RISC instruction set size is small.
cisc instruction set size is large.

risc contains simple and basic instruction which can built complex instruction.
cisc contains large number of complex instruction.

risc uses fixed format of 32 bits
cisc uses variable format of 16-64 bit

risc uses no external memory for calculation.
cisc uses external memory for the calculation.

risc uses pipelining.
cisc uses no pipelining technique.

code expansion is problem in risc.
code expansion is not a problem in cisc.