Yes, or pickleball is American padel.

They are similar games and have similar advantages making them popular. But in general, padel is slightly more athletic/intense than pickleball.

I don't mean to nitpick but really the only thing they have in common is a)rackets b)being played in pairs and c) being very popular at the moment. Padel is orders of magnitude richer and more complex than pickleball. Pickle is a lot of fun though.

Sounds like a religious argument brewing

Having played both there's a lot of overlap in the social side. You can find games with randoms or join social match plays with little friction. From what I've heard, it's not that easy with other racket sports like tennis.

I agree the skill gap is wider in padel, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who you want to play with.