User Mode vs WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED in Apex

Feature / Aspect	User Mode	WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED
Purpose	Enforces user permissions (FLS & CRUD) automatically in SOQL and DML	Enforces FLS & CRUD in SOQL only
Scope	Works with SOQL, DML, Async Apex (Batch, Queueable, etc.)	Works only with SOQL
Syntax Example	Database.query(new Query("SELECT Name FROM Account").setUserMode(UserMode.CURRENT));	[SELECT Name FROM Account WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED];
Field-Level Security (FLS)	Respected automatically	Respected, but throws error if access is denied
Object-Level Security (CRUD)	Respected automatically	Respected, but throws error if access is denied
Partial Access Handling	Returns only accessible fields/objects	Fails completely if any field/object is restricted
Error Handling	No error thrown for restricted fields; they are silently excluded	Throws uncatchable exception if access is denied
Support for Relationship Fields	Supported	Not supported (e.g., Owner.Name fails)
Support in Dynamic SOQL	Fully supported	Not supported
Support in DML Operations	Supported via Database.DMLOptions.setUserMode()	Not supported
Async Apex Compatibility	Works in Batch, Queueable, etc.	Not supported
Ease of Use	Cleaner, safer, and more flexible	Requires careful handling and limited in scope
Salesforce Recommendation	Recommended	Not recommended anymore
Use Case Example	Secure insert: Database.insert(record, dmlOpts);	Secure query: [SELECT Name FROM Account WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED];
Limitations	Few limitations; more flexible	Many limitations (no dynamic SOQL, no DML, no async, no partial results)
Can Be Used Together?	Cannot be combined with WITH SECURITY_ENFORCED	Cannot be combined with UserMode