I agree with Elizabeth that they're synonyms but 'afraid' comes across as more formal. The grammar definitely differs though, For example: Things or scare us. Or we can be scared by something. We cannot be afraid by something. They were scared by the explosion. (BUT NOT They were afraid by the explosion.) Also, their position differs. Afraid is not normally used before a noun. It goes after the verb. She is afraid. (BUT NOT She is an afraid woman.) Scared can be used in both attributive (before the noun) and predicative (after the verb) positions. She is a scared woman. OR She is scared.

They are basically the same thing. Afraid might be a little mor formal. We also use "I'm afraid" as a way of apologising/showing regret, which we do not do with scared. For example, you might say I am afraid I cannot help you

Can you open up this page? It's just sometimes websites are blocked for some countries, but this one gives the best explanation. Let me know if you can read it. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/scared-afraid/

There is no difference in meaning. They are synonyms. However, there is a difference in the grammar of how they are used (you need to make sure you learn which prepositions to use with each one). In addition, there are some contexts in which one word should be used, and not the other. This is just a question of learning all the individual expressions and memorising which word to use in each expression. In addition, in my opinion, there is a difference in degree of formality. To me, "afraid" sounds much more formal than "scared".