1. It can be distinguished by the shape. The cross section of the I-beam is in the shape of an "I", while the cross section of the H-beam is similar to the letter "H".
2. Due to its small thickness, the flange of the I-beam is narrower and thicker as it gets closer to the web, so it can only withstand forces from one direction. The thickness of the H-beam is larger, and the thickness of the flange is equal, so it can withstand forces from different directions.
3. The I-beam is suitable for various buildings, and the application range of curved members in the plane is very limited. H-beams are used for beams, cylindrical members, and load-bearing steel structure brackets of industrial and civil building steel structures.

I-beams are hot-rolled steel, not galvanized, and have higher strength, but poorer fire resistance. The flanges of I-beams are of equal thickness.
H-beams are galvanized and have better fire resistance, but their strength is slightly inferior to that of I-beams. H-beams are a type of hot-rolled steel with a variable cross-section, and the thickness of their flanges is equal to the thickness of their webs.
In addition, H-beams are more commonly used in bridges, while I-beams are more commonly used in buildings. The choice of use needs to be weighed according to the specific situation.

H-beam, full name hot-rolled H-beam, is a steel with a cross-sectional shape similar to the English letter "H". Its cross-sectional design is optimized and its strength-to-weight ratio is reasonable. It is an efficient and economical cross-sectional profile. The inner and outer surfaces of the flange of H-beam are straight, with no slope or very small slope, which makes it have strong bending resistance in all directions. In addition, H-beam has a large section modulus and is lightweight, which can effectively save materials and reduce construction costs. Due to the reasonable cross-sectional shape of H-beam and the arrangement of all parts at right angles, its bending resistance is significantly better than that of I-beam, about 5%-10% higher. Under the same cross-sectional load, the structural weight of H-beam is 15%-20% lighter than that of traditional steel structures, which is conducive to reducing the self-weight of the building and increasing the usable area.

I-beam, also known as a steel beam, has an I-shaped cross-sectional shape and is a long strip of steel. I-beams are also divided into hot-rolled and light types, but no matter which type, the cross-sectional size is relatively high and narrow, resulting in a large difference in the moment of inertia on the two main axes. Although the cross-sectional shape of the I-beam also has a certain bending resistance, its torsion resistance is relatively poor due to its narrow flange. The cross-sectional shape of the I-beam has excellent performance under direct pressure and good tensile resistance.

I-beam is a kind of "I" shaped cross-section steel. The inner surface of the upper and lower flanges has an inclination, generally 1:6, which makes the flange thin outside and thick inside. As a result, the cross-sectional characteristics of the I-beam in the two main planes are very different, and it is difficult to exert the strength characteristics just mentioned in the application.

H-beam is a widely used profile in today's steel structure buildings. It has many differences compared with the I-beam. First, the flange, and second, the inner surface of the flange has no inclination, and the upper and lower surfaces are parallel. The cross-sectional characteristics of H-beams are significantly better than traditional I-beams, channel steels, and angle steels. The inner sides of the two outer edges of the H-beam have no inclination and are straight. This makes the welding and splicing of H-beams simpler than I-beams, and the mechanical properties per unit weight are better, which can save a lot of materials and construction time.

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