Ground coffee is roasted and ground coffee beans. The coffee has not yet been extracted, and you need to get the coffee out of the beans and into your cup by brewing it. Instant coffee, on the other hand, only requires hot water as the granules have already gone through the extraction process during manufacture.
On the whole, ground coffee is considered better than instant coffee. Generally, even non-coffee lovers will taste the flavour difference between ground and instant coffee. As director of Coffee Community, Paul Meikle-Janney, famously stated - ‘it’s like orange juice and orange squash - they are both called orange but one is undeniably better.’
However, instant coffee does have its perks. It’s quick and requires little equipment, making it perfect to pack on the go.