The first difference is that alligators and crocodiles are from distinct families. There are three groups of crocodilians: the alligatoridae, which includes the alligator and the caimans, the crocodylidae, which includes the “true” crocodiles, and the gavialidae, which contains only the gharial.
The easiest way of telling apart crocodiles from alligators is to look at their noses. Alligators have a wide “U” shaped, rounded