[David Pardon]

There is some debate as to whether the correct use is different to or different from, but the majority of standard reference works these days seem to have settled on different from.  The Style Book (generally accepted as the New Zealand “bible” on these matters) says:

Different is followed variously by the prepositions from, to and than.  British usage favours from, American to; than has gained limited acceptance, mainly in American English.  Conservative users still reject it because this usage is not consistent with the way than functions in other constructions.

And Working Words: An Australian Guide to Modern English Usage, says:

The recommended usage is different from, especially in formal writing, although different to has sometimes been used by established writers and is often heard in speech.  Different than is common in US English but is not acceptable in Australian or British English.

There is some debate as to whether the correct use is different to or different from, but the majority of standard reference works these days seem to have settled on different from.  The Style Book (generally accepted as the New Zealand “bible” on these matters) says:

 

 

[Contact NZIBS]

I’ve noticed ‘different to’ appearing in the proofreading course. I was taught that ‘from’ is the only correct word to use after ‘different’. I’ve always stuck with that. Different ‘than’ is just awful. People don’t seem to have the same problem with ‘similar to’. You don’t often see ‘similar than’ in written language (or similar ‘from’).

[Contact NZIBS]

It’s quite easy to remember if you think about ‘different from’ as going away ‘from’ something, and ‘similar to’ as going ‘towards’ something.

(There doesn’t seem to be any way to edit posts, so I wrote this second one.)