FTP is connection oriented, where as TFTP is not. TFTP uses error checking and flow control, where as TFTP does not cause error checking.FTP uses TCP as transport protocol, where as TFTP uses UDP as transport protocol. Authentication is mandatory in FTP, where as authentication is not needed in TFTP.

FTP- File transfer Protocol - Connection oriented, Reliable using TCP. Port no. 20 ,21. user Authenticaiton is required.TFTP- Trivial FTP connectionless using UDP port no. 69. Not required user authentication.

FTP is a complete, session-oriented, general purpose file transfer protocol. TFTP is used as a bare-bones special purpose file transfer protocol.

FTP can be used interactively. TFTP allows only unidirectional transfer of files.

FTP depends on TCP, is connection oriented, and provides reliable control. TFTP depends on UDP, requires less overhead, and provides virtually no control.

FTP provides user authentication. TFTP does not.

FTP uses well-known TCP port numbers: 20 for data and 21 for connection dialog. TFTP uses UDP port number 69 for its file transfer activity.

Thanks
Gurjinder Singh Brar
http://dotnet-question-answer.blogspot.com

1)FTP depends on TCP(Port No.20 For Data & 21 for Connection Dialog), which is Connection Oriented and provides reliable control. TFTP Depends on UDP(Port No.69), which is Connection Less and virtually no control.. but requires less overhead. 2)FTP Provides User Authentication. TFTP Doesn't. 3) FTP Can be used interactively.. But, in case of TFTP , only uni-directional tranfer is possible.