Although Gigabit Ethernet and Ethernet both have the same word "Ethernet", they are also common network technology standards, and are both used to transmit data in a local area network, but they still have some differences. The difference between them mainly lies in the transmission speed.
When Ethernet first appeared, it was called 10BASE-T because it supported a transmission rate of 10 Mbps. Later, with the development of science and technology, Fast Ethernet appeared, which is usually called 100BASE-T. It is faster than Ethernet and supports 100 Mbps. They are also called 10/100 Ethernet.
Gigabit Ethernet is much faster than traditional Ethernet and Fast Ethernet. It supports a transmission speed of 1000 Mbps, or 1 Gbps, and is also known as 1000BASE-T.
| Property | Ethernet (10/100) | Gigabit Ethernet |
| Maximum Speed | 10 Mbps / 100 Mbps | 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) |
| Using Cables | Cat 5 or lower | Cat 5e or Cat 6 |
| Typical Applications | Office network, home network, printer connection, etc. | High-bandwidth applications, large data transmission, video streaming, etc. |
| Bandwidth | 10 Mbps / 100 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
| Device Support | Older devices | Modern equipment |
| Development Trend | Eliminated or phased out | Standardized and widely used |
