We use “in spite of” (informal) and “despite” (formal) to express contrast between two things.

Examples :
• He lost the competition in spite of his efforts.
• He lost the competition despite his efforts.

We can also use “in spite of” and “despite” with the gerunds (verb-ing).

Examples :
• He lost the competition in spite of making efforts.
• He lost the competition despite making efforts.

although / even though and despite / in spite of are similar in meaning, but are used differently.
although, even though
(+ clause) despite, in spite of
(+ verb + -ing)

Despite and in spite of have the same meaning and are prepositions.

We use despite / in spite of to express that something is unexpected or surprising.

Examples :
Despite the traffic, we got there on time.
Despite being older than the others, he won the race.