What is the difference between a static method and an instance method?

A static method belongs to the class and is called without creating an instance of the object. An instance method belongs to an instance of the class and is called through the created object.

Main differences:

Criterion	Static method	Instance method
Belongs to	The class	An instance of the class
Call	Through the class name	Through the object instance
Access to data	Only to static members of the class	To static members and instance data of the class
Keyword	static	Absent (by default)

using System;

public class MyClass
{
    // Static field
    public static string StaticData = "This is static data";

    // Instance field
    public string InstanceData = "This is instance data";

    // Static method
    public static void StaticMethod()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Static method called.");
        Console.WriteLine(StaticData); // Access to static field
        // Console.WriteLine(InstanceData); // Error: no access to instance field
    }

    // Instance method
    public void InstanceMethod()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Instance method called.");
        Console.WriteLine(StaticData); // Access to static field
        Console.WriteLine(InstanceData); // Access to instance field
    }
}

public class Program
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Call static method through class name
        MyClass.StaticMethod();

        // Create an instance of the class
        MyClass myObject = new MyClass();

        // Call instance method through object
        myObject.InstanceMethod();
    }
}