What is the difference between fingerstyle and fingerpicking?

Fingerstyle encompasses both the techniques of playing with fingers alone and playing with fingers and a thumb pick. Fingerpicking refers specifically to the style of using only your fingers and does not include the related techniques with the thumb pick.
 

Is fingerstyle harder than strumming?

Making Fingerstyle Automatic



Because fingerstyle is physically difficult, you must practice a lot until it’s automatic. It means that singing while playing fingerstyle takes much more practice than singing while strumming. But eventually, it goes on autopilot, meaning you can play patterns without thinking.

How many fingerpicking patterns are there?

The 24 Fingerpicking Patterns

Thumb	Middle	Index
P M I A	I M P A	M I P A
P M A I	I M A P	M I A P
P A M I	I A P M	M A P I
P A I M	I A M P	M A I P