In a tournament, everyone starts with the same number of chips, and the blinds gradually increase. The main goal in the tournament is to win the chips of all players. And depending on the place occupied by the player, he receives (or does not receive)
real money reward. In cash games, the chips in front of you represent real money, and the blinds do not increase here. Moreover, no one can completely knock you out of the game, you can always rebuy and continue playing. So the goal in a cash game is simply to win more than you originally had. The first thing that catches your eye in a cash game is that the winnings here will be more stable and even. If you play a long enough distance, then you can approximately predict, for example, your monthly earnings. In tournaments, everything is completely different. Even the top players can sometimes go months without significant prizes. And since they are constantly forced to pay introductory buy-ins, they will slowly lose money. I prefer tournaments.