What Is the Technical Difference between a ‘Snapshot’ and On-Chain Voting?

Snapshot voting is an off-chain process where a proposal is voted on using a digital signature, but the vote itself does not directly execute a transaction on the blockchain. The system takes a 'snapshot' of token balances at a specific block height to determine voting power.

On-chain voting, in contrast, requires token holders to submit and pay gas for a transaction on the blockchain to cast their vote, and the outcome directly triggers the smart contract execution. Snapshot is cheaper and faster, while on-chain is more secure and directly executable.