Discount Musical instruments - By 2Kool4Skool

 There are fine (and poor) examples of both steel and nylon stringed instruments. 

Nylon string guitars have nylon strings for the highest 3 strings and nylon wrapped in steel for the lower 3
Nylon strings are easier on a beginners fingers than a steel string

Nylon string guitars are more mellow sounding than a steel string guitar

Nylon string guitars usually have smaller bodies than a steel string acoustic guitar.

Nylon string guitars preferred by classical and flamenco musicians and are usually preferred for students when being taught in class or with private professional lessons.

Nylon string / classical guitars invariably have wider necks (about 2") than steel string acoustic guitars. the neck profile is also larger usually, although some have a "flattened" C shape, which can be very comfortable to play despite the wide neck.

Steel string guitars are usually louder, brighter in tone and have larger bodies than nylon string guitars.  The steel strings can cut into the beginners fingers until they develop calluses after a few weeks of consistent playing. Steel string acoustic guitars are usually preferred by folk, country-western, rock, pop and Celtic musicians Steel string acoustic guitars have much more tension on the neck and body of the guitar and therefore usually have steel “truss” rods embedded in the neck, stronger bracing inside the body, and a reinforced bridge. Due to all of the extra tension and reinforcement on a steel string acoustic guitar, the tone is highly “colored”. Nylon string guitars tend to have a far more “natural” tone and earthy resonance.