String vs StringBuffer vs StringBuilder

1) String is immutable while StringBuffer and StringBuilder are mutable objects.
2) StringBuffer is synchronized while StringBuilder is not which makes StringBuilder faster than StringBuffer.
3) Concatenation operator "+" is internal implemented using either StringBuffer or StringBuilder.
4) Use String if you require immutability, use Stringbuffer in java if you need mutable + thread-safety and use StringBuilder in Java if you require mutable + without thread-safety.
5)If you see StringBuilder vs StringBuffer you will find that they are exactly similar and all API methods applicable to StringBuffer are also applicable to StringBuilder in Java. On the other hand String vs StringBuffer is completely different and there API is also completely different, same is true for StringBuilder vs String.

Extracted from: JavaRevisited