they are the same thing TM lol, but if you go by one called a kennel and one called a crate, then a kennel is WAY more portable then a crate! when we travel(the whole sport club I mean) we use plastic kennles ONLY, wire kennles are big bulky and akword, they dont stack and they are not very sturdy, they fold right down and traven that way but that is rather usless if you travel with the dogs kennled!