Though there are similar characteristics in Ripple and Bitcoin cryptocurrencies, even after they are vastly different from each other.

Structure

Bitcoin and Ripple have very different governance and ownership structures. Bitcoin is highly decentralized and open source, owned by a community that agrees on changes.

Ripple is owned by a private company, and its internal ledger is a more closed affair.

Size

Bitcoin is huge. At the time of writing, the total valuation of all bitcoins in circulation is at $276 billion, while Ripple is at $120 billion. These two rest at the top of the cryptocurrency pile, while the total market is valued at $769 billion.

Unlike Bitcoin, Ripple payments are instant and validated by nodes of Ripple. Invented by Ripple Labs, there are around 38 Billion Ripple are in circulation. However, it is expected that Ripple supply will surely increase and exceed total number of Bitcoins in terms of magnitude. 

Transaction speed

As compared to Bitcoin, Ripple is fast as it is able to do 1000 transactions/sec. Ripple can finalize or settle transaction in merely three seconds; however the average block confirmation time for Bitcoin is 10 minutes.

Information tracking

Ripple is able to track information of any kind, such as account balance. On the contrary, Bitcoin network only tracks the movement of Bitcoins.