What's The Difference Between a Shapefile and a Feature Class?

•  Shapefile is an older vector format consisting of at least three separate files (.shp, .shx, .dbf). It is limited to 2GB in size and does not support subtypes, domains, or relationships.
• Feature Class is a geodatabase-native format. It supports larger data sizes, more field types, topologies, subtypes, and domains.
• Key Differences:
  • Shapefiles store geometry and attributes separately and have legacy limitations.
  • Feature classes enable better integration within ArcGIS Pro and allow advanced modeling.

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