What is the difference between bandwidth, speed and network throughput?

We often use the phrase "WiFi is slow today" when referring to poor network speeds at home or the office. Technically, this is incorrect. In general, there are many misconceptions about the exact meaning of various network performance metrics, such as bandwidth, speed or throughput, and today's article will explain that.

What is the difference between bandwidth and network speed?

Network bandwidth is closely related to network speed, but they are completely different network performance indicators.

The Internet speed that your Internet service provider (ISP) package includes refers to how your device can transmit or download data from the Internet. In other words, network speed is the maximum data transfer rate possible and is usually measured in Kilobits per second (Kbps) or Megabits per second (Mbps).

What is the difference between bandwidth, speed and network throughput? Picture 1

On the other hand, network bandwidth is the amount of data that can be downloaded or uploaded per second. You can even think of it as network capacity. Some devices may consume more network bandwidth than others, so even if you're on the same network, you may still experience a slower network connection.

What is network throughput?

While network speed and bandwidth are theoretical concepts for measuring network performance, throughput is the amount of data that is successfully processed and transmitted over a network.

Throughput is different from network bandwidth. Organizations typically measure average throughput to determine real-time performance for their network. Network throughput is measured in bits per second or kilobits per second.

Network bandwidth is a theoretical concept that determines the maximum amount of data your device can transmit over a connection. On the other hand, network speed is the maximum data transfer rate. You can think of network throughput as the amount of data successfully transferred over a connection.

Jessica Tanner

Update 27 June 2023

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