According to a blog post from giant retail brand Uniqlo, the main difference between joggers and sweatpants is that “joggers are thin, lightweight, and flexible activewear.” In other words, you might lounge or be active in joggers, but you wouldn’t work out in sweatpants.  Plus, as Claus points out, joggers tend to have a bit more shape—more tapered through the leg and ankle, plus cinched at the waist via a drawstring, elastic, or both. Additionally, joggers are dressed up more often—seeing faux leather, or work-appropriate joggers is more common than seeing faux leather or work-appropriate sweatpants.