Even though they have similar names, Workflow and Visual Workflow are separate Salesforce features for automating business processes.

Workflow enables you to set up workflow rules that identify what kinds of record changes or additions trigger specified workflow actions, such as sending email alerts and updating record fields.

Visual Workflow enables you to create flows, which are applications that are user-triggered instead of event-triggered. Unlike Workflow, which always executes rules and actions behind the scenes, Visual Workflow offers screens for displaying and collecting information from the user running the flow.