While you can reasonably expect to see transfer speeds of a few gigabits using Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E, you will not see 9.6 Gigabits to any one device on the network. It is important to understand that the maximum speed listed for Wi-Fi networks is the maximum bandwidth for all devices on the network, not an individual connection. Note: Unless otherwise noted, the maximum speed of the Ethernet cable is the speed at the end of a 100-meter cable. Here is a small chart showing the best speeds you can get through different Ethernet cables and modern Wi-Fi networks. And, unlike with Wi-Fi, that speed is consistent. However, even the Cat5e cable in common use supports up to 1 Gbps.

The exact maximum speed of your Ethernet cable depends on the type of Ethernet cable you’re using. On the other hand, a wired Ethernet connection can theoretically offer up to 10 Gbps, if you have a Cat6A cable. RELATED: Upgrade Your Wireless Router to Get Faster Speeds and More Reliable Wi-Fi Even though this is a maximum speed for all your wireless devices to share (and you likely won’t get those speeds in the real world), Wi-Fi has become good enough to handle most of our daily tasks. Wi-Fi has gotten significantly faster over the last few years, thanks to new standards like Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), which offers a maximum speed of about 9.6 gigabits per second. But the real-world differences are smaller than you might think.

How Much Faster Is Ethernet?Įthernet is just plain faster than Wi-Fi - there’s no getting around that fact. If reliability and speed are the priority, Ethernet cables cannot be beat. Ethernet connections are also less prone to interference and have lower latency than even the best Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi 6E, which is currently the fastest Wi-Fi officially available, can only reach speeds of a few gigabits per second. The best Ethernet cables you’ll commonly find are Cat6A cables - they’re rated for transfer speeds of 10 gigabits per second (Gbps or Gb/s), and they’ll deliver that very consistently.

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