The main difference between the author role and the contributor role is how they handle content. Authors can publish or delete their own work right away, while contributors can create content but need someone with higher access to review and approve it before it goes live.
Plus, authors can upload media files to their own posts, so they have more control over how their posts look before they are published.
Because of that, the author role is a better fit for writers who are part of your in-house team. On the other hand, you can assign the contributor role to guest bloggers or freelance writers, as they may not be familiar with your site’s standards or style guide.
That said, both authors and contributors cannot do any core website management tasks. For example, they cannot change any website settings, install WordPress plugins, or add new users from the WordPress dashboard.