Spicy cabbage has a single raw material, mainly Chinese cabbage, supplemented by ginger, garlic and oysters, while kimchi is rich in raw materials. Pepper, tender ginger, garlic, lettuce, celery, children's vegetables and even meat and fruit can be used to make kimchi.

Spicy cabbage can be pickled without being soaked in liquid or sealed in any container. The fermentation type is facultative anaerobic, while kimchi is sealed by soaking in a special kimchi jar, and its lactic acid bacteria are mostly anaerobic.