Pairs often confused
afin de or pour in French?
Same meaning and same construction: both take an infinitive. Afin de is more written, pour fits everywhere.
Why
The real choice is not between afin de and pour, but between the INFINITIVE and the SUBJUNCTIVE: same subject, infinitive; different subjects, afin que or pour que + subjunctive. A B2 paper alternates registers rather than repeating pour five times.
afin de
Afin de limiter les déplacements, la réunion se tiendra en ligne.
In order to limit travel, the meeting will be held online.
pour
Je vous écris pour demander un report de la date limite.
I am writing to request a postponement of the deadline.