What is the difference between kinds and types of testing?

The difference between types and kinds of testing lies in their level of abstraction and purpose.

Types of testing describe the overall goal of testing, focusing on WHAT is tested or HOW it is tested. This is a higher-level classification.

Kinds of testing describe specific techniques or approaches used to achieve the goals of a type of testing. They focus on specific aspects of system behavior or verification methods.

Type of testing	Description	Examples of kinds of testing within this type
Functional	Checking the system's compliance with specified functional requirements.	Unit, Integration, System, Acceptance (Alpha/Beta), Regression.
Non-functional	Checking HOW the system operates, i.e., its characteristics (performance, reliability, usability, etc.).	Load, Stress, Stability testing, Usability testing, Security testing, Compatibility testing.
Change	Testing after making changes to the system to verify that the changes work correctly and did not break existing functionality.	Smoke, Regression, Acceptance.
Confirmation	Testing aimed at verifying defect fixes.	Re-testing.

Thus, types of testing set a broad context, and kinds of testing provide specific tools and methods to work within this context. For example, "Regression testing" (kind) is most often performed within "Functional testing" or "Change testing" (types). "Load testing" (kind) is performed within "Non-functional testing" (type).