Before stating the difference between Food Chain and Food Web, let’s look at what those are:

A food chain, in an ecosystem, is a linear flow of energy and nutrients in the form of food from one organism to another.

A food web can be described as the interconnection of many different food chains and the relationship that exists between each organism.

1. Food chain is a linear pathway showing the flow of energy from organism to organism whereas the Food web is a multitude of networks showing the flow of energy and interconnection of food chains.

2. In a food chain an organism of higher-level trophic prey or feeds on a specific organism of lower trophic level whereas in a food web an organism present at a lower trophic level is available to the organisms at the higher trophic level.

3. Food chain has no effect on the adaptability and competitiveness of organisms while the food web has a role in improving the adaptability and competitiveness of an organism.

We can summarise it like this: A basic network that shows the linear flow of nutrients and energy from one trophic level to another can be termed as the food chain. On the flip side, A food web is a multitude of food chains that are interconnected at many trophic levels.