What's the difference between silk nails & gel nails & which is better?

I had silk nails wear they glued a bunch of strips of what was suppose to be silk on my nails but it messed up my nails and it chipped. Then I started getting the gel it lasted like acrylic. The key is to tell them not to file your real nails and they apply it like acrylic. You can soak it in acetone nail polish remover and it will come off with minimum damage to your nails. But some nail shops say they are using gel when it's really clear acrylic.