Summary The purpose of this paper is to contrast the performance of self-expanding and balloon -expandable stents. Whi le both approaches to stenti ng have proven to be successful in treating a wide range of vascular disease, there are sign ifi cant differences in the phi losophy behind and properties of the two types of stents. Many of these differences, such as strengt h, stiffness (or compliance), recoi l, dynamic scaffolding, vessel conformity and fat igue resistance will be high lighted by studying the mechanics of the stent alone, and then of a stent within a vessel. These differences can be summarised by observing that self expanding stents provide more anatomically-correct scaffolding, while balloon -expandable stents provide rigid and uncompromising reinforcement. Other differences, such as corrosion res istance, placement accuracy and visibility, will also be briefly summarised.