Agile works with an iterative development process whereas Kanban focuses on a pull based system. Both Agile and Kanban are essentially about changing focus away from project phases to continuous flow of work.

How Kanban and Agile Are Similar

Both systems require the customer to be more involved in the feedback loop which helps solve problems early, reducing rework (important for startups) and shortening time-to-market (important for software products). Both Agile and Kanban aim at producing higher quality results by doing small batches of work that can be tested then released into the market. In both Agile and Kanban, teams have a cross functional resource pool that have all skills needed to complete a project as part of their team. This makes it easier for companies as they do not need to hire for specific skill sets.

How Kanban and Agile Are Different

Agile is more suited for dynamic market conditions because of its iterative activities with short feedback loops, whereas Kanban may not be as effective in volatile markets with fast changing requirements. Like Agile, Kanban also requires constant customer involvement which might be difficult if the customer is not easily accessible or has a low response rate. The primary advantage that Kanban has over Agile is that it does not require any software tools which makes the implementation simpler and easier. Also, there are no formal meetings required under Kanban unlike in Agile where ceremonies like the Sprint Review and the Daily Scrum are compulsory for teams who want to adopt the Agile methodology. This can lead to distractions under Kanban than under Agile.

A key difference between Agile and Kanban is the way they approach work-items or tasks. Work items in Agile are prioritized, estimated and tracked with each iteration (sprint) whereas Kanban focuses more on visualizing the flow of work through work item type, classification, etc. The lack of focus on estimating under Kanban can be a disadvantage as it may lead to inaccurate estimates that can impact business decisions made at the tactical level.

Regular retrospectives are also important for continuous improvement under both Agile and Kanban but whether these actually happen depend on how seriously the team takes them. If teams skip retrospectives, there will be no chance to improve processes which eventually leads to breakdown of either Agile or Kanban.