That one is honest about what he is, and the other usually drowned in democratic veneer/legal infrastructure and justifications to backstop his power.

A mafia boss employs you to do crime, a fascist dictator says you need to do your part for the greater good, whatever he thinks this greater good is.

Is it helpful? When a word is so poorly defined or disputed in its definition as fascist is... I think it has ceased to be useful.

Biden admin was a crime family. So is Trump. So were Clinton and Bush. So is Putin. They all are regimes that attempt to show legitimacy but IMO are basically criminal groups.