What is a MapInfo TAB file?
MapInfo TAB is the native format of MapInfo Pro. A table is a set of files — .tab (structure), .dat (attributes), .map (geometry) and .id (index) — that must travel together.
It remains common in telecom, insurance, retail and public-sector teams that have worked with MapInfo for years.
What is a Shapefile file?
The Shapefile is Esri's vector format from the early 1990s. One dataset is a set of files — .shp (geometry), .shx (index), .dbf (attributes) and .prj (coordinate system) — usually shared as a .zip.
It is still the most widely supported GIS format, but it has hard limits: one geometry type per file, field names of up to 10 characters and a 2 GB size cap.