In Elixir, 'spawn' creates a new process to execute a function asynchronously, while 'Task' provides a higher-level abstraction for managing asynchronous tasks, including error handling and result retrieval.

In Elixir, both spawn and Task are used to create processes for concurrent execution, but they serve different purposes and provide different levels of abstraction. The spawn function is a low-level way to create a new process, allowing you to execute a specified function asynchronously. When you call spawn, it returns the PID (process identifier) of the newly created process, which you can use to send messages or interact with that process. However, using spawn directly requires you to manage process communication and error handling manually, which can lead to more complex code, especially in larger applications. On the other hand, Task is a higher-level abstraction that simplifies the management of asynchronous tasks. When you use Task, you can easily create tasks that can run concurrently and manage their results more efficiently. The Task module provides functions like async and await, which allow you to start a task and later retrieve its result, handling any errors that may occur during execution. This built-in error handling and result retrieval make Task a more convenient choice for many scenarios, particularly when you need to manage the outcomes of multiple concurrent operations. Overall, while spawn gives you more control and flexibility, Task offers a more user-friendly approach for handling asynchronous operations in Elixir.