Java - Difference between Static and Singleton Class

1. Static class is a class which cannot be instantiated and all its members are static whereas Singleton is the class that only permit creation of single object and then the object is reused.

2. As there is no object in Static class, it cannot participate in runtime Polymorphism.

3. As Static class doesnt allow creating objects and hence it cannot be serialized.

4. Static class body is initialized eagerly at application load time whereas Singleton object can be initiated eagerly using static blocks or lazily on first need.

5. Its not recommended to use pure static class as it fails to use many OOPs concepts.