to have higher open circuit voltages and integrated features.

Functions

The electronics of inverter machines lend themselves much more easily to the ability to incorporate additional functions (such as TIG mode) and to make existing functions more controllable.