Even though both decision tables and decision trees can be used to represent complex program logic, they can be distinguishable on the following three considerations:

Readability: Decision trees are easier to read and understand when the number of conditions are small. On the other hand, a decision table causes the analyst to look at every possible combination of conditions which he might otherwise omit.

Explicit representation of the order of decision making: In contrast to the decision trees, the order of decision making is abstracted out in decision tables.

A situation where decision tree is more useful is when multilevel decision making is required. Decision trees can more intuitively represent multilevel decision making hierarchically, whereas decision tables can only represent a single decision to select the appropriate action for execution.

Representing complex decision logic: Decision trees become very complex to understand when the number of conditions and actions increase. It may even be to draw the tree on a single page. When very large number of decisions are involved, the decision table representation may be preferred.