TRC20 or BEP20
These two carry most of the USDT that moves. They cost roughly the same to use, and they settle at roughly the same speed. The choice almost never comes down to the chains themselves. It comes down to what the person on the other end can accept.
Where they genuinely differ
Tron charges in energy, which an ordinary wallet makes you rent or stake for; BNB Chain charges in BNB, which you simply hold. Tron addresses start with T and cannot be confused with anything else; BNB Chain uses the same 0x format as six other chains here, so sending to the wrong one is possible. Neither difference matters once fees are paid out of the operation, but the address one still does.
Acceptance is the real question
TRC20 is the default for USDT across most exchanges and payment desks, especially outside the West. BEP20 is close behind and is the cheaper habit for anyone already living on BNB Chain. Ask the far end which they credit; nothing about the chains will tell you.
They are separate credits
USDT on Tron and USDT on BNB Chain are not the same balance. An address expecting one will not receive the other, and moving between them is a genuine transfer, quoted, with the fee inside it, not a switch you flip.
The energy question, honestly
Most comparisons stop at "Tron is cheaper" and skip what Tron charges in. Its fee is energy, and an ordinary wallet makes you produce energy by freezing TRX or renting it by the hour. Counted properly, TRC20 is cheap for someone who has already solved that and awkward for someone who has not. BNB Chain asks for BNB instead, which is simply a balance you keep.
What actually decides it
Take the answer from the far end. An exchange deposit page names the network it credits; a person expecting payment has a wallet that speaks one of them. If both are accepted, use whichever your money is already on and skip a transfer entirely, and that saving is larger than any difference between the two chains.
Read next
Several wallets in one account, unlinked on-chain
Hold as many wallets as you need inside one Telegram account. Their addresses are not linked on-chain, so paying from one tells nobody about the others. Send to a @username or to any address.
Questions
Which is cheaper, TRC20 or BEP20?
They are comparable, and in this wallet the difference is inside the quoted amount either way. Choose by what your recipient accepts.
Can I send TRC20 USDT to a BEP20 address?
No. They are separate credits on separate chains; the transfer would not arrive as expected.
Which do exchanges prefer?
Most credit both, and TRC20 is the more common default for USDT. Always check the deposit page rather than assuming.