### Deterministic Finite Automata (DFA)

1. **Single Transition**: For each state and input symbol, there is exactly one transition to a next state.

2. **Uniqueness**: At any point in time, the machine can be in exactly one state.

3. **Simplicity**: DFAs are conceptually simpler and often easier to implement.

4. **Deterministic Nature**: The path taken by the automaton is determined entirely by the input string.

5. **Equivalence Checking**: It is easier to check the equivalence of two DFAs.

### Non-Deterministic Finite Automata (NFA)

1. **Multiple Transitions**: For each state and input symbol, there can be zero, one, or multiple transitions to next states.

2. **State Possibilities**: At any point in time, the machine can be in multiple states simultaneously.

3. **Flexibility**: NFAs can be more flexible and concise in terms of representation.

4. **Non-Deterministic Nature**: The path taken by the automaton is not uniquely determined by the input string; there can be multiple valid paths.

5. **Conversion to DFA**: Every NFA can be converted to an equivalent DFA, though the DFA may have exponentially more states.

Despite their differences, DFAs and NFAs are equivalent in terms of the languages they can recognize; they both recognize regular languages.