Pine vs spruce

Eastern white pine and the eastern spruces are both light, easy-working softwoods. Spruce is the harder of the two, and also the one that moves more across a flatsawn board.

Red spruce is about 39% harder than eastern white pine.
Red spruce is about 14% heavier than eastern white pine.
Red spruce has about 29% more movement across a flatsawn board than eastern white pine.

Each column is the species its page leads with: red spruce for spruce.

Side by side

Property	Eastern white pine	Spruce
Janka hardness, 12% MC	380 lbf	530 lbf
Weight, 12% MC	24.5 lb/ft³ (392 kg/m³)	28 lb/ft³ (448 kg/m³)
Specific gravity, 12% MC	0.35	0.40
Tangential shrinkage	6.1%	7.8%
Radial shrinkage	2.1%	3.8%
12 in flatsawn board, 6% → 12% MC	0.153 in	0.197 in
12 in quartersawn board, 6% → 12% MC	0.051 in	0.094 in
Bending strength (MOR), 12% MC	8,600 psi	10,800 psi
Stiffness (MOE), 12% MC	1.24 million psi	1.66 million psi
Crushing strength, 12% MC	4,800 psi	5,540 psi

One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured

Wood Handbook Tables 5-3b, 4-3 and 13-5; weight and movement worked with its Eqs. 4-14 and 13-3. A dash means the Handbook prints no value.

What sets them apart

Shrinkage: The Handbook gives eastern white pine low shrinkage and ranks it high in stability; it gives the eastern spruces moderate shrinkage and says they are stable once dried. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-13 and 2-17 to 2-18)
Looks: White pine heartwood is light brown, often with a reddish tinge, and darkens in air. Spruce is light in color, with little difference between heartwood and sapwood. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-13 and 2-17)
Uses: White pine goes into patterns, sashes, doors, furniture, knotty paneling and toys. Eastern spruce goes mostly into pulpwood, and its lumber into framing, millwork, boxes and piano sounding boards. (Wood Handbook, p. 2-13 to 2-14 and 2-18)

For any other pair, open each species page from the wood hub; every page uses the same layout and the same sources.