What is the difference between kanban and scrum for small teams?

Kanban is a continuous flow system — work items move through stages (To Do → In Progress → Done) without fixed sprints or roles. Scrum uses 2-week sprints with defined ceremonies (standup, retrospective, planning) and roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner). For small non-engineering teams, kanban's simplicity usually wins. For software teams, scrum provides the structure needed to ship predictably. Many small teams start with kanban and adopt scrum elements as they scale.