From every perspective, except account access and content protection, pausing an account is the same as canceling an account.

When an account is paused or canceled...

• Any associated subscriptions will be canceled on the payment method you're integrated with.
  
  
• If you're integrated with an email service provider, the member will be removed from the mailing list associated with the membership level they were on and moved to the cancellation list (if you have one configured).
  
  
• The status on their account will be changed to paused or canceled.

The main difference is that a member with a paused account can still log in and access protected content they had access to up until their account was paused. For this reason, pausing accounts typically only makes sense when you have drip content schedules set up and you want people to maintain access to content they had access to up until their account was paused.

When an member's account is canceled they will not be able to log into the member's area or access protected content.

Members whose account is in canceled or paused status can always return their account to active status by purchasing a product that's associated with a membership level.

If you would like for cancelled users to still be able to login to their account, but not access any protected content, you can use this script to Automatically Downgrade to a Free Membership When an Account Expires or Is Canceled instead.