Protease and peptidase are two types of enzymes with a few significant differences between them.
Protease
Protease is a type of hydrolytic enzyme that breaks down proteins by cleaving the peptide bond in protein molecules. They have an affinity for intact proteins.
Proteases can be either endopeptidases or exopeptidases. Endopeptidases hydrolyze internal peptide bonds, resulting in oligopeptides.
Common examples of endopeptidases include trypsin, papain, pepsin, elastase, and chymotrypsin.
Peptidase
Peptidase is a type of protease enzyme that breaks down peptides into amino acids by cleaving the end terminals of the peptide chain. They have an affinity for small peptides.
Peptidases are only exopeptidases. They hydrolyze peptide bonds at the ends of the peptide chain, resulting in a single amino acid or dipeptide.
Common examples of peptidases include carboxypeptidase A and aminopeptidases.