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Integrin adhesions are a structurally and functionally diverse family of transmembrane, multi-protein complexes that link the intracellular cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix (ECM). The different members of this family, including focal adhesions (FAs), focal complexes, fibrillar adhesions, podosomes and invadopodia, contain many shared scaffolding and signaling 'adhesome' components, as well as distinct molecules that perform specific functions, unique to each adhesion form. In this Hypothesis, we address the pivotal roles of mechanical forces, generated by local actin polymerization or actomyosin-based contractility, in the formation, maturation and functionality of two members of the integrin adhesions family, namely FAs and invadopodia, which display distinct structures and functional properties. FAs are robust and stable ECM contacts, associated with contractile stress fibers, while invadopodia are invasive adhesions that degrade the underlying matrix and penetrate into it. We discuss here the mechanisms, whereby these two types of adhesion utilize a similar molecular machinery to drive very different - often opposing cellular activities, and hypothesize that early stages of FAs and invadopodia assembly use similar biomechanical principles, whereas maturation of the two structures, and their 'adhesive' and 'invasive' functionalities require distinct sources of biomechanical reinforcement., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)